Jan Jensen’s 6-Word Breakdown of Iowa Hawkeyes Loss to Iowa State Speaks Volumes
The No. 11-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team suffered its first defeat of the 2025-26 NCAA season with its loss to the No. 10-ranked Iowa State Cyclones, by a score of 74-69.
This was a close game between two seemingly evenly-matched teams. But Iowa State ultimately did enough to get the win on their home court, marking the first time in the past four contests that they emerged victorious against the Hawkeyes, which must feel good considering the cross-state rivalry these two teams have.
Per usual, the Cyclones were led by star center Audi Crooks, who finished the game with 30 points on 13 of 20 shooting from the field, along with 10 rebounds in 36 minutes played. While she didn't score more points than minutes she played during this game, she still has more points than minutes on the season. If Crooks continues that insane pace, she'll join Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid as the second DI (men’s or women’s), NBA, or WNBA player this century to average at least one point per minute in a single campaign, according to an X post from Big 12 analyst Rachel Galligan.
Jan Jensen Speaks on Hawkeyes' Loss to Cyclones
There were some questionable calls during the game that went in favor of the Cyclones. While Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen expressed some frustration on the sidelines, she didn't let this bleed over into her time speaking with the media after the game ended.
“It was all the third quarter," Jensen said about what went wrong for her Hawkeyes team on Wednesday, per an X post from Ethan Petrik of The Courier.
Kyle Huesmann of On3 added on to this sentiment with an X post that read, "Jan Jensen took the positive route rather than the negative route after the loss.
"Said outside of their third quarter she felt like they played a pretty good game. She was really proud of the team’s fight in the fourth quarter."
Jan Jensen on No. 11 Iowa’s 74-69 loss to No. 10 Iowa State:
— Ethan Petrik (@ethan_petrik) December 11, 2025
“It was all the third quarter.”
The Cyclones outscored the #Hawkeyes 26-13 in the third frame.
Jensen does have a good point, given that Iowa State outscored her Cyclones squad 26-13 in the third quarter. This came after the game was tied at 35 heading into halftime. And while the Hawkeyes played well in the fourth quarter, they ultimately couldn't mount enough of a comeback.
Jensen's Hawkeyes squad will look to rebound in what should be an easy game against Lindenwood on December 13. Then they face the defending NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked UConn Huskies on December 20.
Recommended Reading:
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
Follow GrvntYoung