What Teri Moren Said After No. 14 Indiana's 86-69 Win Over No. 4 Iowa

Here's the full transcript and video of Teri Moren's press conference following Indiana's 86-69 win over No. 4 Iowa on Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 14 Indiana picked up a crucial win Thursday night inside a raucous, white-out crowd at Assembly Hall, defeating No. 4 Iowa 86-69.

The Hoosiers were led by senior guard Sara Scalia with 25 points, followed by senior forward Mackenzie Holmes with 24 points and nine rebounds. Iowa star Caitlin Clark scored 26 points and added 10 points and nine assists, but she shot just 8-for-26 from the field and committed five turnovers.

Here's everything coach Teri Moren said after the game.

Opening statement

Moren: "Wow, you know I think as we represent our program, all three of us up here, we would first just need to talk about the crowd and just how grateful – we knew it. People have said the Caitlin Clark effect, and that's probably has somewhat to do with it, but I also think that our fan base has continued to come out and support us and so we're once again really just grateful for that. I thought our guys from the jump were really, really got after it defensively. I think we made everything very difficult for Caitlin Clark tonight, and that's hard to do. She's a phenomenal player. But I think maybe the most important thing we felt like we did at halftime was we kept Martin, we kept Molly Davis, Stuelke, Marshall, we kept them relatively quiet. And that was the key. Going into it, that did not happen when we went to their place, and I thought tonight at halftime we were pleased with the way we had guarded those other pieces that they had on the floor. But I loved, and you guys know this, Monday was really hard for us. Disappointing performance. None of us were happy. We got back on Monday before film, they had a player-team meeting, which they have often. And we came out and had one of our best practices of the year. And you could tell they just wanted to make this thing right tonight. There was so many moments during the game, and we tried to just continue to try to win four-minute segments of the game. That's what we were trying to do throughout, especially in the first half because you've got to get off to a good start against Iowa. But incredible performances by all these guys. I haven't even looked at the stat sheet, but certainly Sara and Mackenzie were great. But they would all tell you that they had help. We had 20 assists, which means we're sharing the ball. I thought defensively we were just terrific. And so really, really proud of our team and the way they responded."

On how reassuring tonight's performance was after Monday's loss...

Moren: "I'm not surprised. We talk a lot about it's not what happens to you, it's how you respond to what happens to you. This is a group that's connected, and they're mature. They're competitive, and they care about each other. So I'm not surprised. You could just see it brewing in the last two days of practice. Tuesday was really good, and yesterday wasn't bad either. So you could just tell there was a different feel in terms of their focus, how they came in, probably a little bit more stoic and serious, not that we're not serious when we're prepping, but you could tell that they were going to come out and give everything they had. And I'm not surprised by it. There might be a lot of people after they watched us on Monday play so poorly question that, but if you're around these guys long enough you understand the kind of character that they have and their ability to bounce back."

On what they did differently defensively against Caitlin Clark this time...

Moren: "We switched what we were doing defensively. We switched more ball screens, off-ball ball screens than we had the first time we played them. Yeah, part of it was just how hard we played and how we tried to crowd her and make sure we were maybe a little bit physical in her space. But the other thing we did on a dead ball was we face guarded her, and we went into a little bit of a triangle ourselves. That's what they did to us when Chloe got into foul trouble. So we switched what we did, and I'm almost positive that they didn't score – and that was only on dead balls. But again, just enough to keep them out of rhythm. We felt like we had to – we couldn't just stay completely man to man the entire game, so we threw a little bit of a zone there and tried to face guard her and make her work."

On how players executed defensively and how encouraging that is moving forward...

Moren: "Well, I hate to keep talking about Monday, but we were not very good defensively and they knew it. I think they were frustrated by it. They were a little bit embarrassed by it, too. Again, they played terrific, but they literally put their head down and just went at us. So again, it goes back to how they're built, their competitive spirit, and just wanting to be better. That's really what it was. They knew that, for lack of better words, we laid an egg over in Champaign and they wanted to come back and do it the right way. It took all of them, and we knew it was going to. We knew we had to come in here confident too. We talked a lot about confidence coming into this game, right before we tipped it off. I wanted them to be confident that we could get the job done, and I thought they performed at a really great level for us tonight."

On the moment she sensed Indiana was going to win...

Moren: "When Sara hit that, it was in the fourth and Syd had it in the corner I think and she threw that extra to Sara right there on the wing, and you could just tell. I was like, 'That's the dagger right there. That's the one that – we're going to win the game.'" ... I will say this, too, going back to yours, I thought – we call it "money" – the little lob Yarden threw to Mack over the top. That was a pretty special play, too, because we ran it, Yarden got it deflected off of her out of bounds, and Mack and Yarden both run past me and say, 'We're running it again.' And for them to have the confidence that the two of them were going to make that happen, I thought that was pretty special too."

On Sydney Parrish's impact in her second game back from injury...

Moren: "She –I think Mack alluded to it – she's all energy, effort, hustle player. She's a high IQ kid, constantly talking on the floor, off the floor, in timeouts. It was a shot in the arm for us because we've been without her for the last seven games and she's meant so much. And she was playing so great right before she got hurt, so to have her back is really special."

On this win's impact on NCAA Tournament seeding and hosting...

Moren: "I think tonight, we certainly had to have this win. I try not to look to far ahead to any of that stuff, but I knew we were part of it. After you lose a game like Illinois and you think, 'Oh, wow, our backs are against the wall. We got to get that one on Thursday.' But we've got to also finish on the road at Northwestern. We've got to finish at home against a Maryland team that always seems like they start to figure things out in February and March, and then we've got to start the next season, which is the Big Ten conference tournament. So we still have our work cut out for us, but tonight I thought was a step in the right direction to hold secure that for our fans here in Bloomington."

On if tonight's win is a weight off the team's shoulders after previous big losses to ranked teams...

Moren: "I don't know. I don't really think of it like that because the teams that we've lost to are really, really, really frickin' good. We went to Stanford, we went to Ohio State, we went to Iowa. And if you just think about the Big Ten, this league is really good and we've said it, I know I've said it – it's hard to win on the road. It's hard. I don't know if it's a weight, I think we had to have this one tonight to help us with our resume for sure."

On importance of having a confident mindset going into a big game...

Moren: "Well, I think it's important, but I think the lesson here will be we've got to show up against any opponent like we showed up tonight against Iowa. Everybody says there's lessons out of losses, but there's sometimes lessons out of wins, too. We are capable of a lot, and with that means we've got to bring it every night. We'll have tomorrow off, then we'll get back to work on Northwestern."

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• WHAT BLUDER, CLARK SAID: Coach Lisa Bluder and superstar Caitlin Clark spoke with reporters following No. 4 Iowa's 86-69 loss to No. 14 Indiana on Thursday. Here's what they had to say. CLICK HERE
• WATCH PARRISH'S THREES: Indiana senior Sydney Parrish gave the Hoosiers a huge boost on Thursday night, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the third quarter. Her two triples helped extend IU's lead in the Big Ten clash at Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE
• WATCH BARGESSER'S QUESTIONABLE FOUL CALL: Indiana's Lexus Bargesser was whistled for a ridiculous foul call against Iowa's Caitlin Clark in the first quarter of Thursday's Big Ten showdown at Assembly Hall. It might go down as one of the worst calls of the season. CLICK HERE
• WATCH BARGESSER'S BUZZER BEATER: Indiana sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser hit a huge shot against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes at the end of the first quarter Thursday night at Assembly Hall. Bargesser's buzzer beater gave the Hoosiers a 23-22 advantage through the first 10 minutes. CLICK HERE
• LIVE BLOG: Welcome to our live blog for Thursday's game between No. 14 Indiana women's basketball and No. 4 Iowa, where we'll share updates, highlights and thoughts on the game from press row at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE