NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - GEORGIA VS IOWA ST.

March 19, 2022

Ashley Joens

Emily Ryan

Iowa State Cyclones

Media Conference

Q. Emily and Ashley, what have you seen so far from catching up on Georgia?

ASHLEY JOENS: We watched them play Dayton yesterday. So just knowing that they're a tough team and they're going to come out and give us everything they have. So we're going to put in the scout today and just get ready for them.

EMILY RYAN: Like Ash said, we watched them yesterday against Dayton, but other than that, we haven't seen a whole lot yet. We're going to learn a lot about them today and prepare the best we can and get ready to go.

Q. How much did that help being able to come out on to the floor and sit in the stands and actually watch them live?

ASHLEY JOENS: Yeah, you just kind of see them play when they get down or get in a tough situation, see how they react and kind of see their tendencies as well, and we'll see that more in the scouting report we put in today. So I think just kind of watching them play and kind of figuring out what they like to do.

EMILY RYAN: Yeah, being able to watch them, just get familiar with the pace of play and how they prefer to play the game will be important for us. But, honestly, we'll work hard today to figure out what we need to figure out and get ready to go.

Q. I know this is tough to answer because you guys were probably thinking more about your game that's coming up, or that was coming up after Georgia, but did you have any takeaways from the small amount of time you watched them play on the court?

EMILY RYAN: Like you said, we were really focused on our game yesterday. So weren't super locked in on the game before us, but from what we saw, they're just a really athletic, skilled, talented team. They're in the NCAA tournament for a reason and they are in the second round for a reason. So we're going to have to prepare hard and be ready to go.

ASHLEY JOENS: Like Emily said, they're a very talented team and very athletic, so I think just the main thing is playing our game and focusing on who we are and really buy into the scouting report.

Q. Emily, Coach Fennelly joked before you were going to play a 9 p.m. game that you're usually in bed by then. How long did it take you to get to sleep after playing in that type of tense first-round game?

EMILY RYAN: Yeah, after a game you're always a little amped up. So getting calmed down and going to sleep is tough. So it was a late night for sure, but we're going to be ready to go tomorrow.

Q. Ashley, kind of in the same vein, do you guys spin forward, like trying to think about, hey, what can we do better late into the night or early in the morning the same way?

ASHLEY JOENS: We just have to come in today and really focus in. We have one day to prepare, so just listening to the coaches and doing our best to buy into the scouting and get ready to go.

Q. I know Coach Fennelly can be very specific about goals that he wants to accomplish going into the season. Was the idea of like, okay, this is Sweet 16 team, we want to go to the Sweet 16, a specific goal that got addressed during the summer or leading up to the season?

ASHLEY JOENS: I think, like we said in the summer when he put the score from last year on the scoreboard and the "Remember the Alamo" shirts, just a reminder of what happened last year, and knowing that we want to go one step further, which is the Sweet 16. So just kind of taking that into account, using that as motivation and knowing what we were working for.

EMILY RYAN: Going into the season we just really wanted to be the best team we could be at the end of the season and peak at the right time. So at this point, it's trying to get to the Sweet 16 because that's our game ahead right now and that's the goal moving forward. So that's what we're focused on.