“I like our youth. I like it a lot, but in a way it showed that we are a little young. We didn’t have the minutes of our young players like we have had, but I think we are going to grow a lot from this.
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“I mean, what is it, a five-point game, right? I mean, that’s tough. They’re a great team, and if we’re five points short, I feel a lot more positive. Would I have liked to have won? Yes, but I have the utmost respect for Iowa State, and this was a great game. Sometimes you can be the victor, but sometimes you have to come up a little short,” Jensen said.
Jensen knows Iowa needs to work on keeping sophomore center Ava Heiden out of foul trouble in key matchups ahead.
“I think Ava had fouls and got four. We’re just not used to playing without her and she’s been playing pretty well.
“But then, you know, when I take a step back, you know, Ava is pretty young. Ava’s a sophomore, and Ava didn’t really get a lot of minutes and didn’t start playing until the Big Ten tournament… I think there were a lot of things that we could have countered that Ava couldn’t do because we got into foul trouble,” Jensen said.
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When asked about the 30-point performance by Cyclones’ star junior center Audi Crooks, Jensen had high praise for it and talked about the challenge of protecting the dominant post player, especially with impact defenders like Heiden getting into foul trouble.
“Yeah, I think the best thing about Crooks is that he has a beautiful touch. He’s pretty lethal. So what I want to do is take on some, play behind some and help others. But when Ava got in foul trouble, she took a big cog in our game plan,” Jensen said.
Jensen knows 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 great game… So I’m very proud. That’s 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.”
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“I really wanted to attack the high post. For some reason, we weren’t running as much. We were forgetting, but I think that’s the crowd. I think that’s the pressure. But when we started to get that done in the fourth quarter, we got a couple of attacks going. We made them a little tighter. We had a couple of fouls. So, I feel a lot more positive than negative…
“So, I’m very happy. I think the people who watched that game think it was a fun game. I think, hopefully, we improved on why we want to watch women’s sports. So I told them afterward, I talked about the free throws. I told them we have to stay composed. I certainly gave a lot of credit to Iowa State. I always believed in that. And then I said, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ And now we have the opportunity to fight on Saturday,” Jensen said.
The Hawkeyes will look to get back on track when they host Lindenwood (7-2) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, December 13 at 2 pm CT. That game will stream exclusively on B1G+ (subscription required).
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball remains optimistic after Cy-Hawk loss