BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 5, 2022

Amy Williams

Sam Haiby

Isabelle Bourne

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Postgame Press Conference

Iowa - 83, Nebraska - 66

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from coach and take questions for the student-athletes.

AMY WILLIAMS: We're pretty disappointed in this ball game and the outcome from this game. Obviously we came here to win a conference championship so anything short of that we were going to be heartbroken and disappointed.

But by the same token I'm really, really proud of this group and I told them in the locker room that if we can learn some lessons from what we learned here today and really find ways to improve between this tournament and the NCAA Tournament then we feel like we can make a run there as well.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please, for the student-athletes.

Q. Sam, talk about this experience itself, getting here with this young group. I mean, this is an extremely young Nebraska team. Talk about the process and the game today. Of course you got Caitlin Clark's on fire today. But talk about how Nebraska came this far.

SAM HAIBY: Yeah. I'm really proud of the way we fought, not just today. We came here on a mission. Unfortunately, we fell short of that. We knew it was going to be a big one today. We had Husker Nation behind us the whole way, but ultimately, I'm really proud of how we fought at the Big Ten Tournament and good thing we're not done yet.

Q. Monika's a handful underneath the basket. Anything that you took away from that?

ISABELLE BOURNE: Just as a team we can't allow her to get that low. It's too easy for her. She's too big in the paint to go straight up. When we play her again next time we'll have to make sure that she doesn't catch it that deep in the paint.

Q. Isabelle, you really made your mark on this game in the first half in particular and you kept your team in it. So what did you see out of your performance although the result is not what you wanted?

ISABELLE BOURNE: I think just as a team my team's had my back and they encourage me to go up to the basket strong. I was having a hot game and that really helped me with my confidence.

But my teammates really helped me, getting me the ball down low, and giving me confidence to go up strong with it.

Q. Sam, in your opinion, what lessons can your team learn from this game going forward to build momentum and become stronger?

SAM HAIBY: Just love the moment. We have to take every possession seriously, especially with a high-powered offense like that. We had a bunch of mental lapses on the defensive end for sure.

But just to make sure that we're locked in in huddles, locked in when on the court, and taking every possession one at a time.

Q. Sam, what changed there in the third quarter? It was a three-point game at halftime.

SAM HAIBY: Yeah. They're a good team. They went on a run. I think we got flustered a little bit, didn't handle it well at all. So that's something we can learn from there, just to come together as a team and take everything one at a time, get stops on defense.

Q. How would you describe the week that you guys had, the mark that you made, and giving yourself some momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament next week.

ISABELLE BOURNE: This was a tough loss. I think we played really well as a team this week, especially last night against Michigan. So that's something that we can take into the NCAA Tournament.

We are a great team and I think that anyone can step up and that's what makes us special is anyone can be great on that day. So definitely looking to take that into the NCAA Tournament.

Q. It looks like Clark is going to be the Player of the Year and you're going to face -- during tournament time you're going to face other players of that caliber. What are some of the adjustments you as a player will make to slow down those kind of offensive powerhouses?

SAM HAIBY: Yeah. Caitlin, she's a great player. Everyone knows that. I just think we need to be more diligent on the shots we're giving her. We made it pretty easy for her tonight in some aspects of the game. We need to be more diligent on the ball and how we're defending her.

Q. In the first half with Caitlin she had a lot of turnovers. What was it that you guys did to really get her uncomfortable?

ISABELLE BOURNE: I think just staying on her and sticking on her and playing off the ball in gaps and spaces and getting deflections. She's a great passer, so we all knew that she would make some good passes if you weren't looking, so I think in the first half we were pretty focused on getting deflections there.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Ladies, we will dismiss you. Good luck in the tournament. Thank you.

Questions for coach.

Q. Talk about the progress you made with this team and how young they are. And this future has got to be unbelievable. Is it limit less?

AMY WILLIAMS: Yeah, I mean, we feel really excited about the way this group has come together and just gelled as a group, and I credit the young ladies that were sitting right here beside me. Sam Haiby and Izzy Bourne are tremendous leaders in our program. They have both been team captains for a couple of years now and I think they have done a great job of just embracing our underclassmen and putting them under their wing and just believing in them and kind of teaching them the ropes. I think that's laid a really good foundation for the future.

Q. In your perspective, what changed there in the third quarter? Was there something that they did differently? Did you guys run out of gas? Was that a factor in the outcome today?

AMY WILLIAMS: No. We're not going to use ran out of gas as an excuse. Everybody this time of year is dinged and tired. I think the big thing is they were really aggressive off penetration in the third quarter. I thought they just put a mindset to get their shoulder down and go to the rim. And it wasn't just Caitlin Clark, but I thought at times even McKenna Warnock and for sure Kate Martin just really aggressive driving down that right lane line and that we had a hard time keeping the ball in front of us there in the third quarter. They drew a lot of fouls, got to the free-throw line, got to the bucket, and put up 28 points in the third quarter and that was kind of a big difference.

Q. In that first half your team was able to run with Iowa and you were able to contain one of the best offenses in the country. In your opinion, what adjustments can be made so you can keep that effort for a full four quarters in a NCAA Tournament?

AMY WILLIAMS: Yeah. I think the big thing, and our players talked about this in the locker room after the game, is that when Iowa went on a little run there in the third quarter we lost our focus just a little bit and our ability to execute there offensively. We kind of started to try to just go make plays one-on-one instead of staying within the flow of executing as a team.

And so I think that's something we can really learn from and practice and work on over the next week and hopefully just do a much better job as we try to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

Q. It looks like you guys were 3 of 6 from the three-point line. What was the difference-maker that Iowa frustrated you guys? Was it the three-point line or was it more like the physicality?

AMY WILLIAMS: I thought that it was a very physical game, but I thought that, credit when they switched their defense, went to a lot of zone, we got a little bit stagnant and then we settled maybe a little bit too much for kind of some perimeter shots when we really needed to continue to hunt the paint.