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NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL FOUR

April 5, 2016

Indianapolis, Indiana

UConn - 82, Syracuse - 51

THE MODERATOR: Joining us is Connecticut student-athletes Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck and head coach Geno Auriemma. We'll take a statement from Coach Auriemma and questions for student-athletes.

COACH AURIEMMA: Really no statements, really. I mean, there's not much that I can say. There's no describing it. And it's a feeling that you have that's indescribable. And I know these guys, they're anxious to get back there and be with their families and friends. And they've created an amount of excitement that the game has not seen in a long, long time, if ever.

And they've left an imprint on this game that's going to last a really long time. And I think it's a blueprint for kids coming after them that if you want to know how to do it, they showed everybody how to do it. And they did it the right way. And they did it together and they did it with people that they love. And I'm really, really proud of them.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Stewy, few people can finish their careers the way you guys did. Is this the perfect ending for your college career?
BREANNA STEWART: Yes. It was the perfect ending. I'm not sure what word you can use to describe it. We had a goal coming in as freshmen, and now as seniors we did that. We did what we wanted to do. And it was a lot of fun.

Q. Morgan, it's late. Can you tell us if you can tell us what your decision is about whether you're going to stay or going to be to the NBA?
MORGAN TUCK: Not yet. Not yet.

Q. For all the players, you guys have said that you can't describe this feeling, this moment. Can you describe what you felt when Puli hit that shot? I don't know if it was a 2 or 3 in the corner.
MORIAH JEFFERSON: I probably jumped the highest I've jumped all season when she shot that shot. We were so excited for her, and to end the game the way she did, it was great. And we got 82 points, so we got wings.

Q. For all of you guys, what did it mean when you came off the court for the final time together and were able to share that embrace?
BREANNA STEWART: It was kind of like when we all came off the court at Campbell, you know, doing this together, building, becoming better people together, becoming better players since our freshman year, and to walk off after we've accomplished this, you know, there's no better way to do it than all of us go off at the same time.

MORIAH JEFFERSON: I don't think I could say it any better. It was definitely a special moment, something that you'll remember for the rest of your life. And we're just so excited that we got a chance to do something that we did. Four in a row is amazing. I'm just happy that I did it with these two.

MORGAN TUCK: They said it all. It's just a great feeling.

Q. Breanna, just talk a little bit about -- Coach Auriemma talked about it on stage, for you and you guys have seen for your four years now winning those four championships, for you guys, how much of a credit is it to Coach Auriemma to get that No. 11 and have you seen what kind of a leader he is as a coach and all the stuff that goes along with it?
BREANNA STEWART: If we were to come to any other school as a group, we wouldn't have done what we did here. And that's crediting a lot to coach, to the other coaches, to the other players we're playing with. He pushed us to levels that we didn't know we could even reach or play at.

And once we bought into that, it was a great journey to be on. And it sets us over. Just because we've had so much fun this year, the past three, four seasons. And anytime your college career comes to an end, I'm sure you're hearing people saying it's sad, but now actually being in this position, you don't really want to move on.

Q. After the game, there was a large collection of former players on the floor. What were some of the things that they said to you? Did any of them say anything like you did something that even we didn't do?
BREANNA STEWART: You know, we didn't really embrace or have that much of a conversation with all of them. I think that the biggest thing that we're able to see with that group of alumni coming back is the fact that, sure, they've had so much success on their individual teams themselves but they want to share this with us.

And just being there and supporting us and wanting to be a part of this. And that's why when you come to UConn, it really is a family. Some of them have been out of college for a while. Some of them have not. But they were just as excited as we were.

Q. I'm not sure which of you would be best to talk about this, but can you explain the knighting ceremony that went on at the very end? Whose job is it to have that samurai sword and keep it safe throughout the game and bring it on stage afterwards?
MORGAN TUCK: Each weekend after the tournament Mo started off, I was second, and Stewy was third. It started in the locker room. I don't know, after one of the first games I just said: Who wants to be knighted? Because it was a sword and that's what I think of. And different people on the team volunteer. And that's just how it got started.

COACH AURIEMMA: It's not a samurai sword. Not a samurai sword.

MORGAN TUCK: It's sharp, though.

COACH AURIEMMA: Mameluke. Google it.

Q. Stewy, can you describe what it's like for the three of you when you came to this program with high expectations and to come to this point, accomplishing everything that you set out for?
BREANNA STEWART: Well, I think the best way to describe it is -- well, first of all, when we came in as freshmen, seemed like we were here for an eternity our freshman year. And then the following three seasons went by like that. But to have come in with these two, to have grown with them as people, as basketball players and that kind of stuff, and become best friends with them, and then to do something that no one else has ever done with them, I mean, I keep saying "unbelievable" as a word to describe it. But I don't know what other word you could use.

But the fact that we made history together, that's going to create a connection that will never be broken.

Q. Morgan, can you just talk about not only have you done this and everything but what you've gone through with the injuries and all that stuff and having to fight through all that and still come out here and win four straight?
MORGAN TUCK: It's definitely hard with injuries. But my teammates did a great job of keeping me encouraged and always making me feel like I was part of the team. Even when I wasn't able to be out there on the court, I still felt like I was there helping. And then to get four straight, that's just our team. Everyone contributed. Everyone did their part, and so that's why we ended up where we are now.

Q. Breanna, I know a lot of people in Syracuse have mixed emotions tonight. But now you've accomplished everything that you set out to accomplish in college. Can you talk about what's next? I know you've got Rio this summer. WNBA. Talk about how you move on from this.
BREANNA STEWART: Um, I'm not really thinking about all that right now. I think that the biggest thing I'm focusing on is just enjoying this with my teammates. Sure, if you look in the next couple of weeks, there's a lot going on, because the turnaround for the WNBA is so quick. But I'll worry about that when we get back to campus.

Q. All three of you, obviously you all think ahead. And you were talking your freshmen year about winning four straight. I wonder if the three of you have talked about the chance to play together again, if that's crossed your mind, whether it's for our country, whether it's at the WNBA level, if that's a conversation you guys have had?
BREANNA STEWART: You know, I don't really think it's a conversation that we've had. I think it's something that if you ask individually, every one of us, we've thought about, just because we know that after this, you know, it's not going to be the three of us together again.

And, sure, it would be great to one day play with these guys again. I'd like to be on the same team with them. So that could happen, that would be great, if someone could make that happen.

MORIAH JEFFERSON: The same. Playing with these two has been amazing. I've got a chance to grow as a player, a person, on and off the court. And just being able to come here, alongside of Tuck and Stewy, and to play under Coach has been amazing. If that opportunity comes, I'm sure we'd jump at it.

MORGAN TUCK: Once again, they pretty much said it all. It would be great to play with them again.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies. Questions for Coach.

Q. You said yesterday how this is like a storybook, the writing was almost impossible and tough to believe. But now that it's finished, what your thoughts on what's been accomplished by you and your team this year and then the last four?
COACH AURIEMMA: It's really -- I know it's not exactly what everybody wants to hear. But these are not things that are just easily -- that you easily put words to. Even us as coaches, you know, we looked at each other after the game and we just kind of shake our heads. It's so unusual.

Kids play their whole lives from the time they're 10 to the time they're 22, trying to get to one Final Four, hoping they win one national championship. And you look over here and it's four in a row.

And I've tried to keep it more in what are they thinking, what are they feeling like, what's going through their minds. So I'm not really internalizing myself, and said, okay, here's what I think about it. Maybe that will come later. But right now I'm really in, like, I wish I could be in their heads to know what they're thinking and how they're feeling.

After all, that's why we do this, right? We coach or we teach or you raise kids because you want them to accomplish things that you never did or that are really hard to do and enjoy doing it and have a love of it. And they do. And us as coaches, we're so busy doing that, we don't have time to sit and think about what it means to us. We will, at some point we will. For sure. That's just not yet.

Q. I know Breanna wants to take a little time to think about what's coming next, but you know how fast that comes. You have had several players that almost immediately became very impactful and then have had long, impactful careers as professionals. What kind of impact -- provided she stays healthy and everything, what kind of impact is she going to have over the next decade on this sport?
COACH AURIEMMA: Well, that's interesting, because I think everybody would be anxious to see. If you look back at the impact she had in high school and what she had at USA Basketball, at every age group, and the impact she's had on the world of college basketball, you would say might not happen right away. Like it didn't happen as a freshman at UConn until the end of her freshman year.

But I would say that it's a pretty good chance that she's going to do at the next level exactly what she's been doing. And obviously it's going to be more difficult. The teams that she's playing on is quite different than the one she's playing on. The players that they're playing against are quite different. The entire life is different. And that takes some getting used to.

I like the fact that if everything holds true and she goes to Seattle that she'll be around some really good people. I know Sue will take great care of her, and Jewell Loyd is a great kid and is going to be a heck of a player, and Kaleena is up there. And there's a lot of people she's familiar with. And they'll help her grow.

Q. This was a unique situation, obviously, in that this team had a chance to win four consecutive titles. Given that, is there anything you said to them prior to this game, because this was a unique -- every championship is unique, but this is really a unique situation and your players this week talked about how important it was to finish what they believed was a goal of theirs. So what was the scene like prior to the game?
COACH AURIEMMA: It wasn't that much different than a normal NCAA game or a NCAA Final Four game that they've been in. It wasn't that much different. The only small difference we talked about was this is what you wanted from day one. You said this is what you wanted, that you wanted to be in position to do this.

And now here we are. We're in a position to do this. Yet, the only way that we're going to do it is all the things that got us here are going to be what wins it for us tonight. And there was a certain amount of sameness that, yeah, we know what the stakes are here, but we have to be the same as we have been.

And there was a time during the huddle and the game when Syracuse went on that run of theirs where we talked about that you can't stumble into the history books. Like if you're going to do this, you need to do it the right way. You need to break through the finish line, not stumble across it.

And that's when we came out of that time out and Stewy made a couple of shots. But that's the only time that we really talked about the meaning of the game, how big it is. And they were probably more excited in these huddles than they have been all year long. I mean, this is what they live for. They really do. And that's why I tried to make it so it was a great honor for them to have this opportunity.

That's what the whole sword thing is about. When the Marines -- who they know I'm a big fan of, when they showed up on campus and went through a ceremony in their dress uniforms and presented me the sword. And looked up the history of the sword from 1805 and the Shores of Tripoli and they bring back the sword, and it's the United States of America Marine Corps sword. And that's what the officers get. It's the biggest moment in their life.

I handed it to them. I said: This is the biggest moment of your life. So let's use that as some kind of inspiration for you guys. And figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to have the U.S. Marines on our side.

Q. Over the last four years, what have the three seniors meant to this program, and in particular what have they meant to you?
COACH AURIEMMA: People use that word a lot. There's no such thing as a program without the people in it. So during their four years here, they are the program in some ways, as the older players were before them that they played with. So without them, there is no opportunity to do stuff like this. It just wouldn't happen.

And now for me personally what they've meant is, you know, they've taught me a lot about trust. Like it's hard to trust players in today's day and age. It's hard to trust people. And I'm a trusting guy. I trust everybody until the time when they can't be trusted. But these three really taught me about -- it's almost like they never said it. We never had a team meeting or individual meeting they came up and said: Trust me, Coach. No. But they made me just trust them. So I had a tremendous amount of -- there was no anxiety on my part that they wouldn't live up to the expectations. They've taught me a lot in these last two years especially.

Q. How long do you typically allow yourself to enjoy these national championships, and when do you turn the page on the next season?
COACH AURIEMMA: Well, you know, we have this thing up at school. When we go back, you know, we all meet in the locker room at some point -- tomorrow, the next day. We'll all meet in the locker room. And I throw the seniors out. I say: Get out. This is not your team anymore.

So they leave, close the door behind them, and we start talking about next year's team. So how much do we enjoy it? I get a kick out of, when we win, the most I enjoy it is like August. I really, really enjoy it in August because I have nothing to do except think about how great it is. All the rest of the time there's so much going on. But this summer, even with the Olympics, I'll be thinking about this for a long time.

But already we've had conversations already about next year. I had one of the kids in my office, Gabby Williams was in my office last week, and she was a little bit emotional talking about next year. She goes: I know I gotta be ready for next year and that's why I want to play so well now. I said: How about you play so well now and let me worry about next year? But next year is never far from our minds. Let's put it that way.

Q. You kind of mentioned on court with everyone around you, you said it wasn't so much about you winning your 11th but just all the players that had come through the program from so on to now. Just talk a little bit about that now that I can actually hear what you were saying. And a credit to the players and what you've been able to build since you've been here at UConn and how special it is getting that 11, not so much for you yourself, but for the credit and the legacy of the players as well.
COACH AURIEMMA: When you have that many players, maybe 30 of them, when they show up, and you look at them, they all represent something. And to me each national championship is represented by people. People. And when I see them, I think back to what they were like when they were in school and how cool it was when they were seniors and they graduated and they won a national championship. Or anytime they won a national championship, I felt like that's their team, that's their special time.

So to see all of them together, you don't lump -- you don't say we don't talk about we won 11 national championships. With those players, it's each individual championship has a story with it and those people represent those stories. We just -- in the locker room we had a picture with Maya Moore, Kaili McLaren and Renee Montgomery, and we took the picture and we were smiling and laughing. And I said, Man, how many national championships we've got here? Maya is two. Kaili has two. You have one.

And that's how we talk about it. We laugh and we have fun with it and we try not to big picture it, wow, 11 national championships.

Q. Is this going to be as big a transition or a change from one team to the next as you've experienced in a while?
COACH AURIEMMA: Yeah. Yeah, this might be the biggest one in the sense that when that other group left -- Asia, Tamika, Swin -- we had Diana coming back, and I thought, hey, we're starting out the season with the best player in the country. How bad can that be?

These three leaving, the rest of the players coming back are in for a rude awakening. But you can't disregard what all this, the impact that it has on the players coming back. And it will last for a while. But then obviously it will -- they'll have to earn it like these other guys.

But we don't have anybody in the program right now that's a Stewy or a Tuck or Moriah coming back. So it's going to be really, really, one of the more difficult adjustments that we've had in the time that I've been there. But it's okay. I'm kind of looking forward to it. I really am. I'm really looking forward to it. There's a lot of new stories to be written by our group.

Q. One of the most difficult things in any sport is to get to the top and stay there because of the forces that pull you, complacency and ego. You have faced that not only with this group but several groups at UConn. And that can happen even sometimes to good kids. What do you do, Geno, to work through that, to make sure that hasn't slowed you down or affected this program?
COACH AURIEMMA: I can say that up to now, I don't know where it's going to be in the future, but up to now, we've been able to get the right kind of person who is a great player who really believes in more than just what's in this for me and how do I benefit from this personally.

And we try every day to convince them that the only way you're ever going to get anything personally is if we win. Then kids whose teams who don't make the NCAA Tournament or don't win national championships don't become All-Americans and don't win National Player of the Year awards, generally speaking.

But if you came to Connecticut individually because you wanted to be recognized and great and whatever, then you better be sure that our team wins then you'll get both, you'll get the championships and you'll get the individual stuff you want.

And up to this point, we've been able to manage it pretty well, because you get the right character in these kids. They buy into it. And they understand what this all means. The tide is shifting under your feet. You can feel it. The kids are kids. They're affected by all the stuff now that kids weren't affected by before. Parents are parents. They live through their kids since the time their kid picks up a basketball. Then they get to college and they want: Why can't you be Stewy? Why can't you be Moriah? Why can't you be Tuck? That's coming in just like it has in any other sport, I'm sure.

But up until now we've been able to keep it at bay because of who we get, what kind of kids we get. I told my assistants that. You keep bringing me these kind of kids, I can coach a long time. If I've got to coach a different kind of kid, who is that guy that retired by riding the horse into the sunset, Broncos player, who does he play for, the Texans? Who -- who did he play for?

Q. Vikings for a while.
COACH AURIEMMA: That was great. He got on his horse and rode back like come back, Shane. Hu-huh, I ain't coming back.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

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