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Iowa Women's Basketball: Notes From Jan Jensen's Big Ten Media Day Interview
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- Iowa Women's Basketball: Notes From Jan Jensen's Big Ten Media Day Interview
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
McKenna Woliczko meets the media for a July media availability.
Iowa women's basketball returns to the Carver-Hawkeye Arena hardwood for a live basketball game in just 22 days.
Though the matchup will be an exhibition contest against Maryville University, the anticipation for basketball is always at a fever pitch in Iowa City.
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Another sign the season is on the horizon? Big Ten Media Days were held in Rosemount, Illinois on Oct. 7, allowing head coach Jan Jensen and her players to preview their upcoming 2026-27 season with the media.
After she was done chatting with the local press in attendance, Jensen joined the Big Ten Network crew for a brief live interview before wrapping up the day.
Here are some notes from Jensen's interview:
Dynamic trio leads the way
Iowa has a talented roster from top to bottom, but the ceiling of the 2026-27 Hawkeyes is probably going to be determined by the success of the talented third-year trio of center Ava Heiden and guards Taylor Stremlow and Chazadi "Chit-Chat" Wright.
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Heiden has already appeared on many preseason All-American lists after posting 18 points and 7.2 rebonds per game last year, while Stremlow (7.9 points, 4.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds per game last year) and Wright (12.5 pts, 3 reb, 4.5 assists per game) provide the outside shooting and distribution skills to fuel the Hawkeyes' explosive scoring attack.
Per Jensen, all three players have been voted team captains (Wright and Heiden were the player representatives for media days) and she credits the trio for not only providing invaluable experience on the court, but also their leadership.
"They're very focused on the good of the group, and they've really been a joy, and they've been a huge catalyst, I think, for for our success of the the past few seasons," Jensen said.
Defensive strategy
For as good as Iowa has been at scoring the basketball with legendary players like Megan Gustafson, Caitlin Clark, and Samantha Logic leading the offense, its defense may have been the primary reason it fell agonizingly close in the 2023 and 2024 national championship games. The Hawkeyes led the Big Ten in points per game in each of those runner-up campaigns, but were 10th and 11th in the league on the defensive end, respectively.
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Jensen knew those numbers needed to change once she was promoted to succeed Lisa Bluder as head coach after the 2023-24 season, and it's safe to say Iowa has improved on that end of the floor. The Hawkeyes have gone from allowing 71.9 points per game in 2024 to 65.2 points per contest in 2026.
According to BTN analyst Shimmy Gray-Miller, the Hawkeyes posted their best defensive rating since the 2012-2013 season. Jensen credited the success to her coaching staff being able to design different ball screen defenses as well as the strong belief the team has in the system.
"I think we've earned the respect that when you play us, that you should be facing a pretty pretty good defense," Jensen said.
Humble confidence
Experience is what will help guide Iowa through a difficult non-conference slate , but as the season wears on, there's likely going to be other names that emerge as key contributors. One of those players could be highly-anticipated first-year Mckenna Woliczko. The five-star prospect is the second-highest recruit in program history behind only Clark and though the seasons have changed, Woliczko's character has not.
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Woliczko has a chance to be a star player down the road once she navigates the challenges of adjusting to college ball. Jensen is well-aware of that, but she credits the California native for consistently presenting what Jensen calls "humble confidence."
Woliczko knows she has a lot of things to improve on to achieve greatness, and that's where the humble confidence comes in. The 6-foot-2 Woliczko is always willing to take on new challenges in practice (such as working on her three-point shot), and though Jensen is prepared for a learning curve in year one, watch out for year two.
"I think her development this year will be on a trajectory, and I think going into year two, she has the potential to be a real special player," Jensen said.
What makes Iowa City attractive to recruits?
The final topic the panel discussed was Jensen's recruiting prowess. The success of Clark certainly helped propel Iowa as one of the sport's most elite brands, but Jensen said the real trait that has made Iowa City such an attractive place for recruits its consistency.
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While Clark elevated the Hawkeyes to deeper NCAA tournament runs, Iowa has long been one of the nation's most consistent teams. Iowa's last losing season was in 2006-07, and it hasn't missed the NCAA tournament since 2017.
Frequent winning helps, but there's another factor few places can match - the crowd. Carver-Hawkeye Arena will be sold out for a fourth consecutive season and has emerged as one of the cathedrals of women's basketball.
Jensen credits the unprecedented fan support to the Hawkeyes' consistency.
"There's a love affair between our fans and our team. I think that's the the separator," Jensen said. "I really do, because we play at some great places with some phenomenal teams, and they just don't always draw what we're able to draw, so I am extremely grateful and forever ever proud to represent Iowa because of that fan base."
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io
