Hawkeyes Talk win against Badgers
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00:00 Yeah, they can fill in, but again, I just was amazed at the crowd.
00:05 You know, 8 o'clock game on a weeknight, it's cold out.
00:08 Again, our crowd just continues to amaze me.
00:10 I was really happy with our defense in this game.
00:15 I mean, we forced 28 turnovers in this game.
00:18 Just did a great job, had 17 steals, held them to 20 points in the second half.
00:25 Sarah Williams was having a good game.
00:28 15 points at half, ends up with 19.
00:30 She only scores 4 points the whole second half.
00:32 Copeland had 6, she only gets 2 in the second half.
00:36 So again, I'm really happy with that.
00:39 And Kaitlin passes Brittany Griner tonight.
00:41 And scores, moves up to 4th in the list, so it's pretty impressive.
00:46 I thought Sid just worked so hard again.
00:49 I mean, that girl just hustled.
00:51 She had on the floor, has 6 rebounds.
00:55 She has the highest plus/minus of anybody in the team.
00:57 Kate Martin continues to just play like a pro.
01:01 She's really playing well.
01:02 Strong, confident, not forcing stuff, just playing her game.
01:08 And she's 4 for 7 tonight, 2 for 2 from the line.
01:11 Draft, great job. 3 steals.
01:13 You mentioned the 20-whatever force turnovers.
01:17 What was it from your defense tonight that you saw?
01:18 Was it just higher activity on defense that led to that?
01:21 I thought we made Sarah a little apprehensive with the double.
01:24 I thought she started to question.
01:26 I mean, she had 7 turnovers herself.
01:29 So I think that was a really-- they did a really good job with that.
01:32 Our team did a really good job with that.
01:33 -Kate, was that Hannah? -How's she doing?
01:35 Hannah's doing well, very well, actually.
01:38 And so, you know, just a little bit of a tweak
01:41 and just had an opportunity to rest her.
01:44 Something in practice?
01:46 Yeah.
01:47 Kate, was that the first assist you've ever had that the ball hit your face?
01:51 So it didn't actually hit my face.
01:53 I just put my hands up to protect my face.
01:56 But yeah, that was wild.
01:58 Was it not ready for it, the speed?
02:00 It was--
02:02 I was trying to break her nose.
02:03 Yeah, she was trying to throw the ball at my face.
02:05 She breaks it once a year, so I was trying to help her out.
02:08 -Not for sure. -Get that done for the year.
02:10 It was just a very fast pass, and I was just not fully ready for it.
02:13 My bad, but I'm glad Sid was right there.
02:16 So yeah, it worked out.
02:17 You looked like you were shooting with quite a bit of confidence tonight.
02:20 Made, I think, 3, 3 points.
02:21 Just talk about what you were feeling.
02:23 Don't rob her out of one.
02:25 It's all right.
02:25 Don't rob her.
02:27 No, I mean, it helps whenever they have to double on Kaitlyn.
02:32 They have to help inside, and they have to help on Kaitlyn.
02:35 And I was open, knocked down some shots, and my teammates found me,
02:38 so I was happy to knock them down.
02:40 Kate, when you guys went small, you had some post-duty success.
02:44 What was that like?
02:45 It's not too terrible.
02:47 I just have to use my speed and my quickness,
02:50 play to my strengths there.
02:52 But I'm going to do whatever I got to do.
02:55 And that creates problems for them on the opposite end of the floor, too.
03:00 It's not easy to guard the fives, but it's not easy for them
03:04 to guard me on the opposite end.
03:05 So it creates problems for both.
03:08 Kate, we've got to ask about 1,000 career points.
03:10 It's still a couple thousand less than the girl, Cynthia, right?
03:14 But still a significant milestone in the career of anybody
03:17 playing college volleyball.
03:18 Yeah, I mean, it's just super cool.
03:21 Not everybody gets to do that, obviously, in their college career.
03:24 And yeah, it took me five years, but I'm still just going to run with it
03:27 and be happy with it.
03:28 No one's going to know.
03:29 Yeah.
03:29 Absolutely.
03:30 I think it was all of them.
03:31 Do you think you guys have used the zone as much?
03:35 You know, I don't know if I thought--
03:37 our zone wasn't very good at their place, quite honestly.
03:40 We haven't been able to use it very much.
03:42 We haven't either wanted to or our player was doing fine.
03:46 I really liked our zone today.
03:48 We work on it every day, and we really
03:49 haven't been able to use it very much.
03:51 So it was kind of nice to be able to work on it
03:53 during a games-type situation.
03:55 Kaitlin, big picture question, but when
03:57 you think about this moment in NCAA college basketball history,
04:01 everything that's happening, the new media deal, the record-setting
04:04 attendance numbers, what do you see your impact being on all of that?
04:10 Honestly, it's like--
04:11 I don't know.
04:12 I feel like I give the same answer every time.
04:13 Like, it's just hard for me to wrap my head around.
04:15 Like, I'm just trying to stay in the moment
04:17 and enjoy every single second of it.
04:18 And we understand how special and cool it is,
04:20 and what we're doing for the game, and what
04:22 we're doing for the state of Iowa, and really
04:23 for people around the country, and how much they
04:25 love watching our team.
04:28 Yeah, I think it just shows how much the women's game is starting to grow,
04:30 and how many people are starting to fall in love with it, especially our team.
04:33 Like, I don't know.
04:34 I think a lot of people came and watched us for the first time last year
04:37 and really saw how much fun and passion
04:40 and how enjoying it is to watch a team that plays a fast-paced basketball
04:44 game.
04:45 We get a lot of threes up.
04:46 That's fun to watch.
04:47 And also, we just love one another.
04:49 And we have so much fun out there.
04:50 We smile.
04:50 We high-five.
04:51 We get feisty.
04:52 And I think people really enjoy watching that.
04:54 And when they come once, they continue to come back for more.
04:57 And I think that's kind of been the story for us.
04:59 What shoes did you have on tonight that you gave away?
05:01 I had on Sabrina's shoe.
05:03 Yeah, custom.
05:04 Yeah.
05:05 How's it feel to give a kid your shoes, and just
05:08 to be on the other side of that, and to see the look on her face
05:11 after you give them to her?
05:11 Usually, they don't say much, because I
05:13 think they're in a little bit of shock.
05:14 But that girl had my jersey on.
05:16 And it was cute.
05:16 She was copying our stretching, warming up.
05:18 So I thought it was adorable.
05:19 She was doing leg swings when we were doing leg swings.
05:22 So she was super happy to be there.
05:23 And she was sitting court side.
05:25 So something easy I can make her day.
05:28 And I'm sure she loved it.
05:29 So it was cool.
05:30 Any method behind what games you give your shoes away during?
05:33 Not really.
05:35 Usually, my Kobe's.
05:36 I keep a little more to myself.
05:37 Those are like my babies.
05:39 But no, not really.
05:41 Just whenever, kind of.
05:42 Yeah.
05:42 We can always play--
05:43 Also, I'm doing a story on Bailey over there.
05:46 He's a guy that, the more success you have--
05:49 [LAUGHTER]
05:50 Let's go, Bailey.
05:51 Bailey?
05:51 [LAUGHTER]
05:52 The more records you break, the more challenging
05:55 his job can become when there's more and more interest
05:57 in your program.
05:58 What are the things you appreciate the most about him?
06:01 Yeah.
06:02 We knew that we needed to really have somebody like Bailey come
06:06 in a couple of years ago.
06:07 Last year, right?
06:08 Last year, just because of the attention
06:10 that this team was getting, his job becomes harder, right?
06:14 The attention she gets and all the awards
06:16 that she got last year.
06:17 I mean, Bailey had a hand in it.
06:19 Obviously, she did the work.
06:20 But Bailey made sure that everybody knew about her work.
06:24 If they don't know about her work, you have to have that.
06:28 So Bailey's done a great job.
06:29 He really tries to protect her as much
06:31 as he can from excessive media interviews, which
06:34 can be tiring for her and time consuming.
06:38 Bailey's been a great part of our team.
06:40 I'm really glad he's here.
06:42 He's done a great job.
06:43 And I'm glad you asked that question.
06:45 So thank you.
06:46 There's five or six, I believe, bench players
06:48 that have reached double digit minutes this game.
06:50 Can you tell how vital that is, just
06:53 this point in the season and before you go on the gauntlet
06:55 of the big 10 games?
06:56 I mean, our bench--
06:57 I really believe this is the strongest bench
07:00 we've had in a long time.
07:02 38 bench points to four.
07:04 Our bench-- I have so much confidence going to our bench.
07:07 I really do.
07:08 And right now, Hannah didn't play tonight.
07:10 I mean, that-- right?
07:11 And we're still able to win by, what, 40 points or something
07:14 like that?
07:15 It's pretty impressive.
07:17 So I'm very, very happy with the way our bench is performing.
07:20 You guys have won 32 of your last 35 big 10 games,
07:23 including the big 10 tournament.
07:25 Just talk about how hard that is to do.
07:27 I mean, this is a tough conference.
07:29 And obviously, we always think one game at a time.
07:31 We've got a tough one coming up at Ohio State.
07:33 We know that.
07:34 We went in there and beat them last year.
07:36 I'm sure they have that game circled.
07:38 We destroyed them, basically, in the big 10 tournament,
07:41 and then beat them at their place when they were ranked
07:43 number two and undefeated.
07:44 So I know they have that game circled.
07:46 It's going to be a really, really tough challenge.
07:48 But we're up for it.
07:50 We're excited about the opportunity
07:51 to prepare and get ready for it.
07:52 I'd like to hear anybody talk about this.
07:54 Tonight's game seemed a little bit more, maybe,
07:56 chippy or physical at some moments.
07:57 Is this maybe a rivalry that gets
07:59 a little bit more aggressive or physical?
08:00 Or was tonight any different, you feel like,
08:02 than some other big 10 games?
08:05 I think every game's kind of physical in the big 10.
08:07 I honestly thought the refs called it pretty tight.
08:09 I thought they called a lot of fouls.
08:11 I thought Wisconsin was very physical with us.
08:13 I thought they were physical in the paint
08:15 when we got into the paint.
08:18 I mean, I wouldn't say this is a rivalry.
08:20 I think every game Iowa plays that we play,
08:24 people have circled on their calendar because of what we've
08:26 been able to do over the past few years,
08:28 and even what Coach Bluter's built here as a program.
08:30 People love playing the Iowa Hawkeyes.
08:33 People love coming to Carver Hawkeye Arena.
08:34 And this is a great challenge to play here.
08:36 But also when we go on the road, people love playing us.
08:38 So yeah, I think it was physical.
08:40 But that's just big 10 basketball,
08:42 so you better be ready for it.
08:43 Speaking of that competitiveness,
08:46 it looked like Wisconsin--
08:47 well, it didn't just look like it.
08:49 They got it down to 13.
08:50 They started talking a little bit more.
08:52 And then you guys responded to the play.
08:54 I want to say it was a 15-0 run, shut the game down.
08:58 Did their chippiness and chatter help motivate you guys
09:04 to put the game away or anything like that?
09:06 I think Coach Bluter, at a time out,
09:07 told us the best way to quiet them down
09:10 is to show it through our play.
09:12 And so that's kind of what we did.
09:14 And I think that's what we always try to do,
09:17 is just let our actions speak a lot louder than words.
09:22 And so that's what we did there.
09:23 This is for any of you.
09:24 I mean, you guys have talked all year long
09:26 about how this is a new team.
09:27 Everybody talked about losing McKenna and Monica,
09:30 but also the depth and players stepping up,
09:32 like Sidney Falters playing the best basketball of her career.
09:35 Taylor McCabe comes in.
09:36 Kylie hits a couple of threes.
09:37 I mean, just what is it about this team behind the scenes
09:39 that's really allowed you guys to form your own identity
09:42 despite losing those pieces, and just how everything's
09:44 progressed so far?
09:46 Well, I think that we've created a culture where
09:48 everyone matters.
09:49 And so everybody on this team knows that they're valuable.
09:52 And everybody on this team knows that you
09:54 might get an opportunity and you're
09:55 going to have to step up.
09:56 And I think people work really hard outside of practice time
10:00 and get shots up.
10:01 And when their number's called, since you
10:04 know that you're valued on this team and that you matter,
10:06 you're going to step up and we're going to have your back.
10:08 It doesn't matter if it's the last person off the bench
10:10 or whoever it is.
10:11 We're excited for them to come in, and we trust them.
10:14 Kate had, I think, pretty loud 16 points.
10:17 How valuable are those threes when they come
10:20 at the correct time, per se?
10:23 Yeah, I mean, I just feel like she's playing so confidently
10:26 and strong right now.
10:28 I love the way that Kate's playing and leading this team.
10:32 Again, she doesn't force anything.
10:34 She took eight shots and made five of them, four for seven.
10:38 She's playing to her role.
10:39 She's playing to her strengths.
10:41 But I think it's big.
10:42 When we can get extra people--
10:44 I mean, everybody knows Kaitlin's
10:46 going to have double figures.
10:47 But when we can have more than her-- and tonight we
10:49 had two others, and Sid and Kate--
10:52 it just helps us play.
10:55 And just as a follow-up, for either of you,
10:57 everyone, including you, talks about Kate
11:00 and her intangibles and her leadership.
11:02 You would never trade that for anything.
11:04 But how nice is it to get the crowd on their feet
11:07 for a tangible, like a couple big threes?
11:11 I mean--
11:11 It feels good.
11:12 They love it.
11:13 I mean, look when Gabby, again, when
11:14 she made that three, the place went nuts again.
11:16 It's just so much fun.
11:17 I think they obviously love Kaitlin,
11:20 but I think they really love everybody in this team,
11:23 and an opportunity to cheer for everybody.
11:25 We talked around Christmas time that maybe Kaitlin was taking--
11:29 not taking too many threes, but had too much of the three-point
11:32 load, potentially.
11:32 What have you seen over the last few games
11:33 where other people have been able to sell what Kate hits
11:36 for tonight?
11:36 You have other players who made like 15 or 16.
11:39 How different is this offense when everyone
11:40 is making the three?
11:41 It's completely different.
11:42 I mean, we were just so much harder to guard
11:44 when everybody's contributing like that.
11:47 And I mean, Kaitlin's always going to be our leading scorer.
11:50 That's OK.
11:50 That's all right.
11:51 But it's like when everybody else can contribute.
11:54 I mean, tonight we had 25 assists,
11:56 and she had five of them.
11:57 I mean, 20 other assists by other people
11:59 on this basketball team.
12:01 That's really good team basketball.
12:02 OK, I'd be curious to ask about Brynda Greiner.
12:05 I can speak for myself that she's
12:06 kind of got me interested in watching women's college.
12:08 She was just tuning in to see somebody who could dunk,
12:10 who could block about 10 shots a game.
12:12 Can you speak about the significance
12:13 of passing her on those?
12:14 Because I assume you probably watched her growing up.
12:16 Yeah, I was still pretty young, but I remember playing--
12:18 or going to watch her.
12:19 She played at Wells Fargo Arena when I was pretty young.
12:21 I believe it was Pat Summitt's last game, Baylor
12:23 versus Tennessee in Des Moines.
12:25 So I saw Pat Summitt's last ever game
12:27 and Brittany Greiner and Baylor.
12:29 I'm pretty sure they went on to win that year.
12:31 So that's my core memory, Brittany Greiner,
12:32 and obviously what she's been able to do.
12:34 And W is pretty impressive.
12:35 And just to be in the same vicinity of some of those names
12:40 that I'm in is super special and super cool.
12:42 And people I grew up watching, and yeah,
12:45 life kind of comes full circle.
12:47 So it's special.
12:47 Who'd you go to that game with?
12:49 My family.
12:49 Yeah, my dad, I think my mom, my two brothers too.
12:52 I was pretty young.
12:53 I don't really remember too well.
12:55 Thank you.