IOWA CITY — After four days off for the always-tricky in-season finals week, No. 22 Iowa women’s basketball is back in action Friday for its last non-conference test of Jan Jensen’s inaugural season.

It’s an important one inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where the Hawkeyes (9-2) will face Northern Iowa (5-5) for a chance at another proverbial “state title.” Iowa has already toppled Drake and Iowa State this season, eyeing yet another in-state sweep.

Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on BTN+. Here are three things to watch ahead of Friday’s matchup.

The in-state games have been in Iowa’s favor recently. Can the Hawkeyes finish off another sweep?

A win Friday would give Iowa its sixth in-state sweep in the last eight seasons, with its only neighborly losses in that timeframe coming at Iowa State in December 2021 and at UNI in November 2019. The Hawkeyes haven’t suffered an in-state loss at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since Dec. 19, 2006, against the Panthers (83-62).

That’s the only time UNI has won in Iowa City, an impressive streak for the Hawkeyes given how pesky these in-state foes can be. Panthers coach Tanya Warren has leaned even heavier recently on in-state talent, and plenty of high school overlap will be on display again Friday.

Even as Iowa ascended into premier status the last two seasons, no one inside the program ever diminished the importance of these in-state matchups. Another tense matchup is seemingly on deck.

“It wouldn’t be a big deal to be a state champ if you were walking away with it and winning all these games by ease,” Jensen said. “I think that’s what makes the state championship in the state of Iowa more fun.”

After late defensive struggles at Michigan State, can the Hawkeyes regroup with super scorer Maya McDermott on the other side?

While Sunday’s 68-66 loss at Michigan State looks like a game without defensive struggles, Iowa’s inability to get stops in the fourth quarter initiated its downfall on the road. Thirteen of the Spartans’ 19 fourth-quarter points came from one player, as Nyla Hampton came somewhat out of nowhere to ignite the Michigan State rally.

The Hawkeyes can’t afford a similar one-woman takeover on Friday. Because if one does materialize, it’ll likely be Maya McDermott spearheading the charge toward another in-state upset.

The fifth-year guard from Johnston is clearly operating with that inevitable end-of-career urgency. McDermott enters as the nation’s ninth-leading scorer (21.9 ppg) and ranks 21st overall in 3-point percentage (46.43% on 26-for-56). Her teammate Kayba Laube, another in-state player from Marion, sits ahead of McDermott at 52.17% from deep (36-for-69), good for fourth nationally. UNI has more than enough offensive firepower to make serious noise Friday.

McDermott has saved some of her most dominant performances for the Panthers’ toughest foes. She ignited the Iowa State stunner with 37 points on 14-for-21 shooting, went for 29 in a one-point loss to Auburn and put up 23 points in a near upset of Creighton. Not matter how rowdy Carver-Hawkeye Arena gets, McDermott won’t be intimidated one bit.

Can these Hawkeyes show the necessary maturity to conquer the always-tough game-before-Christmas-break situation?

Every college basketball coach in the country can see it coming, the full week off for Christmas that can be just as problematic as enjoyable if not handled correctly. The game before the break can become a problem even when there’s little on-paper to suggest it will be.

Even last season’s veteran Iowa squad with Caitlin Clark at the controls needed a half to warm up against an inferior foe before the break. Iowa’s 98-69 win over Loyola (Chicago) on Dec. 21, 2023 saw the Hawkeyes lead by only five at halftime before taking off in the third quarter. Lisa Bluder’s halftime blowup that day was featured prominently on the “Full Court Press” documentary that highlighted Clark’s senior season.

What happened last season obviously has no direct bearing on this season. But if a more experienced team against a worse opponent can get somewhat tripped up on the pre-holiday challenge, the current Hawkeyes squad could definitely encounter similar vibes.

Conquer this one, though, and Iowa gets a well-earned reset without any negative cloud over the off week. That’ll be productive with a head-first plunge into a tough Big Ten up next.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

CANYON, Texas (KWCH) – In a rematch of a thriller in the season’s second week, the top two teams in junior college football faced off Wednesday night in the NJCAA DI National Championship in Canyon, Texas. For the second time in school history and the second time in the last five years, the Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons are national champs. The third-ranked Blue Dragons fell into an early, two-touchdown hole, stormed back to take a two-possession lead in the second half and held off No. 1 Iowa Western, 28-23. Hutchinson wraps up its dream season with an 11-1 final record.

Hutchinson completed the season sweep of the nation’s top-ranked team after outlasting Iowa Western on the road, 38-37 in September. Playing for higher stakes on Wednesday night, Iowa Western threatened to put the hammer down early. The Reivers led 14-0 early and held that two-touchdown lead through the first quarter.

Hutchinson got on the board early in the second quarter on a Samari Collier 27-yard run, but trailed 17-7 at the break. The third quarter belonged to the Blue Dragons as they outscored Iowa Western 21-0 to build a 28-17 lead going into the fourth quarter. Capping the run was a Kordell Gouldsby 73-yard punt return inside the final three-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter.

In the final frame, the Reivers scored a touchdown with a little less than 11 minutes left in the game to trim an 11-point deficit to five.

The final half of the final quarter came with its share of drama. This included a blocked field goal that kept the Blue Dragons from expanding its lead and put Iowa Western in a strong position with time and field position on its side. Hutchinson’s defense answered the call and the Blue Dragons held on to bring another title to Hutchinson.

On offense, Hutchinson did most of its damage on the ground led by quarterback Collier who rushed for 109 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. Through the air, Collier completed six of 16 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Backup quarterback Christian Johnson only completed one of five passes, but that completion was huge, a 34-yard third-quarter touchdown to Tre Brown.

Iowa Western quarterback Hunter Dekkers completed 29 of 51 passes for 412 yards, but in a bend-but-not-break performance, the Hutchinson defense stepped up to limit the Reivers’ trips to the endzone as Dekkers only completed two touchdown passes. The Blue Dragon defense also limited Iowa Western’s rush attack and sacked Dekkers four times, three of those by defensive end Marshon Oxley.

For the season, Hutchinson ended its magical ride on a four-game win streak after suffering its lone setback against Kansas Jayhawk Community College rival Butler Community College on Oct. 26.

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A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging a group of central Iowa pathologists conspired to maintain a monopoly at the expense of patients.

The lawsuit was one of three involving allegations of unfair competition, harassment, retaliation and discrimination among central Iowa pathologists.

The suit was filed in May 2024 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa by four pathologists who last year established Goldfinch Laboratory of Urbandale – physicians Tiffani Milless, Caitlin Halverson, Renee Ellerbroek and Jared Abbott.

The four sued their previous employers, Iowa Pathology Associates of Des Moines and Regional Laboratory Consultants, alleging the two companies tried to suppress competition for pathology services in central Iowa and maintain a monopoly, all in violation of state and federal law.

Each of the companies provides dermatopathology and other pathology services for patients in central Iowa whose physicians require laboratory services that provide medical diagnoses from biological specimens.

The lawsuit alleged that since 2021, IPA and RLC pressured its pathologists to sign employment agreements that include a no-compete clause. At the time, the four IPA-employed pathologists who would later depart and form Goldfinch refused to sign the agreement.

The lawsuit claims the agreement was not intended to prohibit the use of confidential corporate information and was instead aimed at maintaining IPA’s and RLC’s monopoly on services.

As part of its lawsuit, Goldfinch accused IPA of refusing to share biopsy slides with Goldfinch pathologists, even when those slides were required to ensure the continuity of care offered to patients and even when, according to Goldfinch, the refusal “could well have caused harm to patients.”

IPA and RLC denied any wrongdoing and filed a motion to have the case dismissed. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger recently granted the motion after finding that Goldfinch failed to define a geographic market in which consumers had no other source for pathology services.

“Even assuming central Iowa is where the defendants draw a sufficiently large portion of their business, Goldfinch has not sufficiently alleged a plausible reason why potential referral sources cannot practicably turn to alternative sources outside central Iowa,” the judge ruled. “Goldfinch has not plausibly identified a relevant market as required to allege attempted monopolization.”

Two other lawsuits still pending

The federal lawsuit followed a still-pending state court lawsuit filed by IPA and RLC against the four Goldfinch partners in late 2022 that is in the final stages of litigation.

That lawsuit seeks to block Goldfinch from soliciting IPA clients or using IPA information, and alleges the Goldfinch pathologists were “flagrantly, rampantly and disloyally working against” IPA’s interests even before they left IPA.

A bench trial in that case was held last month, but the court has yet to issue a decision and recent post-trial briefs are sealed from public view.

Separately, two of the Goldfinch pathologists — Tiffani Milless and Caitlin Halverson – have filed a discrimination lawsuit against IPA and RLC, alleging they were paid $200,000 to $350,000 annually, which they claim was far less than what some of the less qualified male doctors were paid.

A trial in that case is scheduled for August 2025.