Jan Jensen: ‘More (Iowa-ISU) respect than the fan bases will have you believe’

IOWA CITY — In the eyes of Jan Jensen, Cy-Hawk Week doesn’t necessarily equate to Hate Week.

“I have a lot of respect for Bill (Fennelly),” Jensen said Monday about her coaching counterpart as the hours dwindled toward her first Iowa-ISU women’s basketball encounter as Iowa’s head women’s basketball coach.

She continued:

“There is much more respect (between the programs) than the fan bases will have you believe. It’s kind of like politics ... it’s the fringes that get the attention, the weird fans.”

Nearly 15,000 fans — weird and otherwise — will pack Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday: No. 21 Iowa (8-1) hosts No. 18 Iowa State (8-2).

Tipoff is 8 p.m. in a game televised nationwide on FS1.

Iowa has won seven of the last eight in the series, and hasn’t lost to the Cyclones at Carver since Nov. 30, 2006.

“It’s just a fun game,” said Iowa senior Sydney Affolter, who has been on the winning side in two of her three Cy-Hawk games. “The way the state of Iowa supports women’s basketball, and this game in general.

“It’s about composure. There’s so much outside noise. We’ve got to play Iowa basketball.”

This is the first Iowa State game for six Hawkeyes, including Teagan Mallegni.

“I don’t know much about it so far,” said Mallegni, a Wisconsin native. “But there’s a fun energy in the gym. It’s definitely a big deal, and I’m excited to be part of it.”

The teams combine for seven native Iowans (four Cyclones, three Hawkeyes).

Jada Gyamfi (an Iowa junior) and Aili Tanke (an ISU freshman) played two seasons together at Johnston, winning a state championship in 2022.

The last three Miss Iowa Basketball selections consist of Iowa’s Callie Levin (Solon, 2024), ISU’s Audi Crooks (Algona Garrigan, 2023) and Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke (Cedar Rapids Washington, 2022).

Crooks leads the Cyclones at 19.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

“I’m a big fan of Audi,” Jensen, a post aficionado. “We worked like crazy to get her here. She’s a great passer. Her touch is amazing. Her footwork is amazing. And she does it all with great personality.

“Bill and his staff have done a great job in developing her. I have total respect for her and I hate to play her.”

The Jensen regime began with eight consecutive wins before coughing up 30 turnovers in a 78-68 loss to Tennessee on Saturday.

“We needed poise, and we needed to handle the boards. The boards, we handled. We didn’t handle the pressure or the poise.,” Jensen said.

“It’s going to be a work in progress. I am, certainly. The team is, too. Thirty turnovers is embarrassing, but the team never really folded.”

Affolter said, “One game doesn’t define who we are. The Tennessee game wasn’t a true representation of who we are.

“We played decent until the end. We lost composure at the end.”

Wednesday marks Iowa State’s intrastate finale; the Cyclones split games with the two Missouri Valley squads. Iowa has a win over Drake in the bank, then closes Big Four play Dec. 20 at home against UNI.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com