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

March 19, 2023

Lisa Bluder

Caitlin Clark

Gabbie Marshall

Carver-Hawkeye Arena

Iowa Hawkeyes

Media Conference

Iowa - 74, Georgia - 66

THE MODERATOR: We will begin now with an opening statement from Coach Bluder.

COACH BLUDER: Just thrilled. Getting through this game. Georgia is an excellent basketball team. And obviously, we had to play very, very well in order to get this victory today. Caitlin has a double-double. Gabbie, her adjusted field goal percentage shooting is 83%. 5/8 from 3-point range. Through the tournament games, she has 19/33. 57% from 3-point range. In our Big 10 Tournament and now in this tournament. She has been outstanding. The main thing I'm going to say is to our crowd. We had the best attendance of all 16 of the sites across the country. The Hawk fans are amazing, and we needed every one of them today. So a big, big thank you to the Iowa Hawkeye fans.

THE MODERATOR: We'll continue with questions for both of our student athletes.

Q. They got the game down to 2 points, 68-66. And then what did you guys do to, sort of, take charge at that point? They had some turnovers.

CAITLIN CLARK: Yeah. Are you talking in the fourth quarter?

Q. Yeah. At the end.

CAITLIN CLARK: I think fourth quarter, I had a shot that I left short and then we go down and we got a stop and we come down, I think there was 1:10 maybe left on the clock. I just dribbled it out. And we went four flat. So basically I was going to take the girl to the hole. And luckily I beat her and got a shot off and made it and became a two-possession game. So kind of just knew, you know, try to get another stop which we did. I think somebody got a deflection -- was it you or Kate? Somebody got a deflection there, and Monika got the ball and we were able to advance it, I believe. So basically, it was our defense. But the last play we scored on was just a four flat going to the basket because the middle of the paint was so open. I wanted to penetrate and get to the rim.

Q. Gabbie, you obviously are on a streak now. Do you feel confident that all your teammates, when they are open they are going to score? Kate was hitting one. McKenna, obviously once in while. Doesn't that feel good to know that you are not the only one who has to do it?

GABBIE MARSHALL: For sure. We have been playing together so long that I think the belief we have in each other is just astronomical. I think every time any one of us shoots the ball, it's going in. We tell each other "keep shooting." We believe in each other all the time. And the coaches believe in us to keep shooting. If one person is in a slump, the other person is going to pick them up. That's just what we're really good at and I think our team chemistry on and off the court helps with that a lot.

Q. The bench got off just short with Anna not there. Molly got banged up early. What does it say to you guys did what you did with basically 7 players?

CAITLIN CLARK: Yeah. I think it shows how tough we are. I think the mental toughness is going to carry us a long way. It wasn't always pretty. 17 turnovers isn't as high as we would like. We want to keep that number a bit lower. This is a tough game to win. You are in the round of 32. Georgia has absolutely nothing to lose. We were in front of a sold-out crowd. And I thought we came down and we were really tough at the end of the game. Got stops when we needed to. We cleaned up the offensive rebounding in the second half. Only gave up 2 points on offensive rebounds which was huge for us. Who knows if it was like the first half and we might not win the game. So I think that was, you know, huge as well.

Q. Caitlin, they held you lower than what you normally are averaging per game. What did you see from them defensively that gave you a hard time and overall to force some of the turnovers that they did?

CAITLIN CLARK: Yeah, I think normally I probably make a couple more shots. I thought I had, you know, at least three open 3s that usually go down from me. One in transition from Gabbie, another one in the corner, honestly, probably four more 3's that were pretty wide open. But, you know, luckily I made a couple more in the second half. Sometimes that happens. That's just how it goes. I'm still 4/10 from the three-point line. I'll take that any day of the week, that's 40%. Better than what most people do. Getting it into the paint was one of our goals. At times just froze up once we got it there because they were collapsing. And it seemed as if everybody was guarded. But, you know, they are long, they are athletic, they live on turnovers. That's what they wanted to do. But no matter when we had a turnover we never hung our head, we never felt defeated for ourselves. We just hustled back and, you know, the next play. Nobody blamed each other. I think that just speaks to this group that we have. And I think that's going to carry us a long way.

Q. Especially after last season's loss in the second round, what does it mean to go to the Sweet Sixteen this year?

CAITLIN CLARK: It's awesome. Any time you are one of 16 teams that get to keep playing basketball, it's pretty special. It wasn't a huge party or celebration in the locker room. This wasn't our goal. It's one of the steps to reaching our goal.but it's not the be-all end-all to us. This is the first weekend and it's done with. And now we have the second weekend. And we hope there's a third weekend too. Our next step is going to Seattle and being prepared to play there. Any time you advance to the Sweet Sixteen, it is special. And you should appreciate it. To win one last time for McKenna and Monika on our home court, they deserved that more than anybody.

Q. With 21 assists as a team, how special is it to play on a team that creates for one another?

GABBIE MARSHALL: Yeah. I think, you know, we have always preached ever since I've been here that giving up a good shot for a great shot. I think we're really good at that. Obviously, Caitlin is really good at finding her teammates and knowing who is hot. We have playing together so long that we know where each other is. Just how to get each other open, and I feel like they knew I was hot and they got me the ball in the right spot. And it just opens things up more inside for Monika too as well.

Q. Caitlin, I think between points and assists you were responsible for 33 of Iowa's last 35 points. Just did you just decide hey, it's my time to lead?

CAITLIN CLARK: Yeah. I really did not want to let this team lose again in this round. I knew I needed to step up and make plays for this team. I thought I was able to pick apart their zone with my eyes and get the ball inside. I know there was a few times I was able to get it to Monika before anybody was there, and their zone hadn't shifted, and she had, kind of, had just sealed. So I think that was huge. And obviously when Gabbie shoots the ball like she is it gives me quite a few assists as well. When I'm able to pass the ball and get over 10 assists I feel like it gives our team the balance we need to, to reach the goals that we want to achieve. But also, it frustrates the other team. It's hard to pick people who you are going to guard. And we have four people in double figures. So it's a challenge, especially when you are playing a zone like that of who are you going to guard and who are you going to leave open?

Q. Gabbie, now that the pressure to succeed will grow from here on out as you all head to Seattle, does today's performance give you an added layer of confidence as you move on to the Sweet Sixteen to perform as well as you did today?

GABBIE MARSHALL: Yeah. I think obviously, when you see shots go down you gain confidence. It's only to get harder and teams are going to get better from here. We know that. We're just going to have the same mentality and take it game by game. Day by day. And I think we're ready. We're excited. And obviously, it's really special that we get to go to the Sweet Sixteen. So I think we're going to lock down, stay focused and know the coaches will have us prepared.

Q. For Caitlin and Gabbie. I'm kind of an old dude, so seems like this arena was louder persistently for two -plus hours than I could ever remember. What was it like to play in that environment, to hear the ebbs and the flows but the way it topped off at certain times where my ears are still ringing?

CAITLIN CLARK: Yeah. I think it's really special. And the crowd really responds to me throwing my hands in the air which is kind of nice. They know when to get loud on defense especially. It's hard for the other team when people are just screaming at the top of their lungs. But, at the same time, I have to give Georgia credit. I thought they answered quite a few times. They made some tough shots. Tough, contested 2s. Those are the shots we want them to take. As we move forward those are shots teams are going to make, but it's going to be how are we going to respond. But I'm just grateful. That crowd is incredible. And it's something that maybe we're getting used to, but at the same time it can be like that everywhere for women's basketball. It really can if people just get in the arena and watch. The product is pretty amazing. I think the joy and the passion that our team plays with is what attracts people to this arena. And it's like pro sports in the state of Iowa. We're so lucky, and a lot of credit goes to her right here because she's built this program up. We were just lucky to come in here. There's been a lot of really good players who built our culture to be what it is today. And we try to hold that to a high standard as well.

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thanks for joining us today. All right. And we will continue with questions for Coach Bluder.

Q. Yeah. Just the status of Hannah, and what happened yesterday in practice, and was there a chance she could have played today, and what's her possible availability for next week?

COACH BLUDER: Yeah. It literally happened in the last 3 minutes of practice yesterday. She just turned her ankle. You know, they did treatments on it last night until late and again this morning. I really thought she was going to be able to go today. When she came into the locker room after the first warm-up I knew it was going to be tough for her. You know, I think she will be back though by next week, weekend. So I'm not worried about that. We've got great sports medicine here, and they will take care of her.

Q. With Molly going down in the first quarter, is there any concern with her and her availability for next week?

COACH BLUDER: I don't think so. I haven't heard anything yet, but I don't think so.

Q. Coach, did you see them play in the zone coming in or were they player-to-player?

COACH BLUDER: They are a zone defensive team all the way. So that's what we prepared for. We knew that that's what they were going to do. And they are very good at it. And they are long and they are quick and they do a great job of covering space. I thought they did a great job. And we had 17 turnovers, which like Caitlin said is a little bit too high. But they had 18. So you know our defense was pretty good too. We held them. I thought Diamond Battles played really well. I thought we did a great job on Audrey Warren. We held them below what their field goal percentage is. One point below their normal averages, and we scored 16 more than what they usually give up. So you know I think we did okay against their zone.

Q. Caitlin with 12 assists, what makes her such a great distributor?

COACH BLUDER: I mean, she's just so good, and she's always been good. Unbelievable passer. Her vision is so incredible. She can sit here and recite plays. That's how she is out there. She can see things unfolding. It's a real gift. I really believe that. She has 3 steals tonight. So she contributed in so many ways. She is a beautiful passer. It's not just one or two games; it is all the time.

Q. Coach Abrahamson-Henderson said she thought Diamond Battles was the best player on the floor today. Your response to that.

COACH BLUDER: I think she was good. Was she the best player on the floor? She had 21 points, 1 assists, 2 turnovers. I mean, I'm going to be biassed and she's going to be biassed. She thinks Diamond Battles. I think she was the best Georgia player on the floor. But you have a hard time telling me that Caitlin Clark wasn't the best player when she has 12 assists and 22 points and 3 steals. Numbers are right there.

Q. Caitlin's basket with 43 seconds left, is that the look you wanted, or did the play just develop that way?

COACH BLUDER: It just developed that way. We were waiting the clock down. We had a 2-point lead at that point. We're going to milk the clock a little bit. Last time we ran that play McKenna was wide open for a lay-up underneath. It was going to be one or the other. She was going to get it or one of our bigs was going to get it. I will let Caitlin shoot that last shot any day. We all know that that's usually a pretty good thing. And that was a right on, straight on kind of banked in and then we had a two-possession lead. And so felt a lot better having a two-possession lead.

Q. Coach, every starter played at least 37 minutes. Can you put it into perspective how difficult it is to win in this round with basically five players? And what does it say about your five that they were able to execute well enough to win?

COACH BLUDER: Yeah. I'm proud of them for being able to execute like that. The nice thing is, like ABC, a little bit longer timeouts so that helped us a little bit. But Caitlin has to play 40 minutes in this game. Diamond Battles plays 36 minutes. But they did distribute their minutes better than we did. You know, it's just unfortunate that Hannah went down. And obviously, when Molly went down right away, it's one of those things. But honestly, our players never hung their head, they never got upset about any of that stuff. And again, I really credit their maturity.

Q. I know you mentioned that you haven't really brought up the Creighton game from last year. You said you used it more in the summer. Now that you have won this game and gotten past the stage to the Sweet Sixteen, what does it mean for you and for the whole team to come back and kind of avenge that loss and take it towards your goal of making it to the Final Four?

COACH BLUDER: That was last year. And used it for motivation this summer. It's not something that we've talked about this week. Maybe it's in the back of everybody's mind. It's not something we really brought up. It feels good to win this game certainly. But more about we win a good Georgia team. And we are advancing to the Sweet Sixteen and we get to play another week. It's not like we have to defend ourselves that we lost to Creighton last year. Creighton proved themselves they were a good team. They got to the Elite Eight. They beat Iowa State after they beat us. Sometimes it's about matchups. And that was a tough matchup for us. Today Georgia team was a tough matchup for us. I thought we did a great job with that.

Q. Lisa, both these games here, our opponents committed two intentional fouls in both games. Caitlin in particular got clubbed across the face the other day. Today with one second left she got shoved. How do you keep your players composed when that happens. And what's your response to some of these fouls that could be injuring some of your players.

COACH BLUDER: It's frustrating. Especially 3 seconds left, to have a cheap foul at that point it's very frustrating as a coach, because you don't want your player being hurt. Gabbie had to come out of that game because of that. You know, keeping our composure, we've learned, even through the Michigan State game there, that we have to keep our composure no matter what. That was a great lesson that we learned at their place. They see it on TV. They see it happening where people don't keep their composure. I ran out there. Looking back, that was probably really stupid. I probably didn't need to be doing that and get in the middle of that. My players, knew what was at stake and they just really focused in. Obviously, Caitlin is the one we worry about. She's very passionate and stuff. She was actually very calm in that situation.

Q. Can you just talk about what Monika and McKenna mean to you in the program?

COACH BLUDER: Yeah. I'm just so glad we got to send those two seniors out on a positive note. I don't know how many games that they have won in Carver; a lot over the years. And those two seniors are really, really special. They have played a lot of games out here. They have been captains for us the last two years. And so it's their leadership as well as their work ethic and their abilities. I mean, McKenna knocked down a couple of huge 3's for us today. Had 8 rebounds. Monika had 9. Yeah. I mean, it's tough to lose those two, but we want to keep this season going as long as we can.

Q. I know you said that Hannah and Molly should be fine. Just as you get deeper into a postseason, what is the challenge as a coaching staff to keep your players fresh?

COACH BLUDER: You know, I think that happens in practice. I think you have to be smart in practice. You know, limiting time and maybe doing, like, you are not going to get a whole lot better at fundamentals this time of year. So it's a lot more knowing our personnel, doing more film work, and really having them take care of themselves. I mean, it's them hydrating, eating well, getting sleep, staying healthy, staying off their phones. That sort of thing that we have to really sort of stress to them. They have to keep themselves healthy. And I need to manage their minutes during practice and use more of a film workout sometimes than a physical workout.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us today, Coach.