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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 2, 2017Sharon VersypBridget PerryAndreona KeysIndianapolis, Indiana Purdue - 72, Illinois - 58 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Purdue, Coach Versyp, Andreona Keys, Bridget Perry. Coach, an opening statement. COACH VERSYP: We knew it was going to be a battle. Big Ten Tournament, anything can happen. Illinois played really well yesterday and shot the lights out. So we needed to really take away the 3. Knew it would take a little while for our bodies to get going. So the first half we weren't as sharp as normal, but I thought the second half we really started doing what we do well, rebounding and running. And I was obviously very pleased with the effort and the win. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the students. Q. Keys, you looked pretty determined today. What was your motivation out there? ANDREONA KEYS: At the beginning of the game, I told my team that we didn't come here for one game, and we didn't want to go home today. And that's really all that I needed to keep going and push through that game. Q. Bridget, why was Keys so successful today on the offensive end? BRIDGET PERRY: She just didn't hesitate. She took what the defense gave her. She had her mid-range going. She had her 3. She was attacking, so she was really a force in all facets on the court. So that's why she was successful. Q. Keys, you said before that you were motivated, but seemed like the fourth quarter especially you were even more motivated. What were you feeling there in the fourth? ANDREONA KEYS: Illinois, they kept fighting. So it was just a game of runs. And it was starting to get closer and closer to the fourth quarter, like you said, and the end of the game. And once we went to man, we started getting more aggressive and our defense was just coming along. So I started getting excited from my team. Q. Any chance this is a carry-over from what happened on Sunday with your last-second shot? ANDREONA KEYS: Probably so. But that was just a really special moment. I wanted to carry that into here and just build my confidence. And I know that we came here for one thing. So we're trying to get it. Q. Bridget, I guess overcoming the second quarter there, you guys had the drought. What did you feel going into halftime? Getting the five-point lead going into the half, did that make you feel at least like you had that going a bit? BRIDGET PERRY: Yeah, I think the first half was a little bit just kind of the nerves of the Big Ten Tournament, and we definitely had some lackadaisical plays on defense that we shouldn't have had that we didn't have in the second half. But we just wanted to get out and really just kind of send a message, like, we're here in the Big Ten Tournament, like Keys said, we're not here for just one game. We came out and played like it. Q. You get a matchup with IU. They got you earlier in the year. What kinds of things have to change? BRIDGET PERRY: We need to play better defense. Last time we played them, our defense was not nearly as good as it is now. So playing defense, knowing their shooters, and just playing hard and with heart. Like we did especially in the second half, you know, we got to go out and have fun as a team every single time. ANDREONA KEYS: Like Bridget said, defense has to be there. When we played them at IU, we didn't show up. This is a bigger stage, and it's still IU. So we're still keeping that rivalry there, but we just have to go out and play basketball, have fun and be aggressive. Q. Sharon, just, you know, usually with Keys, today she added in the scoring. What did you see from her from an aggressive point of view trying to take the ball to the basket? COACH VERSYP: Yeah, I mean, Keys was just, what I always expect from her. And now you really saw it in the stat sheet today. Every part of her game was going. But she was focused from the get-go. From ever since we won on Sunday, her focus of coming in here has been better, her and Bridget's have been at the highest level, and that's what you want. And she was hungry and, she kept saying we're going to do this at huddles and we're going to do this. And she kept communicating. And I think that shows great signs of leaders. And her stats line was just phenomenal today. Q. What do you have to do different against IU? COACH VERSYP: We've got to do a lot of things. We've got to be able to play defense. We've got to be able to rebound. We've got to be able to make adjustments on the fly. They're a good shooting basketball team. So we've got to be able to limit some opportunities. Not all. And we've got to score the basketball and see our mismatches and see what we can do against them on the offensive end. But, like I said, we've got to be very aggressive on both ends of the floor. Q. Sharon, every time Illinois seemed to tie it, you guys answered. What's that say about your club, the way they're playing right now? COACH VERSYP: Well, you know, it's kind of that never-say-die attitude. And that's how it's been our last four, five games. Somebody makes a run. We said everybody's going to give us a punch. And we've got to be able to come right back. You saw the Big Ten Tournament these last games; that's all it's been. All of a sudden somebody's 30-6 runs and 18-3 runs. That's going to happen, so you've got to prepare yourself for that. But you've got to just stay confident and stay poised and that's what I felt we did. We executed and got the shots we needed. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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