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NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL FOURMarch 31, 2017Breanna RichardsonVic SchaeferVictoria ViviansMorgan WilliamDallas, Texas Mississippi State - 66, UConn - 64, OT THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Mississippi State. We'll open with a statement from Coach Schaefer, then take questions for the student-athletes. COACH SCHAEFER: Well, obviously that was one heck of a great basketball game, overtime game. Two great teams. Obviously I'm extremely proud of my group. What an unbelievable, gutsy performance that no one in the country, including all of y'all, probably thought could happen. And that's okay. But we knew it could happen. You see, you have to be careful when you start talking about people that you really don't know about. If all you're doing is evaluating what you see on TV, and you don't really know what's inside somebody's breastplate, you better be careful about evaluating them. That's what these kids have. They have tremendous heart. They also have a little pride. We had our pride stepped on last year by another great team, just like that one today. We didn't play well. They played really well. We got our tail handed to us. Because of that, these three right here, and the rest of their teammates, they've kind of been on a little bit of a mission. They have tremendous pride. They have tremendous heart. They're fighters. They have such a competitive spirit. Again, unless you know them, you wouldn't know that. I know 'em. We believed in our locker room it could be done. A year ago, I'm showing the Miracle, hoping for it. This year I wasn't showing the Miracle. We weren't watching any movies. I wasn't talking about the Philistine slaying the giant, although it was in the back of my mind. This was about two basketball teams, two great teams, competitors, tough, physical, aggressive basketball teams. We beat the greatest team, with the greatest streak in the history of sports. You got to give them a lot of credit. We didn't have to play them the best out of seven. Didn't have to play the best out of five. We just had to beat them one time, just beat them one time. When you have these young ladies and their teammates, they can go through what we went through for three days preparing, put that together. Again, it helps to have a veteran team, four seniors, four juniors. Helps to have that. But it also helps to have kids that have that competitive spirit. These kids were incredible tonight. It's never easy for us, y'all. It wasn't easy tonight. There's always something. Always something that comes up that makes it more difficult for these kids. But they always find a way. In that moment, they were ready for the moment. Morgan had 41 against Baylor. Ain't any shots bigger than the one she hit tonight. But that's the shot we wanted. That's who we wanted taking it. At the end of the day, you got to want to be in that moment. Our kids want to be in that moment. That's what I knew about 'em. That's what our staff knew about 'em. They prepared them and did a great job. That's why they won the game tonight. Make no mistake, we beat a heck of a basketball team, the greatest of all time, with the best coach of all time. We're very proud of that. We're honored, we're giving God the glory for number 34. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Morgan, take us through that last sequence. MORGAN WILLIAM: Well, Coach called the timeout. He was like, Morgan, you can win the game. That's what he say. Morgan, you can run this play. It wasn't originally for me, but the way they had guarded, I told Dom (Dillingham) to get the ball and take it down the court. Time was just ticking. I knew the last -- end of regulation, I went for a layup, they blocked it. I was like, She probably think I'm going to do it again. I got in the space, I jumped up, I made the shot. When I made the shot, I was in shock. I'm still in shock. I'm over here like, Hey, I just won the game. My teammates are just so happy and proud of me. I can't thank them enough because I can't be playing the way I'm playing without them. He said, You about to win the game. We want the ball in you are hands. Just in case the foul, free throw-wise, or just get a bucket. Q. Morgan, when did you know that you could win this game? MORGAN WILLIAM: Film. Days, I mean. We had to redeem ourselves from last year, of course. I mean, just watching film, our coaches just preparing us, tell us what we can do, have so much confidence in us that we can go out there and win this game. We believed them. We just went out there and fought. It was a good outcome. Q. Did the play intend to go as deep into the clock as it did, Morgan? Did you put a little bit extra arc on it to get it over Saniya's hands? MORGAN WILLIAM: I think it was on Gabby. But I just shot the ball (laughter). I know Coach said one shot. I didn't want to give them too much time to go shoot the ball, end up going to a second overtime. Just happened to be perfect timing. Q. A couple of your teammates sitting up there with you. The spin move. Fans went crazy. Then your post player, seemed like you were just saddling (Teaira) McCowan, and McCowan was able to get the ball off the deflection. She gets a steal and goes down the court. Talk about your other teammates that aren't here and what they done tonight. MORGAN WILLIAM: The whole team contributed. When T got that steal, went halfcourt, I mean, I really thought she was going to dunk it. I was, Dunk it, dunk it, dunk it. She ended up fouling. We did a good job turning them over. Coach wrote on the game, pregame, like they play -- I mean, they play pretty ball, and they had 25 assists per game. We had to limit that and guard, deny the ball. That's what our five players did. They denied the ball. They only had 11 assists. Played out good. Q. Bre and Victoria, you had foul trouble early on in the game. What was your plan for the game? How did you try to change the dynamic but keep the same place for Mississippi State? BREANNA RICHARDSON: I guess with us, we kind of knew going in we had to impose our will, as coach said. He said even if we get a couple early fouls, make 'em count. After that, we just had to play smart. We started to play our style of defense. We can't really think about fouls, just got to play smart in those situations. VICTORIA VIVIANS: Feeding off of what Bre said, we have to play smart. Don't take no plays off. If you got to make a foul at the end, make it, knowing you're giving it your all and knowing your teammate has your back when you get up. Q. Morgan and Victoria, is it different weathering UConn runs when you're ahead? Did it feel different? Was it easier for you guys to get composure, to get back to what you needed to be doing because you were up 16, up 8, when UConn was making runs against you guys? MORGAN WILLIAM: Yeah, see, we got up by 16 in the second quarter. Feel like we got stagnant when they started going zone, we started standing around, throwing up threes. I mean, we weren't attacking like we were in the beginning. I feel like that's when they made their run. We finally adjusted, started attacking, getting inside. Each possession matters in big games like this. When you get a shot, each possession -- that's what Coach says. We need turnovers, we need good shots, get inside, stuff like that. That's what we focused on. VICTORIA VIVIANS: Going off what Morgan said, yeah, the game is full of runs. Either you going to make a run right after them. I feel like being ahead at the beginning, kind of keeping a lead, takes off a lot of pressure. Helps us to build our confidence and execute on defense. Q. For all three players. What kind of statement did you think you made about Mississippi State basketball? VICTORIA VIVIANS: Like Coach said, it was personal. We got beat by 60 last year. We had to prove that we're a way better team than we was last year. BREANNA RICHARDSON: Same thing. Coach said this morning, his mindset said it was personal. He told us to take the same mindset coming in. We knew if we played our game, our style, you never what the outcome was going to be. We knew if we played hard, played our game, we'd come out with the win, and we did. MORGAN WILLIAM: I feel like we earned respect tonight. You know, people didn't believe in us. But it didn't faze us. We just had to go out there and play. I feel like it showed we're better than what everybody thinks. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies. We'll take questions now for Coach Schaefer. Q. You win this historic game, but there's still a final to play in two days. What is your approach now with this team? How do you get them sort of back to the place where there's one more mountain to climb? COACH SCHAEFER: You know, this team's been really good about onto the next one. You walk in our locker room, there's not a lot of jumping around. I mean, we jumped around on the court. When we got in the locker room, I mean, heck, I had to throw water on 'em. They're just really grounded. They're always, Who is next, Coach? What time is the bus leaving? Where are we leaving from? That's kind of the way it's been all year. I don't think I'll have to ground them too much. It's late. It's midnight. I got to feed 'em. My kids like to sleep. So I got to get 'em to bed and let 'em, you know, rejuvenate a little bit. But, you know, they know that. We talked about it in the locker room, that there is one more. It's funny, last year I'm showing the Miracle, this year now I'm having to live it, 'cause there's one more game. So for us, we'll have to come back tomorrow. The thing is, we're playing a team, they're so familiar to us and we're so familiar to them. That's the beauty of the NCAA tournament for us, is we finally get away from our league, and it's not quite as difficult. But here we go. We're going into round three with South Carolina. We've had two knockdown, dragouts with them. Dawn (Staley) has obviously done a tremendous job. It's a great team. But, you know what, it won't be hard for me to get their attention, so... Q. Vic, by halftime they had only gotten 18 shots up. Obviously they had few assists. Can you talk about your defensive strategy for tonight. COACH SCHAEFER: Well, we got 21 more shots for the game, we forced 17 turnovers, and they're averaging 25 assists, and they only had 11. Our strategy was, you can't let them do what they want to do. Bottom line. Again, there's not a lot of teams across the country that play that way. There's just not. There's not a lot of teams that are out there doing what we do defensively, trying to push you out, guard, all that. I mean, it's just the way it is. But that's how we play. I had two different plans. I asked the girls, I said, What do y'all want to do? I'm behind you. Whatever y'all think, we'll do it. But I got two plans, you tell me what you want. Coach, we want to go get 'em. Okay, we're going to go get 'em, then all of us have to go get 'em. It's not four and there's a fifth for pressure release. That's what we call it if one doesn't do their job. You saw my big five player come over the top and get a couple hands on a couple balls and steals, deflections. Again, when you've got a team that shares the ball so well, I mean, man, they are a machine offensively. If you don't put something in the sprocket to jam it up, it just keeps rolling. So you've got to do some things to make them do some things that he don't want to do. That plays kind of into what we do. We just had to do it tonight. Our kids were special tonight on that end, no question about it, forcing 17 turnovers, 21 more shots. That's probably the two stats of the game. Q. With the attitude of trying to take it personal, you came out and built that 16-point lead. How did you get them to regroup and take the punches, and punch back, not get caught up in what was across the opponent's jersey, fall prey to that? COACH SCHAEFER: Our kids, we know the game is full of streaks. It was good we had a streak that got us up that big. That's hard to do against a great team. You know you do that, it ain't like you think you're going to get up that many, then you're going to get 16 more and have them down 32. That ain't going to happen. Those kids on the other end know how to play a little bit. We knew they were going to make a run. So what you got to do is try to minimize that run. You go in at half up eight. I'm sure everybody across the country went, That's nice, the little team played really good. Second half they'll come out and kick their ass. Excuse me, kick their butt. Sorry. My apologies. Don't print that, by the way. But again, our kids have so much pride. I mean, you see our fan base out there tonight? Special. That's what's been so special about building that program and about these kids. Those people love my kids. They willed them to victory tonight. They were not going to let them lose. Our kids weren't going to lose. It didn't matter what happened, whatever jumped up in front of us. Our kids have seen it all year long. They found a way to get it done. I just think, again, you go through the 16 rival games we go through in the SEC, it gets you ready for the moment. We've had back-to-back nightmare games against two really good teams. It's not anything we're not used to. Q. Vic, when did you know that this team was ready for this? COACH SCHAEFER: I don't know. This team's always been difficult to read. I've gone in the press room all year and opened up with, Man, I didn't see that coming. We won by 24, 26, 28 in the SEC, which is hard to do. Just like Coach Auriemma has done with his group. I'm not sure when it hit me. I just knew that if my kids would fight, I've seen them in that moment when they're so competitive, their competitive spirit absolutely will not be denied. I knew if I could bottle that up tonight in them, we'd be okay, we'd be fine. But, you know, the moment last year was such a nightmare. It's in the back of your mind. But I told them before the game, Who's responsible for fear? Who's responsible for fear? If you've got fear in your heart, you got fear in your mind, who is putting it there? What entity puts it there? We talked about it. At the end of the day we're not going to let that entity put fear in our heart and in our mind. It's basketball. Let's go play. Lay it on the line. Make it a dogfight. Q. Vic, what the heck happened there with 12 seconds left with the call? The fact is that your guys could have said, Hey, what's happening here? But you made the defensive play to set up the game-winning shot. COACH SCHAEFER: Yeah, I'm not sure. I really don't know. I probably need to stay away from that. I mean, I haven't seen it. I don't have any idea. Again, you know what, that probably got in our kids, and they're like, Okay, fine. We'll do it. We'll do it this way. Because we've done it this way all year. Nothing's been easy for us. When that happened, we just -- once the coach kind of calmed down a little bit, we got 'em back together, I said, Hey, fine. This is right up our alley, ending the game on a defensive stop. Let's go make a stop. We did. Then when you make that stop, now there's 12 seconds on the clock, hey, that's plenty of time. I don't like the advance rule. I like to bring it up. I like people backpedaling. That's the way I like it done. Q. All season UConn has gotten the ball to Gabby Williams in the high post. You put your 6'7" kid in there. How important was it to disrupt her, feed it inside, to their shooters? COACH SCHAEFER: That's a hard decision to make, too. Boy, it's probably not one that people saw coming. I think if you're going to beat them, just like we had to do the other night, we have to do some things that maybe they're not quite prepared for. I thought that was a big matchup. Here is the thing about Teaira. Teaira, if you give her some challenge that you tell her, You're probably not going -- it may be a big challenge, you may not be able to do it. I'm going to give you a chance. If you can't, I'm going to have to put somebody else. She embraces that moment. I was proud of her. Again, you're putting length up there. 6'7". She got drove on a couple times. We knew there'd be some heartache with that. We also knew that might be the best thing in the long run to help us put a kink in the sprocket, so to speak. Q. A few days ago in your teleconference, you were saying how you used to, when you were coaching teams, order off the left side of the menu, doing everything to scrap by. Here you are beating UConn. What is it like to go through the tough times, triumph, overcome? What is it doing for you? COACH SCHAEFER: That was a long time ago, '90 to '97. I've since been at the University of Arkansas, Texas A&M, won a national championship there. But, you know, when you grow up in these humble beginnings, it really keeps you grounded. It makes you appreciate what you have. I know that for me personally, coaching today, year 32, I've got the greatest job in the world. I get to wake up every morning and coach women's basketball with some great kids and with an unbelievable staff. What a blessing. I mean, I couldn't ask for any more. So it's easy for me, knowing where I started, to remember those humble beginnings and to appreciate them. I try to share some of those stories with our kids. I mean, it was a bus league. But, you know, those were special times. I miss being on a bus with my kids, watching a movie, talking, showing, hey, come up here, we'll watch film. That's a bonding time that's really special at that level that you don't get at this level. We roll out, get on a charter, fly, get off, go eat. I mean, there's no time. That's what I really miss. Not that I want to go back to that. But that's a piece of that era that I do miss. So it is special. But I wouldn't trade it. I would not trade it for anything, absolutely not. Q. The one thing I noticed when I look at the rosters, you're the only team here that does not have one McDonald's All-American. How did you make it work for yourself? COACH SCHAEFER: You know, it's a system. It's the way we play the game. It's not that we haven't gone after 'em. But when you start a program that's coming off of 14-16, you take it over, it sometimes is a little bit of a challenge early. So you got to go get kids that you know can play in a system, do things the way you want 'em done. I say this all the time. We talk about, Where is the next McDonald's All-American? Where can we get 'em? I want to know where the next Dominique Dillingham is coming from. She's just tough, physical, aggressive basketball player. Doesn't say anything about her jump shot. That's the piece that for us -- you got to give my staff so much credit. They are able to identify those kids that fit our system. Again, they do a great job evaluating this. Skill set's important, no question about it. But we don't sacrifice character for skill set. I have too much love and respect for my community, for my university, my administration. That's one of the things we talk about when we're recruiting. I promise moms and dads that I'm not going to bring their daughter in and put them around a bunch of idiots. We got great kids. Hey, do they make a bad decision every now and then? Sure. They make them at Yale and Harvard, too. The bottom line is they're great kids. They're committed. They want to win. They pay a price every day. That's the piece that if you're on the outside looking in, you just don't know that about our kids. That's what makes 'em the warriors that they are. It allows them to be successful. So, hey, I'm not trading 'em for anything. We got four really special seniors. I mean, they believed in a vision when it wasn't really easy to believe. I signed 'em before we ever played a game that first year, which is probably good, or I never would have got 'em. Again, Johnnie and I knew what 13-17 looked like that first year. We didn't panic. We backed up that first class with a top-20 class, so here we are. Q. That felt kind of like a championship game. A lot of momentum going along. How do you take that and carry it into Sunday and still use it constructively? COACH SCHAEFER: Again, we've been beaten twice by South Carolina. Our kids, we know what's coming down the pike. It won't take much to get their attention. That's our job, my job as the coach. They know now the prize is in front of them, it's attainable. We've got one heck of a team to get ready for, a tremendous staff. They're really, really good. They've obviously changed their system a little bit throughout the course of the season. But it's down to two of us. Southeastern Conference teams playing for the national championship. Hey, that's pretty special. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. COACH SCHAEFER: All right. Praise the Lord and go Dogs. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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