Minnesota Head Coach Lindsay Whalen
On what she saw down the stretch: “(Iowa) made some big shots. I think a couple times we were just a step away from the shooters and they made some big shots. I thought we got some good looks down the stretch. It came down to one stop again for us, and we will break through on one of these. I know it hurts, but I am extremely proud of the team and proud of the way that they battled.”
On if she considered taking a timeout down the stretch: “I thought about it. We had a call in that we felt like we were getting some good looks for [Jasmine Powell] and she was able to create. So, I felt good about what we had going.”
On her message to her team: “For us, we will look at the video and see how we can get some stops and execute on offense down the stretch. Everybody needs to keep their heads up. We are sticking together and it’s time to get ready for Purdue. We will learn from this game and continue to work on getting a stop there at the end. We will continue to work and continue to battle.”
On Destiny Pitts: “We were informed this afternoon that she was entering the transfer portal. I will continue to respect her privacy.”
On if she was surprised at the decision: “It is a situation where we’ve had some discussions. At the end of the day, her deciding to go into the transfer portal…. we wish her the best. Nothing but the best for her and her future.”
On Taiye Bello coming into the game: “I thought Taiye came in and provided us some really good minutes and momentum for the team.”
On getting on the same page with Taiye Bello and the rest of the players: “Everybody in the locker room is going to continue to work together and keep working, and that’s all we can do.”
On installing her own culture as a new coach: “From the teams I was on throughout my career, I feel like I learned a lot from times I have played here and also professionally. I’m trying to put the players on the court in the best position possible and give them the opportunity to go out and play the game that they love and doing it together and playing hard every night.”
On Sara Scalia’s performance: “She was unbelievable. She played 40 minutes and put up 18 (points) and 10 rebounds) as a freshman. You can’t really say enough about the way she played. From start to finish she was tremendous for us all night.”
Minnesota senior Jasmine Brunson
On how she is rallying her teammates: “The main thing I’m trying to do right now is to encourage my teammates and stick together. At the end of the day, it’s a sisterhood so all the adversity we are going to face together, we are going to have to have each other’s backs. I’m very proud of this team, we have a lot of young players on this team right now and we’re fighting right now and sticking together, and that’s what we need to do the rest of the season.”
On her message to the team moving forward: “Everybody just has to do a little bit more. I think that’s the great thing about a team, when somebody is out or goes down, whatever the case is, we have each other’s backs.”
Minnesota redshirt junior Gadiva Hubbard
On what tonight’s game says about the cohesiveness of the players: “I think it says a lot; we have each other’s backs. We try to have a lot of help‐side on the court, that helped a lot. Even off the court we have each other’s backs, we try to stay positive and be there for one another, and I think that is showing on the court as well.”
On if she was trying to miss the second free throw at the end of the game: “No I was not, actually. I didn’t even think about doing that. I just wanted to see if we could get a stop or a steal at the end and it just didn’t work out that way.”
On if she is confident the team can break through: “I’m very confident that we will be able to rally through at the end. It’s just the little things at the end of the game and the next time that happens, or if we are put in that situation, we’ll push through. We’re quick learners.”
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