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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: WACOMarch 18, 2016Jon NewleeAli FordeChristina SalvatoreWaco, Texas Baylor - 89, Idaho - 59 JON NEWLEE: I guess our start was very disappointing to me, from an offensive and defensive standpoint both. We had hoped to come out and do a little better job out of our zone of finding their shooters. Alexis really made us pay for that, and then Wallace came in and did the same. You've got to pick your poison with Baylor, and we certainly weren't going to be able to match up inside with a presence like that. We're taking our chances that they wouldn't be as hot as they were from three today, especially in that first quarter. But I thought after the first quarter we really settled down, had a great second quarter, played our game. And really, the rest of the way -- I really loved the way my team competed after being down as we were, but still being able to compete and rally, and they've just got a lot of heart, man. I love this team. I think more than any team I've coached at Idaho for sure. These guys are my favorites, the way they compete and what they've done, how they've gotten along all year with each other, and just been such a joy to coach. Would have liked for a better result, of course, for tonight, but all in all -- I know our seniors had hoped that, as well. But our younger players are going to learn from this experience, and when we get back in the gym in the spring and in the fall, we're going to be a lot better for it because that is one hell of a basketball team, the Baylor Bears. I can tell you that. I heard they're the second best team in the country, and in my mind there's no doubt about it. Those guys can go win the national championship. Geno better be looking out because I feel like the Bears are coming for them. Q. Christina and Ali, talk about that second quarter. I know some of the game plan was to stay behind the arc, but you guys actually were successful down low. Talk about getting in that rhythm and how that helped you guys. CHRISTINA SALVATORE: I think with our shooters, they were really focused on switching out onto us, so it kind of opened up driving lanes, and Ali did a great job of finishing inside. Geri had some good looks. It really opened up the driving lanes. And yeah, I don't know. Ali can answer that since she was the beast inside tonight. ALI FORDE: Yeah, I kind of just agree with shooters like Sal, Makayla, Taylor on my team. It opens lanes for me. Q. Talk about what it means for you guys to kind of end your run here, and then what you see for this program moving forward with the young core that you guys have. ALI FORDE: Yeah, it's huge. Three of the four years we've won our conference championship, and that's huge. To deal with these girls, this team especially this year, like Coach said, we're really tight-knit. And it's just kind of been the frosting on the cake to get to come to a big school and go balls to the wall. Sorry. And just take it out and see what we could do. I think coming into the next future years, we're definitely -- you're going to see Idaho coming back to this tournament again and again. It's nice to be a start of that. CHRISTINA SALVATORE: Like Ali said, it's huge for us. Going from watching these teams on TV in middle school and stuff and then coming to play them three out of our four years here is huge. Our goal every year is to get to the NCAA Tournament, and to do that three out of our four years, I feel like is a pretty good career here. For our freshmen and younger classmen, I think we kind of paved the way for them. We showed them good habits and how we want to play here, so I'm excited for their future. Because to start like this, like we did, we started with an NCAA appearance, so to start like this, it really makes you hungry for it, so I'm excited for it. Q. Christina, you struggled with your shot early on but kind of found the rhythm later on. Was that their defense early on, or were your shots just not falling? CHRISTINA SALVATORE: Yeah, they pushed me out a little bit further than I would have liked to shoot, but I don't know, our motto is next shot, next play, keep shooting the ball, and I think we showed that tonight. We kept shooting the ball, and I was hoping they would eventually start falling. So for them to start falling in that fourth quarter felt pretty good, but of course I would have liked it the whole game. Q. Ali, you hit one from behind the arc there. Doesn't really happen too much for you. Talk about getting open today and getting that to sink. ALI FORDE: Yeah, so at the beginning of the game, they were actually guarding me on the three-point line, which doesn't always happen. But, yeah, that play, Taylor drove to the hole, and my girl sagged in and, she made an amazing pass and kicked it back out to give me the shot. Very thankful that she did that for me. That was really cool. Q. I know you hit on it a little bit, but talk about -- you had your two seniors here -- but talk about the group that you have in the locker room as a whole as the senior class, and then also building on your freshmen. JON NEWLEE: I mean, what a great senior class. They were everything I envisioned when they signed with us. I really felt like those three in particular were going to take us special places, and they certainly have. Three out of four years again as a mid-major, where we're at, it's an amazing accomplishment. I couldn't be happier because those three are great. Adding the junior college Aussies to it, as well, they've been great, as well. Obviously one of the best senior classes we've had come through the University of Idaho, and that's the way they'll always be remembered. Q. You talked about their three-point shooters. Sometimes like you said you just have to pick your poison. Is that what makes them maybe a contender for a national championship because they do have that inside-outside? JON NEWLEE: Yeah, exactly. We played a lot of athletic teams throughout the last couple years, but they're a little one-dimensional. I might have one kid who can maybe start shooting it, and they're a lot easier to guard. So we've used that same strategy. And even last year when we were here, we used the same strategy. Wallace came in and was 6-9 last year against us, but they didn't have Alexis Jones. You put Jones into this mix -- and I turned to my associate head coach, I said these guys, I think they can get to the Final Four because Jones is the X factor that they did not have last year, along with the depth inside. They're so much bigger when you get here and see them in person than they look on film. A couple of those girls are huge, and I thought, man, they do have what it takes because they can go inside and out. And of course Kim is a fantastic Hall of Fame basketball coach, and along with her staff. I think Bill Brock is an amazing guy and a great coach and all those guys over there. From the coaching on down to the talent, man, I think they're going to get there. Q. That 30-9 start, but then you guys come back in the second quarter. Talk about the heart of your team, a lot of teams you might not see that kind of fight for the rest of the game. JON NEWLEE: That's exactly what I told them in the locker room. I said, you know, that first quarter was a killer for us, but what I love about this team -- and I told them what I love about you guys is you just dug down and fought back, just like we did in the tournament in Reno to get here, to get in this position. We were down at halftime all three games, and we just battled back from leads, and they're fighters. That's what I love about them. They are fighters, and they're never going to give up. They kept fighting. They kept shooting the basketball and playing hard, man, and playing their tails off. And that's what I love about them. Again, there's no quit in these Idaho Vandals, and that's, again, what makes them that special group. I really love them. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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