Iowa women’s basketball seniors Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock will play their final regular season game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday.

“Their consistency is something that’s just amazing to me,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “You can do this night in and night out as long as our season is and then also just doing such a great job in the classroom. You know, hopefully they’ll be remembered for a good run this year. But certainly having the historic accomplishment last year of Big Ten championships, they were just a huge part of that.”

Czinano has played five years with the Hawkeyes, utilizing her extra year of eligibility because of COVID-19. She plans to try her luck in the 2023 WNBA Draft after college and plans to play professional basketball overseas in Hungary as well.

Warnock, who has played four years with the Hawkeyes, decided not to take advantage of her extra year of eligibility and focus on her dental school applications.

But Warnock isn’t putting too much pressure on Sunday’s game — as a projected 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Hawkeyes will host the first two rounds of the tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I guess it’s a lot of emotions, but I’m excited, you know, it’s a great opportunity,” Warnock said. “Obviously it’s always fun to play in Carver, so I’m definitely gonna miss that, But, you know, we’re gonna have it again. I’m so excited, I mean, it’s a great game, great atmosphere.”

The Hawkeyes’ final game of the regular season will also have some fanfare — ESPN’s Women’s Basketball College GameDay will come to Carver for the first time.

ESPN introduced Women’s Basketball College GameDay this season, and Iowa is one of three programs to host the show.

While Bluder will appear on the live show, which will air from 10-11 a.m. from the court, Hawkeye players will have prerecorded segments to minimize distractions.

And the Hawkeyes are trying their best to stay focused.

“It’s hard, it really is, because these are the moments you dream of, so you want to take a step back and appreciate everything,” junior guard Caitlin Clark said. “But at the same time, our mission is to beat Indiana. That’s our No. 1 goal. That’s why we’re here.”

The Hawkeyes also still have something to fight for heading into the regular season finale. Iowa, which was a 2-seed in ESPN’s national tournament projections, moved down to a 3-seed in the NCAA’s latest reveal of the top 16 on Thursday.

The Hawkeyes lost their chance at co-Big Ten regular season champions when they lost to the Maryland Terrapins, 96-68, on Tuesday in College Park, Maryland. With Iowa’s loss, Indiana became the outright Big Ten regular season champions with a 16-1 conference record.

“I think it’s just the way that, the manner that we got beaten at Maryland is why we got moved down to a 3-seed and yeah, that happens,” Bluder said. “So, they’ve got to take that into account.”

The Hawkeyes still have a chance to add a top 10 victory to their resume when the No. 2 Hoosiers come to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to take on the No. 3 Hawkeyes on Sunday for a 1 p.m. tipoff.

“They’re playing for something, they’re playing for a No. 1 seed in the country,” Bluder said. “We’re kind of trying to play for a No. 2 seed in the country. And so there is a lot on the line. If you can’t be the Big Ten champs, you might as well try to beat the Big Ten champs, and that’s what we’re going to try to do on Sunday.”