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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: WACOMarch 17, 2017Nikki FargasChloe JacksonAlexis HyderRaigyne MoncriefWaco, Texas Q. After sitting out last year, what's it like being here at Baylor and being involved in this tournament again? RAIGYNE MONCRIEF: It's an amazing experience. We fell short last year, so just to be here, just a blessing and a great opportunity to showcase your skills and just a bigger stage. CHLOE JACKSON: It's a blessing. Like she said, it's a bigger stage, so just come out and play hard. ALEXIS HYDER: It's an amazing feeling to be rewarded for all the work that we've put in. Falling short last year hurt us, and we were determined to make it this year. Q. Kind of as the team's deep threat, how do you feel about this team not shooting a ton of threes but that kind of being on your shoulders when you need it? CHLOE JACKSON: I mean, I don't know. I mean, if it's there, just try and knock it down, but I mean, if it's the pull-up or it's us taking it into the basket, then that's what we're going to try and do. Q. Alexis, when you guys look at Cal, what do you see? They're a team that some people were surprised they got in the NCAA Tournament because they did struggle down the stretch, but what have you seen from them on film? ALEXIS HYDER: We saw that they have an inside presence and that we being shorter, we're going to have to match their physicality and play defense as a whole, not leaving anybody out by theirselves. We're going to play a strong five defense against Cal and get out and run in transition. Q. I'll ask you the same question I asked Alexis. When you look at Cal, clearly some people say, hey, what are they doing there, but what have you seen of them, and similarly, you don't have to convince your players of that, that they're a good team? NIKKI FARGAS: Well, you know, I think the one thing you've got to see in Cal is the leadership of Coach Gottlieb. She's done a fantastic job of maintaining a competitive spirit, nature, culture at Cal, and although their conference record isn't as strong as I'm sure she would like to have been as far as win-loss column, the games that they've played in and the ones that they fell short, they were in those games. They're a team that constantly has an unbelievable post player inside, and that's something that we've kind of had to address in the SEC play with all the bigs from Mercedes Russell to A'ja Wilson. Just so many greats that we've had to compete against. So that obviously has been an emphasis on the defensive end. But their guard play is strong, as well. You've got young ladies that can shoot the three. You've got kids that can play off the bounce. They've got a balanced attack. We're going to have to really dial our defense up to another level, especially when you get to NCAA play, and I think that's what Hyder was alluding to is that we've got to play it like a unit, and once we establish that defensive stops, then we want to transition and run the basketball. But they're, again, a balanced team and well-coached. Q. Coach, you haven't seen a lot of PAC-12 teams since you've come over to LSU. Is it a little fun for you to get to go back to your roots a little bit and play another California team? NIKKI FARGAS: Well, my roots are SEC, but my first head coaching job was in the Pac-10, now in the Pac-12, and so I have a great respect. I think you've got a conference that has grown, and I've seen it grow over the past six years. Although I've been away, I still watch. It's a conference that Stanford with Vanderveer has always kind of dominated, and just to see other schools -- I had a chance to coach plumb, so to see what she's doing with USA Basketball, so I keep a close eye on certain players that I've coached with USA Basketball, so I've been watching the Pac-12. I like the fact, though, that we are familiar with the style of play, but these guys aren't. They haven't played a Pac-12 team, and I think this is another opportunity for them to have a great experience, and we talked about that. Last year we were not here, and for them to really take ownership of what happened last year with the injuries and then have that focus to make sure that we were in NCAA play, I commend these young ladies for doing that. Q. On the format of the NCAA, since we've gone back to these home courts, what's it like? I know you're not playing Baylor, but you come into this arena and this practice court, and as much black curtains as there are there's still remnants of all the success Baylor has had. Do you like the way this format is set and is it fair and is it a good thing for the NCAA to do? NIKKI FARGAS: I like the format. I like the fact that you're rewarding the body of work that teams have done throughout the entire season. I think that's something to give your team to strive for is to be in that 1 through 16, and you then get to move on, but it gives you a chance for you to travel and get on the road. For us it's an opportunity to play in front of a hostile environment, if you will, especially if we continue on and win Saturday, then you know Monday is going to be packed in here. And these are all experiences that can help even the returning players to take with them for next season. So everything that you go through in life, and I tell our kids this all the time, is to help make you better and stronger, and I think that's something that playing on the road, again, recognize the people who have done a great job. Q. I know everything is forward right now and looking to tomorrow, but kind of looking back a little bit on this season after the disappointment last year, what do you think of this team and the year in general getting to this point? NIKKI FARGAS: We were definitely just stunned, if you will, coming out of last season into this year. The season of last year really took a lot out of our kids emotionally, physically, playing six players. So this past summer you really had to be careful in giving them that quality time off, and then we're dialing it back up again. You can't scout. You can't prepare. You can't overlook injuries. It's just something that's part of the game more and more. We've got two young ladies that basically had season-ending injuries again this year. We're missing our leading scorer in Jenna Deemer. When you talk about the three-point shot, she was someone that gave us that. And then we're missing 6'5" Faustine Aifuwa, one of my freshmen who potentially could have been a starter this year, so that gives you that size that we alluded to. So I look at this team and they've been resilient. They've been very grateful that it's not six now, it's 10, it's 11. They appreciate the fact that they've got a sub. And so the people who do sub, get to sub in, they appreciate that, too, so there's just a different appreciation that I feel with this group, not that they didn't before. This season has been a tough one for us in the sense of our non-conference schedule. Played some really good opponents, played UConn, NC State, K-State, so just really did a nice job in non-conference play. When you get in the SEC you can look at the win-loss columns, but every game is a game. It is. Again, we can't say enough, because I told them, I said, last year I had them fill out the bracket with -- we knew we didn't have a chance of getting our name called, but they needed to know what that felt like. When they did that, I think it sent a message to them throughout the entire summer that we wanted to have our name called and have an opportunity to play and be in the hunt, if you will, for a championship. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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