What Iowa Women's Basketball Learned From Its Fourth Quarter Rally In Storrs

The first three quarters of Iowa women's basketball's showdown against then-No. 2 UConn in Storrs, Connecticut weren't what head coach Jan Jensen and her staff envisioned. 

Turnovers and the record-setting play of reigning Naismith Player of the Year honoree Sarah Strong left the Hawkeyes in a 22-point hole (73-51). Some teams would just simply play out the string of the game at that point, but Iowa refused to go away and even made it a 10-point game around the four-minute mark. The powerhouse Huskies pulled away for a 91-79 victory, but the Hawkeyes did outscore the Huskies 28-19 in the period. 

Though every loss brings disappointment, Jensen is still feeling very good about the direction her team is heading. She was very "encouraged" by what she saw in Storrs, but the fourth quarter still sticks out to Jensen three days after the defeat. 

"I thought the way they continued to fight and kind of that next person in philosophy was just really encouraging. I was really proud of them," Jensen said at media availability on Nov. 11. 

A similar sentiment was shared by Iowa's players. Both Amari Whiting and Ava Heiden were obviously disappointed they fell short in Connecticut, but the fourth quarter surge certainly provided them with something they can build upon as they look to have another successful season in Iowa City. 

"We're not a team that's going to roll over, and that shows that," Heiden said. "In the fourth quarter, cutting that down, that showed kind of a glimpse of how we can play and also gave us confidence." 

Step one to building confidence takes place on Thursday evening in Carver-Hawkeye Arena – a non-conference tilt with in-state rival Northern Iowa (7:30 p.m., BTN). The Hawkeyes will be heavily favored to take down the Panthers, but they know they need to use the contest to resolve some issues before another crucial Sunday matinee against Vanderbilt in Sioux City on Nov. 15. 

Besides recapping what she saw against UConn, one of the primary talking points of Jensen's press conference was about Ava Heiden. Heiden, who is sporting five new stitches on her right eye after taking a blow to the face in the loss (she's ok), usually comes up in almost every discussion the media has with Jensen because she is one of the most impactful players on the roster. 

The third-year averaged 18 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last year, but if there's one thing she and Jensen want to see improvement on, it's avoiding fouls. Heiden committed four fouls against the Huskies, which resulted in her playing just 20 minutes. 

UConn really took advantage of Iowa's interior defense without Heiden. After watching film with assistant coach Randi Henderson earlier Wednesday, she realized she was stuck in what she called the "in-between" – which is deciding when or when not to wall up. 

"I'm in the in between, and that makes it easier to get more fouls. So that's just something I'm trying to navigate a little bit," Heiden said. 

Though some coaches will opt to gamble and play their star players with two fouls in the first half, Jensen decided that wasn't the risk to make because the staff is still coaching Heiden through this problem and Jensen didn't think Heiden would avoid more. 

"I'm hopeful that watching the film and talking about it and having to sit out and watching a 13 minutes of that half, that maybe that's the one thing that'll get it to stick a little more," Jensen said. "I know she's not wanting to do it, but sometimes you have to keep your hands in your pocket."