Iowa women's basketball's Woliczko dissects 3-point shooting confidence

After excelling in her first two games with No. 10 Iowa women’s basketball (2-0), first-year forward McKenna Woliczko met with the media following Iowa’s 80-39 win over Eastern Illinois on Thursday night.

Woliczko poured in a game-high 22 points in the win over the Panthers, including 4 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc. The San Bruno, Calif., native put in a lot of work ahead of this season to develop her perimeter game.

It’s early, but Woliczko looks comfortable beyond the 3-point line to start this season. The 6-foot-2 forward shared what’s allowed her to develop confidence in her 3-point shot so quickly in Iowa City.

“I think just the time and effort that we’re putting in before practice. We obviously do pre-practice stuff and then also we’re constantly working on the threes during practice. So I think just the confidence that I’ve been able to build has definitely helped. And also with my teammates, they are always telling me to shoot the ball and have the confidence in myself. So hearing that from my teammates is really good.

“I think going into it, I tried to come in with no expectations and just remember all the work that I’ve put in and also all the help that my coaches and teammates have helped me build my IQ for the game. I think these past two games are definitely a big confidence booster, and it’ll be really fun to go and continue on playing and see how it goes,” Woliczko said.

Woliczko had never seen a game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena before these opening two games with the Hawkeyes. It’s safe to say that the Carver atmosphere has impressed the Cali native.

“I mean, it’s been crazy just experiencing these first two games and getting to feel the atmosphere with all the fans. I’ve never been to Carver for a basketball game before, so being able to get out on the court and experience that has just been amazing,” Woliczko said.

While it’s a small sample size through just two games played, Woliczko is averaging 16.0 points on 72.2% shooting and 55.6% from 3-point range, alongside 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

Woliczko will look to continue her stellar play on Sunday when Iowa visits No. 2 UConn (1-1) at M&T Bank Center at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., at 1 p.m. CT on FS1.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball’s Woliczko dissects 3-point shooting confidence