IOWA CIY — After a productive trip to Florida brought back two significant wins, No. 11 Iowa women’s basketball returns to the friendly confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena for another mid-major showdown.
Up next for Jan Jensen’s Hawkeyes is a date with Western Illinois, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on BTN+. The Nov. 26 affair will give Iowa one more chance to squeeze in productivity before the Thanksgiving holiday. With the Hawkeyes’ November MTE (multi-team event) already out of the way, this will be the first time since 2006 Iowa isn’t out of town playing for Thanksgiving.
Western Illinois will try to keep this matchup closer than any of Iowa’s first four mid-major foes did, as the Hawkeyes throttled Southern, Evansville, Drake and UNI with little resistance. The Leathernecks do already have one road win this season (Nov. 11 at Northern Illinois) and are 4-0 for the first time since the 1977-78 season.
With that, here are three things to watch for ahead of Iowa-Western Illinois.
Can the Hawkeyes get another solid night at point guard if Chit-Chat Wright is again sidelined?
Considering how cloudy Jensen’s update on Chit-Chat Wright was on Nov. 24, the chances Iowa’s starting point guard returns to the floor against the Leathernecks feels unlikely. Wright is still dealing with upper-body issues after taking a hard fall in the Hawkeyes’ WBCA Showcase win over Baylor.
That likely means another round of Taylor Stremlow at point guard, a role she played well in the six quarters Iowa hasn’t had Wright. Stremlow combined for 19 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and just three turnovers over 55 total minutes on the floor in Florida.
“She leans into moments,” Jensen said. “She has since the moment I recruited her. She’s just that consummate team player.”
Western Illinois certainly won’t create as much as havoc as Miami did with its relentless pressure, but the Leathernecks still present a formidable challenge Iowa must conquer likely without one of its top weapons.
Can Addie Deal take another productive step as she settles into her freshman season?
It was inevitable that Addie Deal’s first stretch in college would be heavily dissected and critiqued. For all the good Caitlin Clark did in an Iowa uniform, she pretty much ruined any reasonable expectations for high-profile freshmen in the future.
Deal, the five-star freshman and top-25 recruit in the 2025 class, hasn’t come soaring out of the gates — but Jensen isn’t devaluing anything Deal has done to this point. Although the freshman guard has just 28 total points through Iowa’s first six games, her coach isn’t as worried about Deal’s scoring as everyone else.
“I think Addie had a nice tournament down there,” Jensen said. “I think she’s probably putting a little pressure on the point production, but she’s understanding spacing and places we wan to be in our offense. But I definitely think she is progressing.
“That’s an interesting step, but if you look at a lot of great freshmen in the country, they’re also progressing through the steps. This new era sometimes — for the good and the bad — it puts a lot of expectations and hype on people. But when you come in, you just have to let that process settle. And I’m really happy with how Addie is working and managing that.”
After playing 21 combined minutes in the two WBCA Showcase games, Deal should get more extended run against the Leathernecks. We’ll see what she does with the opportunity.
What does Emely Rodriguez’s production look like as she continues to play more within the Iowa offense?
It was a whirlwind of a tournament for sophomore guard Emely Rodriguez, who delivered arguably the singular most important bucket of the WBCA Showcase but struggled beyond that.
Rodriguez’s late driving layup to ignite Iowa’s 57-52 win over Baylor was the shining moment in what was otherwise a tough showing. After having four points and six turnovers in 16 minutes against the Bears, Rodriguez played only four minutes with two shots taken versus Miami.
The shot-creating ability is clearly there with Rodriguez. Reining it in so it’s most effective remains the current challenge.
“Emely is able to get a shot. We just have to continue working on the when,” Jensen said. “When do you do that? How do you do that? What does that look like? It’s patience, and I’ve got to remind myself. My first press conference, I said patience is going to rule the day. Patience in Emely’s development, patience in coaching development, patience within all of their circles.
“She has that ability. It’s just knowing when and clock management and knowing how we need to utilize that.”
Iowa women’s basketball vs. Western Illinois prediction
Western Illinois might make a little early noise, but Iowa pulls away late in the first half before cruising to the finish line. The Hawkeyes secure their 10th win in 12 all-time matchups vs. Western Illinois. Iowa 85, Western Illinois 62.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa women’s basketball vs Western Illinois prediction, what to watch
Reporting by Dargan Southard, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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