By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Iowa’s women’s basketball team was going to have to sit on a three-game losing streak for six days, so coach Jan Jensen used the time to get the Hawkeyes to work on themselves.

Jensen wanted to give her team last weekend off after the home loss to Minnesota last Thursday, but before they could do that, there were some things they had to do in practice the day after the defeat.

“I did close-out drills,” Jensen said. “We ran. We did help defense. We just went back to basic things. Sometimes, when you get in the throes of a season, you can never really work on yourself.”

The basics seemed to work in Wednesday’s 65-56 win over Washington at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The 15th-ranked Hawkeyes (19-5 overall, 10-3 Big Ten) held the 25th-ranked Huskies (18-7, 8-6) to just five second-quarter points, building a 36-30 halftime lead and maintaining that edge throughout the second half.

Those six days made a difference that Jensen could see.

“I think that we really locked in better,” Jensen said. “I can’t explain it, but the attention to scouts, they weren’t quite as sharp the last three games or so. I thought the way we were (before the game), we knew our scouts, we knew our personnel. In the shoot-around, we weren’t messing around. So I just think that they were locked in and they knew we couldn’t afford some of those things.”

“I think we did a really good job of knowing our scout for this game,” said forward Hannah Stuelke, who had 14 points and 16 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. “I think we were more intense on defense, which was our focus during the bye week.”

The losing streak — defeats to USC and Big Ten leader UCLA, and then to the Gophers at home — was magnified because of what it cost the Hawkeyes. They left for that West Coast trip tied with UCLA at the top of the conference and in the top-10 in the national rankings. Now they’re in fourth place, 3 ½ games out of first place, and still in line for not just an NCAA Tournament bid but also a chance to be a host for the first weekend, which at this point in the season isn’t such a bad thing.

The streak wasn’t just about playing good teams, the Hawkeyes were also trying to figure out how to play without starting guard Taylor McCabe, a senior who was their leading 3-point shooter but destined for surgery after tearing the ACL in her left knee.

“I think I’ve always understood that the Big Ten is hard,” Jensen said. “We just happened to hit three really good defensive teams after we were kind of reforming.”

Jensen made a switch to her starting lineup, going with sophomore Taylor Stremlow instead of freshman Addie Deal, who had struggled after her ascension to the starting spot vacated by McCabe. Stremlow played 32 minutes and finished with nine points, while Deal played almost 14 minutes and finished with four points.

The Hawkeyes started slowly, trailing 25-19 at the end of the first quarter. They then went on an 11-0 run, holding the Huskies scoreless for the first 6:40 of the second quarter.

“I think that when we settled a little bit, it started to kind of look a little bit more of that gritty, kind of that blue-collar mentality, coming out,” Jensen said of the quarter. “And I think that was helpful. Certainly they missed some shots, and that was helpful that they missed them. But I do think with our attention to (defense), the confidence just kept gaining after that second quarter.”

“Having a good start, coming out strong and playing with that intensity, not just for the first half, but also the second half., that was a big emphasis, especially on our bye week,” said guard Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright, who led the Hawkeyes with 21 points. “Just coming out really strong and sending a message.”

Wright has had back-to-back games of 20 or more points. Her unselfishness — she leads the Hawkeyes with 97 assists — is why Jensen likes having her run the offense, but the coach also wants her to be one who scores as well.

“I talked with her on a Monday before the Minnesota game, and I just kind of laid it out,” Jensen said. “And I said, ‘Look, what sometimes what you need to do for the team is not maybe what you’re most comfortable at. A lot of times that’s sacrificing — the kids that have to not play as many minutes, or they’re sacrificing this for that. But in her case, she had to sacrifice her pass- first mentality. I said, ‘You’re one of our most efficient and pure shooters, a few people are smooth coming off that ball screen. I said, ‘You’ve got to increase volume, and you’ve got to increase your voice.’ And you know, she is so earnest in our little film session, and she looked up at me with those eyes, and she said, ‘I got you, Coach.’”

“I’ll just say, my team really believes in me and they want me to take those shots,” Wright said. “And they really emphasize that, even in practice, They told me, ‘Chat, we want you to take those shots .We know you work on that every day. So just when you’re in the game, take those shots. It’s best for our team. ‘And I mean, that’s what I do.”

Her biggest shot came when Washington was within 51-47 with 9:08 left in the fourth quarter.  Wright made a 3-pointer from the right side as Washington’s Avery Howell plowed into her and was called for the foul. Wright, who was on her back on the floor after the foul, raised her arms in celebration. She then converted on the free throw, and the Hawkeyes had the momentum back.

“I wasn’t really thinking too much of the point spread of how much we were up,” Wright said. “I just knew that was a great shot for me to take, and then I saw, like, (Howell) was coming in my space, so I knew that was going to be a foul. I just needed to knock it down.”

It was a night the Hawkeyes needed.

“I think it was really important,” Jensen said. “I think it’s important just for the psyche of a young person.”

She smiled, and then added with a wink, “And maybe a 57-year-old or older person.”

Photo: Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke (right) comes up with a steal in Wednesday’s win over Washington. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)