Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball ranked No. 6 in ESPN’s ‘way-too-early top 25’
South Carolina’s Destanni Henderson knocked down 3-of-6 3-pointers and finished with 26 points. Meanwhile, national player of the year Aliyah Boston added 11 points and 16 rebounds as South Carolina toppled Connecticut, 64-49, in the women’s basketball national championship game.
The win represented the second championship in program history for the Gamecocks. It also signals the start of the offseason, which means it’s time to look at the first projections for an early top 25 for next season. ESPN’s Charlie Creme released his way-too-early top 25 rankings and Iowa checked in at No. 6.
The Hawkeyes return Naismith Trophy finalist Caitlin Clark. Clark averaged 27 points, eight assists and eight rebounds per game during the 2021-22 season. The 6-foot point guard out of West Des Moines, Iowa, led the nation in points per game average and total points on the season with 863.
Her eight assists per game average also led the country and she finished second nationally in total assists with 257. For her efforts, Clark was named the Nancy Lieberman and the Dawn Staley Point Guard of the Year. Clark was also named the Big Ten Player of the Year and the Big Ten Tournament MVP.
Iowa brings back one of the best forwards in the country for the 2022-23 season, too. Senior forward Monika Czinano elected to run it back with Clark and company. Czinano averaged 21.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. During the NCAA Tournament, Czinano had 18 points and seven rebounds against Illinois State and 27 points and six rebounds versus Creighton. She connected on 18-of-26 field goal attempts during the tournament.
The loss to Creighton in the second round of the NCAA tournament was devastating. It could have been more devastating had that been Monika Czinano’s last game. The decision by the nation’s field goal percentage leader to use her extra year of eligibility to once again pair with Clark, the nation’s leader in scoring and assists, is enough to make the Hawkeyes a threat for bigger things than just a Big Ten title. – Creme, ESPN.
Creme rated defending national champion South Carolina No. 1, the national runner-up Connecticut No. 2, Stanford No. 3, Texas No. 4 and Maryland No. 5. After the Hawkeyes at No. 6, the rest of Creme’s top 10 looked like this: Iowa State was No. 7, Tennessee No. 8, Notre Dame No. 9 and Oklahoma No. 10.
Other Big Ten teams that found their way into Creme’s way-too-early top 25 included No. 13 Ohio State, No. 17 Indiana and No. 20 Nebraska.
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