NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - TOLEDO VS IOWA STATE

March 17, 2023

Ashley Joens

Emily Ryan

Thompson-Boling Arena

Iowa State Cyclones

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's go ahead and start off with questions.

Q. Guys, how do you feel like the last couple of days have gone?

ASHLEY JOENS: I feel like they have gone pretty well. We started our scout, getting ready to go. And the coaches have done a great job. And if we just listen to them, kind of get ready to go here today and get some shots up.

EMILY RYAN: Yeah. We've had a good couple days preparing. Couple good practices, high energy coming into the tournament. So I like the spot we're in, and we have another opportunity to practice on the court, we're going to play on today. So we're going to have another good practice and get ready to go.

Q. Coach Fennelly has mentioned a couple of times when you guys have had big wins he could sense, okay the day before practice or that morning's shoot around went really really well. Have you guys noticed a clear line in between, okay, when it's going to translate from the court to, you know, from practice to the court?

ASHLEY JOENS: Yeah. You can kind of tell our energy level has been really high. Obviously, just really locked in, focused on the scout, what's going on. And just getting ready to go.

Q. Ashley, have you -- we kind of talked about before the Big 12 Tournament that you could have 2 games left or 9 games left. And obviously, you played 3 in Kansas City and won all 3 of them. Have you kind of thought about that as this week and this tournament goes on?

ASHLEY JOENS: It's not really something I think about I guess. You go out and play as hard as you can and you want to extend the season as long as you can. If you go out and play as hard as you can, good things are going to happen, and you're able to continue moving forward.

Q. How are the travel issues getting here? How is everyone's mood going through that, I guess?

ASHLEY JOENS: Yeah. Any time you get the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament, no matter what kind of challenges you face for us it was the plane delay. But we're excited to be here, and we're excited to get started and get to practice out on the court today.

Q. For both Emily and Ashley, your ranking is higher than the host team. Coming to Tennessee, playing on this court, if able to get past Toledo, a team that's on a nice little winning streak of its own, but, you know, with all the orange around, what's the atmosphere like for you? Does it make it easier to focus in on your opponent tomorrow, or is it maybe tough not to think ahead or think about might have been nice if we were hosting this round?

ASHLEY JOENS: We're just happy to be in the NCAA Tournament. Obviously, you dream about it as a little kid, you watch it. So to be able to be here and get the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament is huge. When we step out on the court you are not really thinking about what's going on around you, you're focused on what's going on at that moment and focused on your scouting report, what you're doing, and the game itself.

EMILY RYAN: Yeah, definitely. And being in Tennessee it's a great opportunity to play in an environment that is rich in basketball history and women's basketball specifically. We're just really excited for the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament. And against a really good Toledo team who's very skilled. And we're going to have to come ready to play for sure.

Q. Ashley, I wanted to ask you because there's been some discussion lately of players whether they will come back for a fifth year or go to the WNBA. You were someone last year who you wre projected to go decently high in the draft, decided to come back for a fifth year. I'm just curious what have you thought of your fifth year? Was it worth it? Are you happy you did it?

ASHLEY JOENS: Yeah. Obviously, the opportunity to come back and play with this team, with these coaches, was something I was looking forward to doing. And obviously, we've had a lot of ups and downs this season, just the opportunity to play in front of our fans at Hilton and obviously, do what we did in the Big 12 Tournament, it's been a good year and I'm happy I've had the opportunity to come back and give it another shot.

Q. Coach Fennelly talked a little bit during the Big 12 Tournament, he thought what you did there maybe improved your draft stock. Have you thought about what the big stage in the NCAA Tournament can do for that as well?

ASHLEY JOENS: Yeah. I don't think about it. Again, just focused on the game that's ahead of us. Winning that game obviously, is our goal. So just really staying locked in, focused, and getting ready to go.

Q. For Toledo, when a team is on a winning streak and has a win at Ann Arbor over a ranked Michigan team. How much -- as soon as you saw that opponent does that maybe help you lock in on, you know, seedings don't seem to matter more and more with each NCAA Tournament. So when that win at Michigan, does that kind of jump off and grab your attention as you prepare for this team?

ASHLEY JOENS: Yeah. I mean, that happened really early in the season. And obviously, Toledo is a really good team. They are on a 16-game win streak. It's March and any team can win at this point. You just have to come in ready to go, stay focused, locked in and be ready to go when it's game time.

Q. For Emily, as many minutes as you played at the Big 12 Tournament, what's your recovery like? And you know, how many days did you need to recover from playing almost every single second of that tournament?

EMILY RYAN: Yeah. Obviously, it was a lot of minutes, playing three games in three days against some really good competition. Hard fought games. It's going to take a toll on your body, but that's what March is all about. We took a day off to rest and recover and then practices haven't been quite as strenuous. It's a couple less segments as far as minutes go. But I just think once you get to March it's kind of the nature of the game, you just play as much as you can and you rest later on. And this is the home stretch. And might as well finish strong.

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thank you.