Jan Jensen Calls Out ‘Lackluster’ Iowa Showing Amid Losing Streak
After riding high in recent weeks and finding themselves in the top-10, the Iowa Hawkeyes are now in the midst of a three-game losing skid. The team's most recent disappointing loss came at home against unranked Minnesota where the Hawkeyes fell 91-85 to the Gophers.
Head coach Jan Jensen made it very clear in her post game presser that Iowa has not played up to its potential over the course of the last week. After losing back-to-back games, Jensen had expected a much better response from her team. But the Hawkeyes found little to no rhythm up until the very end of the contest against Minnesota and by then it was too late.
After the loss, Jensen lit into her team's performance, particularly on the defensive end.
"I was really disappointed about that," Jensen said in reference to the defense.
"I'd say we spent about 70% of our practices on defense and the matchups and understanding who we had to guard and how good their three-point shooting was. But that was a very poor performance on the defensive end," she added.
Jensen then lamented how long it took her team to get going in the game before once again calling out the effort.
"We needed that type of urgency from the tip. It was really lackluster. We missed a lot of assignments, it was just a little surprising."
Jan Jensen's Squad Better Turn Things Around Quickly
If Iowa wants to ride any momentum into March, the Hawkeyes better find their way again fast. Iowa now sits at 18-5 and should expect to tumble when the next rankings are released.
Minnesota's victory against Iowa gave them their first win over a top-10 opponent in 23 years. Jensen's team allowed the Gophers to control the tempo for most of the game and even gave up 71% shooting from beyond the arc. And continued defensive woes could lead to an early exit in the Big Ten Tournament.
Iowa has seemingly been rattled by the loss of senior guard Taylor McCabe to injury. McCabe went down in a dominant win over Ohio State, and the Hawkeyes have lost their rhythm since.
This was emphasized by Jensen explaining how they were "playing not to lose" against Minnesota, who she also made sure to credit amid her criticism of the Hawkeyes.
Iowa faces a ranked Washington Huskies team next with a chance to get back on track.
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Lindsay Burke covers women’s basketball for Indiana Fever On SI and Women’s Fastbreak On SI. She graduated from Purdue University Fort Wayne with a Bachelor's Degree in journalism and a minor in media production. Early in her career she covered ECHL hockey, the NFL and college football and has since expanded her expertise to the WNBA and the Fever franchise.
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