The magic Caitlin Clark created in Iowa City never really faded, even as the Hawkeyes’ early post-Clark reality showed in a 30-turnover outing, their worst in 22 years, handing them the first loss of the 2024 season. Yet Jan Jensen never blinked while stepping into the massive shadow of Lisa Bluder and Clark, leading Iowa to a 23–11 record, an NCAA Tournament berth, and a signature 76–69 win over No. 4 USC and JuJu Watkins on the very day Clark’s No. 22 rose into the rafters.

Now, entering year two of the Clark-less era, Iowa’s refusal to break is still evident in their dominance, and who could be prouder than Clark herself? So, Clark promptly went to her Instagram Stories and reposted the team’s original post with pictures of the Hawkeyes basking in their victory.

“Moments like these,” she wrote simply and left every Iowa faithful nodding.

In their first real challenge of the season against a 7th-ranked Baylor (also 4-0 entering the game), Iowa improved to a 5-0 record. They also broke the all-time tie against Baylor (now 2-1), having previously lost twice to the Bears in the NCAA Tournament, including in the 2019 Elite Eight. Still, this 57-52 win wasn’t easy.

Baylor opened the game swatting anything near the rim, seven blocks in the first quarter, and for a while, it felt like nothing Iowa tried worked. The Hawkeye defense actually held Baylor to 4-for-12 and forced six first-quarter turnovers, which oddly left Iowa clinging to an 11-9 lead even though they didn’t score in the final 4:50 of the opening frame.

By halftime, though, Baylor led 28-25 and Jensen’s squad was just 4-of-14 from the floor. The game got worse when Iowa lost players to injury. Stuelke exited late in the first half with an ankle issue, and Chit-Chat Wright, the team’s early leading scorer, suffered a hard hit to the head at 9:19 of the half and was carried off.

However, as Clark said after her last Iowa game, “We never give up. We just keep fighting,” Iowa didn’t stop trying to clamp down.

And eventually, it worked, forcing Baylor into a 1-for-15 stretch from the field, and they seized the moment. Emely Rodriguez powered in a contact layup and Taylor Stremlow buried a right-wing three to put Iowa up 39-37 with 2:33 left in the third, their first lead since early in the second.

Stremlow, who had only two points in the first half, kept finding big shots, while Baylor’s Taliah Scott battled back with a three and then drew and made three free throws to push Baylor up 51-48 with 5:49 left. But Iowa answered again. Rodriguez hit a transition bucket to make it 54-51 with 1:30 remaining, and Taylor McCabe’s theft on the inbounds and finish bumped the lead to five with 1:25 to go.

This victory, hence, was all about resilience, and the HC made sure to convey the deep pride in her program’s performance.

“So incredibly proud of our crew! They showed so much resilience & got a blue-collar, gritty win! And, B1G shoutout to our awesome fans who came to Florida…you guys were loud when we needed you most! No better fanbase in the country! We love you guys!” Jan Jensen wrote on X.

She had also echoed the same thoughts in the post-game conference.

“You just knew you were going to have to grit it out,” she said. “And Baylor always plays really good defense. I think our defense is pretty solid. We weren’t hitting and they made it hard. We’re still learning pieces. We’re still learning who we want to put in at different times.”

Yet, the credit goes to the coach herself as much as it goes to the team’s resilience.

Jan Jensen breaks her silence on Wright’s injury

Iowa’s next matchup comes on Saturday at 7 p.m., when they’ll take on Miami (Fla.) in the second game of the event. During her postgame chat on Learfield radio, Jensen didn’t offer any specifics on Wright’s condition, but when the conversation shifted to Miami’s aggressive defensive style, she indirectly signaled that the 5-foot-4 guard won’t be available.

“They do about six different presses, so it’ll be a lot different team than this (Baylor),” Jensen said. “So we’ll really be tested with our press breaker. But unfortunately, it’s without Chit-Chat. So that’s become a lot more ominous, not that it wasn’t before. But breaking a press with Chit-Chat makes me sleep a lot better at night. Now breaking it without Chit-Chat, we’re really going to have to depend on our cuts and our angles.

“So we don’t have a lot of time to work with that. But I’m sure I’ll get lots of minutes to practice tomorrow. Our coaches will be up late tonight watching this one and making sure we’ve got all of the Is dotted and Ts crossed for the prep for Miami.”

Yes, the Hawkeyes would need everything to fall into place if they want to get past Miami (also undefeated). Sure, the ESPN predictor favors Iowa. However, the Hurricanes have revamped their roster, bringing in key transfers like 6’6” center Ra Shaya Kyle and guard Gal Raviv, making them a much different (and dangerous) team.

So, we know better than to just write them off.