By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa women’s basketball team’s reward for defeating No. 18 Iowa State this past Wednesday at home is now getting to face No. 17 Michigan State on the road in Sunday’s Big Ten opener.

Iowa enters Big Ten play 9-1 under first-year head coach Jan Jensen, and riding the emotional wave from having defeated the Cyclones 75-69 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa’s lone loss was to Tennessee by a score of 78-68 in New York City.

Iowa committed 30 turnovers against Tennessee’s relentless full-court pressure.

But other than those 40 minutes of mistakes and breakdowns, the nonconference portion of the schedule has been a success for Jensen and for her players.

Villanova graduate transfer Lucy Olsen, a 5-foot-10 guard, has been as good, or maybe even better than advertised for the Hawkeyes.

Olsen scored 25 points in the win over Iowa State and she didn’t have a turnover or a foul.

She has been the perfect fit as Iowa moves on from both the Lisa Bluder and Caitlin Clark eras, both of which were legendary in their own way.

Michigan State, meanwhile is 9-0 and off to the best start in program history under head coach Robyn Fralick. Its previous best stars were 8-0 in the 2012-13 and 2020-21 seasons.

Michigan State broke the school record for blocks in a game with 14 against DePaul last weekend.

The Spartans have played with five different starting lineups this season.

Over her last five games, Julia Ayrault is averaging a double-double with 19.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

Iowa (9-1) vs. Michigan State (9-0)

When: Sunday, 11 a.m.

Where: East Lansing, Michigan, The Breslin Center

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

SERIES HISTORY

The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series, 43-30.

Iowa is 8-2 against Michigan State in the last 10 matchups.

The Hawkeyes are 3-3 in their last six trips to the Breslin Center.

hawkeyesports.com contributed to this report