When Iowa sophomore Taylor Stremlow was punished for her aggressiveness, trash-talk queen Caitlin Clark had to step in. “No way they just gave stremlow a tech for that🤣🤣🤣 refs have to let the girls show emotion,” Clark wrote. After Clark torched officials on social media for a ‘soft’ technical on the Iowa guard, new Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen struck a different tone. 

It was the second quarter of the Hawkeyes’ matchup against Fairfield. In a close game, Stremlow pulled off a block on Janelle Brown and yelled, “hell nah,” while looking right back at the player she’d just denied. The referees stopped the game, and after a discussion, a technical was given to Stremlow. According to Jensen, the aggression towards Fairfield’s Brown was unintentional from Stremlow.

“I think we love watching Stri play because she is that fire, and she’s going to get that rebound. I assume that when the big block happened, the kid just happened to be there, and she was like, “Yeah,” because Taylor’s not a true trash talker. I’ve coasted a few. We will not name names on that, but I think it was just her exuberance. And so they probably had to call it, but I have to watch it, see it again. So I’ll give the stripes the benefit of the doubt,” Jensen told the media.

It could be she was just hyping herself up after pulling off that block. It was a big play, and in the heat of the moment, she just flexed on the opponent. Even the commentators were confused when the play stopped for Stremlow’s technical. They initially thought Jensen was being punished for saying something on the sidelines. It further underscores how minor her infraction was. 

Trash-talking and aggression have been very normal in the world of sports. What felt jarring about Stremlow’s tech is how mild it was compared to some of the sport’s most famous trash‑talk moments. Caitlin Clark pulled out the ‘You Can’t See Me’ celebration against Hailey Van Lith a couple of years ago. Van Lith later cleared it up that it was not directed towards her, but it remains a striking moment in Caitlin Clark’s college career. 

Because Angel Reese pulled out the same celebration in the championship game against Caitlin Clark, along with the infamous ring celebration. That moment has taken women’s basketball to unprecedented levels of popularity. Imagine if anyone had received a technical, ruining an iconic moment. The Stremlow whistle suggests officials may be tightening the screws on visible emotion just as the women’s game is cashing in on swagger, leaving players guessing where the line actually is.

“I brought her over, and I said, “Hey, I love your emotion.” I said, “You know, you can’t do it in her face.” And I moved on, you know, because if you take that, you like, “What are you doing? How could you do that?” You know, the rule, the tone is like, you don’t want to lose what makes her that passionate. But I do think it kind of helped fire everybody up a little bit, which made it fun.” Jensen further said. 

And, that technical could have Iowa. Iowa led by just one point with under four minutes to go in the second quarter.  In a game that did not need to be so close, Iowa managed to win 86-72. However, Coach Jensen maintained that this was an impressive display from the side, especially without their Ace Chit Chat Wright. 

Jan Jensen Provides An Update on Chit Chat Wright’s Return

Iowa woke up after losing the first quarter 22-17. They stormed back into the game, but Fairfield kept things close. Jensen’s side finally pulled away in the second half and got the win. Center Ava Heiden finished with a game-high 18 points and 16 rebounds. Kylie Feuerbach chipped in with 17 points, while Hannah Stuelke and Taylor McCabe each added 13 points in the win. It was a team display that Jensen was very impressed by. 

“I think beating this team is a really good win. and to do it without Chitchat, arguably our most efficient player right now, or has been on both sides of the ball, and she’s turned into our team leader out there, and that captain. That was really a really great win because that team is a really good team.” She said. 

Wright sustained an upper-body injury after landing hard during the November 20 game against Baylor and has been out since. Wright has been impactful for Iowa. In 5 games, she has averaged 12.6 points and 4.8 assists as the second-best scorer and the best creator on the side. Jensen further revealed that she should be back soon. 

“It’s just it’s more day-to-day because you have all the protocols that you have to do, but you know, we’re really not that far out, right? It was eight, nine days since we had the mishap. So, it feels like forever when you have someone, it feels like forever to her, but we just want to be so, so cautious, obviously. So, she’s day to day.” Jensen said. 

Iowa was also missing Teagan Mallegni and Emely Rodriguez. Mallegni had her tonsils removed last week, and Rodriguez has a back injury. Even with limited resources, Iowa has managed to continue its unbeaten start. The team will now travel to Rutgers for their next match up on December 6.