Women’s basketball teams at Iowa and ISU get it: Take the risk, play UNI and Drake

IOWA CITY — There was a great basketball game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena Friday night, and it was held because the women’s programs of Iowa and Iowa State still schedule Drake and Northern Iowa.

A month after beating then-No. 8 Iowa State 87-75 in Cedar Falls, UNI came to Iowa and fought the No. 22 Hawkeyes to the end before falling, 92-86.

If basketball had hockey’s postgame 3-star system, the No. 1 star would have gone to 5-foot-6 senior guard Maya McDermott of the Panthers. She scored 30 points and led her team out of an 18-point third-quarter hole to within a point of the lead on two occasions late in the game.

McDermott, from Johnston, Iowa, was determined. Again. She scored 37 points against Iowa State and averages 22.6, fifth in the nation after Friday’s play.

Senior teammate Kayba Laube of Marion, had 20 points. She made 5 of 7 three-pointers. For showmanship from deep no Iowa collegian has matched Caitlin Clark. For accuracy, Laube is 41-of-76 this year for a nation-best 53.9 percent after a Missouri Valley Conference-topping 45.5 percent last season.

You think UNI didn’t want to win this game in Carver in front of five times the number of fans it normally sees? You think Iowa Coach Jan Jensen didn’t know what coaching counterpart Tanya Warren was bringing from Cedar Falls, a deceptive 5-5 record that included three losses of four points or less to major-conference foes?

You think the Hawkeyes didn’t want to win the state championship?

Instead of Iowa playing two mid-majors that mean nothing around here, it still plays UNI and Drake, two consistently strong programs. Bravo.

“You can't put it into words, the fact that Iowa State and Iowa both will play us,” Warren said.

“All four state schools are really, really good. And it's not very often that you don't see a good (in-state) game.”

Jensen doesn’t knock the men’s programs of Iowa and Iowa State for dropping the Bulldogs and Panthers from their schedules. It’s become ancient history. She says it’s a business decision for them, understandable. If the so-called big brother loses to the so-called little brother, fans question the coach.

Also, if you’re recruiting the same Iowa high schoolers as Drake or UNI, you don’t want to give them the chance to elevate their profiles at your expense.

The risk of playing an in-state mid-major “is a lot different than if you play a mid-major from Ohio, ” Jensen said.

Yet, she and Iowa State Coach Bill Fennelly keep doing it. The games mean something. The fans that flowed into Carver Friday night were into it. And, it was a win the Hawkeyes had to go get because the Panthers weren’t going to hand it to them.

Forward Hannah Stuelke of Cedar Rapids was terrific for Iowa, with 15 points and a career-high 7 assists. Iowa guard Taylor McCabe came off the bench to make five 3-pointers. Center Addi O’Grady had 18 points, and has scored more in 12 games this season than in 38 last season.

They all had to sweat this one, though. Iowa led 53-37 at halftime, but it wasn’t over. Laube hit two bombs and her teammates grew more confident in the third quarter, then McDermott had a Clark-like fourth-quarter spree with 12 points within 3:27 to pull the Panthers within a point.

It was a two-point game with a minute left. The Hawkeyes prevailed and celebrated, knowing they had beaten a tough foe. They’ll face some superstars in 2025, but McDermott would be on their all-opponent team were there one.

“Maya, she's one of the best guards in the country,” Warren said. “I mean, hands down. You know, she probably didn't get recruited high enough coming out of high school because of her size, but you can't measure heart.”

“I love that kid,” Jensen said. “She is just a winner.”

Laube is pretty nice herself. She made 10 of 15 threes in a win over Pittsburgh last month. She’s not just a shooter, but what a shooter she has become.

“I think this just shows us that we're a really good team and that we can play with anybody,” Laube said.

“Winning is hard,” Jensen said. “No matter who you play, it’s hard. And in-state rivalry games are really hard.”

Afterward, she told her players “You did what you had to do when you had to do it.”

But then she told reporters, “I’m very thankful we played here tonight.”

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