Greensboro, North Carolina – Ahead of the Elite Eight, the Hawkeyes took to the podium to discuss their upcoming matchup with No. 1 Baylor and what the Bears bring to the court.

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder on Megan Gustafson facing the 6’7 Kalani Brown

“[Gustafson] hasn’t gone against that many players that are 6’7. I mean, that’s a real challenge, and we know that. I think what allows her to be successful is she does run the floor well. She’s got great footwork. She’s got wonderful hands. Her shot is very, very quick. She’s got some great ball fakes, and up-and-unders, and things like that that she can try to get you off the ground with. She’s got a nice hook shot. Hook shots are really hard to defend because you’re standing away from the defender. I think that she’s found ways to shoot over bigger people because she does it almost all the time – now, not 6’7, but almost all year, she’s the undersized post.”

Guard Tania Davis on who Baylor reminds her of

“For guards, you can compare it to a Maryland or a Rutgers. They are in your [face] defensively, so we’re going to have to be strong with the ball. Like I said, we played Maryland and we played Rutgers, so we feel like we have – we’re pretty much prepared for it.”

Forward Hannah Stewart on Iowa fans traveling to Greensboro for the regional games

“It’s awesome to see our friends and family. We all have lots of friends and family here, but there are some people that we’ve never met that are walking around our hotel and telling us “Go Hawks” and that kind of thing, which shows us how awesome and loyal our fan base is. We’re so thankful for them.”

Gustafson on how she will attempt to counter Baylor’s height

“Obviously, they have a couple inches on us and we just have to be ready for that. They are going to have a really good, physical level, and we have to use our own physical strengths. Especially, we’ve got to focus on our footwork, too, inside, especially if we’re going to use ball fakes, or whatever it is. Footwork is going to be important.”

Kathleen Doyle on disrupting Baylor’s guards

“They definitely have a great group of guards that we’re going to have to try to disrupt offensively. All we can do is try to make their life as hard as possible, so it’s all about trying to bring that defensive intensity, and we’re going to try to bring that again [Monday].”

Makenzie Meyer on having to wait two days to play

“We’re all just really excited to get back out on the court, but it is really beneficial for our bodies to get some time to rest and recover, and we’re just looking forward to the opportunity.”

Bluder on motivating her team

“I don’t have to talk about that with them. I mean, it’s every kid’s dream to play in the Final Four, right? I mean, we are 40 minutes away from every kid’s dream. If you’re a basketball player, you want to play in the Final Four. I don’t have to worry about them being hungry at this point.”