Victory over Drake was 'a weird one' for Iowa's Jensen
A day after celebrating her alma mater's women's basketball program, an emotional Hawkeye coach defeated her former team
Victories aren’t supposed to make winners get misty, especially a non-conference one at the beginning of the season. And victories are really not supposed to make even the most loquacious of coaches fight through tears to find the right words.
Conversely, a defeat isn’t supposed to make the losing coach giddy with excitement. And it’s not supposed to make a super competitive player grin from ear to ear.
But that’s how it unfurled after Sunday’s game between Iowa and Drake, an 86-73 Hawkeye victory at the sold-out Knapp Center in Des Moines. It was the culmination of an emotional – in a good way – weekend for so many people that no doubt many were breathing a sigh of relief by late Sunday afternoon. Not the least Iowa, which moved its season record to 4-0.
The speechless coach was Jan Jensen, in her first game as Iowa’s head coach playing against Drake, where she was a star player in 1987-91. The giddy one was the Bulldogs’ Allison Pohlman, thrilled with a sellout crowd and the energy of a weekend spent celebrating 50 years of women’s basketball at Drake.
And if that’s not enough of an Opposite Day for you, try this: Caitlin Clark was there and either nobody noticed or they just decided to be nice and leave her alone.
“It was just a weird one,” Jensen said.
At the heart of it Sunday, though, was simply a basketball game, one that extended Iowa’s dominance in the series but also showed off some of the best assets of both teams. Iowa’s Addison O’Grady proved she’s well on her way to inheriting the mantle from Megan Gustafson and Monika Czinano to become Iowa’s next great post player; she tied her career high in scoring by halftime and finished with 27 points.
“I’m now starting to have Czinano and Gustafson expectations,” Jensen said. “I was kind of cranky with a couple things she did out there and that means the expectations are growing.”
Drake’s Katie Dinnebier scored a career-high 40 points – including 19 in the third quarter – to lead spurts that kept the Bulldogs (who are now 2-2 this season) in it until the Hawkeyes pulled away for good in the end. Dinnebier, a senior from West Des Moines, made seven three-pointers and 17 of 20 free throws. It was the second-most points scored in an NCAA Division I women’s game this season.
Dinnebier was the happy player afterward, not because she had scored the 40 points but because it was so much fun playing in a sold-out Knapp Center. Drake averaged 2,723 fans last season and last sold out a game in 2022, also against Iowa. The Knapp Center capacity is 6,424.
“I love these games,” Dinnebier said. “These are the most fun games that we play all year. To just see the fans come out, whether it's Drake or Iowa or just people who want to come and see the excitement of women's basketball, getting people to love our sport is something that's super special. So I was a little extra pumped-up today.”
For Jensen, the emotion came when she pondered being back at her alma mater the day after celebrating the program’s 50th anniversary with many of her former teammates. On top of that, there were many players from when she coached at Drake as an assistant to Lisa Bluder. As Jensen answered a question about that, her voice broke as she spoke about how the weekend mixed memories of the past with the launching of the next stage of her career.
“I just feel so overwhelmed because I really love this place,” Jensen said. “When I coached here, we worked really hard for the alumni. And then when they were all together last night, it was really a moment, but it was stressful because it was lovely.
“I think the emotion is relief that I got through the first one.”
Pohlman’s joy came in seeing a career performance from a player who has already had her share of them. And also being able to spotlight women’s basketball in Iowa, with so many Iowans a part of it on both the rosters and the coaching staffs.
“For women's basketball fans, I think the state of Iowa has a lot of things to be proud of,” Pohlman said. “I would hope that every Iowa fan is now converted to a Drake Bulldog fan because we will not play them again this year.”
The intrastate games continue all season. No. 8 Iowa State plays at Northern Iowa on Wednesday. Drake plays at Iowa State next Sunday, Nov. 24. Iowa State plays at Iowa on Dec. 11. Northern Iowa plays at Iowa on Dec. 20. Drake and Northern Iowa will play twice in the Missouri Valley Conference: Feb. 1 in Des Moines and March 1 in Cedar Falls.
Drake throws itself an anniversary party
Pohlman was instrumental in planning Saturday’s 50th anniversary celebration, somehow not busy enough coaching a basketball team. The event drew more than 70 past players to town for a party attended by about 300 fans and supporters.
Among those in attendance were members of Drake’s first team in the 1974-75 season and the three players whose jersey numbers hang in the Knapp Center rafters – Jensen, Lorri Bauman and Wanda Ford. The Hawkeye coach wore her Drake letter jacket and sweater to the event (but had to change into Iowa gear to meet with her team later in the evening). Bauman still holds the NCAA tournament single-game scoring record of 50 points, which she set in 1982. Ford led the nation in scoring and rebounding in 1986 and is Drake’s lone first-team All-American.
It was a reunion that drew former coaches, too. Lisa Bluder, who coached Drake in 1990-2000, was there. The coach who followed her, Lisa Stone, couldn’t make the party but arrived later in the evening to further celebrate with the Bulldogs and was at Sunday’s game. Stone is now coach at Washington University in St. Louis. Jennie Baranczyk, who now is coach at Oklahoma, returned and dressed in Drake’s blue and white and not the Sooners’ crimson and cream.
Drake’s first coach, Carole Baumgarten, could not attend but gave remarks remotely. Her assistants, Bruce Mason and Jody Busing were there.
Drake’s current players were there, too, learning and absorbing the program’s history.
“I loved the event, I told Allison that this morning,” Dinnebier said. “It was really cool to hear stories from people that have played at Drake the past 50 years. And really nice to see old teammates, old coaches. It was just nice to have everyone in one room.”
Jane Burns is a former sports and features writer for the Des Moines Register, as well as other publications and websites. She’s a past winner of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Mel Greenberg Award for her coverage of women’s basketball. Over the course of her career she’s covered pretty much everything, which is why her as-yet-to-be-written memoir will be called “Cheese and Basketball: Stories From a Reporter Who Has Covered Everything.”
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What a great way to celebrate women’s basketball. I love that so many alums came together and were recognized for building the program.
Terrific story, Jane, and excellent photos! We were at the game Sunday and loved everything about it. How about Drake Coach Pohlman’s daughter Quinn singing the National Anthem? Wow! That might have been the best performance of the day!