Jan Jensen Reacts to Iowa's Near Miss Win vs. Maryland

No matter how ugly things got in the final few minutes, the Iowa Hawkeyes took care of business in overtime against a very good Maryland team.

The Terrapins don't lose at home much, and that's something second year head coach Jan Jensen knows a lot about. In their last 10 games at the Xfinity Center, Iowa is just 2-8.

With a 99.9% chance to win down the stretch, turnovers and a red-hot Maryland offense was able to force overtime.

It marked the first time this Hawkeyes team saw an additional five minutes all year, but they held their ground and picked up a huge ranked win on the road that won't be forgotten anytime soon.

Jensen On Iowa's Gritty Win

Jan Jensen postgame on the collapse ... then OT win: “We blew a lot of assignments. Maryland hadn’t shot well, right? And all of a sudden, they made everything. So, coming in here and getting a win like that – people are going to critique – but they don’t lose much here. And…
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) January 23, 2026

"We blew a lot of assignments. Maryland hadn’t shot well, right? And all of a sudden, they made everything," Jensen said. "So, coming in here and getting a win like that, people are going to critique, but they don’t lose much here. And sport is sport, and there's emotion, there's momentum, there's drama."

"I just feel like, for our team, that's mostly younger but led by some pretty strong-willed seniors, when it got to be a game of five minutes, they were like, ‘OK, we’re not going to be denied.’ And I thought that was pretty cool," she continued.

Iowa outscored the No. 15 team in overtime, 12-5, en route to their 17th win of the season. Now 8-0 in B1G play, it's the best record this team has had in conference play since the 1995-96 season.

Play Until The Final Whistle

Stayed together. pic.twitter.com/x8vXNCjh8H
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) January 23, 2026

In no world is Iowa going to let this happen again. This was a wake up call, to say the least, and it couldn't have come at a more crucial time. If there was ever a game to lose, it definitely wasn't this one.

Iowa, who's now projected to be a No. 2 seed in the tournament, has their goals set so much higher. This is an extremely young team, as Jensen mentions time and time again, and they're continuing to learn on the fly. Mistakes are going to be made, and that's okay as long as Iowa keeps responding like this.

Their schedule doesn't get any easier as their set to host No. 12 Ohio State in another pivitol conference matchup. All eyes are on No. 3 UCLA, the only other undefeated team in the B1G. Should Iowa get past the Buckeyes and USC, they'll likely be setting up an undefeated showdown at the Pauley Pavilion on February 1.

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