Jan. 3, 2017
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery
Penn State Women's BasketballPenn State vs. IowaJan. 3, 2017
Coquese Washington | Head Coach Penn State
Q: Coach, Jaida (Travascio-Green) obviously had her first start tonight - what did you see from her?
A: Honestly, even though the last game she played I think that she was 1-for-11 from the field, I really liked her aggressiveness, really liked her assertiveness and I think she plays really well with Amari (Carter) and Teniya (Page) on the floor. It's just an added weapon and she brings length on the defensive end of the floor. I just thought we'd mix it up and give her a shot. She's practicing well and playing well. I thought it would help to have her energy and her shooting out there on the floor at the beginning of the game.
Q: Iowa has been averaging 77 points a game and you all limited them to 58, including going 0-for-9 from the field for an eight minute stretch in the third - what did you see from your team defensively?
A: We talked at halftime that we needed to do a better job in transition. I thought that in the first half they got too many easy baskets because our rotations, communication and transitions weren't as good as they needed to be. We kind of turned that around and locked it up in the second half, especially the third quarter. I thought Jaylen Williams played very well in terms of being aggressive, forcing the paint and rebounding the ball in the third quarter. Those two things combined I think helped us to go on a bit of a run.
Q: Amari (Carter) talked about Iowa responding and not going away - was that your message to them heading into the fourth?
A: Absolutely. In conference play, in the Big Ten, you know everyone is going to play for 40 minutes. No one is going to hang their head and stop playing suddenly because they're down 12 or 14 or 15 points. There was a lot of basketball left in the game so we knew they would keep fighting and they'd attempt to come back, so the fourth quarter we just had to hunker down and get some stops and pay attention to our defensive rotations and our defensive assignments.
Jaida Travascio-Green | Fr. | Guard
Q: Jada, you had your first career start tonight. Did that change your mindset at all coming in or is it the same attitude?
A: It was the same attitude throughout the game as I've had the other games. I just wanted to step up as best as I can since my teammates and my coach put me in that position.
Q: You had five 3-pointers tonight, what were you able to do to get those open shots and knock them down?
A: I mean it takes two. It takes me sprinting in transition and it takes my teammates getting me the ball and it takes my teammates trusting me to knock down those shots.
Amari Carter | So. | Guard
Q: Amari, you guys had a 17-0 run in the third quarter to kind of open things up a little bit. What were you guys able to do to be so successful?
A: We just pushed the ball in transition. That was one of the things we wanted to focus on coming into the game and also throughout the other games we had this season. Getting out and getting out fast and try and put pressure back on the defense and we did that well.
Q: Iowa responded with a 7-0 run to end the (third) quarter. What is the message going into the fourth (quarter) after they responded?
A: They weren't going away. They knew they wanted to go in and fight all four quarters and that is what the 7-0 run meant.
Q: You had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists, a really balanced effort. What were you able to do out there to contribute in all three phases?
A: Just pushing the ball, getting the ball out fast. They got out on our shooters so the lane was open and when they crashed on me I could kick it out.