By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

The first game of a two-year home-and-home series with UConn is one of the top matchups on Iowa’s 2026-27 women’s basketball nonconference schedule.

The Hawkeyes will play the Huskies on November 8 at either UConn’s home court in Storrs, Conn., or in Hartford, Conn. UConn was No. 2 and Iowa was No. 6 on ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25 released in the spring.

“We’re starting a home-and-home with UConn and getting to play the first one on the road,” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said in a statement. “It’s going to be an amazing and electric environment because UConn is arguably one of the standards. We’re really excited that they reached out and wanted to start this series.”

Iowa opens the regular season with back-to-back home games, playing Towson on Nov. 2 and Eastern Illinois on Nov. 5. After the UConn game, the Hawkeyes come back home to play in-state foe Northern Iowa on Nov. 12.

The Hawkeyes will play Vanderbilt on Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City before playing host to Montana State on Nov. 19. Vanderbilt advanced to the Sweet 16 of the last season’s NCAA Tournament, while Montana State won 27 games and advanced to the Great Eight of the WNIT.

Iowa will play in Nassau, Bahamas over Thanksgiving week, playing two games at the Baha Mar Classic on Nov. 23 and Nov. 25. The Hawkeyes will face Utah and Toledo during the event, with matchups to be determined.

Iowa plays at Drake on Dec. 1 before returning to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to face Iowa State on Dec. 9. The Hawkeyes will close the nonconference schedule with home games against Southern on Dec. 13 and Northern Illinois on Dec. 20.

“Basketball in this state is special, and playing our in-state rivals is always exciting for our fans,” Jensen said. “We also have a great opportunity in the Bahamas against Utah and Toledo. When you look at the schedule as a whole, it’s a challenging slate that will test us in a lot of different ways. I know our players will embrace those opportunities and be ready to compete.”