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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: WACOMarch 17, 2017Johnetta Hayes-PerryNycolle SmithJoyce KennersonChynna EwingWaco, Texas Q. Nycolle, obviously excitement about getting Texas Southern to an NCAA Tournament, but talk about that and then having to come here and play Baylor when you're looking around at everything going on around here. NYCOLLE SMITH: First off, I just want to say this is a great opportunity for all of us. I think this is a place where we all strive to be. We've all wanted to be here. I know I wanted to be here my entire life, and just coming to Baylor, like I said, it's just a blessing. I'm taking it all in, embracing it all, and just want to have fun. CHYNNA EWING: Like she said, it's a blessing, and I just feel like this is a reward for the whole season, and to actually be here is a very good opportunity for us, and I just feel like we've got to keep on working and more will come. JOYCE KENNERSON: Like my teammate said, this is a very good opportunity for us to showcase our talent against a great team. Q. Nycolle, do you have to put blinders on when it comes time because clearly we're in this room and you see everything that Baylor has done and you know their history, that they routinely play games here in the NCAA Tournament, something that's not new to them while it's new to you guys. NYCOLLE SMITH: I believe whenever you step into -- we're obviously a team that hasn't made it to the NCAA, and it is our first time. I believe we just have to take it as if it's another team. The only thing that's different is just the name. We come in and we know personnel, and we're going to come out and we're going to execute to our best abilities. Q. Obviously the girls are excited to be here, and this is kind of a culmination of what you guys have tried to do this season. Talk about how they're handling it and this opportunity for them, and it seems like they've obviously got the right mindset coming into it. JOHNETTA HAYES-PERRY: These ladies have been very fortunate this year. Our team has, our university, to have this opportunity. I think they're taking it in stride. I received many phone calls about their temperament, how they're doing. It's like another game for them, and they're saying it, but they truly mean it, this team plays fearless. Small, not big in numbers, but fearless all the time, whether they're down or up, no matter who we're playing. So I'm excited for our university. I'm excited for our young ladies. I think this is definitely another stepping stone for our team. They've made history. They've done some great things this year. And the question that you asked was how do you feel walking in here and see all this to the young ladies. You know, it can be overwhelming. I'm not sure if they will say that, but it can be overwhelming. It's overwhelming, and it's a great honor for them to be here, to have the opportunity to play a Baylor team. We had a few teams in our conference play them this year, as well, but to be here in the moment now is what we are looking forward for, getting on the court tomorrow. Q. What challenges do these Baylor bigs present defensively? JOHNETTA HAYES-PERRY: You know, Baylor is a very sound team. We know offensively they're the second leading team in the country scoring-wise, but defensively they're big. They have great size. They're long on the wings. They're aggressive on the ball. They're big inside with Brown and a few others. So we're definitely going to have to try to stretch the floor out a little bit, play a little wider than we usually play, but at this point we are who we are. We can't go in and like recreate the wheel at this point. We're just going to go in and play hard and stick to our game plan. I've told them all year, no matter who they're playing, whatever game plan we put together, you go with that game plan and you do everything you can; whatever adjustment we made to make, we'll make. I don't care who it is in conference we're playing, but they do, they respect all their opponents, they always have, whether it's any team, up to this team that we're playing now. I think they will definitely respect the fact that they're here and they're playing against them. You never overlook anybody on either side of the ball, but defensively we're going to definitely see a team that's going to rebound the ball defensively, push it quick at us offensively, but we're going to have to be able to make shots and not drive to the hole as much as we usually would, share the ball a little bit more, have more assists in this game to have an opportunity against that Baylor defense. Q. You mentioned clearly this team making some history for the school by getting to this point. What is it about this team you think that's -- obviously you won the SWAC tournament to get the bid, but what is it about this team you think that's made it special for you? JOHNETTA HAYES-PERRY: This team is family. That's the biggest thing. I wanted these young ladies to get here because they are a young group. We have one senior. We were led by one senior who wasn't on this stage today, she's about 6'4", Shamiya Brooks. She's been to this dance now for the third time. She did it twice with Prairie View A&M University and now she's here to do it with Texas Southern University. So they're young. We're led by a sophomore point guard who averages 20 points a game. Chynna Ewing is a freshman sitting here, so hopefully four years from now she can look back and say, my freshman year this is what we did. I didn't have a lot of words up here. And then year two, year three, year four, look where I am now. It is a great family environment. It is extremely big for our university because they are young and impressionable, and they're, again, taking it all in. But I wanted these young ladies to have this moment because they are the most family-knit team I've had in four years of being at Texas Southern University. Q. What's it like going from the SWAC where you're one of the biggest teams in the conference to now having players kind of tower over you like you're going to see tomorrow? JOHNETTA HAYES-PERRY: I don't know yet. But whatever the challenges are, we'll definitely make adjustments quickly if we have to. I don't think they see what I see. They see another team. I see 6'6". I see 6'5". And as a player, I've played against it, but I also stand 6'4". For my 5'2" -- well, she's really 5'5", I'll give her 5'5" point guard, I don't think that she's going to make an adjustment early. I think she's just going to play her game the way she knows how and then see what happens. I don't ever want them to change what they're doing. I think they should challenge everyone they play, challenge them. You never know, you may get to the free-throw line. That's what we're hoping. We're hoping that we put ourselves in position to slow the ball down, make some free throws here and there. But I'm excited for them to see teams that are bigger than them so they can know the flow of a game, what adjustments need to be made offensively to get the opportunities we need to be on the board, to score big buckets here and there and to make plays. I think it's a game of plays, and a team of 64, that's what it's about, so we're excited. I'm excited for them to see it finally and to coach it. Q. You mentioned the young team, and this being a young team, and you obviously have a lot of them back next year. What is it you want them to get out of this experience that will kind of set a foundation to keep moving forward and keep moving the bar up for Texas Southern? JOHNETTA HAYES-PERRY: I think this sets the precedent for our future, for sure, as far as recruiting but also for our players that are returning. Again, we'll return everybody but one player going into next year. I want them to enjoy the experience but learn from the experience, to have some growth, so they can see how hard they have to work, you know, to get a piece of the big dance every year, how hard you have to work to get here and to win here. You know, again, I respect all the teams that are in the tournament, and I know they've all done a good job, but now they know they're getting a piece of it to understand moving forward how much harder they're going to need to work. I expressed to them, I said, once we get past this, the hardest thing is to come, which is postseason workouts because now what do we need to do to be better to get here again, have an opportunity to get a piece of it, to win, to really, truly feel good walking in the doors. I think they feel great right now walking in, and they're going to feel great walking out winners, hopefully, but the biggest thing is them having some carryover moving forward, and that's what it's about. You know, and it's a great part of our daily is to know that they are young and they'll get a chance to see it again and again for a few years. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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