# 2021–22 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team

The 2021–22 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes were led by head coach Lisa Bluder in her twenty-second season, and played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The Hawkeyes shared the Big Ten regular season title (with Ohio State) and won the 2022 Big Ten tournament to receive an automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA tournament. This 2021–22 team became the first in women’s basketball program history to win both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same year.
On Selection Sunday, Iowa was announced as the number 2 seed for the Greensboro Region, the team's fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Hawkeyes were upset by 10th-seed Creighton in the second round of the NCAA tournament in a 64–62 loss. They finished the season with a record of 24–8 (14–4 B1G).
Sophomore Caitlin Clark was named Big Ten Player of the Year and a unanimous first-team All-American. Clark became the first player to lead the nation in scoring and assists in the same season.

## Previous season

The Hawkeyes finished the 2020–21 season with a 20–10 record, including 11–8 in Big Ten play. They received an at-large bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

## Off-season
### Departures

| Name | # | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Alexis Sevillian | 5 | G | 5'5" | Redshirt Senior | Goodrich, MI | Graduated; chose not to return |
| Megan Meyer | 11 | G | 5'8" | Sophomore | Mason City, IA | Transferred to Drake |
| Lauren Jensen | 15 | G | 5'10" | Freshman | Lakeville, MN | Transferred to Creighton |
| Zion Sanders | 21 | G | 5'8" | Senior | Evansville, IN | Completed college eligibility |
* ↑ Sevillian had one more season of eligibility but opted out.

### Incoming transfers

| Name | # | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Kylie Feuerbach | 4 | G | 6'0" | Sophomore | Sycamore, IL | Transferred from Iowa State |

### Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Allison "AJ" Ediger P | Hudsonville, MI | Hamilton | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A | Jun 9, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 ||||||
| Addison O'Grady P | Centennial, CO | Grandview | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A | Apr 7, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Sydney Affolter W | Chicago, IL | Marist | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A | Jan 26, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ESPN: 22 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2024. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 4, 2021* 6:30 pm | No. 9 | Truman | W 102–32 | – | 25 – Clark | 10 – Warnock | 9 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (4,754) Iowa City, IA |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 6:00 pm | No. 9 | New Hampshire | W 93–50 | 1–0 | 26 – Clark | 8 – Clark | 6 – Tied | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (6,789) Iowa City, IA |
| November 11, 2021* 6:30 pm | No. 9 | Samford | W 91–54 | 2–0 | 20 – Czinano | 6 – Tied | 5 – Martin | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (4,555) Iowa City, IA |
| November 14, 2021* 2:00 pm | No. 9 | at Northern Iowa | W 82–61 | 3–0 | 25 – Clark | 11 – Clark | 7 – Clark | McLeod Center (3,095) Cedar Falls, IA |
| November 17, 2021* 6:30 pm | No. 8 | Southern | W 87–67 | 4–0 | 16 – Tied | 11 – Warnock | 10 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (5,406) Iowa City, IA |
| November 21, 2021* 2:00 pm | No. 8 | Drake | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA |
| November 25, 2021* 3:00 pm | No. 8 | vs. Seton Hall Cancun Challenge | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Riviera Maya, Mexico |
| November 26, 2021* 5:30 pm | No. 8 | vs. USC Cancun Challenge | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Riviera Maya, Mexico |
| December 2, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | at Duke ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 64–79 | 4–1 | 22 – Clark | 9 – Clark | 8 – Clark | Cameron Indoor Stadium (3,064) Durham, NC |
| December 5, 2021 3:00 pm, BTN | No. 9 | Michigan State | W 88–61 | 5–1 (1–0) | 24 – Clark | 10 – Clark | 12 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (6,942) Iowa City, IA |
| December 8, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 12 | at No. 15 Iowa State | L 70–77 | 5–2 | 26 – Clark | 10 – Martin | 5 – Czinano | Hilton Coliseum (11,348) Ames, IA |
| December 18, 2021* 6:30 pm | No. 14 | UCF | W 69–61 | 6–2 | 21 – Clark | 11 – Clark | 7 – Warnock | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (6,236) Iowa City, IA |
| December 21, 2021* 2:00 pm | No. 14 | IUPUI | L 73–74 | 6–3 | 23 – Czinano | 11 – Clark | 4 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (4,632) Iowa City, IA |
| January 2, 2022* 11:00 am, BTN | No. 21 | Evansville | W 93–56 | 7–3 | 44 – Clark | 12 – O'Grady | 8 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (7,307) Iowa City, IA |
| January 6, 2022 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at Northwestern | L 69–77 | 7–4 (1–1) | 30 – Clark | 8 – Warnock | 5 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (5,020) Iowa City, IA |
| January 9, 2022 1:00 pm, FS1 | No. 22 | at Nebraska | W 95–86 | 8–4 (2–1) | 31 – Clark | 10 – Warnock | 12 – Clark | Pinnacle Bank Arena (8,415) Lincoln, NE |
| January 13, 2022 6:00 pm | | at Purdue | W 79–66 | 9–4 (3–1) | 27 – Czinano | 11 – Warnock | 9 – Clark | Mackey Arena (3,103) West Lafayette, IN |
| January 16, 2022 5:00 p.m., BTN | | Nebraska | W 93–83 | 10–4 (4–1) | 31 – Tied | 10 – Clark | 10 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (8,473) Iowa City, IA |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 25 | at Minnesota | W 105–49 | 11–4 (5–1) | 35 – Clark | 13 – Clark | 11 – Clark | Williams Arena (3,741) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 23, 2022 5:00 pm, BTN | No. 25 | Illinois | W 82–56 | 12–4 (6–1) | 21 – Czinano | 8 – Clark | 7 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (8,977) Iowa City, IA |
| January 25, 2022 5:00 pm, BTN | No. 23 | at Penn State Rescheduled from December 30 | W 107–79 | 13–4 (7–1) | 25 – Warnock | 9 – Czinano | 18 – Clark | Bryce Jordan Center (1,669) University Park, PA |
| January 28, 2022 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 23 | at Northwestern | W 72–67 | 14–4 (8–1) | 28 – Clark | 16 – Czinano | 5 – Clark | Welsh-Ryan Arena (1,578) Evanston, IL |
| January 31, 2022 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 21 | No. 23 Ohio State | L 88–92 | 14–5 (8–2) | 43 – Clark | 9 – Czinano | 7 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (6,185) Iowa City, IA |
| February 3, 2022 6:30 pm | No. 21 | at Wisconsin | W 84–50 | 15–5 (9–2) | 27 – Clark | 11 – Clark | 11 – Clark | Kohl Center (3,923) Madison, WI |
| February 6, 2022 1:00 pm, BTN | No. 21 | at No. 6 Michigan | L 90–98 | 15–6 (9–3) | 46 – Clark | 6 – Tied | 10 – Clark | Crisler Center (3,827) Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 9, 2022 6:30 pm | No. 25 | Minnesota | W 88–78 | 16–6 (10–3) | 32 – Clark | 8 – Clark | 6 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (8,141) Iowa City, IA |
| February 14, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 22 | at No. 13 Maryland | L 69–81 | 16–7 (10–4) | 19 – Clark | 6 – Tied | 6 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,820) Iowa City, IA |
| February 19, 2022 4:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at No. 5 Indiana | W 96–91 | 17–7 (11–4) | 22 – Czinano | 8 – Martin | 12 – Clark | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (7,052) Bloomington, IN |
| February 21, 2022 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 21 | No. 10 Indiana Rescheduled from January 23 | W 88–82 | 18–7 (12–4) | 31 – Czinano | 10 – Czinano | 8 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (7,510) Iowa City, IA |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 21 | at Rutgers | W 87–78 | 19–7 (13–4) | 32 – Clark | 9 – Clark | 9 – Clark | Jersey Mike's Arena (1,852) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 27, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 21 | No. 6 Michigan | W 104–80 | 20–7 (14–4) | 38 – Clark | 6 – Clark | 11 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA |
| Big Ten Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 4, 2022 5:30 pm, BTN | (2) No. 12 | vs. (7) Northwestern Quarterfinals | W 72–59 | 21–7 | 21 – Czinano | 12 – Clark | 6 – Tied | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (–) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 5, 2022 5:00 pm, BTN | (2) No. 12 | vs. (6) Nebraska Semifinals | W 83–66 | 22–7 | 41 – Clark | 11 – Martin | 6 – Warnock | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (–) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 6, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) No. 12 | vs. (5) No. 14 Indiana Championship game | W 74–67 | 23–7 | 30 – Czinano | 10 – Czinano | 8 – Martin | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (8,709) Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN | (2 G) No. 8 | (15 G) Illinois State First Round | W 98–58 | 24–7 | 27 – Clark | 7 – 2 Tied | 10 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,382) Iowa City, IA |
| March 20, 2022 12:00 pm, ABC | (2 G) No. 8 | (10 G) Creighton Second Round | L 62–64 | 24–8 | 27 – Czinano | 8 – Clark | 11 – Clark | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,382) Iowa City, IA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. Source: |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 21 | 22 | RV | 25 | 23 | 21 | 25 | 22 | 21 | 12 | 8 | 8 | Not released |
| Coaches | 11 | 11* | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 21 | 21 | RV | RV | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 11 | 10 | 14 |
* Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.