Due to an upper-body injury, Iowa will not play key guard Chit-Chat Wright against Miami.
The Iowa women’s basketball team entered Saturday night’s game against Miami unbeaten, self-assured, and riding high from a tough, resume-boosting victory over No. 10 Baylor. However, the team would be without one of its most dependable young stars, casting a shadow over that sense of control.
During the second half of Thursday’s victory over Baylor at the State Farm Fieldhouse in Orlando, Iowa’s second-leading scorer and one of the team’s early standouts, sophomore guard Chit-Chat Wright, sustained an upper-body injury. The injury occurred abruptly and silently. Wright was slashing, defending, and creating at one point, just like she has done all season. She was on the sidelines the next time and never returned to the game.
Following the win, Iowa head coach Jan Jensen stated that Wright would not play against Miami, but he did not provide details regarding the nature or extent of the injury. Later, an Iowa representative informed Hawk Central that Wright was experiencing an upper-body problem. Although she is officially out for the Miami game, once Iowa gets back from the WBCA Showcase, she will likely be considered day-to-day.
It’s a huge short-term loss for a team that greatly depends on Wright’s scoring ability (she averages 12.6 points per game) and her soothing presence in the backcourt. Additionally, the timing isn’t very convenient. After all, you can’t walk the ball slowly up the court against Miami.
After Baylor’s victory, Jensen remarked, “Miami, they do about six different presses,” fully aware of what awaited her team in the following match. “We’ll be put to the test with our press breaker because it will be a very different team than this.”
Then she added the part that was both telling and honest. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include chit-chatter, which makes it much more concerning. Not that it wasn’t before, but using Chit-Chat to break a press improves my quality of sleep at night. A coach who has faith in her system could be heard. However, you might also hear someone who is aware that she is losing a player who makes the system function well under duress.
Without Wright, Iowa will rely more on its cuts, spacing, angles, and discipline—all essential components of Jensen’s offense, but much more difficult to execute for forty minutes against a team that seeks to cause you discomfort. Miami uses a variety of defensive shape-shifts to compel hesitation, turnovers, and snap decisions in addition to pressing. In a game like that, a calm ballhandler is invaluable, and Wright has been just that throughout Iowa’s first five games.
Nevertheless, this team has demonstrated early resilience. An excellent example was Iowa’s 57–52 victory over Baylor, which was a hard-fought, defensive victory that didn’t require fireworks. It was the kind of game that strong teams win, even when the spotlight is bright and their rhythm isn’t flawless.
They will now need to demonstrate the same toughness once more, but in a different setting. With the game against Miami scheduled for 7 p.m. CT, the emphasis shifts to communication, execution, and limiting the Hurricanes’ transitional opportunities. The ball cleaner must be handled by all. Everyone needs to make more cuts. Everybody must be accessible as an outlet. It’s a test of basketball fundamentals under duress, and Iowa is going to take it without one of its top players.
For a team with big goals and a long season ahead of them, the fact that the injury appears to be temporary is encouraging. Wright’s anticipated daily situation following the team’s return from Orlando is a comforting indication that this might be more of a temporary challenge than a persistent worry. But for the time being, Iowa must handle one of its trickier early-season games without her.
The foundation of the Hawkeyes’ flawless 5-0 start has been balance, perseverance, and the rise of new players taking on more responsibility with assurance. Another chance to step up, stabilize the offense, and assist Iowa in controlling a Miami defense that seeks to control every possession is presented by tonight’s game.
It will be another positive indication of what this team is capable of if Iowa can do that—maintain tempo without one of its fastest guards, stay composed in the face of six different presses, and score in the spaces where Wright typically excels. One thing is certain, though: Wright will be welcomed back by the Hawkeyes as soon as she’s ready. Until then, they will need to accept the challenge and make quick adjustments, just like successful teams do.
