Last Tuesday Green Bay beat PFW 76-63 in the Horizon women’s tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Phoenix won 27 games last year before losing to Tennessee in the NCAA tourney, and will enter the NCAA tourney next week on a 22-game winning streak. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Green Bay SR F Jasmine Kondrakiewicz about balancing academics with athletics and making the NCAA tourney.
You were born/raised in Milwaukee: what made you choose Green Bay? Growing up in Wisconsin I always heard about Green Bay as 1 of the in-state powerhouses. I grew up watching some Wisconsin/Marquette games, but Green Bay has a great winning tradition of its own.
You started in all 22 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? The biggest factor was my communication level, and my effort also set me apart. I tried to control the controllables, which allowed me to start so many games.
The following season you were named to the conference Academic Honor Roll in each of your 2 semesters: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Our professors are very understanding/flexible and know what it takes to be a student-athlete. It allows me to have the best of both worlds, and they are the biggest reason.
You have a new coach this year in Kayla Karius: what makes her such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from her so far? 1 thing that separates her is that she played here and has a legacy that will never leave her since she was part of the 2011 Sweet 16 team. She knows what we grow through every day because she walked in our shoes not too long ago. She is a mother so she has that nurturing instinct, but she will also push us as hard as she can to get the most out of us.
Last January you scored a career-high 31 PTS/12-17 FG in a win at Wright State: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? The day before that game 1 of my friends (12-year old Hadley Baker) passed away due to a rare form of cancer, and I feel that my “basketball guardian angel” was looking over me the whole time. My teammates trusted me to make those shots, and I did.
Over the past 3 years your 3PM has gone down each year but your RPG has gone up each year: is that just a coincidence or is it due to a change in your role on the team? I got more comfortable over the years playing inside as an undersized post. I took more outside shots in the past, but this year our coaching staff has given me a lot of confidence to finish inside.
Your team’s 55.8 PPG allowed this year is top-20 in the nation: what is the secret to playing great defense? Defenseis part of Green Bay’s tradition…but it is solely due to our conference DPOY Bailey Butler. She is the best defender I have ever played with and has grown so much since her freshman year: she pushes us each day.
Last Tuesday you scored 10 PTS in a win over PFW to clinch the Horizon tourney title: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was obviously an amazing feeling. We had a 5-6 year drought before we finally won it last year to get the title back in Titletown, and this year was the same feeling. I was overjoyed and so proud of all my teammates: after getting a taste of the NCAA tourney last year, it is nice to get back there again.
You have played 150 games for the Phoenix: what are your emotions as you prepare for #151? The only word I can use to describe it is “grateful”. I did not expect to play so much as a freshman, but I have showcased what I can do over the past 5 years. It is also a bittersweet feeling because it is coming to an end soon.
What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? I do not know how bracketology works, and there might be a few more upsets this week, but we will give it our all and hopefully make some history by getting a win.
