Travel woes challenge Iowa ahead of pivotal Big Ten clash with Gophers

Minnesota women's basketball hosts Iowa Thursday night in a pivotal Big Ten battle for both teams. The Hawkeyes faced serious adversity with their travel plans and they didn't arrive in Minnesota until 12:30 p.m. CT Thursday.

According to an X post from Iowa Associate Director of Strategic Communications Bailey W. Turner, the team's plane was supposed to take off Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. CT from a private airport. Extreme ice and a multitude of engine issues forced the team to bus to a different airport, but their flight wasn't able to leave Iowa until 11:35 a.m. Thursday and they landed at MSP at 12:34 p.m. CT.

We finally landed safely in Minneapolis.

Here’s what took place over the 20ish hours. Safe to say we’ve spent a decent amount of time on the tarmac at CID. #Hawkeyes set to take on the Gophers at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Williams Arena. pic.twitter.com/GSAIDydZmf
— Bailey W. Turner (@Bailey_Turner_) February 6, 2025

The clash between Minnesota and Iowa will tip off at 7 p.m. CT at Williams Arena, which gives the Hawkeyes only a handful of hours to prepare for the game. They carry plenty of momentum after knocking off No. 4 USC on Sunday before Caitlin Clark's jersey retirement, but that could all be gone after some annoying travel issues.

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Minnesota sits at 6-5 in the Big Ten compared to Iowa at 5-6. The result of Thursday's game could go a long way in determining seeds for this year's conference tournament. According to the latest ESPN bracketology, both teams are also among the 'Last Four Byes' for the NCAA Tournament, so it's a pivotal, resume-building game for both squads.

The Hawkeyes no longer have Caitlin Clark, but they do have a star guard. Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen leads the team with 16.4 points per game this season, along with 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. Forwards Hannah Stuelke and Addison O'Grady also average more than 10 points per game.

Minnesota has only one win against a projected at-large team in the NCAA Tournament field, so a win over Iowa would be a huge confidence boost after back-to-back losses in Los Angeles.