Southeastern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Saturday March 7, 2020

Vic Schaefer 11 and 10, and five blocked shots. Probably altered two or three more. I just thought she was really a big key to Rickea Jackson our success tonight. Came off the bench. Jessika wasn't having a very good night. I thought Yemiyah was Jordan Danberry special. I thought her teammates saw how special she was, and they really were engaged and energized by Yemiyah Morris that. Miss. St. Lady Bulldogs So again, we beat a really good Kentucky team. I think they're going to be a tough matchup in the NCAA Mississippi State 77, Kentucky 59 tournament. It's nice to be able to have another opportunity, this will be five years in a row, the fourth THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Mississippi time we'll have to play South Carolina here at home State. tomorrow.

We'll open with a statement from Coach Schaefer. We're going to have a lot of people in the same, similar colors tomorrow in the arena. They'll be in their I VIC SCHAEFER: First of all, just so proud of my team believe it's garnet and we'll be in our maroon. The tonight. I just thought we were really competitive and arena ought to look similar. Should be a great tough tonight. We showed tremendous toughness. I atmosphere for women's college basketball. thought the game would come down to that. We weren't tough in the first meeting. It's something that I'm proud to be a part of it. Proud of our players, our we've really tried to talk about a lot. We've talked about student-athletes. Again, I thought they were it more than we've been it. tremendous tonight. Really, really had a competitive spirit about them. I thought tonight after a really bad first quarter, we got 20-13, 20-12, 25-12. Really locked down defensively. I THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. know y'all thought Rhyne was going to have a hundred. She had the first seven. She was beating us seven to Q. Yemiyah, what did it mean to you to get into the two to start the game. game with your team struggling a little bit? YEMIYAH MORRIS: It meant a lot because, I mean, Jo showed tremendous toughness and resilience I've been working really hard all year. Like the coaches tonight. Got her out maybe two times before I put her always say, just like prepare and wait for your time to back in. Hemingway, my freshman, came in and did a come. That's what I've been doing. really good job of shadowing her a little bit. But I just thought Jo was great. I thought the rest of our team did I just let it all fall and it came into place. So it means a a nice job of taking away space for her. You can't let lot to me that I could help my team get the win. that kid operate in space. She's tremendous. She's a heck of a player. Q. Jo, you had a very tough assignment with the SEC Player of the Year. She got 26 points. After the I thought our entire team did a wonderful job of really first quarter, y'all really limited her touches. What carrying out our game plan and handling her. It's not a was your thoughts on how you did going up one-person job. Jo certainly had a lot to do with it. I against a player that's bigger, more physical? thought the rest of us were really engaged in what we JORDAN DANBERRY: Yeah, you know, Rhyne is a were trying to do defensively as a team. 59 points is a great player. She's SEC Player of the Year for a reason. good job defensively. The assignment was definitely tough. My teammates, like Coach said, did a good job of helping me out, I thought this kid right here by far had the best game of limiting her space. her career. She plays 25 minutes, has a double-double,

Rev #1 by #193 at 2020-03-08 03:13:00 GMT page 1 of 4 I really just wanted to deny her the ball a lot. If she was going to be effective? didn't get the ball, she couldn't make plays really. I VIC SCHAEFER: I just thought Jessika was struggling. really was just trying to stay at the line, make her be a For whatever reason, Jessika hadn't struggled much passer, play her for her right hand. this year. She's had a tremendous sophomore year. But when Jessika had that offensive foul, just kind of Q. Rickea, you were feeling it, 29 points. I could see ran over one of their players, I just thought we need to in your reactions. What are your thoughts on the try something else. We need to be engaged and really way you played? mentally into what we're doing. Running over people at RICKEA JACKSON: My thoughts on the way I played is the time, I thought it was a bad mistake. I played my game. Let it come to me, let my teammates find me in open spots, and I just made the shots. Yemiyah is getting better. Johnnie has really done a good job. That's the thing with junior college players, Q. Rickea, second straight night you really picked y'all, it just takes a while. Yemiyah, it has taken some it up in the second half. Does it take you a while to time with her. Man, tonight, y'all, she was the big heat up in order to get going? difference. She was a difference player tonight. RICKEA JACKSON: From previous games, you can definitely see that it always takes us the second half to I thought our kids gave her the ball in positions where get going. I feel like we played a pretty steady first half, she could score easy. I thought she battled for though, today, more than usual. I feel like we did good rebounds. Those five blocked shots, that's what you in both halves today. want out of a 6'6" kid down there with a 7-foot wingspan. That's what Teaira has given us over the Q. Jo, given tomorrow's opponent, how important past few years. You can get somebody down there, that will it be to not do what you have done in the first allows you to do some things that we like to do quarter, get off to a hotter start? defensively. JORDAN DANBERRY: It's going to be important to come out, punch first, be focused. They're the No. 1 I thought defensively tonight, y'all, we were really team in the nation. We know we have to go out there special. We held them to 20% in the fourth quarter, and play our game from the jump. We can't let them get 31% in the third. Again, that is a heck of a basketball a lead on us. team. Matthew's got him a heck of a team. They took us to the woodshed the first time we played them. Q. Rickea, you played on plenty of big stages. How comfortable are you in this? Is it second nature at Rhyne is the Player of the Year for a reason. It takes a this point? really special effort by some really competitive kids to RICKEA JACKSON: I would say I think about it, but at go out there and do what they did tonight. I couldn't be the same time it is second nature. I don't want to deny more proud of them. my opponent because they're the No. 1 team in the country. We just got to play our game and we're good. Q. Outside of Rickea and Yemiyah, another big night from Aliyah. When she's playing the way she Q. Rickea, we talked about Rhyne a little bit. When is, how much does that change the offensive there's players on the other side, you'll see them output and trajectory of what you can do on that tomorrow who have been talked about nationally, side of the ball? when you're going up against players like that, VIC SCHAEFER: I think it gives us another weapon out does it motivate you to have a game like you had there. She's shooting the ball at an astronomical tonight? number. In the last five games we've got like eight kids, RICKEA JACKSON: It definitely motivates me to play y'all, shooting over 50%. It's an unbelievable stat. I can my game. I don't really get rowdy just by a name. Just honestly say I can't remember having a team like that trust my teammates, trust myself, make shots, play offensively. good defense. Now, early in that first rotation she missed two block THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies, for your time. outs, gave up two offensive board stick-backs. She had We'll see you tomorrow. I think deer in the headlights, to be honest with you.

We'll continue with questions for Coach Schaefer. After I got her out and we had a conversation, I thought her next rotation she was more focused on both ends, Q. You're not scared to go with any lineup. You saw not just one end. She had the one hiccup, ripped at half court, they went and laid it in. Other than that, I thought something in the post to put Yemiyah in the ball her next rotation was really, really good. game. What were you seeing that you thought she

Rev #1 by #193 at 2020-03-08 03:13:00 GMT page 2 of 4 She's had that this year where her first rotation might not be good, but the next one, third or fourth one, she I thought Myah has three assists on turnovers, played finally settles in. pretty good defense. We didn't let somebody else get us tonight like we did the first time. Aliyah, what she provides our team with an extra scoring punch out there on the perimeter is really, Roper hurt us, Wyatt hurt us a little bit, and of course really special. When you load her up there with Jo and Patterson really hurt us. Patterson tonight had 13. We even Andy on the wing, if you have Jo at point, it gives just did a much better job on everybody else. Again, you three scorers, then you have Rickea who is understanding Rhyne is a tremendous player. Like you obviously playing well. said, she's Player of the Year for the reason. She's probably going to get hers. You just have to make sure Q. The conversation about freshmen this year in everybody else doesn't beat you. the league has been dominated by the South Carolina kids. Do you think Rickea notices that? Is Q. First quarter today was pretty similar to she motivated by that? Does she care at all about yesterday. Pretty simple question, maybe the that? answer is more complex. What would you pinpoint VIC SCHAEFER: I think they know it. I'm not sure how as to why your team is coming out slow in the first much they care about it. I mean, I think she made the quarter? comment after we played them the first time, somebody VIC SCHAEFER: I have no idea (laughter). I feel like is going to put a number by somebody's name, okay? y'all have watched me all year. I'm pretty in tune with It's kind of like what I tell my staff all the time in my team. I have a pretty good understanding of who's recruiting. Again, those kids have had a tremendous playing well, practicing well. You guys have talked year and they've lived up to their billing. There's no about how many different lineups I've had. It's always question about it, they have a really talented group of seemed to work out. freshmen over there. These slow starts in the first quarter, I think it has a lot But I like my freshmen, too. They're pretty talented. I'm to do with them trying to feel their way. Yesterday I certainly not trading 'em. thought our intensity on ball pressure was not very good. Our philosophy, as you know, if you're soft on the Q. What kind of confidence does it give you going ball, there's a good chance everybody behind the ball into tomorrow that she has 48 in the last six is going to be soft, too. If you got somebody up there quarters? being a dog on the ball, and I'm playing behind the ball, VIC SCHAEFER: I've got confidence. Again, we're on I'm going, Myah is pretty tough on the ball, Jordan is like a 16-, 18-hour turnaround. We lose an hour getting after it, I think I'll get up the line here, take this tonight. Who planned this deal? It's concerning for me. pass away, do my job. I told my kids we probably aren't going to take our shootaround tomorrow because it's at 7:30. We won't I think that's a big key in what we're doing. I think once get to the hotel and be close to being in bed by 11:30 we settled in, Jo got that first foul, I know what she was by the time you lose your hour. My kids know I hate thinking. It happened to her at Kentucky. She got two that. We never pass up a shootaround. quick ones. We struggle when Jo and Myah struggle. If both of those kids struggle in a ball game, it's hard for I got to figure out what's best. We've had back-to-back us to win. That's why I got her out tonight and tried to games. Rickea went 38 tonight, Jo went 35. At some calm her down a little bit, talk to her. I got her out one point you got to try to maybe find 'em a little time. more time and she was ready to go. I thought she We've played 'em before. It's been a while. But we've really settled in. played 'em before. Again, I really think also we're still young. I think we're Q. After the first meeting between y'all and just kind of feeling our way early and trying to settle Kentucky, you were mentioning the fact you down. I thought Aliyah had deer in the headlights a little thought they were more physical and tougher than bit early. Once she settled in, she was really good. y'all. You didn't like that. How did you assess that after the first quarter? Q. Back to the freshmen. The last time you and VIC SCHAEFER: Again, about the first quarter, we South Carolina played in this setting, it was probably got out-toughed a little bit. I thought Yemiyah experience. Tomorrow we can see five of the and Jordan, once they settled in and provided what country's top freshmen on the floor at the same they did defensively, I just thought we were much time. Does that say something about the ACC, the better. way high schools are producing players more?

Rev #1 by #193 at 2020-03-08 03:13:00 GMT page 3 of 4 What does that say where this game is going to? their work ethic is. I know the pride they take in the job VIC SCHAEFER: I think it says a lot about everything that they have. you just said. In the SEC we've got, number one, great staffs that recruit. I think Dawn would tell you she There's hundreds of people like that that are here. Yet recruits to a fit. We recruit to a fit. I think the fact that they're spending their time, their money and their we have all these good young players playing in this interest in our program. So, yeah, I feel a tremendous game tomorrow, playing in this conference, I've always responsibility to the people like that. I mean, to me, I said this is a nightmare of a league. You have the best don't want them to go home disappointed, unhappy, players in the country in this league. You're going to early, whatever you want to call it. have a bunch of young ones tomorrow playing. I'm proud of the fact we're in the game tomorrow. But I think they're the way they are because of what's They'll be excited tonight. They'll have a good dinner going on across the country. The time and money tonight and be excited and talk about it. They'll come that's being spent on young female basketball players, back tomorrow and it will be a tremendous atmosphere whether it's high school coaches, AAU coaches, tomorrow for women's basketball. I'm proud to be a parents investing in their daughters. I just think it's at part of that. an all-time paramount high that parents are investing in their daughters. It's tremendous. It doesn't happen I'm so proud of my fans. I mean, it's unlike most places. unless you have moms and dads that want that for their I know Dawn feels the same way about South Carolina. kids. In a lot of cases they may have more than just It's really special, really special. Don't think that doesn't one, yet they find the time and they spend the money. go unappreciated by me or our players or my staff. We absolutely appreciate it and we do feel a responsibility Aliyah Matharu's mom used to get up in the morning, to them. drive to the park in the dark, turn her lights on so Aliyah can get shots. Who does that? I tell you who does it, THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. Brenda does it for her daughter that she loves and cares about deeply. There's probably more stories like that across the country. That's just a tremendous story for that kid.

That's just one of the many reasons why an Aliyah Matharu is here, playing at the level she plays at as a freshman. I think it's tremendous.

Again, I think it's the investment. Just like in women's athletics and women's basketball, the universities that are investing in it are seeing the return. If you don't invest in it, you're not going to get a return. It's just like anything in life, in business.

I think that's the next piece is that more and more universities, more and more athletic departments are seeing the benefit of having a great women's basketball program, and they're investing.

Q. Yesterday you mentioned the pressure that you felt for the fans to make it to Sunday. Now that you've done it, does that pressure feel any less or more going back again? VIC SCHAEFER: I went out and ran my miles today. I ran five down at the creek. All the way down, all the way back, it's littered with literally hundreds of people that are in maroon and white. You walk through the lobby, you go into breakfast and get coffee. It's just so many people around.

Look, I know my fans. I got three of the biggest farmers in the delta here. Really, I know who they are and what

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