The 15-1 overall No. 3 Iowa women’s basketball team is back on the road for a contest with Purdue before its biggest test of its Big Ten slate thus far in No. 14 Indiana back at home.

The Hawkeyes jumped from ranked fourth to now third in the AP Poll after North Carolina State fell to Virginia Tech over the weekend.

And they are coming off of a 103-69 win at Rutgers on Jan. 5 in which Caitlin Clark notched her 14th-career triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.

After a brief pit stop in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes got quickly back in the air for West Lafayette, Indiana — considering the impending weather in Iowa — to take on the Boilermakers inside Mackey Arena on Jan. 10.

The Boilermakers are 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten — beating the teams they should beat and losing to those they shouldn’t — but are a whopping undefeated 8-0 at home, sure to make for a raucous and testing environment when the Hawkeyes come in.

Purdue is averaging 68.9 points per game this season while holding opponents to an average of just 62.2, which Iowa’s dominant offense will likely surpass as it has with similar defensive-focused teams earlier this season.

The Boilermakers are shooting 43 percent from the field, 35 percent from three, and 76 percent from the free throw line with four players averaging double-digits, each with respective threats that help Purdue score from multiple levels.

Guard Abbey Ellis, by way of Australia, is leading the way as she averages 14.6 points per game on 43 percent from the field, 32 percent from deep, and 85 percent from the charity stripe.

Behind her is guard Madison Layden with an 11.5 average on almost 50 percent from three as well as forward Caitlyn Harper with 10.2 on 56 percent from the field and guard Rashunda Jones with 10.1 off of the bench.

But the Boilermakers are averaging 15.2 assists per game alongside 15.6 turnovers per game — demanding the Hawkeye defense remains scrappy with active hands to continue to constrict such turnover-prone offenses.

Biggest test of the Big Ten

The Hawkeyes will be back at home inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena for their biggest Big Ten test of the year thus far in the powerful No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers on Jan. 13.

The Hoosiers were last year’s Big Ten regular season champions and this season are 13-1 overall, 4-0 in the conference, and 3-1 in away games — their only loss coming in crushing fashion to now-No. 8 Stanford on Nov. 12 as they hold notable wins over then-No. 19 Tennessee as well as Illinois.

Indiana holds a strong scoring margin over opponents, averaging a whopping 81.3 points per game this season while holding teams to just 58.6.

And while the Hoosiers make 40 percent of their threes and over half of their field goals, they are shooting just 70 percent from the free throw line, allowing for some more Hawkeye physicality in the paint.

Still, they are a sort of dual-threat team in averaging an impressive 20 assists per game on the offensive side of the floor and 6.4 steals and four blocks per game on the defensive side.

6-foot-3 forward Mackenzie Holmes leads the Indiana attack on both ends of that floor as she is arguably the best pound-for-pound player Iowa has seen this year.

The 2023 unanimous first-team All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year is this year averaging 19.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game — including 28 offensive rebounds — while shooting a threatening 67 percent from the field as she avoids shooting the three.

Still, her 71 percent split from the free throw line and 36 turnovers this season certainly serve as potential flaws for the Hawkeyes to exploit on defense to slow such a forceful Hoosiers attack. 

Supporting Holmes are guard Sara Scalia and 6-foot-3 guard Yarden Garzon — the former averaging 15.6 points per game on 46 percent both from the field and from three as well as 92 percent from the charity stripe while the latter is averaging 11.6 points per game on 47 percent from the field and 44 from deep.

Mix in Holmes down low and the Indiana Hoosiers all in all are a well-rounded team that can stretch floor and score from multiple levels — making for a must-see contest this weekend.