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TIMES-REPUBLICAN
IOWA CITY -- The University of Iowa women's basketball team announced its 2026-27 non-conference schedule, featuring seven home games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Hawkeyes will also play two road contests and three neutral-site games, including matchups in Sioux City and Nassau, Bahamas.
"I'm really excited," head coach Jan Jensen said. "I think we've challenged ourselves with a really competitive non-conference schedule, and we also know how tough the Big Ten is. This year is unique because we have six newcomers to five returners, so I think this schedule will be important as we continue to come together and grow as a team."
Iowa opens the regular season with back-to-back home games, welcoming Towson on Nov. 2 and Eastern Illinois on Nov. 5. The Hawkeyes will then travel to face UConn on Nov. 8 before returning to Iowa City to host in-state foe Northern Iowa on Nov. 12.
The matchup with UConn begins a home-and-home series between the programs, with the Nov. 8 contest set to be played in either Storrs or Hartford, Conn. The Huskies will make the return trip to Carver-Hawkeye Arena during the 2027-28 season.
"We're starting a home-and-home with UConn and getting to play the first one on the road," Jensen said. "It's going to be an amazing and electric environment because UConn is arguably one of the standards. We're really excited that they reached out and wanted to start this series."
Iowa will face Vanderbilt on Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City before hosting Montana State on Nov. 19. Vanderbilt advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, while Montana State won 27 games and advanced to the Great Eight of the WNIT last season.
"Getting to play in Sioux City against Vanderbilt is exciting for a couple of reasons," Jensen said. "We're going to be playing on the western side of the state, where we have so many great fans who come to Carver, and now they won't have to travel as far to see us. They'll also get to see us face a quality opponent on a neutral floor."
The Hawkeyes will spend Thanksgiving week in the Bahamas, playing two games at the Baha Mar Classic on Nov. 23 and 25. Iowa will face Utah and Toledo during the event, with matchups to be determined.
Iowa closes out its non-conference schedule with a trip to Des Moines to face Drake on Dec. 1 before returning to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to host Iowa State in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series on Dec. 9. The Hawkeyes will close the non-conference slate with home games against Southern on Dec. 13 and Northern Illinois on Dec. 20.