Iowa Women Rout Towson 73-45 in Opener

Iowa's Dani Carnegie led the top-10 Hawkeyes with 21 points as they opened the season with a 28-point win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Basketball

Iowa Women's Basketball, ranked 10th in the preseason AP Poll, defeated Towson 73-45 on Monday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes led 33-23 at halftime and closed the game on a 21-4 run.

Why it matters

The win gives Iowa a 1-0 start in its 27th consecutive season opening the year with a victory. For Iowa City fans, it marks the first home result of the season for a program ranked among the nation's top 10.

Iowa shot 25-of-56 (44.6%) from the field, 8-of-29 (27.6%) from three-point range and 15-of-23 (65.2%) from the free-throw line. The Hawkeyes won the rebounding battle 52-27, including 34 defensive rebounds, while committing 16 turnovers to Towson's eight.

The players

Iowa Hawkeyes Women's Basketball

The University of Iowa's women's basketball program, ranked 10th in the preseason AP Poll, competes in the Big Ten Conference and plays its home games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Dani Carnegie

Iowa guard who led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists in the season opener.

Chit-Chat Wright

Iowa guard who scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds in the team's 73-45 win over Towson.

Eva Wilkerson

Towson forward who led all scorers with 15 points and eight rebounds in the Tigers' loss to Iowa.

The details

Iowa built a 10-0 run into a 33-23 halftime lead and first reached a 15-point advantage at the 2:17 mark of the third quarter. Towson cut the margin to 52-41 in the fourth quarter before Iowa closed the game on a 21-4 run, led by Dani Carnegie's 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Chit-Chat Wright's 14 points and four rebounds.

Monday, November 2, 2026: Iowa defeats Towson 73-45 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Season Trajectory

Iowa's opening win extends a 27-season streak of starting the year with a victory, a stretch that keeps the program positioned among the nation's top-10 teams early in the schedule. The result sets a baseline for how the Hawkeyes will be measured as the Big Ten slate begins.

Iowa's 1-0 start sets the early standard for the Hawkeyes' non-conference slate, and the 16 turnovers Iowa committed are the kind of detail that affects how much cushion the team has against tougher opponents. Fans tracking the team's early form can use the 52-27 rebounding edge as a benchmark for future home games.

The takeaway

Iowa's opening performance showed a deep, balanced attack, with Carnegie and Wright combining for 35 points, and the rebounding advantage suggests the Hawkeyes can control the boards against mid-major competition. The 16 turnovers are the area to watch as the schedule gets more demanding.