DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake women’s basketball made three additions to its program today as a trio of incoming freshmen inked their official letters of intent. Alex Couch, Grace Fincham, and Karis Finley all signed to don the blue and white as the Bulldogs’ class of 2025.

“Karis, Alex and Grace are perfect fits for our basketball family,” Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. “They’re competitive, self-driven, and have a team-first mindset that matches the culture we’re so proud of at Drake.”

Alex Couch, a 5’10” guard from Liberty, Missouri, has twice been named a First Team All-Suburban Gold Conference and First Team All-District performer. She was also recognized as an All-State honoree and surpassed the 1,000-career point mark as a junior. Couch was also a standout on the softball diamond with multiple conference, district, region, and state honors.

Grace Fincham will come to Des Moines after a remarkable prep career at West High School in Iowa City. Fincham has earned three varsity letters and a pair of unanimous First Team All-Mississippi Valley Conference honors. She was named the Trojans’ team MVP as a sophomore. Fincham has also garnered IGCA Class 5A All-District, All-Region, and All-State awards.

Lastly, Cedar Falls native Karis Finley rounds out the Bulldogs’ 2025 signing class. Finley earned All-Mississippi Valley Conference First Team status all three years of high school thus far and All-State listings twice. Finley helped lead the Tigers to a conference title as a sophomore.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State tight end Benjamin Brahmer has been named a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award, given annually to college football’s outstanding tight end. The eight Mackey Award semifinalists include four Big 12 tight ends.

Brahmer, a junior out of Pierce, Nebraska, is having a career year as the Cyclones’ leading pass catcher. With two games left in the regular season, Brahmer has 33 receptions for 388 yards and a team-best five touchdown receptions. Brahmer also has two two-point conversion scores, which don’t count in his stats.

Brahmer has three games this season with at least five receptions, including a five catch, 75-yard performance against nationally-ranked BYU. He had a season-high seven receptions and scored two touchdowns in a win against South Dakota.

The last time a tight end led the Cyclones in receptions was Collin Franklin in 2010 (54 receptions).

2025 Mackey Award Semifinalists

Benjamin Brahmer, Iowa State

Dallen Bentley, Utah

Justin Joly, NC State

Tanner Koziol, Houston

Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon

Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt

Michael Trigg, Baylor

Dae’Quan Wright, Ole Miss

CLASS A

Saint Ansgar – 31  vs Wapsie Valley – 7

MMCRU – 28 vs West Sioux – 0

CLASS 4A

Pella – 35 vs Sergeant Bluff-Luton – 14

Xavier – 31 vs Newton – 24

CORALVILLE, Iowa – University of Iowa volleyball overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat Northwestern in five sets at Xtream Arena on Thursday night. Iowa moved to 14-13 and 5-10 in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes won the first set 25-20. After losing sets two (25-17) and three (27-25), Iowa held off Northwestern in set four, 29-27. Iowa won the decider, 15-9. The Hawkeyes improved to 12-1 when winning the first set and 4-1 when getting to eight points first during the fifth set.

This was the program’s first win over Northwestern since the spring of 2021. It was Iowa’s first victory over the Wildcats at home since 2019.

Senior setter Claire Ammeraal notched her second triple-double of the season. The Madison, Wisconsin, native tallied 55 assists, 17 digs and 10 kills. She also had six blocks and hit a team-leading .400. Her previous triple-double came against Utah Tech in August.

“It’s super exciting to get a triple-double,” Ammeraal said. “It feels really good and the cool thing is that a lot of the stats that I get in triple-doubles, I cannot get without my teammates. I’m glad I have my teammates there to set me up and then in return I get to set them up.”

Iowa recorded a season-high 77 kills in the win. Four more Hawkeyes joined Ammeraal in double-figures in the kill department. Freshman Carmel Vares and redshirt sophomore Alyssa Worden led the team with 16 kills. Junior Hannah Whittingstall notched 15 kills, while graduate Chard’e Vanzandt added 14. Seven Hawkeyes joined Ammeraal in recording assists, helping Iowa put together a season-best 71-assist performance.

Defensively, the Hawkeyes dug a season-high 76 attacks and were led by senior libero Milana Moisio’s 19 digs. Following Ammeraal’s 17 digs, sophomore Jaimie Marquardt helped in the back row with 12 digs. Greta Schlichter provided a defensive boost with her seven digs.

The Hawkeyes outhit Northwestern, .261-.253 and terminated 77 kills to the Wildcats’ 68. Both teams served consistently. The Wildcats had seven aces and six errors. Iowa had five aces and five errors. The match featured 30 ties and 20 lead changes.

Up Next: Iowa welcomes No. 20 Minnesota to Xtream Arena on Sunday. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.

The 21st ranked Iowa Hawkeye women used a 25-0 run in the opening half to blow the game open in a 100-58 win over Drake in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes outscored Drake 62-24 in the paint and also limited to Bulldogs to 36 percent shooting.

That’s Iowa coach Jan Jensen. The Hawkeyes had six players in double figures and got 50 points from the bench to move to 3-0.

The Iowa Hawkeye men take a 2-0 record into Friday night’s game at home against Xavier. Under first year coach Richard Pitino the Musketeers are 2-1 after a lopsided loss at home to Santa Clara.

That’s Iowa coach Ben McCollum who wants to see more consistency out of his team.

The Northern Iowa men return to action Friday night by hosting Furman. The Panthers are 2-0 while Furman is 1-2 after finishing 25-10 last season and playing in the NIT.

That’s Panther coach Ben Jacobson, who wants his team to be more aggressive on the offensive glass.

The Iowa defense hopes to be better at crunch time as the 21st ranked Hawkeyes get ready to visit 17th ranked USC. Iowa is 6-3 and in all three losses the opponent has scored on its final drive, including last week’s 18-16 loss to Oregon.

That’s sophomore safety Zach Lutmer. The challenge for the defense this week will be slowing down a USC receiving corps that may be the nation’s best.

That’s Iowa corner T.J. Hall who says the Trojan offense is balanced.

A pair of top ten teams collide in Sioux City on Saturday when sixth ranked Dordt visits number nine Morningside. At 9-0, Dordt has already clinched at least a share of the Great Plains Athletic Conference crown. Morningside needs a victory to grab a share of the title and at 8-2 overall coach Steve Ryan’s team may need a win to get into the NAIA playoffs.

Two years ago in Sioux City Dordt posted a 28-24 win over the Mustangs.

Morningside quarterback Zack Chevalier says the Mustangs are treating this like a playoff game.

Chevalier has passed for more than 31 hundred yards and 37 touchdown this season and says decision making will be the key against Dordt.

In his 10th season at the helm, Joel Penner has led the rise of the Dordt program and has nearly accomplished all of the goals he set at the beginning of his tenure.

A big part of Dordt’s success has been the ability to run the ball and stop the run. The Defenders average 256 yards on the ground per game and give up just under 87 yards.

Morningside averages 329 yards of passing per game and Penner says that aerial attack is set up by an effective ground game.

If the outcome is decided by the kicking game Dordt’s Stephen Leinen could be the difference. The native of Harlan is 11-of-15 in field goals this season.