Iowa HC Jan Jensen Gets Real About Undefeated Start

On paper, the Iowa Hawkeyes 86-69 win over Western Illinois was another step in the right direction. For anyone who watched the game, they are fully aware that this team is far from where they need to be. Just seven games into the season, that's totally okay, and head coach Jan Jensen acknowledged that.

Despite their 7-0 start and No. 11 ranking, this Iowa team is still showing their inexperience. Sure, there are experienced players on this team who can lead the charge, but there are also some freshman and new players forced to step up due to the Chit-Chat Wright injury.

At this point, Iowa is 7-0 with one more game before B1G play begins. Rutgers is on the horizon, but first they must get past Fairfield on November 30. Jensen's team shot the ball 60% from the field, a vast improvement after not making a field goal in the final eight and a half minutes against Miami. That said, they turned the ball over 21 times.

Jensen Discusses Iowa's Early-Season Struggles

While the score doesn't indicate that Iowa struggled to get the job done against Western Illinois, box scores never tell the entire story. One would never have known that Miami nearly completed a late comeback against them in the second game of the WBCA Showcase, but watching this Iowa team is entirely different than reading a game recap.

"It just isn’t fluid. It’s kind of tough sledding,” Jensen said after the Western Illinois game. “Where something might be really simple, but we kind of make it hard. I think that’s a little bit of our youth (showing) sometimes.”

Jensen continued, "“We should have played better, but I’m going to credit JD (Gravina). They had a good game plan, and they’re all guards, so Ava’s got to come out of her comfort zone, Layla’s got to come way out of her comfort zone. We blew some defensive assignments, but that type of team is not the easiest for our centers to guard, even Hannah at times… It’s a weird game.”

Iowa Continues To Move Forward

7-0. pic.twitter.com/PlQqToNblh
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) November 27, 2025

The Hawkeyes wins over No. 7 Baylor and Miami were more than enough to skyrocket them to No. 11 in the AP poll. While Iowa doesn't play anyone notable this week, conference play kicks off on December 6 and it's quickly followed by a game at No. 10 Iowa State and then a neutral site game against No. 1 UConn.

"I don’t think we’re good enough yet to say that 7-0 isn’t good enough. I’m thrilled that we are 7-0, but I’ve got a lot of moving pieces," Jensen added.

The easy part of Iowa's schedule is nearly complete, and once it is, Jensen can only hope that the Hawkeyes return to full strength and have worked out the kinks that are holding them back from putting everything together.

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