Hear from Journey Houston, Kylie Feuerbach before Iowa faces Minnesota
Hear from Journey Houston, Kylie Feuerbach before Iowa faces Minnesota
IOWA CITY — Back home after a disappointing Los Angeles swing, all the ingredients are there for Iowa women’s basketball to deliver a riveting rebound.
The No. 10 Hawkeyes (18-4, 9-2 Big Ten Conference) are clearly a different animal inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where Iowa is 11-0 this season with five conference wins. Jan Jensen’s squad hopes to add another following its Thursday, Feb. 5 showdown against Minnesota (6 p.m., BTN).
The Golden Gophers (16-6, 7-4) are certainly more potent than recent seasons, and a top-10 road win would go a long way in securing their first NCAA Tournament birth since 2018. But this is a game Iowa should handle if expectations are going to remain where they were before heading out west.
With that, here are three things to watch for ahead of Iowa-Minnesota.
Can Iowa women’s basketball dial back in mentally ahead of this important closing stretch?
Harnessing a productive level of urgency has been Iowa’s challenge upon returning from Los Angeles. There are pressing needs to correct — but also enough time to do so before the March intensity arrives.
“We got a day off when we got back, and we had to lock in (Tuesday) for our first practice,” freshman Journey Houston said. “It was a little intense, but I feel like that’s what we needed.”
A strong performance on its home floor is Iowa’s next remedy for moving forward. This group of mostly young pieces still has the Hawkeyes set up for late-season success if Iowa can navigate through February without additional turbulence.
Considering the Hawkeyes will have as many seniors in street clothes as they do in uniform the rest of the season, the importance of veterans Kylie Feuerbach and Hannah Stuelke only magnifies in the moments ahead.
Those two seniors have seen it all, particularly how things ratchet up once the lights of March Madness start inching closer. Not letting a tough two-game skid wreck weeks of quality play is imperative with such a young squad.
“Just learning from errors throughout those games (in California). It’s a really good time to reflect on how we can do better and bring it into the next seven regular-season games,” Feuerbach said. “While the outcome was negative, I think there are a lot of positives you can take out of it.”
Hear from Iowa coach Jan Jensen before Hawkeyes face Minnesota
Hear from Iowa coach Jan Jensen before Hawkeyes face Minnesota
What can Iowa expect from a Minnesota team itching to end a lengthy losing streak against the Hawkeyes?
While Iowa’s ridiculous 31-game winning streak over Wisconsin redefines how lopsided a rivalry can get, the Hawkeyes have quietly put together a nice run against the Golden Gophers.
Iowa brings an 11-game winning streak into the series, having last lost to Minnesota in a game where Megan Gustafson went for 48 points in the 2018 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. There have been some Caitlin Clark-fueled blowouts but also some gritty wins, like last season when Iowa pulled out a 68-60 win in Minneapolis that kept the turnaround going.
Minnesota seems better equipped to handle all that comes with Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season. The Golden Gophers have won six of eight and were slotted as a No. 8 seed in ESPN’s latest women’s basketball bracketology.
Anchored by a backcourt featuring Tori McKinney, Grace Grocholski, Amaya Battle and Mara Braun — four of whom have spent at least three years in the program — this Minnesota team appears more potent than past editions.
“They’re well-coached. They play really great defense. They’re really sound defensively,” Jensen said. “They don’t make many mistakes defensively. They can also score at every position. Sometimes, it’s helpful when you can sag off of someone.
“… Fans might think ‘Oh, they’re back home, and it’s Minnesota. This league, like one or two wins or losses separate so many of us that are really, really good. So we’re going to have to bring it.”
Given Minnesota’s defensive prowess — the Golden Gophers have only given up 70-plus points three times — Iowa’s own defensive intensity will need to be much stronger than it was out west.
Part of that will be adjusting without Taylor McCabe, who was a bigger defensive cog than many realized. Iowa didn’t handle the first few games without her well, but the time to dwell on McCabe’s absence has passed if Iowa is to regroup accordingly.
“It’s just a little reforming,” Jensen said, “and sometimes, you just need a little bit of time. We answered the call really quickly against Ohio State (after McCabe went down). We didn’t have a lot of time to think, and it was just business as usual.
“So we’re working on that in practice, different combinations. But we’ve had a little bit more time together. So I’m hoping as we have more of that consistency, we’ll just start to get used to how it feels and looks like.”
The L.A. stumbles marked the first time in Jensen’s head-coaching tenure that Iowa surrendered 80-plus points in back-to-back games. The Hawkeyes can’t afford for that side of the ball to become a nightly liability.
Iowa women’s basketball vs. Minnesota prediction
Minnesota’s last win in Carver-Hawkeye Arena was an 80-78 overtime victory on Jan. 25, 2007 — a stretch that’s included 14 consecutive losses in Iowa City. That streak will end at some point…but not on Thursday night. The Hawkeyes grab firm control in the second half en route to a needed rebound victory.
Iowa 75, Minnesota 67.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
