Jan Jensen leads Iowa into NCAA Tournament as head coach after 24 years as a Hawkeyes assistant
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Jan Jensen teared up when she reflected on the moment.
Iowa's head coach was an assistant for 24 years at the school before getting promoted ahead of this season. She enjoyed being assistant head coach for Lisa Bluder, though she acknowledged that she has been questioned over the years for staying and not taking other opportunities.
Jensen held out and got her dream job when Bluder retired. Now, she has led the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Tournament. Third-seeded Iowa will play No. 14 Murray State on Saturday.
She struggled to find the words at first when she thought about her journey.
'I don't even know why I'm choked up,' she said. 'I think that tells you all you need to know, maybe.'
Jensen, 56, spoke passionately about the challenge of keeping the Hawkeyes winning. Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin are now in the WNBA after leading Iowa to the national title game the past two seasons.
'I'm just a really thankful coach that got a shot later in life,' she said. 'And we're having a blast. And I hope we get to have a blast for at least another game and get another shot at the next game.'
Tourney rematch
In the late game Saturday, No. 3 seed Oklahoma will host No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast in a rematch of what was nearly one of the biggest upsets of last year's tournament.
The fifth-seeded Sooners barely held on for a 73-70 win over the 12th-seeded Eagles in Bloomington, Indiana last year. FGCU led 35-33 at halftime.
The biggest difference for the Sooners is that 6-foot-4 Raegan Beers, who led Oregon State to the Elite Eight last season, has transferred in and been dominant. She could pose a problem for the undersized Eagles,
FGCU still has its star. Emani Jefferson, the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, had 22 points and 12 rebounds against the Sooners in last year's game.
Style contrast
Florida Gulf Coast, which is on a 23-game win streak, allows just 53.2 points per game — eighth-best nationally. Oklahoma, which has won nine of 10, ranks fourth in scoring with 85.2 points per contest.
'I think this will be a fun matchup, seeing as they're a really good defensive team, and I think we're a really good offensive team," Oklahoma's Payton Verhulst said.
Beers said the Eagles do it with energy.
'From what I've seen and what we've worked on this week especially, they're relentless,' Beers said. 'They're a relentless team. They're constantly coming after you. They're really, really scrappy.'
Traveling fans
Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk knows full well how serious Iowa's fanbase is.
She's from Iowa and played for the Hawkeyes. Even without Clark, they averaged nearly 15,000 for home games this season.
Now, she's excited for those fans to come down and support women's basketball. Iowa has the early game on Saturday, so many of their fans likely will stay for the second game.
'Iowa has done a great job,' Baranczyk said. 'Even after graduating a superstar in Caitlin Clark, they're still selling out. I'm proud of that, being from there. And at the same time, I know that that's also going to challenge our fans to be able to show up as well. So I'm excited to be able to see just our sport on a national level and be highlighted here in the Lloyd Noble Center tomorrow, whether it's the 11:00 game or the 1:30 game.'
Baranczyk hopes the crowd will cheer for the Sooners because of the Iowa connection.
'I'm sure they'll cheer for us,' she quipped.
A different Katelyn
Instead of featuring a high-scoring Caitlin, the Hawkeyes have to play against one.
Katelyn Young moved into 14th place on the all-time Division I scoring list and surpassed 3,000 career points in the Missouri Valley Conference title game, a 34-point barrage against Belmont. She averages 22.2 points per game on nearly 56% shooting from the field.
She has help — the team leads the nation with 87.8 points per game.
'I think they're here for a reason,' Olsen said. 'No random team just makes March Madness. So that's important to note. They have a 3,000-point scorer on their team. Not a lot of people do that in their career. They play so fast. They just shoot the ball well. They're going to be tough.'
New Iowa scorer
Though it will be the first time since 2019 that the Hawkeyes play in the tournament without Clark, Lucy Olsen has picked up much of the slack this season to help them return. She averages 18 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. She averaged 23.3 points per game at Villanova last season before transferring.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Celebrate Texas' Women's College World Series title with our commemorative page print
So close for four years, the Texas Longhorns finally broke through to win the Women's College World Series for the first time. Texas had lost in the championship series in 2022 and 2024, but in 2025 the Longhorns (56-12) set a school record for victories, beat the four-time defending champions and toppled Texas Tech in the best-of-three championship series. Advertisement Celebrate the Longhorns' historic NCAA softball championship with a beautifully designed commemorative page print from USA TODAY. Featuring a bold headline and a striking image of the Horns celebrating on the field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, this keepsake captures the moment perfectly. Buy our Texas championship page print USA TODAY celebrates the Texas Longhorns' first Women's College World Series championship with a commemorative page print. Printed on premium, acid-free art paper, this collectible starts at $35 (plus shipping). Elegant upgrade options include framed editions and backgrounds in canvas, acrylic, metal or wood through the USA TODAY Store. In 2022 and 2024, the Longhorns lost in the championship series to Oklahoma, winner of the prior four titles. In 2025, after beating Florida 3-0 in the WCWS opener, they upended the Sooners 4-2 in the winner's bracket. Then Texas reached the championship series for the third time in four years with a 2-0 victory over Tennessee. Advertisement Against Texas Tech, the Longhorns rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning to win 2-1 in Game 1. They lost 4-3 in Game 2 with the tying run on third base. In Game 3 on June 6, the Longhorns left no doubt who would rule college softball. They scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning against NiJaree Canady, the million-dollar transfer from Stanford who had thrown every pitch for the Red Raiders during the WCWS. She didn't return for the second inning. Mia Scott's grand slam in the fourth inning made it 10-0 Texas. The Red Raiders stayed alive with three runs in the top of the fifth and scored again in the seventh. After a final groundout, with a 10-4 victory secured, the Longhorns stormed the field, celebrated madly and hoisted the trophy. Pitcher Teagan Kavan was selected the most outstanding player. Own a piece of Longhorns history today! Every Texas fan needs this page print on a wall. Advertisement Buy our Texas championship page print Contact Gene Myers at gmyers@ Follow him on X @GeneMyers. After nearly a quarter-century as sports editor at the Detroit Free Press, Myers unretired to coordinate book and poster projects across the USA TODAY Network. Explore more books and page prints from the USA TODAY Network, including titles on the Florida Gators' NCAA basketball championship and the Philadelphia Eagles' victory in Super Bowl 59. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Commemorate Texas' first WCWS championship with a USA TODAY page print
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark's Fever Teammate Named WNBA Breakout Candidate
Caitlin Clark's Fever Teammate Named WNBA Breakout Candidate originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Indiana Fever earned praise for having the best group of young players in the WNBA, but it's more than just mega-star Caitlin Clark leading the way. Advertisement ESPN's Neil Paine ranked the young core -- players in their age-25 season or under -- for all WNBA teams and put the Fever at the top of the list. While Paine noted that Clark is the team's brightest star, he also predicted that guard Lexie Hull has been showing steady improvement and could be headed to a breakout season. "Don't sleep on Hull, either; the fourth-year guard out of Stanford has improved each year of her WNBA career and is tracking for a breakout performance," Paine wrote. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) talks to guard Lexie Hull (10).© Brett Davis-Imagn Images Paine added that Clark and Aliyah Boston, the last two WNBA Rookie of the Year award winners, have already found out how to mesh in the Fever's offense. He wrote that Clark serves "the WNBA's ultimate heliocentric perimeter creator and initiator, and Boston scoring inside the arc with high volume and efficiency." Advertisement "When healthy (and both have been extremely durable throughout college and the pros, up until Clark's recent injury), no team has a dynamic duo this good and this young," Paine wrote. But Hull could continue to carve out a big role as well, as she has nearly doubled her previous career-high with 10.7 points per game. She is adding 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Related: Lexie Hull Makes Big Career Announcement After WNBA Season This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Women's College World Series championship: Texas beats Texas Tech for program's first national title
In their eighth trip to the WCWS, the Longhorns finally win a national championship, beating the Red Raiders Imagn Images Texas has won the college softball national title. After finishing as the national runners-up two times in the previous three years, the Longhorns have their first title with a 10-4 win over Texas Tech at the Women's College World Series. It came in Texas' eighth trip to the WCWS. It's also Texas coach Mike White's first title as the Longhorns scored five runs in the first inning and led the rest of the way. A three-run home run by Leighann Goode and a grand slam by Mia Scott sparked the Texas offense, and Teagan Kavan was brilliant in the circle. GO FURTHER Texas thumps Texas Tech for first Women's College World Series championship in program history Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms All right, all right, all right. FINALLY! Mike White gets his Gatorade bath!!! He said it's a "surreal" moment, and I can't even imagine. What a long road to finally get to the top and what an impact he has had on this sport. What an insanely incredible career for Mia Scott. She provided firepower on both sides of the ball her entire career and showed up on the biggest state here in OKC. If there were co-MOPs, she would have joined Teagan Kavan. Your WCWS MVP: Teagan Kavan. Her 31-2/3 innings without an earned run is a tournament record, and she has been invaluable to this team from the moment she stepped into the circle with the Longhorns. So, so awesome to see, all with her grandma Miney watching over her. The Longhorns had a bit of a roller-coaster year, especially in the last month of the season. Even in the Super Regionals, Clemson had this Texas team on the ropes until the very last second. This has been utter grit from the Longhorns all postseason, and the moment is finally theirs. That's a huge win for Texas, obviously — and a major one for Longhorns ace Tegan Kavan, too. With the win Friday, Kavan passed Cat Osterman for most wins (six) at the WCWS in Texas softball history. Osterman is widely considered one of the best players in the history of college softball to never win a national championship. Given that the righty is just a sophomore, it's likely she'll be able to pad that record the next couple of years. IT'S OVER! TEXAS HAS FINALLY DONE IT! The first-ever championship in program history for the Longhorns, and a long-awaited title for legendary coach Mike White. What an all-around performance from the Longhorns tonight, and they've finally overcome the demons that have haunted them in this WCWS for the last few years. Any chance we could get Judge Wilken to rule on how dumb the obstruction rule (and endless reviews) are? It's only 7:20 on the West Coast, I'm sure she's still awake It was definitely a risky move by Mihyia Davis to go on a ball that was in short left field, right in front of Katie Stewart. And while the rule is that the fielder has to allow a lane for the runner to get to the base, Mia Scott already had the ball in her glove by the time Davis got to the bag, so she can do whatever she wants at that point. This is a big call if this obstruction rule stands. It doesn't stand. It wouldn't be a WCWS championship game without an obstruction call. This is the wackiest WCWS ever, and you cannot convince me otherwise! Oh my, Katie Stewart just went ALL OUT for that one against the wall. She went full speed into the left-field wall in foul territory to take in that ball off the bat of Alexa Langeliers, and she just bounced off of that thing like it was nothing. She has made some great plays this entire tournament but has kind of flown under the radar. Now that we're in the seventh, the run rule does not matter: These are the last licks for Texas Tech against Teagan Kavan and Texas, as we have another pinch hitter for the Red Raiders. One interesting thing I've noticed is that some of these Texas Tech hitters are going with split grips on their bats, especially the lefties. It helps to have a little more bat control and shortens up your swing, which helps against a pitcher with the speed and movement of Kavan. T7 - Texas 10, Texas Tech 3 The Red Raiders will need a HUGE rally to keep this one going. Here we go. If you didn't think Kayden Henry was fast, she just stretched a misplayed ball by shortstop Hailey Toney that dribbled into the outfield into a double, with ease. Keep in mind, with the Longhorns coming up to the plate, they need just one run to end this thing and claim the national championship. They have newly anointed program single-season hits leader Ashton Maloney coming to the plate to get things going. B6 - Texas 10, Texas Tech 3 Teagan Kavan settles things back down and still hasn't allowed an earned run in this WCWS. Texas is three outs away from a title and can avoid the top of the seventh with a run here in the bottom of the sixth to walk it off.
