Carver-Hawkeye Arena will play host to powerhouse Notre Dame during this years Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
By Jordan Hansen
The Iowa women’s basketball team released its 2016-17 nonconference schedule, and it’s highlighted with a date against one of the best teams in the nation.
Notre Dame will meet the Hawkeyes in Carver-Hawkeye on Nov. 30 as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It’s part of a nonconference slate that includes five NCAA Tournament teams and two WNIT participants.
Iowa will open the season with an exhibition against Lewis on Nov. 6, with the regular season beginning on Nov. 11 against Oral Roberts. Two days later, the Hawkeyes will face Hampton.
Head coach Lisa Bluder’s team will then travel to Grand Forks, North Dakota, for a date with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Nov. 16. Following that, Iowa will host its annual Hawkeye Challenge on Nov. 19-20, which includes Massachusetts, Montana, and South Dakota State.
The Hawkeyes will then travel south of the border to Riviera Maya, Mexico, for the 2016 Cancún Challenge, facing UCLA and James Madison.
After playing the Fighting Irish, Iowa gets two-straight games against in-state foes, playing Northern Iowa (Dec. 4) and Iowa State (Dec. 7) in the same week. Robert Morris (Dec. 9), Drake (Dec. 18), and Kent State (Dec. 20) round out the nonconference slate.
Iowa should be in for a big 2016, because the majority of the team will return this season.