In a little over a month, the Iowa Conference will officially welcome in its ninth school: Nebraska Wesleyan. Though it does make the title of “Iowa Conference” seem about as meaningful as “Big Ten” or “Big 12” nowadays, the level of competition will be amped up in several different sports, including women’s basketball. Teams will now go from having a 75% chance of making the league tournament in soccer, basketball, softball, volleyball, and baseball to a 67% chance. For basketball teams in the Iowa Conference, league games will now commence in late November and some in December, putting some added pressure early in the year to get off on the right foot in the conference standings. Coach Chelsea Petersen feels this will help the coaching staff and the players realize how important every single day during the season is, regardless of if they’re having practice, playing in a game, or even just lifting weights. The first two league games for Central will be against Coe on November 30 and Dubuque on December 7. Petersen tells KNIA/KRLS Sports that ideally, they want to go 2 – 0, but even a 1 – 1 record would still leave her feeling good about their position entering the 2017 portion of the schedule.