• 10 months ago
Hawkeye basketball
Transcript
00:00 [INAUDIBLE]
00:10 Just a really good bounce back win.
00:13 Our crowd came out, was amazing again.
00:17 We're truly blessed to have such an amazing group that win
00:20 or lose, they come out and support us.
00:22 Really happy with the way we shot the ball tonight
00:25 from a variety of people.
00:26 And we have four people in double figures, almost six
00:28 people in double figures.
00:29 And for us to be really successful,
00:31 that's what we have to be.
00:33 And tonight, this is kind of tongue in cheek and funny,
00:36 but when Caitlin's having a little bit of an off night,
00:38 shooting 47% and getting a triple double, are you kidding?
00:42 That's amazing.
00:43 She has 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
00:46 But I just love that other people stepped up tonight
00:49 and took responsibility for those shots.
00:52 And I love the balance that we had.
00:55 What was your offense doing to create
00:57 those kinds of opportunities?
00:59 We're just running our offense, truly.
01:01 I mean, I thought we pushed the ball well in transition.
01:06 I think people just stepped up and made shots.
01:09 It looked like your team was doing a great job of making
01:11 that extra pass, going from a good shot to a great shot.
01:15 Is that something that you guys tried to prioritize in practice
01:18 or just part of running your offense?
01:21 Well, it's both.
01:21 It's something we really try to do.
01:23 We want to be a high assist, and we had 28 today.
01:25 I mean, there was some beautiful passing out there.
01:27 Caitlin's passes, dumps to the post,
01:29 were amazing in the first half.
01:31 And then the second half, such unselfish play
01:33 as we reversed the ball and got a wide open layup for Hannah
01:36 on the other side.
01:37 So that's the basketball we like to see.
01:41 You talk about people stepping up.
01:42 I mean, Kylie had three threes, so a number
01:44 of deflections on defense.
01:45 That third three that went down, I
01:47 think, was probably as confident as I've ever seen her shoot.
01:49 I mean, can you just elaborate how
01:50 she kind of changed the course of the game a little bit?
01:52 Well, and I thought Molly did, too.
01:53 I mean, I just--
01:55 again, we've needed this.
01:57 We want this to happen.
01:59 We want people to step up, because it makes
02:01 Caitlin's job easier, right?
02:03 I mean, when other people are doing
02:04 what they should be doing, it makes her job so much easier.
02:07 And we are more enjoyable to watch in that situation,
02:10 as well.
02:10 Hannah, five offensive rebounds today.
02:16 Is that a priority that you had coming into the game,
02:18 or just something that came to you?
02:20 Yeah, I think every game we stress
02:23 offensive rebounding, so always trying to get those boards
02:26 is really important.
02:27 Second chance points are critical in lots of games.
02:30 So, yeah.
02:31 Caitlin, what does that do for spacing
02:33 when you've got shooters hitting on the wings?
02:36 Yeah, I think it's huge.
02:37 And I honestly think they just collapse
02:38 on every single drive tonight.
02:40 It was kind of hard for me to get my feet in the paint
02:41 and get good looks at the rim.
02:42 And they didn't really adjust to that.
02:45 It didn't seem as even--
02:46 I mean, we shot the ball well.
02:47 We made 17 threes.
02:48 So it was kind of like they were going to live with that
02:51 and make us prove ourselves from the outside.
02:53 And I thought that's exactly what we did.
02:55 I mean, Kylie and Taylor come off the bench
02:57 and both make threes.
02:58 Molly was great.
03:00 Kate was great.
03:00 So when we can consistently knock down
03:03 outside shots like that, it just opens up the paint for me
03:05 and Hannah.
03:06 But really, just anybody that wants to drive in there,
03:08 cut in there, it's just a harder team to guard.
03:12 Caitlin, Molly was sick there for a little while.
03:15 What does it mean to get her back to full speed
03:17 in what she did today?
03:18 Yeah, I think it kind of takes a little while
03:21 to get back from sickness, especially
03:22 when you're battling the flu and things like that.
03:24 It kind of drains you a little bit.
03:26 But this is the Molly that we know.
03:27 And this is exactly how she was playing
03:29 before she got a little sick.
03:30 So it was just getting her feet back under her
03:32 and getting the reps again, getting back in shape,
03:34 I think, was the biggest thing.
03:36 But she's capable of having these type of performances
03:39 every single night.
03:39 So it's something we need from her.
03:41 But also, she's a good enough player to do it consistently.
03:45 And I think she will going forward.
03:46 And she was even before she got a little sick.
03:48 And like I said, I think it was just getting her feet back
03:50 more than anything.
03:51 Coach, or Kaitlin, either way, after loss,
03:54 in games after losses, you guys are averaging 103 a game.
03:57 What--
03:59 Well, we're not going to lose more.
04:00 So that's not my offensive strategy.
04:03 I'm sorry.
04:04 Go ahead.
04:04 I'm sorry.
04:05 My fault.
04:05 Hi, Coach.
04:06 Hi.
04:06 [LAUGHTER]
04:07 Now, I mean, is it just a matter of a little bit more focus,
04:10 a little bit more hunger, or what?
04:13 I think we felt like we were just really sped up
04:15 on offense at Indiana and going back and watching the clips.
04:18 We also just didn't make shots.
04:20 We took a lot of good shots.
04:21 But there was also things that we
04:23 could have done a lot better on the offensive end
04:25 when we played Indiana.
04:26 And then coming back here, you want
04:27 to have a really good performance
04:29 and feel really great about yourself going into the last
04:31 week of regular season play.
04:33 And I thought that's exactly what we did.
04:34 We moved the ball well.
04:35 We shared the ball.
04:37 The amount of shots we took is evenly
04:39 distributed pretty well.
04:41 And like Coach said, that's what we're
04:43 going to need going forward.
04:44 It can't be one or two people.
04:45 We need a lot of people stepping up.
04:46 And it's hard for the other team.
04:49 Who are you going to take away?
04:50 Who are you going to sell out on?
04:51 It's hard to play box and one.
04:53 It's hard to play zone when we shoot the ball like this.
04:55 So hopefully it was just a good learning experience for us
04:59 at Indiana and just showed us the things
05:01 that we have to clean up.
05:02 And their environment was great.
05:03 So I think that could have sped us up a little bit, too.
05:05 So just staying a little more calm.
05:07 It was announced that College Game Day is coming back here
05:10 next week.
05:10 What do you guys think of that?
05:12 I think it's exciting for us to host it two years in a row.
05:15 I mean, they don't come out very often.
05:17 And for this to happen at the University of Iowa--
05:19 last year they said it was one of their best game
05:22 days that they'd had.
05:23 The best.
05:24 Other schools said they had to go drag kids out of the dorms.
05:27 But here at Iowa, we had people.
05:29 They were involved.
05:30 And so I think we're going to have an unbelievable atmosphere
05:33 for that.
05:34 And I just love that the national attention that
05:37 gives this great university of ours.
05:39 Caitlin, the 22 on the court today, what does that mean?
05:42 Just to see that.
05:43 Yeah, so I didn't really see it until I came out
05:45 for warm-ups.
05:45 I knew because Coach Bluder had told me about it.
05:47 But I don't know.
05:49 It's cool, honestly.
05:50 Seems a bit further back than where I actually shot it from.
05:53 But that's where they claim I shot it from.
05:55 So it was funny.
05:56 Gabby and Kate and Jada were trying to shoot it from there.
06:00 But it's super special.
06:01 I don't know.
06:02 That's something I'll always remember in a shot
06:04 that I'll always remember.
06:05 But yeah, I'm just thankful for this university,
06:09 the athletic department that wanted to do that.
06:11 They didn't have to do that.
06:12 And just kind of honoring myself in that way,
06:14 and this team in that way, it's super special.
06:16 Are you going to try to hit a shot from your logo
06:18 before it's too late?
06:21 If it happens, it happens, I guess.
06:23 Hannah and Lisa on this, since you had 47 points,
06:27 have you noticed more attention the last few games?
06:31 Tonight was the most points you had since then.
06:33 And same with you, Lisa.
06:35 What did you notice from Hannah tonight that kind of got her
06:38 back on scoring track, I guess?
06:42 I don't know what got her back on scoring track.
06:44 I will say, I mean, I'm not saying
06:46 Illinois didn't have good post defenders,
06:48 but Mackenzie Holmes is a pretty good post defender.
06:51 And I mean, I just think that when
06:54 Hannah plays with confidence, when she goes out there
06:57 and believes in herself, she can do anything.
06:59 I do.
07:00 And sometimes I think that is her biggest obstacle,
07:04 and she gets in her own way.
07:07 I agree with you.
07:08 [LAUGHTER]
07:10 Those are some pretty good big kids, though, in there.
07:13 Yeah, Camille Hobby and Jostick.
07:16 How did you manage to get free that much?
07:20 I think the pick and roll is amazing with me and Kaitlin.
07:23 We have great chemistry on that.
07:26 They helped up a lot on drives to the middle.
07:28 The post player kept coming over and helping on drives,
07:30 so that left Hannah for a lot of easy dump-offs,
07:33 a lot of really uncontested layups.
07:35 Probably at least half your buckets
07:36 were uncontested layups.
07:38 So we always kind of want to focus on that,
07:40 especially if we know the posts are helping up
07:42 the floor, just get drives in our post slide
07:44 for it should be an easy layup.
07:46 Kaitlin, I don't want to call Kate a glue player,
07:49 because based on her offense lately,
07:51 she's so much more than that.
07:53 It seems like she's playing her best offense, maybe,
07:55 of her career over the past month.
07:56 How have you seen her usage kind of go up?
07:58 It just seems like she's pulling up with a lot more confidence
08:00 from three, and just really seems like she's excelling
08:03 at the right time for you guys.
08:04 Yeah, I think her confidence is definitely an all-time high,
08:06 and that's what you would expect for somebody
08:09 that is in their 60 or now.
08:10 And I think she's shooting the ball really well,
08:14 but also she's a handful of the guard downhill.
08:16 She's big, she's physical, she's not afraid to hit somebody,
08:19 but she rebounds the ball well.
08:21 I think she had three O boards tonight.
08:23 But when she's just aggressive, it
08:25 adds a whole other dimension for our team,
08:26 and I think that's exactly what she's
08:27 been over the last couple months, and really all year.
08:30 I think she's done a tremendous job.
08:31 Obviously, there's been some games where her shooting hasn't
08:33 always been there, but she always
08:35 brings the leadership and the glue part, like you said.
08:37 So that's not anything you ever question with Kate.
08:39 But to me, she's a pro basketball player.
08:42 That's exactly how her game is.
08:43 It fits that way.
08:46 She can shoot it, she can drive, she can pass.
08:48 She screens well, she rebounds.
08:50 I mean, she gives about everything
08:51 you would want out of a player.
08:54 Kaitlin, I have to ask, during a timeout,
08:57 after you got subbed out, you sort of gave
08:59 one of the chairs the business.
09:01 What was that frustration coming from?
09:04 I think just missing shots that I make.
09:06 And sometimes you just got to let it out and regroup.
09:09 And I asked for the sub just to take a second,
09:11 take a deep breath, and then move on and get myself back
09:14 in there.
09:15 I think that's-- obviously, I didn't shoot it great tonight,
09:18 but still, it wasn't terrible.
09:19 And I think that's the biggest thing for me,
09:21 is being able to forget that, move on,
09:23 be able to do other things for my team.
09:25 But also, I think I responded well in the second half,
09:26 and made some big shots for us.
09:28 Made a couple threes in the fourth quarter that were huge.
09:31 And yeah, I mean, that's just shooting.
09:33 That's what happens.
09:35 Some nights are great, some nights are not great.
09:37 Some nights are mediocre, and that's just
09:38 kind of what happens.
09:39 But I think being able to rebound the ball and push,
09:42 but also get my teammates open is what's going to set me apart
09:44 and set this team apart.
09:45 And I thought I did that really well tonight.
09:48 Lisa, a week left in the regular season.
09:50 What questions, if any, do you still
09:53 need to answer with this team going into that stretch?
09:57 I just still would like a little more consistency out
10:00 of our backup post player.
10:02 That's like-- the one thing that coaches just cringe about
10:06 is inconsistency, right?
10:09 Be consistently good or consistently bad,
10:11 but be something.
10:12 And just like right now, it's like we're
10:14 almost gambling on who to put in between the three of them.
10:18 And that's hard.
10:19 It really is.
10:20 It makes indecision, and it doesn't give you
10:22 enough reps with that person.
10:23 And so that's the one thing that I think
10:25 that we're still battling with.
10:28 You've got your last road game of the season coming up.
10:30 And then after that, you probably
10:32 will have friendly crowds through the rest of March.
10:34 What does the crowd do to your performance instead
10:37 of a road crowd?
10:39 Honestly, that was something that was mentioned
10:41 after we lost at Indiana.
10:43 Even when we go to Minnesota, I expect
10:45 there to be a lot of Iowa fans.
10:46 So we're not intimidated by any environment,
10:50 whether it's people cheering for us, people cheering against us.
10:52 I feel like our team has enough experience in those ways.
10:55 But it never hurts to have people cheering for you
10:58 and wanting to celebrate when you do good
10:59 and get loud for you on defense.
11:01 So I think that is a good point.
11:03 Going forward, it's going to be either neutral or probably
11:05 pro-Iowa.
11:06 And I think that's a really good thing for us.
11:09 And we've got to be able to use that to our advantage,
11:11 because nobody wants to play with a bunch of people
11:13 screaming at them.
11:14 So I think going forward, that's something
11:17 that's exciting for us.
11:18 And we love going up to the Big 10 tournament.
11:20 Our fans are always really good there.
11:21 But I think our main focus is just on Minnesota right now
11:25 and then moving on from after that.
11:27 Kaitlin, the refs were giving Illinois
11:31 lot of opportunities.