Iowa Women's Basketball vs. Northern Illinois: How to Watch + Game Thread

Tonight officially begins the Jan Jensen era for the Iowa women's basketball team as the Hawkeyes begin their 2024-2025 season at home against the Northern Illinois Huskies. It marks not only the beginning of the Jensen era, but also the beginning of the post-Caitlin Clark era for Iowa.

The new-look Hawkeyes are still expected to be an experienced bunch. To fill the void left by Clark, Iowa brought in senior Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen, who averaged 23.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season. She is expected to start in the backcourt alongside fellow senior Kylie Feurbach and fellow junior Taylor McCabe, while junior Hannah Stuelke and senior Addison O'Grady round out the expected starting lineup.

O'Grady and freshman Ava Heiden will have their hands full tonight trying to stop 6-foot-10 Brooke Stonebraker, who led Northern Illinois in scoring and rebounding last season. In addition to Stonebraker, 10th-year NIU coach Lisa Carlsen, an Iowa native, returns along with sixth-year senior Chelby Koker, a three-time All-MAC honoree. She missed last season but averaged 15.4 points per game in 2022-2023.

Additionally, the Huskies brought in Southeast Missouri State transfer guard Alecia Doyle. She is thriving after averaging 13.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for the Redhawks last season. Doyle, a second-team All-OVC selection, scored in double figures in 23 games, including a career-best 31 points against Tennessee Tech.

And off-season Bradley transfer Reagan Barkema scored 12 points in 25 minutes, including three made 3-pointers, in NIU's season opener. As a sophomore at Bradley last season, Barkema averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while hitting 45 three-pointers.

Tonight is the 13th meeting between Iowa and Northern Illinois. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series at 7-5, but have not lost to the Huskies since 1993.

Here's a look at the details of today's game.

Date: Wednesday, November 6th
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Matchup: Northern Illinois Huskies (1-0, 0-0). Iowa Hawkeyes (0-0, 0-0)
Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA
TV: BTN+
DraftKings line: Iowa -37.5, O/U 151.5

Odds/lines are subject to change. Terms and conditions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

Today the usual rules apply again. Play nice in the comments. No personal attacks, no politics, keep your language at bay and please report any spam bots that happen to show their digital faces.

Come on, hawks!