Sophie Cunningham, Caitlin Clark & Head Coach Stephanie White — Postgame Media

[0:00] Sophie, I'll start with you. [0:01] This 75 is tied for the lowest you guys have scored in the game all year. [0:05] Offensively, where did you feel like you guys struggled to get going? [0:07] Man, I think we had a little bit of too many turnovers. [0:10] They definitely slowed the pace down. [0:13] And at the end of the day, we got to play what works for us. [0:15] We got to keep our pace high. [0:17] We got to play our defensive schemes, [0:20] take care of business on the defensive end, get boards and run. [0:23] That's what we're good at. [0:24] We have great people who are awesome in the open court. [0:27] And so I just think we lacked pace tonight, honestly. [0:30] Caitlin, can you take me through that second quarter play with Stokes [0:33] that made you upset and then you hopped into the back? [0:36] It's like the ref can't miss that. [0:37] And then I have to play with a contusion in my leg the rest of the game. [0:40] Like, it's ridiculous. [0:41] Can't miss calls like that. [0:43] Did they give you an explanation right after when you? [0:45] She said I initiated the contact, which is fine. [0:49] You can't need me in the leg. [0:51] Knock me over. [0:58] Caitlin, for you, what do you think they did just defensively [1:00] to make it a little tougher tonight than usual? [1:02] Yeah, I mean, I got some good looks, obviously. [1:06] It's hard. [1:06] I think I played, like, what, 10 minutes in the first half? [1:08] Like, it's just struggling a little bit to find a flow. [1:11] And, you know, they're in my grill. [1:14] They're probably the best defensive team in the league. [1:16] They're really good at that. [1:17] They do what they do. [1:19] And I had some good looks that didn't go down. [1:20] And then, you know, I shot some tougher looks too. [1:23] But, you know, I thought I finally kind of played with a little bit more pace [1:27] and a little bit more burst, especially down the stretch in the fourth. [1:29] But hopefully I don't have to keep playing 25 minutes. [1:33] Well, speaking of that, as far as the contusion goes, it seems like... [1:37] Ah, we'll just rub it out. [1:39] She's fine. [1:39] Yeah. [1:41] Good old knuckles on it and call it a day. [1:44] On the other end of the floor, Golden State, 17-25 in the paint. [1:49] Sophie, I guess, what were the issues on that end? [1:53] You know, I mean, they're a really good team. [1:55] They have an offense and they stick with their offense. [1:57] And they have fast guards. [1:59] They have great spacing. [2:00] They really are a very fundamental team on both sides of the ball. [2:04] And that's a tough matchup for anybody. [2:06] But honestly, at the end of the day, we have to stick to our schemes. [2:09] We've got to stick to our scout. [2:10] We have to do what works for us. [2:12] And I think we got away with... [2:14] Or we just didn't, you know, live up to the standard tonight. [2:17] We had a long West Coast trip. [2:19] And I think our legs are a little tired. [2:20] And I think a lot of people saw that. [2:22] But we had a slow start. [2:23] The second unit came out and let their unit, their second unit kind of go off. [2:27] And I'll own that for the second unit because we have to go out there and set the tone. [2:31] But we just weren't good enough tonight. [2:34] Yeah, just for either of you, Steph talked a lot after the Las Vegas game about consistency. [2:38] And it seems like it wasn't there tonight. [2:40] Just what do you guys need to do to become a more consistent team? [2:44] Yeah, I mean, I think the difference was, like, we played right into what they wanted to do. [2:50] They're last in the league in pace. [2:52] We're first in the league in pace. [2:53] We scored 75 points. [2:54] They scored 88. [2:55] Like, we just did what they wanted to. [2:57] We didn't dominate in that area. [2:59] But it's also hard to play with pace when, you know, you're not creating turnovers. [3:02] You're not getting deflections. [3:03] You're not getting stops. [3:05] I feel like that's kind of what allowed us to make a run there in the third and the fourth is, like, we finally got stops. [3:10] And we were pushing in transition. [3:11] Like, they're a great half-court defensive team. [3:14] Like, they're hard to score on. [3:15] Like, that's just reality. [3:16] And they do things really well. [3:19] They're really athletic. [3:20] They rotate really well. [3:21] But, you know, I mean, we still beat them from the three-point line. [3:27] And that's their game. [3:29] So, you know, it's got to be the other areas. [3:31] Like Sophie said, I think they had 22 points off of our turnovers. [3:34] Like, that's a huge difference in the game right there. [3:36] Got to be able to take care of the ball. [3:37] And, you know, we can't let teams dictate how the game's going to go. [3:41] We need to be the ones dictating. [3:43] Steph, you talked a lot about consistency after the game against Las Vegas. [3:46] And it just seems like you didn't have that consistency tonight. [3:49] What do you as coaching staff and the players need to do to become that consistent team? [3:53] Yeah, I mean, you know, I thought our energy was not great to start, you know, [3:57] and for whatever reason. [4:00] And it's hard when you dig yourself a hole against a really solid defensive team [4:03] because they don't give you extra possessions very often. [4:06] And they make it really hard on you. [4:07] And we dug ourselves a hole, and then we started to claw back. [4:10] And then we dug ourselves another hole and started to claw back. [4:13] I mean, you know, some of it's, again, discipline, positioning, rotation. [4:17] Some of it, you know, the turnovers kill you when you're trying to mount the comeback [4:21] and when you're trying to give yourself an opportunity, again, [4:26] against a team that doesn't typically give you those possessions back. [4:30] So it was a collection of things. [4:32] I felt like they were the tougher team tonight. [4:34] I felt like they hit first often. [4:37] And we just couldn't consistently recover. [4:40] You mentioned turnovers, and they are obviously a really good defensive team, [4:42] but this is your lowest scoring game of the season. [4:44] What do you attribute that to, whether it's something they did [4:46] or something you guys did not do? [4:47] Yeah, I mean, one, they're really good defensively. [4:50] You know, they force you to do some tough things. [4:51] I think our turnovers, you know, we miss some shots we typically make early. [4:58] You know, and it puts a lot of pressure on your defense to be perfect [5:00] when you struggle from the floor and, you know, [5:03] when you give them easy opportunities in transition. [5:06] You know, I thought there were times where we did some really good things, [5:09] and then there were times where we didn't, [5:10] and that's building that consistency. [5:11] I mean, they shot 52% from the floor. [5:13] Didn't feel like we were as disruptive as we needed to be. [5:16] And, again, they do a really good job of spacing the floor, [5:18] and they make it tough. [5:20] So you're talking to the official after that play, [5:22] Kaitlin got kneed in the quad and hopped off for a sec. [5:24] Did they give you an explanation for the no-call there [5:26] and how she did it? [5:26] No, they said Kaitlin initiated the contact. [5:28] That's all they said. [5:29] That's all they said. [5:30] She seems to always be initiating the contact. [5:35] Steph, in that third quarter, Kaitlin Chen got going there late. [5:38] What did you see maybe defensively that allowed her to kind of go off? [5:41] Yeah, I mean, you know, our ball screen coverage in the middle wasn't good. [5:45] You know, trying to make a couple of adjustments, you know, [5:47] in the moment on the fly. [5:49] There just wasn't enough, I feel, like urgency. [5:52] You know, she's been playing really well the last, you know, [5:55] six or seven games. [5:56] And, you know, I thought her ability to get downhill, [5:58] her ability to keep us off balance, [6:00] and then making the right play and the right read. [6:05] Coming off the long road trip, [6:06] how much do you think fatigue kind of factored in there [6:08] with the way that you finished out the third quarter? [6:10] Yeah, I mean, probably, but we don't have time for that. [6:14] You know, this has got to be no excuses, like standard over feelings. [6:19] Like everybody in this league goes through this. [6:21] You know, this is not something that we're going to be immune to [6:25] and everybody else isn't. [6:26] I just think we've got our mentality to start the ball game needed to be better. [6:30] And when you spend all of that energy, you know, [6:32] trying to come back at multiple points in the game, [6:35] it becomes a hard road, you know, at times. [6:39] And so, you know, we can't give in to those excuses. [6:44] You mentioned Caitlin always seems to initiate the contact. [6:47] Just what did you see in the officiating overall tonight or just in general? [6:52] Chloe, I'm trying to not get fined. [6:55] Again, all I'll say is that we just keep asking for consistency. [6:59] Let's see.