Iowa women’s basketball junior forward McKenna Warnock went down with a wrist injury on Jan. 31 in the Hawkeyes’ loss to Ohio State.

The starter fell to the ground while attempting to grab a rebound, and laid on the hardwood at Carver-Hawkeye Arena while trainers attended to her. Warnock hasn’t played in a game since, missing four Hawkeye contests.

Now, head coach Lisa Bluder expects Warnock to be dressed and available for the Hawkeyes’ upcoming two-game series against Indiana.

“I’m feeling optimistic,” Bluder said in a Zoom conference with reporters Friday. “I haven’t seen McKenna, we haven’t had practice yet today, but I’m optimistic that she’ll be in uniform for the Indiana game. I don’t know how productive she’ll be, but I know she will be in uniform.”

Warnock’s absence from the floor has left a hole in the Hawkeyes’ 3-point shooting. The forward shoots 42.9 percent from beyond the arc — good for second on the Hawkeye roster.

Warnock is also Iowa’s second-leading rebounder, averaging 7.17 boards per game.

“Whenever McKenna returns, I think that’ll be huge,” sophomore point guard Caitlin Clark said Friday. “I think she’s one of those players that she doesn’t always get the credit she deserves. She does so much dirty work that people don’t notice, and she rebounds the ball so well.”

Iowa will play Indiana on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Bloomington. Then, the Hawkeyes and the Hoosiers will both travel to Iowa City for a Monday night game at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes were originally scheduled to play the Hoosiers on Jan. 20 in Iowa City, but COVID-19 issues within Indiana’s program postponed the game until Feb. 21.

Bluder said the Hawkeyes won’t have a complicated scout strategy for their series against the Hoosiers. With only 48 hours in between games, Bluder said the Hawkeyes will watch film from the Saturday game to prepare for the Monday rematch.

“We obviously know what’s in front of us, and we’re playing the same team twice,” Clark said. “It’s not like there’s much time in between to change who you are and change what you’re doing. Obviously, there’s some tweaks and things that we’re going to make depending on how the game goes, and they’re going to do the same.”

Iowa will finish out the regular season playing three ranked teams: No. 5 Indiana twice, and No. 9 Michigan once. Iowa will also take on unranked Rutgers.

Warnock’s return will give the Hawkeyes ten available players for their home-and-home series against the Hoosiers and the final stretch of the season. 

Bluder said that she is hoping for Warnock to return sooner rather than later. When Warnock returns, Bluder said, she and her teammates can relearn the flow of the game.

“It’s something like, how long does it take for a team to get back in that flow when you have somebody out for so long and then they come back,” Bluder said. “Get used to playing with them again and such. [Warnock’s return] will be really important because of the stretch that we’re going into, four games in eight days and then entering into the Big Ten Tournament.”

Iowa’s game at Indiana will stream on BTN+ on Saturday. When the Hawkeyes and Hoosiers play in Iowa City on Monday, the contest will air live on Big Ten Network.