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NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL FOUR

April 3, 2016

Indianapolis, Indiana

Connecticut - 80, Oregon State - 51

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck and student-athletes Sydney Wiese, Ruth Hamblin and Jamie Weisner. Coach, an opening statement.

COACH RUECK: Hats off to UConn. They played a phenomenal game tonight. I thought they obviously shot the ball extremely well. With a team like that, you've got to kind of pick your poison. And that team made us pay, no matter what we did. And that's why they are who they are. You know, offensively they really made us work and kept us off balance. And credit them.

This group sitting next to me and in the locker room right now, you know, the greatest season in the history of our school, in our sport ended tonight. And there's one reason that I'm sad, and that's that that's the last game that this team gets to play together.

This group is an absolute dream. I wish I could describe to people what it's like to be their coach, where you walk in the gym every day and you just can't wait to see them, has nothing to do with basketball. They're committed to each other. They're a true family.

And their resilience proved true. They got to the final weekend and put themselves into a position to have an incredible opportunity tonight. And this senior class is unbelievable. And I could not be more proud of who they are, the way they play, but the teammates and the students that they are, it's mind blowing. They're an incredible story, which I've said a lot, and I'm so happy that they got to represent themselves on this stage. Very well deserved, and I'm nothing but proud.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Jamie and Ruth, what did Scott say in the locker room right then and what did you guys say to each other?
JAMIE WEISNER: Just that we're proud of each other. Heads up. We exceeded everyone's expectations and just that we love each other. He said thank you. And we all just said thank you. It's been a good ride and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Q. Jamie, what makes UConn UConn? What separates them in your mind?
JAMIE WEISNER: They can hit from everywhere. People come in off the bench and there's no lag. They expose every weakness and make you pay for it, force you into things you don't want to do. And then offensively, I mean, they have weapons everywhere, every position.

Q. Sydney, you guys were down about eight midway through the second half, and then UConn holds you guys to 1-for-6 shooting, 15-2 run. What was it that changed during that stretch or what changed the momentum there?
SYDNEY WIESE: I think they just hit shots, and we couldn't make anything. And sometimes that happens in the game. And you never want them to gain momentum. But, yeah, they kept hitting shots against us.

Q. Ruth, could you just put in perspective the journey you guys have been on in your time at Oregon State and getting to the Final Four and what this season has been for you guys?
RUTH HAMBLIN: It's been absolutely unreal. Yeah, just the work ethic of the people that came into this program and everyone bought into the vision that Coach Rueck had, and we've all kind of been in this together, us against the world.

And it's been a lot of fun and a lot of ups and downs, and obviously coming here to the Final Four has been the pinnacle moment for this program. And I'm so honored to have been a part of it.

Q. Regardless of the outcome, guys, talk a little bit about even Katie coming in, nailing some big shots, kind of the hope about the program moving forward; that you guys know you have some young freshmen that can step in and keep this thing going beyond just today?
RUTH HAMBLIN: Yeah, no, it's really exciting, the future. We've kind of set the bar high for this program and everyone's expectations are going to continue to be high, and we know how to handle that now. And I think we've got a lot of young talent coming in. And our recruiting class is good. I'm really excited to see what the team does in the future and how they respond next year.

Q. Ruth, for you, obviously tough way to go out, but to put up 10 points, 11 rebounds, block six shots against a team on a historic run like UConn, what can you take from that as you head to the next level?
RUTH HAMBLIN: Definitely they're playing at a very high level. So I think it just translates all the experience you get playing against these very talented players. So hopefully I can continue to grow my game.

Q. Ruth, when Stewart was guarding you, it seemed you had a little bit of success only for a few possessions, but when Tuck and Williams started guarding you later on, seemed like you struggled a little bit. What were they doing that was different that gave you a hard time?
RUTH HAMBLIN: They were very physical with me, kind of got me off the block. I didn't get them deep enough in that regard. But they were really strong and able to tip passes, so it made it difficult for the guards to get me the ball.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach.

Q. Is it as simple as saying that UConn just gets the best players, or is there something else that separates them and has continued to separate them from the rest of the field really the last decade or more?
COACH RUECK: Well, when you win as long as they have, you create a momentum and an expectation that is innately conducive to winning. That's what you expect to do. So you know how to handle situations. The new class comes in. They learn from the people that have been there and done that, and we all try to create that culture that's lasting.

And we've seen that in ours, in our six years, this team -- I mean, four years ago we didn't know how to win a Pac-12 game. Now this team is upset if there's a close Pac-12 game.

And so Connecticut's been doing it on a national level forever. And so I think that's probably the biggest thing.

And then whether they get the best players or not, I think they get the best players that they want is what it seems to me. That team is built with not only extremely talented players but they're built with high-character players and there's a maturity in that program; that I don't think they put up with a lot of nonsense. So that's conducive to winning as well.

Q. Was the plan coming in -- Stewart had two points in the first half and came in the last three minutes. And she had two quick fouls. It seemed like you left Tuck open to shoot from the outside in the first quarter and she burned you. And was that the plan to roll the dice to see if she was hitting?
COACH RUECK: At times. We wanted to give her different looks from different angles. And their spacing allowed -- I mean, it's hard to take everything they want to do away, because the minute that you go get her, they're dunking the ball at the rim. It's a team that shoots 70 percent inside the paint, inside six feet, right?

And so what do you want to give up? So I thought we could have done a little better job of showing a little bit more at Tuck than we did certainly, but you also hope maybe she misses one. And so that's part of the gamble with this team.

And tonight, especially in the game, they shot extremely well. If I went back and looked at the shots that they took, there's probably only four of them that I didn't like. They made them.

Q. Looking ahead to next season, you're going to lose Sydney and Ruth Hamblin, Jamie Weisner, but you certainly -- the cupboard certainly does not appear bare in Corvallis. Talk about what you take out of this game and apply that going into next season.
COACH RUECK: Syd's not going pro, is she? Do you know something I don't know?

Q. My apologies. I thought she was a senior.
COACH RUECK: No, we're losing some significant seniors, of course. The foundation of this turnaround and this rebuild of a program, and so going forward, exact same thing we just talked about with Connecticut. That is built. We are in the process of those expectations staying high. Knowing how to conduct ourselves day in, day out, how we work in the offseason, all those things, our culture, pieces, and then you just continue to add talent.

So I like where we're at. Certainly some big holes to fill. I think we'll look slightly different in the future. But this is a team that expects to win and a program that expects to win. And so my expectation is that continues. And we're supported very well, I should say. So that's another thing that's conducive to that.

Q. I was just curious, six years into the program, with this grand stage, what role do you think social media will play in the recruitment of athletes, basketball players at Oregon State?
COACH RUECK: I think it's continuing to be more and more important. I don't see it going away. I don't see it changing. So I think it's significant. I think the people that we want to recruit are certainly not relying on that solely. You know, if there's a place for it, it's a factor, but I don't think it's the core.

I think people are what this is all about. And so social media can draw attention. It can certainly put us in front of people more and more. I think everybody's doing that. But the people that we've built this program with, that's not why they're at Oregon State. And so I think it has a role, but I don't believe it's the end-all. I think relationships are number one.

Q. You talked yesterday about how good UConn is defensively and they don't get enough credit for that. They were all over Jamie. She couldn't get an open look. She could barely get the ball. Did you talk about changing something offensively to try to help her get open looks, or were you committed to trying to go inside to Ruth?
COACH RUECK: Well, I mean, we talked about a number of different things. And the way that team switches and they switch defenses, they keep you off balance. That's what allows them to be as good as they are defensively. That's the challenge playing them. The minute you do one thing, they do another thing.

And as good as they are offensively, they can take liberties on the defensive end. That's what they do. That's what makes them good. They're switching defenses. We haven't seen a box and one for a while. We saw one tonight in the second quarter. That's what makes them who they are.

As far as moving her around, we did, and they adjusted. So the things that we did, they took away. Moving Ruth away from the basket is something that we did second half. And I thought that opened things up for us a little bit.

Q. Just hoping you could sort of take in the full body of work with Ruth and Jamie as well and just how you see that translating for each of them at the next level.
COACH RUECK: Well, they have had incredible experiences. I mean, this conference -- being in the Pac-12 really develops you as a player if you're committed, and they're both committed to growth. We saw phenomenal teams and schemes all year long. Both of them have developed exceptionally well.

I think both of them have miles to go still. Jamie has become a complete player before our eyes. She was someone that really struggled defensively just two years ago and now, I mean, I wouldn't have her on the floor in a stretch of games, to be honest, defensively. Nothing to do with her offense. So to see her game become complete has been remarkable.

Ruth has been a dominant defensive presence from day one. She embraced it. She understood it right away and became awesome. Offensively she's been a work in progress, and you just continue to see development in her. Her face-up game this year, knocking shots down, she's knocked huge shots for us this year from 15. I tell everybody those two in particular, I mean, the entire class, they're going to be great employees. You're going to want them on your team. They're going to make anybody successful.

Q. In the opening half, you seemed to have a lot of trouble with the inlet pass and post. Sometimes stripped, resulted in turnovers. Sometimes resulted in forced shots late in the clock that added to the shooting, field goal percentage woes. In the second half you seemed to work that out quite a bit. What adjustment did you make in order to do that?
COACH RUECK: I got mad (chuckling). No, I was frustrated by that. As soon as -- I always call her Bre, Stewy, as soon as she got her second foul, obviously, Tuck goes to Ruth. That was an advantage on the floor. We needed to take advantage of it. We really struggled with our passes to Ruth. It's been something that's been a strength of ours all year. It's been a strength forever. There's been times we've struggled, but it's something we've really grown in.

Second half I thought maybe we established ourselves a little bit lower. We had more discernment on when to make that pass and when not to. And so that was something that needed to be there for us in the first half, and unfortunately it wasn't.

Can I say real quick we're so grateful for the way we've been supported, the outpouring of support not only from our fans and Beaver Nation but from everyone. It's been amazing to watch the basketball community embrace this team. We're humbled by that and very appreciative. So thank you very much.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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