March 21, 2004Head Coach Lisa Bluder
"I want to congratulate Virginia Tech. They came out and did a wonderful job against us on offense, defense and execution. (Ieva) Kublina was someone we just didn't have an answer for. We knew she could shoot outside, we just didn't get outside and defend her. We gave up too many uncontested three-point shots in the first half that ultimately was the difference in the game. I'm proud of our team and our three seniors. They didn't quit, and they didn't back down. The effort they gave us all year was outstanding."
On cutting the Virginia Tech lead to seven in the second half (74-67 at 4:06):
"We made some shifts in our defensive zone and we had some defensive stops - which is something we didn't get most of the night. We also got some shots to fall and we got it to seven, but Virginia Tech was textbook after that. They drew the foul right away, got it up to nine, and right after the media timeout we turned the ball over. You would hope that your kids would be mentally ready to execute after a two minute rest, but we had two poor turnovers in the next minute."
On Iowa's game plan:
"I thought our zone could have been a lot better. We identified the shooters as (Carrie) Mason and (Ieva) Kublina, knew they were there, and we worked all week at defending those two. For some reason, when we got into the game, we forgot who it was that was going to hurt us. Those two hurt us going 6-for-6 from the three-point line in the first half. I really think that was the difference."
Student Athlete Jennie Lillis
"We didn't do the things we needed to do on offense, and we didn't play with that sense of urgency we needed to play with, but our main problem was our defense."
On Playing on Virginia Tech's home floor:
"Maybe were a little psyched up and too ready to go. There is a definitely an advantage for them, but that's not something we are going to make an excuse for."
On Virginia Tech's Ieva Kublina:
"She creates a lot of mismatches for centers. She can go inside and outside. She looked very good tonight offensively."
Student-Athlete Kristi Faulkner On Iowa's Defense
"I think it was just our intensity that hurt us. We knew the game plan and we were very well prepared to stop them, but you have to give them credit. They hit a lot of shots, and we just didn't execute on defense
Student-Athlete Crystal Smith On Iowa's young players and the future:
"I think this game shows what we need to improve on in the future. It shows us that we need to improve our defense. We know have a very good offense - that always comes to us - but it always comes down to defense, and we just didn't get the job done today."
For feedback on Virginia Tech Athletics,
send an e-mail to hokipoki@vt.edu
This Site Maintained by the Virginia Tech Athletics Internet Services staff.
Information on the site written and provided by the Virginia Tech Sports Information staff.
For more information send an e-mail to hokipoki@vt.edu
Ticket Market Place
Travel Center & Info
Sports Radio Network | FAQs
