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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 2, 2018Kenisha BellGadiva HubbardMarlene StollingsIndianapolis, Indiana Minnesota - 90, Iowa - 89 MARLENE STOLLINGS: Well, we're thrilled to be playing in the semifinals tomorrow for the first time in 13 years at our university and only the second time in our university's history, so we're really thrilled and proud for our kids to have this opportunity to play another day. What a heck of a game, heck of a battle. Credit to Iowa, all the way down to the final second there, and heck of a performance by Megan Gustafson. She was just phenomenal in the zone tonight. We tried everything we could, but I'm most pleased that we're going to move on and play again tomorrow. Q. You guys had to rely on your offense to get here but then it comes down to a defensive stand late. What was it like those last 10 seconds and the time-out as you're drawing it up and then as the play comes forward? KENISHA BELL: I think we just had to pick up the intensity on defense at the last 10 seconds, 11 seconds. We worked in practice for stuff like that. We work on final-shot situations, and that's one of the things we do in practice where we have to play defense the last 30 seconds or the last 10 seconds, and this is where it came to play. GADIVA HUBBARD: I definitely agree. We work on this at practice. Work on situations where we have to play defense for five seconds, 10 seconds at the end of a game, and we just had to focus on that, and that was what won the game. Q. We talked before about you guys knowing what you needed to do to get to the NCAA Tournament; being well aware of it the whole way, does this feel now after this win like you guys should definitely be in the NCAA Tournament? KENISHA BELL: Oh, yes. I do think we need to be in the NCAA Tournament. We've worked so hard, and like she said, doing stuff that hasn't been done in years. I think that this team can do it, and we've been breaking so hard for it, and this game showed it. Q. Kenisha, do you think ahead of tomorrow, does this win perhaps take some pressure off or do you want to play with the same kind of edge into tomorrow? KENISHA BELL: I just think we've got to keep coming with the same mentality. This is just another game that we have to win and pick up our intensity from start to finish. We didn't let up this game, and I think if we just carry that on into next game, we'll be fine. Q. Coach Stallings, you've certainly known about Megan Gustafson and her abilities. What made her be so super effective despite all the knowledge and the film and the scouting reports you have on her? MARLENE STOLLINGS: Well, I think it was one of those games where people talk about it, I'm a former player, I got to experience it, but way, way back in the day. I think she was just in the zone. The basket had to look like an ocean to her. We threw five different people at her. We also threw a secondary defender at her most of the night. She was working very hard for some of those, not all of them, but I just have to give her credit in that she played at a very high level tonight. Q. We talked last week about you being open with the team with the NCAA Tournament. Same thing we asked Kenisha. Does this feel like what put you over the edge in terms of getting off the bubble? MARLENE STOLLINGS: Well, we didn't put all that pressure on the team coming into this game. We as a staff knew it probably had some NCAA Tournament implications with it, but I certainly think that this win does get us into the NCAA Tournament, but I just want to make sure that we're not just happy to be in the tournament. Now you can play for seeding in the tournament, and we also are playing for a championship here. We came here with the sole focus of three games in three days, and we've checked the first one off, so we have to go back and regroup and get ready to do this again here very quickly. Q. You guys are an offensive team, so to be up a point needing a defensive stand those last 10 seconds, as a coach what's going through your head there? MARLENE STOLLINGS: Yeah, well, we were just imploring them constantly to put more pressure on the perimeter because Megan was just amazing. We just kept talking to our guards, Kenisha, Hubbard, Carlie Wagner and even Destiny Pitts, when the ball is in your area, you have to pressure, you have to pressure at a very high level right now because once it gets in there, there's not a whole lot more we can do right now. That's what I thought kicked in in the last minute or so of the game, maybe a minute-12-or-so was on the clock, but that steal that Gadiva Hubbard got was huge and then Destiny Pitts on-ball defense in the final seconds there on shot was really big, not letting the ball get in and then forcing a desperation shot at the buzzer. Q. You mentioned Destiny; she's done a lot for you as a freshman. She opened the game 1 for 11 from three-point range. How impressive was it for a freshman not to get discouraged but to keep putting up shots, especially from long-range? MARLENE STOLLINGS: Yeah, well, it takes a certain level of toughness, but I tried to take pressure off of her by just telling her, if you are open, shoot the ball. I don't care if you're 0 for 20 right now. If you are open, shoot the ball, because we know she can hit it. She's been deadly from three-point land all year for us and we're certainly not going to tell her to stop shooting at this point in the season. So if you're open, don't even think about it, let it fly. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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