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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 5, 2017Sharon VersypBridget PerryAshley MorrissetteIndianapolis, Indiana Maryland - 74, Purdue - 64 THE MODERATOR: Purdue has joined us. Sharon, we'll start with a statement from you. COACH VERSYP: Just really proud of this team. Played four games in four days and playing pretty much toe to toe. The third quarter was very difficult for us, but when you look at the stat sheet they made shots we didn't. And obviously they scored in the paint, and they do that to everyone in the country. So Maryland's a very, very good basketball team, but we're not too far behind when you play in the fourth game, and I'm just really proud of what we've done and the journey we've had with these kids. Q. You guys know that Jones is a challenge is a handful, just how difficult was she in this game, in this environment? BRIDGET PERRY: You know, she's big and physical, very hard presence to guard. She's one of the best post players in the country. So at times we did a decent job. And at times when she gets deep she's scoring the ball. And we did good at times but not the whole game. Q. Ashley, did they come at you with more size tonight and seem to -- you faced a lot of double teams this year but eventually did that wear you down, actually play four games in four days? ASHLEY MORRISSETTE: Yeah, they definitely played some good defense. So credit to that. Q. Ashley, this game stings. It's fresh. But what you guys have done over the last couple of weeks and now putting yourself into a position to make the NCAA Tournament, are you overall pretty happy with the run you guys have been on? ASHLEY MORRISSETTE: We're happy we're getting there. But we're not satisfied. We're definitely looking to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, and I know that this group can do that. Q. Ashley, you guys played excellent all game. Going into the second half, that's when they had the biggest lead against you guys. Why is that? What were they able to do? ASHLEY MORRISSETTE: Well, we didn't come out in the third quarter like how we wanted to. And I thought they took advantage of that very well. And they scored a lot of points in the paint. And we just needed to cover down more on Jones and a couple of times we did, but a then a few times we didn't. And against a team like Maryland you have to do that every time. Q. Bridget, why did things start to click for this team, not only these last four days, but maybe these last three weeks? BRIDGET PERRY: You know, I think everyone was surprised except us as a team. We knew we've had it in us and we've seen flashes. And I think being in a high pressure environment, playing for a championship completely elevated us as a team. We stayed together down the stretch no matter what. As a unit, nothing could break us and that was the difference. Q. Sharon, do you think you guys passed the test for an NCAA Tournament team? COACH VERSYP: I'm not the NCAA committee. But if it's their parameters, we hit every checkmark. So, yes, we should be in. If we didn't beat Ohio State, we probably wouldn't have been in. But we beat a No. 9-ranked team in the country. We won seven straight. Besides Illinois everybody was higher ranking than us. We had major injuries through the entire season. We had concussions. We never had a full roster until really the last five games. So if the NCAA is saying certain things matter, then we're definitely in because we got the marquee win, and we deserve it. Q. What did click for this team? COACH VERSYP: After Penn State, people stepped up and got in people's face. Peer pressure is a lot better than coaches going after you. And I think that totally changed it. And I think Ashley started it, and then I think Bridget continued it. I think they both did it together. But after Penn State, we weren't real happy about losing. So then it all changed. And Ashley kept everybody accountable and so did Bridget. And I think when a player gets in your face, says it's unacceptable, it's your teammate they responds, and they did. And these two did great. Q. Coach, you said before that with Maryland, the problem of trying to come at them is they don't have one star player that you can focus on. So how does that just change the game plan going from Ohio State into -- COACH VERSYP: Yeah, it's difficult. Because they have such great shooters. If you look at their stats. They made shots; we didn't. We struggled offensively. But if you look at everything, I mean we just didn't score. And for them, Jones has scored on everybody in the country, the No. 1 team in the country. They couldn't stop her. And I thought, like Bridget said, we did some really good things, but then we let her go. We had littles on her and our bigs should have been on her. And we were out of position a little bit. So credit them. They just know how to pound it inside. They do a good job and they share the ball very well. So again, it's -- holding them to 74 points, people probably don't think is great, but I thought it was pretty decent. But if you look at the shooting percentage, that's where we got hurt. Q. Ashley, what's the takeaway from not only this tournament but the last three or four weeks? ASHLEY MORRISSETTE: The takeaway is definitely to stick together and this team has stuck together ever since that Penn State loss. And I think this team's heart is huge. And when we get to NCAAs we're going to be a dangerous team. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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