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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: COLLEGE STATION

March 21, 2016

College Station, Texas

Florida State - 74, Texas A&M - 56

SUE SEMRAU: Yeah, just want to congratulate A&M on a fantastic year. They have some great players, and Courtney Walker is one of the best that we've seen. I thought our team defense on her was the difference. I thought the way that we rebounded the ball, I think it started with Ivey Slaughter. She came in and got an offensive rebound on the first possession that I think got the rest of our team really going.

It was a lot of physicality, and our toughness, I think, was really critical. Obviously going on the road, and a great crowd, Texas A&M fans are incredible. You know, all of the rocking really does -- it's amazing the tradition that is here and what Coach Blair has done with this program. So just want to congratulate them, and we're extremely excited to be moving forward.

Q. Brittany, if you could expound on what coach said about the start, what you felt you ladies were able to do or what you prevented A&M from doing that you could get that momentum.
BRITTANY BROWN: I just think we really came together as a team. We knew what we were good at and that's defending the rebound and we knew they were a really good rebounding team, as well, and we knew it was going to be a battle from the jump. I honestly just felt like our group came together, whether that was chaos or from the tip of the ball to the end of the buzzer. We were together. If anything got hard, we came together. I don't know, we just got it together and played together as a team.

Q. Brittany, probably the best game you've played all season. What were the keys?
BRITTANY BROWN: Honestly I think it was unselfish basketball. It didn't matter who was doing what. We played together. I think Duty played a great game. She was busting on the boards, she got to the line so many times and like she said, Ivey, too. Everybody contributed. I mean, Emiah's defense, from them to hedging on the ball screens, it makes a big difference and I just think everybody contributed from the bench to whoever was on the floor at the moment, and I think that was definitely a turning point for us.

Q. Adut, can you talk about how the outside shooting? You guys hit a lot of threes early that kind of opened things up for you inside.
ADUT BULGAK: Yeah, some shots weren't falling, but for the most part if you put the ball up, you're going to go get the rebound. Somebody has to get the rebound and I felt like our posts, even our guards like Brittany, rebounded the ball so well, they got in position and worked early because we knew it was going to be a battle of the boards both sides of the floor because Texas A&M rebounds really well, but you've got to put the ball on the rim to get the board, so we did a good job of that.

Q. Adut, what was it about the rebounding that gave you guys the advantage down low against the glass? This is a team that has great size. What gave you guys the advantage here today?
ADUT BULGAK: Just I think rebounding is what we do, so that was an automatic advantage for us. It's just something that we're good at. If you go pursue the ball, you're going to get it. They tell me all the time, go for the ball, and you're going to get it, and we have Ivey, who sets the tone, who got the first O board of the game and then we ended up having like three in that same possession. It's contagious for our team. I think that's the word for it.

Q. Did y'all watch the A&M men's game last night? When they were making their big run at the end, did that come in your head at all before y'all shut them down?
ADUT BULGAK: There was a talk. There was a talk about that game. Some of us watched it, but we heard about it, and it just goes to show it's anybody's game. It all depends on how hard you want it, how bad you want it, how hard you fight for it, and it's March, nobody is safe.

Q. Y'all did think about it when you were making your run today?
ADUT BULGAK: Yep. Don't let up, that was the word of the game. Don't let up. Even when it went down to like a 16-point lead, I was like, yo, they're creeping up on us. Get to work.

Q. The whole season you've been dreaming about this. What were you most impressed with today?
SUE SEMRAU: I think Brittany talked about it. There's something special about a team that will come together and be selfless. We haven't had that strong leader that required that all year. We've got a lot of great people and a lot of great players, but they all by committee really made that decision. It was exciting to watch because we knew we had a lot of talent, but when they work that hard and they are that tough, they're special to watch.

Q. Coach, the turnovers, you mentioned the first game you guys were a little rusty, but today a big edge in points after turnovers, some of those even on the fast break. Did you go into this game planning that even though their veteran guards back there, maybe missing one, that you could take advantage of something with your defense?
SUE SEMRAU: Well, we knew that we had to get back in transition. We decided that we would send somebody straight to Courtney Walker because if she gets the ball in transition on a long outlet, she's just so dangerous.

And so I think that maybe that -- we sent a couple to her, and it's tough. When you're the kid that is expected to score -- obviously without her leading scorer, it's a lot on her. We needed to make sure that we took advantage of that.

I didn't think we took very good care of the ball in the first half, and we took much better care of the ball in the second half, and I think that was really important.

Q. In your first game it kind of took y'all a while to get going, but today y'all came out to such a great start. What do you think was the key to coming out firing?
SUE SEMRAU: Well, when you don't play for two weeks, it's just ugly. I think a lot of games were, the first half, and then I think people settled back in. Today we knew we had to come out and be the aggressor, and I thought from the tip, we had that opportunity to be the aggressor. We didn't hit the shot in our first possession, but to have those offensive rebounds I thought set a big tone for us.

Q. First time in the program's history you're going to the Sweet 16. What does that mean for the program?
SUE SEMRAU: Hmm. You know, I just -- I love these kids. They're just -- and I love Florida State, and I love what it all stands for, the excellence in our athletic department. It's not just about us. We had a former Florida State football player here today, Travis Johnson, who played in the NFL for a number of years. He brought his young daughter and lives in Houston and drove up. That's what it's all about. It's family. It's support. These things come as a result of that in my opinion.

Q. I think I saw you shaking your head a little bit when I was asking about the A&M men's game. Did you think about that or say anything to the ladies about it?
SUE SEMRAU: You know, I did, but it was interesting because one of your assistants is a very good childhood friend of one of my assistants, so we saw him at shoot-around, so we were just dying to know how that felt and what that was like. And so he shared that with us.

It was incredible to hear their side of it and know that it can happen any time in March. So certainly that was something that came into my mind.

I know years ago we played a game, and our men came back from 24 down. I can't remember who it was. I want to say it was Carolina. And they won. And the next night we played, and we went up 24, and sure enough, we lost. You know, that vision in your head can really occur, so absolutely, I think what A&M's men did, it put us on guard, as well.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: COLLEGE STATION

March 21, 2016

Sue Semrau

Brittany Brown

Adut Bulgak