Hawkeyes have ‘hit that synergy,’ and a five-game win streak is the result

IOWA CITY — Jan Jensen didn’t coin the phrase, but she sure likes it.

It fits her team.

“Someone said that nothing is ever as bad as it seems, and nothing is ever as good as it seems,” Jensen said Wednesday. “The reality lies somewhere in the middle.”

Reality also is that Iowa has won five consecutive women’s basketball games, directly after losing five in a row.

“It’s definitely so much lighter when you’re winning,” Jensen said. “We’ve hit that synergy. We’re reading each other better. And you never know when that’s going to hit.”

It hit in time for the Hawkeyes (17-7 overall, 7-6 Big Ten) to make a late-season run, perhaps into the upper division of the conference, and likely away from the NCAA tournament bubble.

Iowa currently is projected as a 9-seed by ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme, just three weeks after being in danger of missing the tournament altogether.

The Hawkeyes NET ranking has climbed to 29, with three Quad-1 wins in the last 10 days.

Thursday’s game against Rutgers (10-14, 2-11) — 6:30 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena — appears to be a gimme, but considers the Scarlet Knights “dangerous.”

“Everybody counts it as a win, and as a coach it’s easier to get attention for (upcoming opponents) Ohio State and UCLA. But teams that have nothing to lose, that haven’t achieved what they hoped they would achieve ... they’re just dangerous.”

One way to keep the danger level low would be to continue a recent trend of fast starts.

In the last six games, Iowa has averaged 19.2 points in the first quarter, compared to 11.3 for its opponents. Oregon, USC and Minnesota failed to reach double digits by the end of the first quarter.

“I think the lineup shift — and it’s nothing against Addi (O’Grady) — I like the flow when we can go faster,” Jensen said. “Hannah (Stuelke) poses a lot of issues. She flies down the floor.”

Meanwhile, Lucy Olsen is averaging 22 points during the current win streak.

“She is playing freer, lighter,” Jensen said.

Olsen scored 32 points, her best during her brief stay at Iowa, in the Hawkeyes’ 81-66 win at Nebraska on Monday.

Rutgers does possess a good scoring tandem in freshman Kiyomi McMiller and senior Destiny Adams, who combine for 36 points per game.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com