BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 6, 2025

Bill Fennelly

Addy Brown

Sydney Harris

T-Mobile Center

Iowa State Cyclones

Postgame Press Conference

Iowa State 96, Arizona State 88

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Iowa State Head Coach Bill Fennelly and student-athletes Addy Brown and Sydney Harris. Before I turn it over to Coach Fennelly, Addy's 41 points are a new preliminary round record and the third most ever in a Big 12 Tournament game and tied for the most points scored by an Iowa State player since 1984.

BILL FENNELLY: Not bad for a Second Team All-Conference player.

Really proud of our team. Very entertaining game. I thought Arizona State was really good. They're hard for us to guard. Offensively we were as good as we could be. Addy had a night you dream about. We made a lot of shots in a lot of spots.

And just really, really excited. Grateful for the folks here and grateful for our fans, and excited that I get to coach 'em tomorrow.

Q. Addy, career high in points tonight. What was it feeling like? Seemed like you felt like you had the hot hand.

ADDY BROWN: For sure, tonight just happened to be my night, and I kind of took advantage of that. And you wait on moments like that, and I think my teammates were excited for me and they were finding me in the right places. So, yeah, shout-out to them.

Q. Seemed like you took advantage of the mismatch issue.

ADDY BROWN: I try and score at three levels. I kind of got the three going early. So they were quick to step out there, and I felt like I had the mismatch inside, and we ran some plays for that, and I was able to score off those, too.

Q. Addy, when did you know like, okay, this could be a really good night? When did you start feeling it?

ADDY BROWN: I don't know if I remember the exact moment. Probably after the third or fourth three went down, I would say, yeah.

Q. I think at the end of the game when you were sinking those two free throws, the crowd was going nuts. What was that moment like?

ADDY BROWN: It was really cool. I mean, we love playing here this time of year. Hilton South always shows out. So to hear them have our backs and show out in the game, means the most. We have the best fans in the country, and I think they showed that tonight, and they'll continue to show that. They're going to show out for us tomorrow. So just want to thank them for having our backs all season.

Q. You guys shot 40 free throws tonight. Last time you played ASU you shot 38. What is it about matching up with them that allows you guys to put so much foul pressure on them?

BILL FENNELLY: Well, like Addy said, it's a match-up thing, and we really try and attack off the bounce. They're very, very aggressive, but when you have Addy, you have Audi that can create contact, our guards are good against pressure defense.

And that was the game plan. We wanted to get to the free-throw line. We wanted to attack them and make them defend. And our kids did a great job of it. And then we converted at the free-throw line. It's a big part of the game today, and I thought our kids were really good about it.

Q. Coach, Audi played 22 minutes tonight. Was that a match-up thing, or did you just like the way Addy was shooting it?

BILL FENNELLY: She fouled out. She was in foul trouble. That was the reason mainly she played 22 minutes was because she had three fouls. She got her fourth right at the end of the third quarter.

We tried to manage her minutes to try and figure it out, but obviously Addy was good. Willy was really good off the bench, got a couple extra minutes. But the foul trouble was the main thing that kept Audi on the bench tonight.

Q. Sydney, I noticed you were shaking your head when she was rattling off the accomplishments for Addy tonight. What do you think about what she did?

SYDNEY HARRIS: It's impressive. It's awesome that I get to say that I played with her and Audi and know people that can do some stuff like that. I love this team, I love her, and when you see people do stuff like that, you just are happy for them.

Q. How does this game compare -- I looked up the stats of your last couple of Big 12 Tournament games. This one seems significantly better. How does it feel to have a game like this?

SYDNEY HARRIS: Feels good. It's not an individual thing. Just glad we were able to get the win and keep it going tomorrow against a really good Baylor team.

Q. Addy, what do you think about what Sydney was able to do tonight?

ADDY BROWN: She brought the spark for us early on. We fed off each other. We were able to find her in some good places where you know she is going to knock those shots down, and she did. She brought the energy on both ends, and that's what we needed.

Q. What do you need to go toe-to-toe with Baylor tomorrow, and how are you going to attack them?

BILL FENNELLY: I will take that one because I told them don't even think about Baylor. That's the coach's job. Their job is to enjoy what they just did. We move on so fast sometimes.

Baylor defensively overwhelmed us when we played them a couple of weeks ago. So match their physicality, handle the ball. We have to shoot better than we did down there. But it seems like it's March, Big 12 Tournament, and we get to see Baylor again.

Great team. One of the best in the country, playing that way. We will figure out something, and I'm glad we have to worry about it.

Q. Addy, you were in the conversation with Brittney Griner's Big 12 record. You broke Ashley Joens' record. What's it mean to be in the conversation with those guys?

ADDY BROWN: It's kinda crazy. It hasn't really set in yet. Those are obviously two really great basketball players. So like Coach said, we're going to enjoy what we did as a team and kind of just have this moment, and tomorrow we will start preparing for a really good team. So yeah, it's cool.

Q. What was working for you tonight?

ADDY BROWN: A little bit of everything. My first two didn't go down. I just tried to stay positive, and just next shot mentality. That's what I did. I was getting good looks from the three, they fell, I saw the mismatch inside and took advantage of that and went from there.

Q. Coach, it's a game of rubs, right? Arizona State cut it to ten in the fourth, timeout, what did you tell your ladies?

BILL FENNELLY: We gotta finish. It was eerily similar to the game down there. We got a big lead. They keep playing, Skinner and Brown are ultra-skilled offensive players. They did the same thing to us down there; they made some really tough shots. So, basically everyone talks about finishing, but for us it was taking care of the ball, no live-ball turnovers and sometimes you've got to outscore the other guy, and tonight we had to outscore them.

My grandson told Addy she should get 50 tonight, and she only got 41.

ADDY BROWN: Gosh, I'm sorry, Will. Going to be a better coach than you one day, Coach?

THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.