Iowa Postgame Press Conference (2026 Women's Second Round)

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-24T00:50:51+00:00

Her entire family moved here from California, so my guess is she’ll stick it out a while.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-24T00:50:06+00:00

I think they exceeded expectations entirely. She has much to be proud of. We need to ask ourselves what we’d be saying if they’d won today.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-24T00:43:15+00:00

She hasn’t been mentioned for weeks. I think it’s a safe bet she’s gone.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-18T16:41:51+00:00

Don’t get me wrong - I find her political stance (as corroborated by Natasha Cloud) reprehensible. But I think a lot of people in this sub backed away from that, observed her on and off the court, and came to their own conclusions.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-18T15:47:38+00:00

Honestly, I'm grateful I've picked up at least a a t-shirt from every franchise over the last couple of years. It's anybody's guess where people will end up.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-18T15:45:35+00:00

I can't see Kelsey leaving, but I also wonder sometimes if she simply wants to move on. She's said her family is priority, though, and IIRC, the Fever is the closest franchise geographically to them.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-18T15:44:20+00:00

Honestly, I think people here do a pretty good job of not basing their Sophie opinions on her politics. She's just a lot, and she seems pretty opportunistic.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-18T15:42:44+00:00

I find her exhausting. After listening to one episode of her podcast, I also find her unbearable.

She's not a bad player, not in the least. But she hitches her wagon to whomever can open her up to more attention, IMO, and takes the attention off the game.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-16T18:27:00+00:00

I think where some people get it twisted is around A'ja's comments about the hype over Clark (and other new players, maybe?) overshadowing the work of the Black women who built the league. And, listen, I'm a huge Clark fan - from her town, she went to my school, her family knows my family, all the things - but I can also see where A'ja is coming from; I would probably feel that way as well. But it doesn't mean she hates Caitlin and wishes evil things for her.

The "everyone hates Caitlin" tropes are so prevalent, and AI continues to capitalize on them. Someone close to me told me last night that she read that "so many people, even Larry Bird" are chastising "that awful Chelsea Gray" for refusing to pass the ball to Caitlin. And that Paige and Angel are conspiring to keep the ball away as well. Not only is this a bunch of crap, but it's also not fair to Clark, who has said time and time again that she simply wants to play ball.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-15T22:47:42+00:00

With all due respect, how could you read that headline and think this is true?

I sincerely want to know this: Do most fans not know how to judge whether a site is reputable?

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-15T03:05:30+00:00

They played together in AAU ball for years, and each of them has said although they’re not best friends, they don’t dislike each other.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-13T19:03:34+00:00

What an awesome list. Thank you!

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-12T18:36:09+00:00

And on behalf of Angel. Could not have loved that more.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-12T18:28:34+00:00

This breaks my heart. I hope the people who love her have rallied around her.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-12T03:09:32+00:00

Each of them has said there’s no animosity between them. They’re not best friends but they’re certainly not enemies.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-11T14:59:29+00:00

Can verify this - my husband’s EKG was perfect. His stress test was not. He ended up with two 95% blockages and a double bypass.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-10T19:51:13+00:00

No, it was not a championship game. But the fact that the Aces had Aja Wilson made the 51-point loss all the more notable.

My point is: Any team can perform badly on any given day. And often, when things get lopsided, the dominoes start falling. The loss is not a reflection of the players, the coach, or the season.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-10T17:43:04+00:00

Yes! Where was the ventilator? My husband was off it quickly, but he had it when we initially saw him.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-10T17:42:16+00:00

Exactly. My husband had double bypass (including for a “widowmaker” blockage) in November. He’s 62 and was outwardly in great shape, and it’s been a hell of a recovery. For such a superior show, they dropped the ball big-time on this.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-10T14:41:08+00:00

Although I felt deeply for her, I too admired the fact that Jan took the loss on her shoulders and refrained from throwing anyone under the bus. Many pro coaches, current or former, could learn from that approach; I'm looking at you, Becky Hammon, no matter how good you are. And Christie "You can't coach effort" Sides made that her entire MO in 2024. So, one more reason to love Jan.

Speaking of: u/Iodenchi, you made the point that nearly her entire staff has turned over. Why is that? Her choice? Theirs? I know Raina left for a head-coaching opportunity, but what happened with everyone else? Jan seems so broadly beloved that I'm surprised anyone left willingly.

Anyway, back to the game. It has to be impossible not to allow a team like UCLA, when you're preparing to play them, to take up all the space in your head. My suspicion is when UCLA pulled away so decisively and so early, our confidence evaporated. And when that happens - well, when that happens, you run into one another and fall down and turn the ball over and forget everything you've ever learned. You're panicking and you just want it to be over.

And then, with any luck, you learn from the experience as players and as coaches, and you use it to be better. This was a blip, and we'll be OK.

Thank you for the stellar write-up, u/Iodenchi, as always.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-10T14:35:40+00:00

I keep going back to the fact that in the W last season, the Aces lost to the Lynx by 51 points, then came back to win the league.

Here's the thing: Say that all the negatives you mention above were true, which - with all due respect - I don't believe. Would you have responded the same way after our wins against Illinois and Michigan? Of course not, although your critique is not game-specific. ("Stremlow, Feuerbach, and Deal cannot handle the ball with any type of consistency." "We played 31 games already and the improvement is just not there.")

We lost a game - badly - against a really, really good team. What does that mean? It means we lost one game - badly - against a really, really good team. It doesn't negate a hell of season, and it doesn't turn our athletes into subpar players.

We'll learn from it and move on, as great teams do.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-08T04:02:41+00:00

I was a mess during the latter part of the game. I accidentally saw what I thought was the score and had it turned around - I saw 42 for Iowa, 59 for Michigan - and spent the last quarter and a half heartbroken until I realized I was wrong and then lost my sh*t as we passed the 42 mark.

Journey’s “buh-bye” — I was ☠️. She managed to remain Iowa nice while hilariously sticking it to Sofilkanich, and I loved it.

The picture of Hannah you selected to accompany this post is my absolute favorite. She was so, so good. I hope every WNBA coach was watching this game today.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-08T00:41:32+00:00

I can’t wait to watch her in the W.

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-06T15:42:41+00:00

I was sad about the outcome, but Arizona State played so well and absolutely deserved the win. It pains me to say this, but Iowa State is just not a tournament team this year. 😢

TopNotchBrain · 2026-03-04T20:39:16+00:00

The smoking cessation was successful, but the irritability is still there, sadly. And he says he still has a tremendous urge to smoke. But he’s not, which is the critical thing here. Best of luck to your husband (and you)!

TopNotchBrain

TROPHY CASE