Feb. 14, 2013
- Video highlights from Bluder news conference
- Read the February issue of Hawk Talk Monthly
- IowaWomensBasketball.com
- 2013 NCAA 1st and 2nd Round Information
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone/ipad app!
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- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
- 2013 Big Ten Tournament Information
Complete Coach Bluder Transcript
IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa head women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder met with the media Thursday after the Hawkeyes fell to Penn State, 81-69, inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Opening Statement:
Lisa Bluder: I thought we played a decent first half, and I felt that offensively we did a pretty good job this game. We scored 69 points, and Penn State is holding their opponents to 56 points. We shot the ball well, 46 percent and 40 percent, where they’re holding their opponents to 29 percent three point shooting. Offensively not bad, 18 assists.
The downfall was our free throws. We’re usually a great free throw shooting team, and we did not take advantage of the free throws, missed a couple front ends and one on ones in the first half, just that could have kept the game so much closer if we just could have made our free throws.
Defensively disappointed, made too many mental errors on turnovers that just gave them easy scoring opportunities, and I just think defensively is where we’re the most disappointed with this game.
Q. It seemed like in the second half they seemed to take you a little bit out of your offense. What did they do specifically?
Lisa Bluder: It seemed like they amped up their defense. It seemed like they just pressured a little bit more. I think they pressured hard to begin the game, and we handled it. The second half, again, forced us into some of those mental mistakes, I think.
Q. When they went man to man was that a tough adjustment?
Lisa Bluder: You know, they go man to man almost all the time. They only play zone out of bounds. So they’re very good. You know, they’re a strong, aggressive, pressure defense team, deny passing lanes. They do a great job with it.
Q. Is this a game maybe that wouldn’t have hurt so much if you hadn’t lost four going in a tough team at home, but having the circumstances be what they are, is it that much tougher?
Lisa Bluder: Well, yeah, any time you lose a game it’s tough, and we’ve lost five in a row, and it’s really tough. We’re in a situation we play on the road now two games, and we really need to win one of them. I think we’re sitting in a situation where we really need to win one of those two road games, and it’s not easy, going to play at No. 13 Purdue and then going to a Nebraska team we just lost to on Monday. So it’s a tough road.
Q. Was there anything you can maybe build upon in this game going forward?
Lisa Bluder: Well, I do think that, again, our offense was a little bit better, we shot the ball better. Our post showed up tonight and did a good job, and we knew that our post would have to score well against Penn State because they use their post to help so much on every drive. I’m happy with the way Morgan and Bethany shot the ball tonight. That was good.
Q. What did they do to take Jaime out of her game?
Lisa Bluder: A lot of ball pressure, and yeah, unfortunately she got rattled out there tonight.
Q. What does Melissa Dixon bring to the team coming off the bench?
Lisa Bluder: It’s wonderful. She’s been doing it for us all year. She’s a person that’s that sixth player, that gives you that spark, and it’s not just on the offensive end. She comes in and plays really good defense for us, too, and we are not scared to put her on the best perimeter offensive player for the other team. She uses her feet well, sometimes puts her hands on too much and got into foul trouble tonight. But she’s a spark both offensively and defensively because of the energy she brings.