Hawkeyes prepare for Murray State

The Iowa women’s basketball team will face one of the highest scoring teams in the country in Murray State. They love to hoist as many three balls as possible and the Hawkeye women’s team is working to be be prepared as possible for the test ahead.

Prior to the game on Saturday, Iowa players Lucy Olsen and Sydney Affolter met with the media to discuss the upcoming contest.

Q. Sydney, Murray State is the highest-scoring offense for points per game pretty much in the nation. As a player who’s outrebounding most of your team and pretty much leading in steals, along with Kylie, what do you think is going to be necessary on the defensive end if you guys want to advance?

SYDNEY AFFOLTER: We’ve worked a lot on our transition defense. Obviously, like you said, they like to push the ball and get one to two shots to their shooters. Just containing them in transition is going to be really important.

But we know how good our defense is. And it will be a fun, fast-paced game, so we’re excited.

Q. As you guys have prepared for Murray State, what kind of stands out about them that makes them an opponent that — I know you guys don’t take any opponent lightly — but what stands out about them that makes them dangerous?

LUCY OLSEN: I think they’re here for a reason. Like no random team just makes March Madness. So that’s important to note. They have a 3,000-point scorer on their team. Not a lot of people do that in their career. And, yeah, they play so fast, like Syd mentioned. They just shoot the ball well. And yeah, they’re going to be tough.

SYDNEY AFFOLTER: I agree with Lucy. And I watched the Drake game recently, and we know how good Drake is. And they beat them. They’re obviously a great team. We don’t underestimate anyone. They like to push the ball just like we do.

Q. For the last several years, your program’s largely been identified by Caitlin Clark and Lisa Bluder, neither of them here now. What is the identity of Iowa basketball right now?

SYDNEY AFFOLTER: I think Iowa basketball is always going to be Iowa basketball. Obviously Caitlin and Coach Bluder were a huge part of that. They’ve left such an amazing legacy on this program.

But our culture stands what it is before Caitlin was here and after. And we play for each other and we play with that joy that everyone talks about and enjoys seeing. I think we just love playing with each other and playing for this school. And we’re blessed to be here and excited to play.

Q. You got to host the last three years for the NCAA Tournament. Any excitement for getting to travel to a new arena, new place to play in the NCAA Tournament?

SYDNEY AFFOLTER: Obviously I’d love to be playing at Carver. I love that place. But we’re excited.

And we battled through some ups and downs, and I’m happy with our seeding. And it’s fun to travel with the team, all the dinners and hotel hangouts. I’m glad we’re here and we’re just excited.

Q. You have both been to March Madness before. As fourth years this will be your guys’ final tournament. Lucy this will be your first and last with Iowa. As you guys take on Murray State, a match-up that this program has never seen before, what’s kind of going through your guys’ minds right now?

LUCY OLSEN: We were watching some games on the men’s side. It’s crazy to see it’s one-and-done and it’s our last year. Trying to make the most of it. I don’t want the season to end. I know our team doesn’t. We’ll go out, play our hardest, see what happens.

Q. When you look at Murray State, what players specifically just stand out to you guys on the scouting report?

SYDNEY AFFOLTER: I mean, I’d say all of them. They’re a very well-rounded team. But we know their point guard and shooting guard are really great. And obviously their post has scored 3,000 points, like Lucy said. I think all around, all through their roster, they have great players and they like to shoot the ball. So just containing them on the 3-point line is going to be very important.