Kelly Graves Oti Geldon Ruthy Hebard Sabrina Ionescu

NCAA Women's Regional Semifinals and Finals: Bridgeport Saturday, March 25, 2017 Bridgeport, Connecticut Q. Ruthy and Oti, it seemed like it was sort of a Kelly Graves team effort to slow down Bri Jones. If you could take me through what the mindset was going in, Oti Geldon how you go about doing that, and when you knew it was working the way it ultimately did. RUTHY HEBARD: Yeah, she's an amazing player. We Ruthy Hebard definitely scout her a lot, how to guard her, how to try to stop her. I think we just focused on getting low and Sabrina Ionescu trying to force out of the paint, which was definitely Oregon tough, but I think we did a pretty good job of it. Oregon - 77, Maryland - 63 Q. Sabrina and Ruthy, can you talk about how you guys have evolved in your freshman year? Do you KELLY GRAVES: I just want to congratulate Coach think you're at a point now where -- obviously the Frese and her team. I'll tell you, I have had zero sleep team is playing its best -- that you've gotten over over the last four days, and a lot of it is just because whatever freshman things you might have had, and I've been watching film of them. They're so impressive, has that helped during the tournament? and she's got a great team, and they had an awesome RUTHY HEBARD: Like Coach always says, we're not season. freshmen anymore, we're 30, 35 games in. So I think once we step on the court, we're all just ball players. It Also, obviously very happy that we're moving on. I doesn't matter grade you're in, how young you are, so I continue to be amazed at this team. You know, just the think we just go on the court every day wanting to win, fact that over the last five days we went cross-country and we try our best. twice, had final exams, played a great team -- three great teams in this tournament. And you know, they SABRINA IONESCU: Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I continue to show poise down the stretch, and I'll tell mean, 30-plus games in, we're not freshmen anymore. you, it's just impressive to watch. We continue to get Especially now, this late in the tournament, we've just better and better as a basketball team. We're excited got to come out every game and work hard and try and to move on, regardless of who we play next. get as many wins as we can. Q. Sabrina, how were you guys able to control the Q. Coach Frese talked about how this team, the tempo of this game and keep them well under their Oregon team, reminds her of her own National normal scoring average? Championship team in 2006, as you guys start SABRINA IONESCU: Well, we just buckled down on mostly underclassmen. What has it been like defense, and we got back in transition and tried to stop playing in the tournament and that experience and their easy transition buckets. But we did what we do having this type of run? offensively. We got it side-top-side, pounded it down SABRINA IONESCU: I mean, we're blessed. We're low to the bigs and did what we usually do. blessed to be in this position, and I think we're just excited about everything. No one's been here. None Q. Oti, obviously you've had one of your biggest of our kids have ever experienced anything like that. games of your college career here on this level. So I think we're just excited to be able to advance and What does it feel like, and what was your mentality play another day and see where that takes us. coming into this game when Mallory picked up her fourth foul? RUTHY HEBARD: Yeah, it's an amazing feeling to be OTI GELDON: It felt great. Coming off the bench, I just here, and I think every day we just go out and work had to make sure I did whatever I needed to do for the hard and try to win the game so we can get another team, which was defense and rebounding, so I just had game. to make sure I kept doing that. OTI GELDON: Yeah, piggy-backing off what they said, Rev #2 by #166 at 2017-03-25 18:43:00 GMT page 1 of 5 it's really exciting. We just need to make sure we stay issue for you when it comes to that and making focused and continue to do what we're doing those series of threes in the first half of this game. offensively and defensively. Here you are for the first time; how comfortable is it? How much does this fit and how much is it you Q. This question is for Sabrina: You were hitting as a player now? your shots. You were clearly hitting clutch threes, SABRINA IONESCU: Yeah, basketball is basketball but also No. 10, Lexi Bando, she was seeming to regardless of really what stage you're on, and I hold have like an issue missing the three. But you guys these kids accountable, preseason and now. I want never quit on her or gave up on her, and she everyone to try their best, exceed all the expectations answered and responded later in the second half. that people have for us, especially as freshmen. So I Did you say anything to her or did you guys just -- think that just builds into the leadership that I have for it was just kind of a rhythm thing, we're going to this team, and I think our coaches do a really good job keep coming to you until you get on fire? on setting a vision for us, and we're trying to achieve SABRINA IONESCU: I definitely said a few things to everything that we set out to achieve. her. Sorry, just saying. But she's the best shooter in America, so we all hold her to a high standard, and I Q. If UConn manages to beat UCLA, you're going to definitely hold her to a high standard. I told her before face UConn. It's going to be the potential for one the game, if she stops shooting, she's being selfish. of the greatest upsets in history to cap off this run. She needs to let that ball fly, and I told her she needed Have you allowed yourself to think about it in those to quicken her shot up a little bit. I think she was taking terms? too much time to get it up and thinking about, you SABRINA IONESCU: I mean, regardless what team is know, she wanted this to go in. So I told her just going to win tonight, we're going to be prepared. So quicken her shot up and just let it fly, and she did. whatever is going to happen, when that ball goes in the air is going to happen, but I know that we're not going Q. Brenda Frese said they don't know any better, to go down easy. We're going to give every team a that they should be nervous at this time because fight. We're going to play our hardest, and if that you have such a young team. What do you think means we upset the No. 1 team in the country, then about that? She has that experience with having a that's what's going to happen. really young team go all the way to the Final Four. Do you know any better? Are you at all nervous Q. Sabrina, how eager were you to face Destiny, about the fact that you're now in the Elite 8, one obviously one of the top-rated point guards in your step away from the Final Four? class, and based on the numbers you outplayed RUTHY HEBARD: I don't think so. I think Coach said it her. Was that even more satisfying as a part of the before the game that it's just another game. We're just win? on a bigger stage, but it's still the same game. We're SABRINA IONESCU: No, not at all. It was my team all comfortable playing, and I think we're just going to versus her team, it wasn't me versus her. The take it game by game and keep doing what we do. numbers and all that doesn't matter to me. I think I was just excited that our team withstood their run and we SABRINA IONESCU: Yeah, I don't think we're really withstood what they had to offer and got the win. nervous. We have nothing to lose. It's kind of fun to see. We all laugh and giggle and just are really excited Q. Ladies, can you talk a little bit about some of the to be here and enjoy this opportunity that we have. So aspects of the Oregon game that you'd like to see I think we continue to enjoy this opportunity and work maybe tighten up or really hit strides a little sooner hard and good things will come to us. for the next game as you advance in the tournament? OTI GELDON: I think the Pac-12 prepared us well for SABRINA IONESCU: I think we need to take care of this tournament.

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