When she signed with the Iowa State women’s basketball team, which had previously posted records of 2-25 and 8-19, someone remarked to Jayme Olson, “I thought you were good.”

She was asked why she chose “the other school” instead of Iowa, the women’s basketball powerhouse.

“After hearing that, I thought, ‘Oh my God! What did I just do?'” she remembered.

But Olson came to ISU with dreams of building a program. Now, after finishing her college career as captain of the 25-8, NCAA Tournament-hosting Cyclones, she will leave having accomplished just that.

“I can sit back and look and say, ‘I helped get it started,'” she said. “I saw it go from a baby to where it is now.”

Olson was instrumental in the Cyclones’ banner year. She finished the season with an average of 14.9 points and eight rebounds a game. She recorded 491 total points this season, breaking the ISU career points record with 1,799. She bested Tonya Burns’ career output by 10.

Olson said her ISU career furnished many highlights, one of the most notable being the opportunity to play host to Kent University and Rutgers during the NCAA Tournament. She said the season-ending, second-round loss to Rutgers carried with it the “full swing” of emotions.

“It was emotional; everyone’s crying,” she said. “It was really hard to believe it was over. There’s not one more game — not another practice tomorrow.”

The game was a physical one, in which Rutgers’ Usha Gilmore took a swing at Olson late in the second half after a jump ball.

“[Gilmore] came out swinging,” she said. “She put her fists up like we were going to fight.”

Gilmore received a technical foul, after which Frese hit two free throws to put ISU on top.

“I really thought it was funny,” she said. “I had never been hit before.”

Olson said Rutgers was “probably twice as aggressive” as they would have been otherwise because of the loud Hilton crowd. She cited the fans as being an important part of the team’s success.

“[The fan support] made a lot of difference,” she said. “If they think you’re invincible, why can’t you be?”

Olson said the support even in the loss was overwhelming.

“How many times do you get cheered when you lose?” she asked.

In spite of Olson’s numbers, she maintains that her contribution to the team will be forgotten in a few years because of the direction the program is going in.

“Things I’ve accomplished aren’t going to mean anything,” she said.

Olson said that future Cyclone teams will be even more successful, and younger players, such as Megan Taylor and Stacy Frese, will “add a whole new dimension” to the team.

“Watch out, because they’re going to do a lot,” she said.

Although her career was filled with shining moments, Olson said this season’s ISU victory over Iowa, who never recruited her, remains one of the sweetest memories.

“It meant a lot to me to see everything go full circle,” she said.