By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – It will forever be a lasting memory from the Iowa women’s basketball team’s 83-75 double overtime loss to Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

As the final seconds ticked away in double overtime, Iowa head coach Jan Jensen crouched down near the scorer’s table at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and then buried her head, knowing that the season was ending sooner than what many had expected.

Iowa led the Cavaliers by six points (57-51) with less than four minutes to play on Monday, and with a highly energized sellout crowd providing its support, and yet, couldn’t finish the job.

Iowa was the No. 2 seed in its region and was hosting the first two rounds, while Virginia was the 10 seed, playing on the road, and playing its third game in five days.

The circumstances set up beautifully for Iowa, but part of the beauty, and the curse, of March Madness is that almost anything seems possible.

And while the Cavaliers now march on to the Sweet 16, Iowa head coach Jan Jensen moves to the offseason where she will soon start building for next season because that’s what head coaches do.

These next few days will be for self-reflection and for emotional healing because to fall short of expectations in the NCAA Tournament, with all of its the glitz and glamour, and with so many people watching, has to be agonizing for Jensen, and for her players and assistant coaches.

An Iowa team that over-achieved during the regular season would go on to under-achieve during the NCAA Tournament, and right now the pain from the latter, is being felt, and will last for a while.

“Well, obviously we had a really tremendous year that ended really with a disappointing moment,” Jensen said to begin her post-game press conference. “You know, I will also have to recall all the good things that happened during this year because when an ending happens like this, it’s always hard to remember.

“But I was often asked about a month ago if this team had exceeded expectations, and I didn’t know exactly how to answer that at the offset of one of those questions because I hadn’t thought about it. But then when I really delved into it a little bit, I do believe they did.

“Nobody really had us in that top five in the Big Ten conference, and we had a lot of youth. We had sprinkled with some stellar young women who were seniors.”

Jensen is right to say that Iowa exceeded expectations because it did by winning 27 games in her second season as head coach, and by earning the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and in an NCAA Tournament Regional.

To win 27 games is impressive under any circumstance.

But with those 27 wins came both perks and the pressure from expectations.

Iowa had the luxury of hosting the first two rounds, but to fall short at home just adds to the pain, frustration and criticism.

What ultimately doomed the Hawkeyes in Monday’s loss was too many missed free threes, too many missed free throws and poor offensive execution with the game on the line.

Iowa shot just 5-of-29 from three and 8-of-16 from the free throw line.

Senior forward Hannah Stuelke grabbed 19 rebounds, but she also missed five of six free throws.

Sophomore point guard Chit-Chat Wright also missed two critical free throws late in the first overtime.

Sophomore center Ava Heiden scored 26 points and was unstoppable at times, but she also missed a potential game-winning putback in the final seconds of the first overtime.

This game was there for the taking, but the Hawkeyes failed to seize the moment and there is plenty of blame to go around as is always the case when a team loses.

But the Iowa culture is as strong and genuine as any, and one loss, even a loss in the NCAA Tournament loss, won’t change that.

Graduate guard Kylie Feuerbach has been a part of the Iowa program for five of her six seasons in college, after spending her freshman season at Iowa State.

Feuerbach not surprisingly was devasted after Monday’s loss, knowing that her Hawkeye career was over.

She fought back tears and even cried at times in an interview with KCRG Sports as she reflected on the loss, and on her career.

It was tough to watch, but also a reminder of how much being a Hawkeye meant to Feuerbach.

“It’s hard,” Feuerbach said before bursting into tears. “I’ve loved every second here. So luckily, I’ve gotten more time here than the normal person with extra year. So it’s been awesome. I’m just grateful.”

Feuerbach made no excuses for Monday’s loss, saying Iowa had everything in its favor, but still came up short.

Once the emotions calm down, Jensen will have to start plotting her course for next season.

And while it’ll be tough to replace everything that Stuelke, Feuerbach and injured senior guard Taylor McCabe bring to the team; there is also a strong nucleus to build around, starting with the 6-foot-4 Heiden at center.

The Oregon native blossomed into a star this season, earning All-Big Ten honors, and she should only get better playing under Jensen, whose area of expertise is coaching post players.

” think coach (Jensen) always says we’re younger than we’re older,” Heiden said. “I’ve heard that a lot. I think that’s a benefit for us. We get to learn from our experience and then we get to grow from that over two to three years.

“So I think that is something that will be a positive for us.”

Chit-Chat Wright also helped to stabilize the point guard position after transferring from Georgia Tech.

The 5-4 Wright still is very much a work in progress, but she more than held her own this season while developing into a potent three-point shooter, at least during the regular season.

Wright played alongside fellow sophomore guard Taylor Stremlow, who also made significant strides this season.

Stremlow can play both guard positions and she has great vision and anticipation, making her an effective passer.

But she also gets careless at times with the ball and is a streaky shooter.

Perhaps the biggest surprise on the team this season was freshman forward Journey Houston, who was sort of lost in all the hype surrounding five-star recruit Addie Deal.

The 6-foot Houston was a spark off the bench throughout the season, showing an uncanny ability to get rebounds in traffic and against taller players.

If Houston were to develop a consistent mid-range jump shot, her game would climb to a whole new level.

As for Addie Deal, she just needs to relax and develop more consistency in all areas of her game. She never really found a rhythm as a shooter this season, and like Stremlow, she was also sometimes careless with the ball.

But now with a year under her belt, Deal, who is from Irvine, California, knows what to expect as she enters into her first offseason as a Hawkeye.

Of course, in this new era of the transfer portal and NIL, rosters are always fluid, but it would be a surprise if the Iowa roster had significant changes.

The Emely Rodriguez situation will have to be resolved, but other than that, things seem pretty stable.

Iowa will add another five-star recruit from California in 2026 forward McKenna Woliczok, who already has signed her letter of intent.

Woliczok should help to fill the void left by Stuelke’s departure, though their playing styles are different with Woliczok from an offensive skills standpoint probably closer to being a small forward than a power forward.

Iowa needs more reliable shooters to help create more space for Heiden to operate near the basket.

The hope is that the 6-2 Woliczok will fill that need right away.

But remember, she will only be a freshman next season, so it might take some time.

Just like it’ll take some time to get over Monday’s loss.

Some will move on easier and faster than others.