	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: AUSTIN

March 17, 2017

Austin, Texas

Texas - 78, Central Arkansas - 50

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Texas coach Karen Aston along with student-athletes Brooke McCarty and Ariel Atkins. We'll start with an opening statement by Coach.

KAREN ASTON: I thought our team got off to a tremendous start today. I was very, very pleased with our tempo in the first half. Just our intensity and attention to detail. I thought it was something that we had worked on during the time that we had off, and you could tell that it had carried over.

Then a little bit of a letdown at the half that we talked about after the game. We do understand that that's probably not something that can happen again for us to advance any farther than where we were. But, again, young team, may have gotten ahead of themselves a little at halftime.

But overall, got a chance to get everybody minutes in NCAA Tournament play. I thought that was great. Pleased with the win. It's that time of the year where you just survive, advance, and move on and get ready for the next one.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for Texas student-athletes.

Q. Brooke, you feel like the team showed no rust at all as far as the first half and doing what you wanted to do?
BROOKE McCARTY: Definitely. I think we came out and really executed the game plan and listened to our coaches. Like she said, it had all flowed over from practices.

We did have a letdown in the second half and we kind of got away from what got us off to a good start in the first place. So I think we just have to maintain that energy for 40 minutes.

Q. Brooke, I hate to ask the smallest player on the team, but the rebounding advantage from your vantage point, how is it that you guys were able to dominate the paint the way you were?
BROOKE McCARTY: I think we just stuck to the game plan, and our post went in there and they -- we knew we had a size advantage going into the game. So we kind of just gave them confidence that, when we gave it in there, for them to go to work because they did have a size advantage.

Q. Ariel, you played 18 minutes. Do you feel like you exert more energy in a practice than you did today, since you played not as much as you do in most games?
ARIEL ATKINS: I can definitely say practice these past few days has been pretty intense. I try to give it my all when I'm out there on the floor, whether it's 18 minutes, 40, or 10.

Q. Did you know you'd be playing that little and that the minutes would be spread out?
ARIEL ATKINS: I kind of think I put that on myself a little bit today, too. I think it's really good we got most of our players in and got a feel for the NCAA Tournament. And the people on the bench, they carried over what we've been working on in practice.

Q. Brooke, 21 turnovers with Texas. Is that so many people playing in different roles or --
BROOKE McCARTY: I think that they really stuck to their -- we knew they were very disciplined on defense. So when we started doing things that were uncharacteristic, they got advantages just because of our turnovers. So I think that they're really disciplined on defense, and then we have to take care of the ball better.

Q. Ariel, I guess it's not too early to look ahead. NC State looked really tough in the backcourt. I know you guys saw some of the games. Can you talk about this challenge that you see ahead of you on Sunday.
ARIEL ATKINS: They're a good basketball team. They have a good backcourt. They have people who crash the boards. We'll start preparing for them in a little bit here.

Q. Brooke, what did Mack Brown say to you when he talked to the team?
BROOKE McCARTY: I think his overall message was basically to stay in the moment and have fun. This NCAA Tournament should be more about the team than yourself. When we do it together, it's going to be fun. We just have to take it one game at a time.

Q. Did he show you his championship ring?
BROOKE McCARTY: Definitely. He said you have that for life.

Q. Did he let people try it on or what?
BROOKE McCARTY: No. It was just on his finger.

Q. How did it look?
BROOKE McCARTY: It was nice.

Q. Brooke, curious that T-shirt that said "Texas Mentality" whose idea was it, and what does it mean?
BROOKE McCARTY: I don't know whose idea it was, but "Texas Mentality" has been our motto all year, Texas tough basically. It's just a reminder to ourselves that, when you put on this uniform and you go out there and step on the court, to be tough and have that mentality that you just have to go out and give it your all, all the time that you're out there.

Q. This question is for both of you guys: Y'all don't seem too happy. Are you all just worried about what's going on next? Are you kind of excited that you're moving on?
BROOKE McCARTY: I think you're definitely excited, but we know that we have to be prepared for the next team, and we have to come in tonight and be focused in film.

I think you can only celebrate for a few minutes after a win in the NCAA Tournament. You have to turn around and focus on the next team.

Q. Ariel, when you see people like Mide and Hosey that don't play a lot contribute, how content does that make you as a starter when you see the role players, the bench players do as well as they did?
ARIEL ATKINS: Definitely not content. I think it happens in practice. I think we're trying to push each other to a new level every day in practice, and I think it's definitely carrying over for them in the games right now, and I'm really excited for them.

Q. Ariel, do you feel like you all played at a championship level today?
ARIEL ATKINS: Honestly, no. Not 40 minutes.

Q. What do you think you all didn't do?
ARIEL ATKINS: I think we got comfortable at halftime. I think we stopped listening to our coaches. And that just happened. But we know that we have to fix it and we have to stay connected for 40 minutes.

THE MODERATOR: We'll excuse Ariel and Brooke.

Q. Karen, I'd ask you about the turnovers. They did get a little sloppy there. Is that a concern, or do you think you can clean that up?
KAREN ASTON: I think turnovers are always a concern because, at this time of the year, there's such a value that you have to have for the basketball and for possessions. We went through a long period of time this year where I thought we'd really cleaned up the turnover issue, and then the last couple of games we've played, we've had some uncharacteristic turnovers. But I think most of them are from lack of patience.

This time of the year, everybody has you pretty well scouted, so you have to get to those second and third options of offense, and I thought the first half, we looked dramatically improved in that area. Even though we had some turnovers, some of them were excitement, I think, from the game and from just getting out there. So I could sort of forgive some of those in the first half because I thought our flow was really good.

Second half is where I thought the flow stopped and the discipline to reverse the ball, it comes from relaxing, like Ariel said. It comes from the place where they think they can kind of just do whatever they want, and it just never works. I don't know why we continue to do that, quite honestly.

Q. Just kind of feeding off of that, how do you drill it into them as a coach that they can't do that?
KAREN ASTON: I think it's just -- I've said this from day one about our team. They ebb and flow with their attention, and it's not -- I don't mean that negatively at all. It's just a characteristic of this team. Therefore, our leadership in the locker room before games, halftime, those types of things needs to be really strong. It's still a work in progress. I think they still don't understand how locked in you have to be this time of the year.

So we talked about it after the game, and we'll continue to work on it. We've gone up and down all year long with our focus. We're still working on it, believe it or not.

Q. Can you talk about why you invited Mack to speak. What did you take from it?
KAREN ASTON: We talk quite a bit, just off and on every now and then. He always congratulates me when we do well. I asked him earlier a few weeks ago if it he was going to be in town for a game, and he was having a nice little vacation, I think, in Baker's Bay. So he wasn't available for a little while, but he made it back. So I had checked with him and asked if he would come talk to the team today.

I mean, you know, he's won a National Championship. The nuggets of information you can get from someone is always good this time of the year. I think it's always good when you hear from a former Longhorn or someone that's been there and done it and chasing something that you're chasing, and his words are really good.

Brooke hit it on the head. He talked about staying in the moment, being the best you can be, being about the team -- all those things that you have to do to make a run.

Q. Talk about if you thought about what you guys have to do better against them (inaudible).
KAREN ASTON: Just attention, focus has to be better. We ebb and flow with our focus. When we're good, like we were in the first half, then you're pleased with that. I understand we're going to have things go wrong. I'm not trying to say we have to play a perfect game, but we do need -- we can't go through a stretch of five minutes without guarding and not taking care of the ball.

And they're one of those teams which we're at that place now, where you can't have a stretch of poor play. I think they're a terrific basketball team. I know they probably feel like they were not seeded fairly, and I might agree.

It's going to be a really good basketball game. Wes is a great coach, and they'll be really disciplined at what they do, which leads to what we have to be better at. We have to be more disciplined offensively. If something isn't there, just be patient about reversing it and looking for other options. Not taking quick shots when they're not good ones, and that doesn't mean I don't want to push the ball, but our shot selection has to be good. Their guard play was terrific today and has been all year.

Q. Coach, on a positive note, 55-23 on the boards. You can't even predict something like that. Could you talk about how you expected to dominate, and that was a part of the game plan was to feed the bigs as much as you could.
KAREN ASTON: We definitely thought we would have -- we knew we had a size advantage, but let me say this much. What we game planned for as far as ball movement, the flow was really terrific in the first half. So things came a little bit easier than I think we anticipated. And then we got to the second half, and they started the doubling, and they started packing it in, which is what we really thought would happen early, and we got out in transition early and sort of maybe flowed better than maybe they expected.

What I saw in the second half was what we really game planned for, and that's what I was frustrated with was that we didn't have the discipline to do the things that we had worked on. I thought they started to pack the paint and double and do some things that we thought would happen.

So credit to them that they -- either they made the adjustment at the half, or their players probably made the adjustment at the half, one or the other.

Q. What all did you get out of this game?
KAREN ASTON: I think, I mean, little things you can emphasize to young players -- I mean, we still have half a team that hasn't -- this is probably their first experience playing in NCAA Tournament play for sure because the young players didn't play much last year. So just emphasizing that the things, the little things, the detail things really do matter. They can see that.

You asked were they not happy? I mean, they know that they have to put together 40 minutes to beat NC State. So they understood that they need to play better.

But a win is a win. I don't want to -- I mean, we can --

Q. You're not mad?
KAREN ASTON: No, I'm not mad. They understand. It's a win or go home.

Q. You looked a little mad or irritated.
KAREN ASTON: I was a little irritated in the third quarter, but they did make some adjustments. Again, I'm talking about players that are young, that haven't even been in those situations before in an NCAA Tournament. I did think that they played much better in the fourth quarter. So they adjusted.

Q. And you liked some of the moments you got from like Sutton and Goudreau?
KAREN ASTON: I really did. I think Audrey gave us great minutes in the first half, but they can't help herself from fouling. I thought Mide was good. She's a young player that's really starting to grow, and you hate it that it's getting towards the end of season because she's one of those that the more minutes she gets and the opportunities come, she's going to grow and grow. You can see it.

Q. Is there more (inaudible) a difference with Joyner? I thought she had more pop in her step. She looked confident. She played well. She got 9 boards, 12 points.
KAREN ASTON: She practiced better.

Q. She practiced better?
KAREN ASTON: She did. It does matter, and I thought that her practices were, once she took the little break and came back, I thought she was very determined to make her minutes count in practice. I thought her reps have been better in practice. Young players get through that where they're just -- it's a grind and they're overwhelmed. I did think that the reset -- and I think I said that in the press conference. The reset for the young players was helpful.

Q. You didn't try on Mack's ring?
KAREN ASTON: I did not. It is pretty, though. It's really pretty and shiny.

Q. Was "Texas Mentality" your idea?
KAREN ASTON: No. Actually, that's -- I mean, every school that is a Nike school is getting those shirts. So you're going to see that throughout the Tournament, and then they kind of add on what -- kind of what's your motto. You know, you could see the "HAW" on the side, and all the teams had different words they wanted on their shirts. Nike was nice enough to give us those beautiful shirts. It's great to be a Nike school.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297