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The Hawkeyes have the ability to outscore anyone in the country. Heck, there are stretches in games when
Caitlin Clark can do it all by herself. The question with recent Iowa teams comes at the defensive end, where the Hawkeyes ranked 99th last season, according to HerHoopStats.com. Any improvement there and this could be a Final Four team. Clark led the nation in scoring and assists per game and
Monika Czinano, back for her super-senior season, led in field goal percentage. They were the country's most prolific inside-outside duo, and that shouldn't change. The addition of Central Michigan transfer
Molly Davis gives Iowa yet another scorer and shooter
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The Hoosiers had to say goodbye to a big portion of the group that elevated the program to Big Ten contender status. The heart and soul of
Nicole Cardano-Hillary, Ali Patberg and Aleksa Gulbe won't be easy to replicate, but the team's two best players are back.
Grace Berger and
Mackenzie Holmes will anchor a team that will look to build on trips to the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 the last two years. The help comes from some transfers, most notably
Sara Scalia, who averaged 17.9 PPG for Minnesota last season and is one of the country's best 3-point shooters.
Alyssa Geary, a 6-4 Providence transfer, should help free up Holmes inside. Indiana native
Sydney Parrish moves east from Oregon to provide some more deep shooting and length on the perimeter.
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Perhaps like no other coach in the country, Brenda Frese has learned to live at the high end of the transfer portal. For the second time in three years Frese lost massive talent -- Reese, Owusu, Collins -- to other schools only to replace them with another huge transfer haul. In 2021, Frese built a Big Ten championship team meshing transfers with established Terps. To do that again,
Lavender Briggs (Florida),
Abby Meyers (Princeton),
Elisa Pinzan (South Florida) and
Brinae Alexander (Vanderbilt) will have to closely replicate recent success. Briggs was a 19.5 PPG scorer with the Gators in 2021. Myers was the 2022 Ivy League Player of the Year. Alexander led the Commodores at 15.2 PPG last season. Yet the key to it all might be
Diamond Miller, who at times was Maryland's best player in 2020-21 before being slowed by injuries a season ago. Chemistry might have to come quickly with a schedule that includes South Carolina, UConn, Notre Dame and Baylor before the calendar turns to 2023.
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If
Madison Greene, who averaged 13.4 PPG and a team-leading 4.3 APG in 2020-21, is fully recovered from a knee injury that cost her all of last season, the Buckeyes might have the deepest backcourt in the country. Ohio State leaned heavily on
Taylor Mikesell and
Jacy Sheldon a year ago, and they delivered a combined 38.3 PPG as the Buckeyes quietly shared the Big Ten regular-season title with Iowa. They each return, as does
Rikki Harris and her 7.1 PPG. If 6-4 senior
Rebeka Mikulasikova continues her improvement and 6-0
Eboni Walker returns to her Arizona State form after a tough year at Syracuse, Ohio State will have the balance to again compete for the Big Ten's top spot.
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The Cornhuskers suffered a big blow late last month when senior
Sam Haiby suffered a leg injury that will force her to miss the season, but coach Amy Williams has amassed enough talent to still be competitive in the Big Ten and earn a second straight NCAA tournament berth. Nebraska's top three scorers -- guard Jazz Shelley (13.1 PPG), center
Alexis Markowski (12.8 PPG) and forward
Isabelle Bourne (11.1 PPG) -- all return. They are joined by South Dakota transfer
Maddie Krull, who could instantly be one of the Big Ten's top perimeter defenders, and 6-5 Maggie Mendelson, a top-35 basketball recruit and the country's No. 2 incoming freshmen in volleyball
