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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 2, 2018Lisa BluderMegan GustafsonMakenzie MeyerIndianapolis, Indiana Minnesota - 90, Iowa - 89. LISA BLUDER: Just want to congratulate Minnesota. I thought this was a really hard-fought game by both teams. I thought both teams played really, really hard out there. You know, you get down to a one-point game and you look at, you know, we're 19 possessions down. They have 80 shots on the hoop, we have 61. It's tough. It's amazing really that we were in the game. But really because of a really good shooting game, obviously especially by Megan, setting a Big Ten record, a school record. Really amazing. But Makenzie shot the ball well as a whole our team shot the ball well. We just needed one more defensive stop. Q. Makenzie, can you kind of take us through the design of the last play and what you were kind of hoping to get out of there? MAKENZIE MEYER: Yep. We were hoping to just get a fast break down the court. Kathleen did a really good job of getting past her defender and we were trying to get the ball to Megan if we had the opportunity, and I think she was covered pretty heavily, and Minnesota just had a good defensive stop, and we didn't really get a good opportunity. Q. Megan, you've obviously shown the ability to have big games, but tonight was another level. What enabled you to have so much success offensively? MEGAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think yesterday I didn't contribute as much as I normally do, and so I think that kind of gave me a little bit extra motivation. I think I just have to thank my guards. They gave me great passes inside. I was able to really work on my feet and just get in good position, which helped a lot. I knew this was going to be a big game. Minnesota is a great team, so I just told myself that I need to step up. Q. Megan, do you take any comfort in the fact that even though you had an early exit you have a little more time to prepare for the NCAA Tournament? MEGAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, it's a lot better than last year's situation. We do know pretty much that we're going to be in the NCAA Tournament, which is really nice. I've never been able to be in an NCAA Tournament, so I'm really excited for that. You know, we're going to prepare next week to get better as a team, which is going to be nice to have that. We haven't had that in a while, and then just get ready to make some noise. Q. Makenzie, the tempo of this game was much different than yesterday. This kind of tempo, where does it fit on how ideal it is for the way you want to play? MAKENZIE MEYER: I think we play really well in a fast-paced game. Obviously we score well in transition, so that was nice. There were times I think today we started playing into Minnesota's game a lot more, and that's where our turnovers game. We need to clean up that part of our game. Q. Have you ever had a player dominate a game like Megan did today? LISA BLUDER: I actually have. I think Jan Jensen had 50 something against Iowa State, and I remember that very clearly, but that was a long time ago. That was back in 1991. It's been a long time. Been a long time, but yeah. That was an amazing performance, though. I mean, I thought Makenzie shot the ball well, too. Q. Pitts for them really struggled early on and then she was able to hit some big shots. Was there anything defensively you kind of focused on early that maybe switched at all or just kind of relaxed that allowed her to get some shots to fall? LISA BLUDER: Yeah, we had some miscommunication at the end and let her open for too many threes. We know she's a really good three-point shooter, and she didn't hit them early, but you know, a shooter is going to keep shooting and they are going to make them eventually. Statistics will play out for you, but unfortunately we didn't get those covered as well as we needed to. Q. Everyone obviously had you in the NCAA Tournament. What do you feel are one or two of the best parts of your resume? LISA BLUDER: Hmm, well, obviously I think we shoot the ball well. I think we're a really explosive offensive team. I know you didn't see it yesterday, but I think that we are. You know, I think Megan just deserves to be on the national stage. I think our whole team does. But certainly I think she's one of the best players in America, and I think that is definitely something that needs to be there. But we're 24-7. We finished tied for third in the Big Ten. We had some really big wins. We beat Ohio State. We've had some really great wins. I think definitely we should be in the tournament. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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