Iowa Women's Hoops Receives '24-25 B1G Matchups

USC, JuJu Watkins on Hawkeye Home Schedule

Mar 30, 2024; Portland, OR, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) steps back during the second / Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa’s Big Ten women’s basketball home schedule this season will feature one of the nation’s best teams and players.

USC, with sophomore JuJu Watkins and one of the nation’s top recruiting classes and transfer portal classes, is one of the nine teams that will come to Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season, according to the single-plays and home-and-homes released by the conference on Tuesday.

The Trojans, who enter the conference this season along with fellow former PAC-12 teams Oregon, Washington and UCLA, are ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25.

Watkins, the national freshman of the year last season, averaged 27.1 points, finishing second in scoring in the nation behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. Watkins scored 920 points, also second behind Clark.

USC also had the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class.

UCLA, at No. 5 in the ESPN preseason rankings, also is a single play for the Hawkeyes and will come to Iowa City. Nebraska, the lone home-and-home for Iowa in the 18-game schedule, is ranked 20th.

Iowa also will get Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin as single-play home games.

The road schedule will feature games at Ohio State, No. 15 in the ESPN rankings, and Illinois, ranked No. 24. The other single-play road games are Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State and Wisconsin.

Iowa’s home schedule this season also includes a nonconference game with Iowa State, which is ranked 10th by ESPN.

The Hawkeyes, coming off back-to-back appearances in the Final Four and national championship game, bring back starting forward Hannah Stuelke (14 ppg, 6.6 rpg). Guard Sydney Affolter (8.4 ppg), who made 12 starts, also is back, and Iowa added guard Lucy Olsen, who ranked third nationally in scoring last season, out of the transfer portal.

Iowa also brings in a recruiting class that includes post player Ava Heiden (42nd nationally in ESPN’s HoopGurlz rankings), guard Aaliyah Guyton (58th), guard Teagan Mallegni (65th), guard Taylor Stremlow (95th) and guard Callie Levin of Solon, who was Iowa’s Miss Basketball in the 2023-24 season.