Iowa women’s basketball guard Tomi Taiwo has embraced the ‘next man up’ mentality in her fourth season as a Hawkeye.

After coming off the bench for three years, Taiwo made her first career start against Evansville on Jan. 2.

Now, Taiwo has adjusted to being a part of the Hawkeyes’ starting five. She has started Iowa’s last three games in place of injured guard McKenna Warnock. 

“I mean, just having that mentality that’s always next man up,” Taiwo said of her starting position. “Obviously, McKenna kind of went down, we not only knew that we needed to pick up scoring offensively, but defensively being a presence. So, I think just being more confident in my game and just making sure I can help in any way possible.”

Warnock injured her wrist against Ohio State on Jan. 31, and has not dressed for a game since. Head coach Lisa Bluder said there is a possibility for Warnock to return in the Hawkeyes’ next game against Maryland on Feb. 14. 

The Hawkeyes only had eight available players on Wednesday. Five players of Iowa’s roster of 13 are injured. Sophomores Shateah Wetering and Sharon Goodman are out for the season with ACL tears, senior Logan Cook is out with a lower leg injury, and freshman AJ Ediger suffered a high ankle sprain on Jan. 31.

“[It shows] perseverance and how gritty and resilient we are,” Taiwo said of Iowa’s slim roster. “I mean, if we have six, five players, we’re still going to give it the best we got. Some other teams might give up because, ‘Oh, we don’t have the legs, we don’t have the people,’ but we know that if we have each other we have enough.”

Taiwo has filled an offensive and defensive void for the shorthanded Hawkeyes. Taiwo has averaged 8.5 points, four rebounds, and 2.5 assists in four games as a starter. 

The senior out of Carmel, Indiana, tied a career-high of 14 points against Minnesota at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday night in Iowa’s 88-78 victory. She also grabbed five rebounds and two steals.

Taiwo led the Hawkeyes with a +21 efficiency rating, edging teammate Kate Martin by one point.

“I thought Tomi played really, really well today, both offensively and defensively,” head coach Lisa Bluder said postgame. “She has the highest +/- of anybody on our team and did a tremendous job defensively and had some hard defensive assignments. But also, offensively shot the ball well and had a couple steals for us. So, I’m really happy about Tomi’s play.”

Taiwo was tasked with guarding Minnesota’s Sara Scalia — the Gophers’ leading scorer at 17.1 points per game — on Wednesday night. Taiwo and Scalia both stand at 5-foot-10.

Taiwo held Scalia to 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 from 3-point range.

“Obviously, she had a pretty tough assignment tonight guarding Scalia,” sophomore point guard Caitlin Clark said. “So, I mean, I think Tomi’s done a tremendous job and I think she’s starting to get more comfortable in that role. She shot the ball well, too, so both sides of the ball, I think she’s played really well.”

“Tomi, she’s somebody that’s been here for four years,” Clark added. “She knows the system. She knows how things go. She knows the plays. She knows how to play defense. So, I give Tomi a lot of credit. I thought she was pretty tremendous and has been over these past few games.”

Taiwo and the No. 25 Hawkeyes will return to the Carver-Hawkeye Arena hardwood on Monday against No. 15 Maryland. The Hawkeyes and the Terrapins will tip off at 8 p.m.