Women's Fastbreak On SI

Iowa Fans Are Loving Team's Fitting AP Rankings Placement Post Caitlin Clark

The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team is back in the AP Rankings, and now have a very familiar number next to their name because of it.

Grant Young

Apr 7, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the finals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Apr 7, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the finals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team doesn't seem to have missed a step out of the gates in the 2024-25 season.

The Hawkeyes have improved to 7-0 on the season after dominating the Washington State Cougars by a score of 72-43 on Sunday.

Despite this success (which is made even more impressive because it's coming without superstar Caitlin Clark, who is now in the WNBA), Iowa hadn't been included in the first three AP Top 25 women's college basketball rankings, which irked a couple of their star players.

However, any disrespect the Hawkeyes were feeling about their lack of AP ranking has been put to bed for the time being, as the most recent rankings that were released on Monday have Iowa positioned at No. 22 in the country.

Hawkeyes fans are feeling gratified about this recognition. And many are also noting that Iowa re-entered the rankings at a very familiar number.

"22 you say? 👊👊👊👊," one X user wrote along with a gif of Caitlin Clark, who of course wore No. 22 during her iconic Iowa tenure.

Another Clark fan page added, "Only fitting that Iowa would enter the AP WBB rankings at #22".

"That number seems very familiar," wrote a third.

While this appears to be a cool coincidence, Iowa likely won't remain at the No. 22 spot for long if they keep playing like they are right now.

The Hawkeyes' biggest test of the young season will likely arrive when they face cross-state rival Iowa State (who is ranked No. 15) on December 11.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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