With the basketball season in full swing, there have already been many crazy moments, especially in the state of Iowa. If you haven’t heard, all three major Iowa men’s college basketball teams (UNI, Iowa, Iowa State) have upset a No. 1 ranked team.

Among the craziness that is men’s basketball, the women’s basketball team has held steady and are putting up a solid year so far. Before the season started, the women’s basketball team returned four starters and were ready to improve on previous years.

How have they been doing this year?

Coming off a year in which they finished 12-6 in the Missouri Valley conference and 17-15 overall, the team look to have an even better year and perhaps make the conference title.

That’s precisely what they have done. The lady Panthers are tied for first with the Drake Bulldogs at 5-1.

Riding a four-game winning streak, UNI’s gained some momentum riding into their showdown with Drake on Sunday. During that four-game winning streak, they averaged 59 points per game, beating their opponents by an average of 10 points.

As stated before, the Panthers are returning four starters, and that means experience, which means much when it comes to conference play and NCAA Tournament. That experience has paid off with a 5-1 conference record.

So who are these leaders? To start, there is Madison Weekly, junior, leading the team in scoring with 16 points per game and minutes with 34 per game. Next up is Amber Sorenson, senior, who averages 14 points per game.

Averaging 10 points a game and leading the team with seven rebounds is Jen Keitel, senior. Keitel has been huge for the team this year on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. On the offensive she has a total of 44 rebounds, twice as much as Weekly, who is second with 22. Those 44 rebounds go with her 180 total points. On the defensive side of the ball, she leads the team with 76 defensive rebounds and 23 blocks.

With the grind of a long basketball season, there are going to be ups and downs. There will be nights where a team goes out, plays to their abilities and has a heck of a game. Other nights it’s going to feel like you are not doing anything right. I don’t care how good of a team you are, you’re going to have some bad games.

With that being said, let’s talk about the Panther’s best win and worst loss.

Personally, I like to get the bad news out of the way first. The worst was against North Dakota on December 5. UNI shot just 38.5 percent from the field and finished 9-29 from the arc. It was a game in which the Panthers were +3 in turnover differential, with North Dakota racking up nine steals. It was a game to forget.

Now for the good news! Their best win came against South Dakota on Nov. 17. South Dakota, who is currently 13-5, did not have a good game. The Panthers held them to 28 percent shooting (16-57). Jen Keitel had the best game, shooting 50 percent with 15 points and four blocks.

In college basketball, it comes down to experience. Sure, it’s nice to get the best recruits, but experience is vital if you want to make a run at a national title.

The Panthers have exactly that. With a solid start in conference play, they will look to continue their success as the season progresses. They have many games left to cement themselves as the team to beat in the Missouri Valley, most notably this Sunday at Drake.