Three Ways Iowa Can Beat Western Illinois

While Iowa shouldn't necessarily need to score 100 to beat a team like Western Illinois, it doesn't hurt to shoot for the stars. Head coach Jan Jensen's team didn't make a field goal in the final eight and a half minutes against the Hurricanes, yet somehow they managed to take them down, 64-61.

After a pair of low scoring games in Florida, Iowa returns home on Thanksgiving Eve for yet another non-conference showdown. This is one of two "tune-up" games before they open B1G play at Rutgers on December 6.

Western Illinois has allowed 75+ points in their last two games. Sure, they've won both of them, but allowing that point total to Chicago State and Bradley shows the state of their defense. The Hawkeyes should have no issues scoring against them.

2. Stellar Guard Play

Once again, it's impossible not to understate just how important Chit-Chat Wright is to this team. Jensen is closely monitoring her status, but the transfer guard will not be playing in the Hawkeyes return to Carver. That said, it's safe to assume that Taylor Stremlow will once again get the start.

As long as Stremlow plays to the quality she was playing against the Bears and Hurricanes, Miami will be just fine. They also have Taylor McCabe, Kylie Feuerbach, and Addie Deal. With both McCabe and Feuerbach being seniors, this is the perfect game to get Deal even more minutes to showcase just how dominant she's going to be in the coming years.

3. Don't Let Western Illinois Get Hot From Three

In the Leathernecks first game of the year, they dropped 116 points. They've scored 80+ in their last two, something that was necessary to win knowing how much their defense has given up.

Their leading scorer, Mia Nicastro, is averaging 25.8 points per game. That's ten more points per game than Iowa's leader, but it's shocking to note that Nicastro has only shot four three pointers this entire season.

As a team, Western Illinois is shooting 40% from three. That's eight percent higher than the Hawkeyes, and is something that could absolutely make the difference. Allie Meadows is shooting 50% from three point range while fellow senior Addi Brownfield is shooting 46.2% herself. The Leathernecks don't shoot a ton of threes, but they're extremely efficient from three-point range.