After No. 12 Iowa (9-1, 1-0 Big Ten) suffered its first loss of the 2025-26 season in a 74-69 setback at No. 10 Iowa State (11-0), Iowa head women’s basketball coach Jan Jensen remained upbeat about her team’s prospects moving forward.
“I like our youth. I like it a lot, but it kind of showed we’re a little young. We didn’t quite have the minutes of our young players as we have been having, but I just think we’re going to grow a lot from this.
Advertisement
“I mean, what is it, a five-point game, right? I mean, that’s hard. That’s a great team, and so if we’re five points short, I feel a lot more positive. Do I wish we would have won? Yeah, but I have the utmost respect for Iowa State, and this was a great game. Sometimes you get to be the victor, but sometimes you’ve got to come up a little bit short,” Jensen said.
Jensen knows that Iowa needs to work to keep sophomore center Ava Heiden out of foul trouble in key matchups ahead.
“I think Ava fouling and getting four. We’re just not used to playing without her, and she’s been playing pretty well.
“But then, you know, when I step back, you know, Ava’s pretty young. Ava’s a sophomore, and Ava didn’t really get a whole lot of minutes and start coming on until the Big Ten tournament…. I think there were a lot of things that we could have countered with that Ava wasn’t able to do because we got in foul trouble,” Jensen said.
Advertisement
When asked about Cyclones junior star center Audi Crooks’ 30-point performance, Jensen gave her high praise and discussed the challenge of guarding the dominant post player, especially with impact defenders like Heiden getting into foul trouble.
“Yeah, I think the great thing about Crooks is she just has a beautiful touch. She’s pretty lethal. So what I want to do is front some, play behind some, and kind of help off some. But when Ava got in foul trouble, it took a really big cog out of our game plan,” Jensen said.
Jensen knows that Iowa has to learn from this experience against a team like Iowa State in a hostile environment like Hilton.
“Well, I mean, I think it was a heck of a game… So I am really proud. That is a great team, Iowa State. And they had a lot to do with it, but we had a little bit to do with it, too.
Advertisement
“I wanted to really attack the high post. For some reason, we wouldn’t run that as much. We were kind of forgetting, but I think that’s the crowd. I think that’s the pressure. But when we started to hit that in the fourth quarter, we got a couple drives. We got them a little bit tighter. We got a couple fouls. So, I feel much more positive than negative…
“So, I’m really pleased. I think people watching that game think that was a fun game. I think we hopefully enhanced why we want to watch women’s sports. So I told them afterwards, I addressed the free throws. I addressed that we’ve got to keep composure. I certainly gave Iowa State a lot of credit. I always believe in that. And then I said, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ And now we get an opportunity to fight on Saturday,” Jensen said.
The Hawkeyes will look to get back on track when they welcome Lindenwood (7-2) to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 2 p.m. CT. That game will stream exclusively on B1G+ (subscription required).
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball remains upbeat after Cy-Hawk loss
