Senior forward McKenna Warnock is returning to form after suffering a rib injury in January.

Warnock injured her ribs on Jan. 18 against Michigan State, missing two games. The senior returned on a limited basis against Maryland on Feb. 2, playing with padding around her ribs.

“I have padding all around,” Warnock said following Iowa’s 96-82 win over Maryland. “So, I just kind of feel like a little muffin.”

After her return, head coach Lisa Bluder said Warnock will continue to play limited minutes.

On Thursday night, however, Warnock played 28 minutes and scored 16 points in Iowa’s win over Wisconsin — the highest minute and scoring total since her injury.

“I thought McKenna had a really good game,” Bluder said. “She had a couple of steals, she had four assists, and she shot the ball well.”

Warnock finished with 7-of-11 shooting from the field, as well as three rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

And Bluder thinks Warnock’s strong presence is crucial for the Hawkeyes’ run in the Big Ten regular-season championship race.

“We need her, we really need her,” Bluder said. “She’s just tough. McKenna is blue collar. She just does whatever we need her to do, whoever she needs to guard, she’s just strong. She never loses her composure out there, she’s levelheaded. I just think she’s a really good player. She deserves to be All-Big Ten, I just want to put that out there.”

Iowa is 13-2 in the Big Ten — 1.5 games behind conference-leading Indiana. If the Hawkeyes win their final three games against Nebraska, No.8 Maryland, and No. 2 Indiana, they can tie for the regular-season title. 

But the Hawkeyes aren’t looking ahead just yet.

“We’re worried about beating the Cornhuskers on Saturday, and it’s just one game at a time,” Bluder said. “We control our own destiny right now. You know, as far as the Big Ten [regular season] championship, that’s what we’re concerned about.”

The Hawkeyes won each of its last two games by 30 points or more — Iowa took down Rutgers, 111-57, on Sunday; and Wisconsin, 91-61, on Thursday.

All 14 available Hawkeyes saw the floor in each of those two games, allowing Iowa’s starters to get some rest and the bench to get some playing experience.

The Hawkeye bench scored 61 points against Rutgers and 22 against Wisconsin. Senior Molly Davis and freshman Hannah Stuelke led the Hawkeyes off the bench, as each scored 19 total points through those two games.

“It’s awesome,” senior center Monika Czinano said of the entire team playing for two straight games. “You can see them maturing throughout the whole season, and we’re gonna need everybody down the stretch. Anything can happen at any time, and so it’s really good to see that confidence and maturity grow. And obviously, we love them, so it’s so fun to see them get in, and get their time, and get to shine in front of all the fans at Carver.”

Junior guard Caitlin Clark averages over 33 minutes a game, but played 20 and 28 minutes against Rutgers and Wisconsin, respectively.

As someone who has started for her entire collegiate career, Clark said it was refreshing to watch from the bench in those two games.

“They run extra, they lift extra because you know, they don’t always get minutes in the game,” Clark said. “So really, you know, as somebody that gets on the court, you kind of get to watch from their seat a lot and that brings you a lot of joy. And a lot of them are our best friends, too.”