Instant Takeaways From Iowa Women's Basketball's Exhibition Win Over Maryville

The first Iowa women's basketball game of the 2026-27 season is in the books - sort of. 

The No. 10 Hawkeyes took down the Division II Maryville Saints in an exhibition game, 124-67, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday evening. Iowa's four-out offense looked pretty fluid throughout this one, going 63.8% from the floor. 

Here are some instant takeaways from Iowa's victory: 

As is normally the case with exhibition games, the Hawkeyes opened this game sluggishly. McKenna Woliczko and Layla Hays both missed point blank attempts inside,  but the early story of the game was Maryville connecting on 3 of its first 6 shots from beyond the arc and three turnovers for Iowa - a recurring problem in key games last season. This lead to an early 9-8 lead for the Saints, and their bench celebrated because they knew that would likely be a rare edge for them in this game. 

Jensen's early rotations will probably change when the season opener arrives on Nov. 2, but here's what she rolled out with to start this game. 

Starting five: Dani Carnegie, Chit-Chat Wright, Amari Whiting, McKenna Woliczko, Ava Heiden 

Seeing Carnegie, Heiden, and Wright in the starting lineup is no surprise to Hawkeye fans, but what everyone was interested in seeing was who would take over Hannah Stuelke's old spot at the four. Again, things can change when the real games begin, but Jensen rolled with the first-year Woliczko on this night, with second-year Journey Houston relieving her. 

Elsewhere, third-year Taylor Stremlow replaced Carnegie at the two, while Georgia transfer Jocelyn Faison came in for Whiting. We'll see how much this rotation changes for the season opener on Monday night. 

There's definitely going to be some growing pains for Woliczko early in the season, but Jensen has to be pretty happy with what she saw in this exhibition game. The box score doesn't show the complete story, but Woliczko's passion for the game was certainly evident. Woliczko finished with three points in the first half, but really turned it on in the second, delighting the fans in attendance. 

She was always working hard to get open down low and take advantage in transition, but best of all, she even connected on one (went 1/3) attempts from downtown - something Jensen challenged her to do in the summer. We'll see if she's willing to pull the trigger from out there in important games, but that's a very good early sign for the Hawkeyes. 

Woliczko finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes. 

Every aspect of Carnegie's game that people were hyping up in the offseason was present on Thursday. Iowa really struggled to hit from outside at the end of the season last year, but Carnegie instantly lit up the nets in this one, going 11-for-14 for 30 points, three assists and five rebounds in 22 minutes. Every three-point attempt (she went 4/7) looked like it was going in the net, and that's a perfect description of what Carnegie is: a pure scorer. 

Though the regular season hasn't even begun yet, it's easy to see why the Hawkeyes brought Carnegie to Iowa City. She has the potential to be a major difference-maker for this team. 

Jensen praised her team for improving their defensive numbers over the last two seasons, and though it helps to play a Division II team, there seems to always be a point in the game where Iowa just clamps down against its opponent - similar to a boa constrictor killing its prey. Though Maryville opened the game with an aforementioned 3-for-6 start from beyond the arc, the Saints couldn't do much after that in the first half, and that was because Iowa was cracking down on the perimeter. Maryville had no chance to beat the Hawkeyes down low, so this resulted in a 15-1 run to close the first quarter. 

Iowa did let up a little bit in the second half, but considering it was already up 40 at that point, there wasn't much need to panic. 

Iowa now gears up for its season opener against Towson on Monday, Nov. 2. The Tigers are coming off a 17-14 campaign in 2025-26 that saw them tie for fourth place in the Coastal Athletic Association (formerly the Colonial). 

Tip off from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is set for 7 p.m. local time on Big Ten Plus.