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NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL FOUR

March 29, 2018

Columbus, Ohio

THE MODERATOR: Joining us now on the dais from Notre Dame, head coach Muffet McGraw, student-athletes Arike Ogunbowale and Kathryn Westbeld. We're going right to questions now.

Q. Kathryn, do you guys appreciate getting back here? There was a time when Notre Dame was in the top four every year, your freshman year also. Do you appreciate what it's taken to get back here, specifically with injuries, to be back here playing in the Final Four?
KATHRYN WESTBELD: Absolutely. I think every year it's an expectation that Coach sets. Obviously, it's not going to be easy getting back. Obviously, we've had hard times in the past couple years. Yeah, especially this year, going through what we have and kind of overcoming everything, especially when no one thought that we really could. I think it's really something special for us, especially it being my senior year, being in this.

Q. Arike, on the season you guys have had and the setbacks and the injuries, how did you guys push yourselves through that? Is it a cumulative effect?
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: I think everyone who's playing right now, we're all hungry. We all love the game. So it's not hard to push and try to get as many wins as we can.

Q. This is for Kathryn. When Jessica came in, you guys weren't sure right up until November that she'd be able to play this year. I know you obviously practiced with her before. But how quickly did she fit in to Notre Dame in terms of the culture, the demands, everything that you guys did? How fast was that for her?
KATHRYN WESTBELD: I think her impact was immediate. Even when she came in the summer, I think during practices and workouts, she was one of the loudest ones, talking to everybody, really trying to get to know everybody and fit in as much as she could. I think she really did do that.

As far as basketball-wise, we all love playing with her. She works so hard. She's made such an impact on the court on both ends, and obviously with our injuries, we're very lucky to have her.

Q. For both players, how would you describe what you've found with your starting five to make it to this point, obviously, not having as many players as you would have hoped at this point. But to play so well and to get this far, how would you describe what you've found as a unit?
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: I think just chemistry-wise, I think we have to be a really close team to be able to play as many minutes together, and we have to know each other really well. There's not a lot of subs, so we have to capitalize on a lot of possessions so we're not tired. So I think that's a big point of it.

KATHRYN WESTBELD: Going off of that, I think trust is a big thing. Just playing off each other. Like she said, chemistry is huge for us. But at the same time, it's hard to play with only seven players, but it kind of gets easier because you're only used to playing with that lineup or only a couple different lineups, not used to a bunch of different people coming in and having to learn their strengths and weaknesses and playing off of that. So I think we can really maximize on each other's strengths.

Q. For both you guys, there was a time that UConn and you would play four times a season for four straight years. You probably knew what flavor of gum everyone was chewing on the other team. It seemed -- I mean, it's still a rivalry, but is it less that you see them once a year in December, and maybe we'll see you again in the Final Four or some other point? There isn't that same we're focused on UConn all year, as opposed to now you see them once and then maybe see them again?
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: I don't think, even if we played them four times, we were only focused on UConn all year. That's only four games out of 30. We don't come to games thinking this is a big rivalry. We come to the game, we have to get another win. It's just another team.

THE MODERATOR: Kathryn, do you have anything to add?

KATHRYN WESTBELD: No, I pretty much agree with that.

Q. Arike, how important is defense in this game? Both teams can get up and down and score, but could it come down to which team can play a little bit better defense and make a few stops during the game?
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: I think that's really what it does come down to. Like you said, we both can score. We both have high average as a team per game, so it's definitely who can get the most stops.

Q. Arike, the game in December, Coach McGraw was saying on a teleconference the other day that even though you lost that game, it gave you confidence because of how well you played for a lot of that game against UConn. Can you go back in that game? I mean, the fourth quarter kind of got away, but what are the best things you can take from that game, and what do you most want to avoid that happened in that game?
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: That game was a while ago, so I don't remember a lot of it. We played well against them. I remember we had a lead for a lot of the game. So I think that's just a positive coming out of the game.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies.

Q. Coach, Kathryn said, in some ways it's easier to play with seven players. As a coach, is it easier in any way to play with seven players?
MUFFET McGRAW: Well, there's not many decisions to make who's going to go in the game, where you look down and go, I've got to get her out and get somebody else in. In some ways it's easier, but it's generally harder. I think practice is harder. Foul trouble is harder. You worry so much with the anxiety of what else is going to go wrong. As soon as someone gets their first foul, I start to worry. How is this going to play out? Can we play zone?

So I think some of the things we're trying to look at is how we manage practice, how we manage the game, how much zone can we play, do we need to change our strategy to avoid fouling? I think there's a lot more strategy involved when you only have a small bench.

Q. Prior to the season at ESPN before all your injuries, you had talked about wanting to have this team as a bigger defensive identity. Is that changed now, or can you actually go out and just outscore UConn in this game?
MUFFET McGRAW: I think our defensive identity really came to fruition during the Tennessee game. I think that was the game we realized, if we can guard, we can win. And that -- that was a turning point for us because it gave the players the idea that, hey, maybe this commitment to defense is something that we could really hang our hats on.

And I think we got a lot better from that moment on defensively. We took a lot of pride in it and had more of a commitment to it. We realized it can create offense for us. I think we've been better defensively since that game.

Q. Hey, Coach, same thing I asked the players. I mean, not saying that you don't appreciate going to a Final Four any time, because it's special, but with what you guys went through this year with injuries and stuff, does it make this one a little more special, that you're maybe not expecting to be here after what you guys have been through?
MUFFET McGRAW: Yeah, absolutely. This has to be the most rewarding and probably -- you know, I think you saw the coaching staff after the Oregon game. I mean, just such joy for us to see that the players get to have this experience. You know, we've been there. The seniors have been there. But to talk about it and say how much fun it is and how exciting it is, it's just not the same as being here.

It helps the program from here on. Now everybody in the program's been there, so next year they have that experience.

So I think it's one of the most rewarding -- since '97, when we were a 6 seed and completely unexpected to get here -- this has definitely been one where we've really worked hard for it.

Q. Can you talk about this team's resilience a little bit through the injuries and having all these things happen in season. Is it something that's come naturally to them, or did you really have to work hard to instill that resilience in them as you're going through this?
MUFFET McGRAW: I think resilience is the perfect word to describe what our team is and how we got here. I think the coaches worked pretty hard at it, but I think you have to have that. You have to have a certain amount of mental toughness to get through the season, and some kids, especially this team, are tougher than normal.

I think people talk a lot about this generation and they're different. This is a team of maybe throwback type of players because they all are the kind of kids that would run through the wall for each other and for us.

So I think that we -- you know, we never let it get us down as coaches. I think we approached it like, okay, whose turn is it to step up now? And when you ask players, would you mind playing 40 minutes, I don't think there's a problem with that, especially with our guards. So I think in some ways it was just like we're just moving on. We didn't really talk about it a lot. Just figured out how we're going to move on. Always talked about what we have and what we can do rather than what we lost.

Q. Coach, if I could ask you sort of similar to what I asked Kathryn, about Jessica's impact because it seems like it was immediate. But also, how has she even evolved and improved just playing one year for you?
MUFFET McGRAW: You know, her impact, as she said, at our first practice in the summer, she was the one that was encouraging. She was the one that was helping the freshmen. She was the one that would always say, hey, we'll be okay. Never really got down. Could take criticism, could take coaching. Understood what it was like. The hardest thing for me was that you kind of want to build some things around her, and then at the same time, think, well, if she's not going to play, we're wasting all this time.

So learning she could play at the last minute made it a little bit tougher because we weren't really geared to throw the ball inside as much. So she's really come along in terms of what she can do because she's really special. I mean, she can rebound, put it on the floor, she can pass, she can score in a lot of different ways. So I think her impact is continual. I think she's gotten better.

She set a Notre Dame record. I think she had a bunch of double-doubles in the row for the first time in the NCAA Tournament. We've never had that before. So I think that she is continuing to improve.

Didn't get the attention, I didn't think, nationally that I think she deserved. I think she's one of the best power forwards in the country, and she certainly has played that way for us. We wouldn't be here without her.

Q. Coach, Marina Mabrey has taken on more of a point guard role for you now, but how has she evolved as that off ball scorer to the point where her career high coming into the season for threes was four, and in this tournament alone she's topped that multiple times. How has she evolved to be a better scorer as she's taking on even more point guard duty?
MUFFET McGRAW: It has been a challenge for her. I think coming in, her willingness to take on that role was the first thing. We talked about it early in the season, and, of course, after Lili went down, she was pretty much going to take over. I think her evolution has been phenomenal. You look at what she was in the beginning, we helped her a lot. Niele did a lot of work. I think her sister Michaela helped her a lot long distance.

Getting her to run the offense and think pass first was not something she was used to doing it. She worked all summer on her shot. So going through the transition of a scorer to now I've got to look for everybody else, and now she's figured out I can do both. So it's been a long road for her, and she's done a fabulous job at it, especially in calling the plays.

She's now at the point where she's calling her own stuff, not every possession, but certainly at big times in the game. She can see what we need, who needs the ball, and who has the mismatch. So she's really come a long way in that. It's another reason that we're here.

Q. Coach Auriemma said earlier today about that stretch where you were playing each other four times a year was maybe too much, but it's also the best stretch that you had against them. Do you make anything into that? And what is the blueprint to beat them? And my other question is, some of the players you talked about the other day that might be back, are some of them back?
MUFFET McGRAW: I think playing them four times, I think two years in a row, was great for the game. I think they were always great battles. It was a time when we had Natalie Achonwa, Ariel Braker, and Kayla McBride. Nat and Ariel are coming and Kayla is still overseas. So we're excited to have them back. They were part of the group that really was very successful against Connecticut.

So I think now that we only play them once a year, I think there is some distance to the rivalry. I think that it always, of course, will be a rivalry just because they're the best team in the country right now. But I think it's not that intensity that we had when we were in the Big East because you're constantly watching in your conference. Now we're in the ACC, and we're focused on that, and that's the best conference in women's basketball. We can't really afford to be watching a lot of other teams. We really focused on that.

So I think it definitely has lessened the intensity of the rivalry, but that could change tomorrow.

Q. Muffet, from your standpoint, are you happy you don't have to see them four times a year now? The only thing said is you see them once in December and maybe we'll see you in March. As a coach, okay, we only play them once a year, and then we can move on and then maybe see them again?
MUFFET McGRAW: Yeah, I think it's good, especially for us in the ACC, with playing so many good teams. It's great to have a challenging non-conference schedule and then a great conference schedule and then get ready to focus on them again. Playing them one time gives you that feel for what it's going to be like, and I think it helps.

Q. Coach, was there a point this year where you just thought to yourself this is just -- this is just not going to happen for us this year? And if so, how do you fight your way through that? What do you do?
MUFFET McGRAW: You know, I think for me, I go home. That's how I fight my way through it because Matt is always there with the positive. You know, I can vent. I can get it all out. And he's there with a hug and a smile, and he kind of just pushes me back out. So any time we're taking some knockout punches, he's the one picking me up.

So that allowed me to let it out and then get back to practice and just go at the team and say, hey, here's where we're going now. Always looking forward. I think that was the key for us.

Q. Coach, I guess Arike didn't remember much about that December game, but you did say that -- and I don't know. Maybe she just wasn't telling us.
MUFFET McGRAW: She doesn't remember the Oregon game (laughing).

Q. You said you felt like it was a confidence build, and I know you lost Lili since then, but who do you think on your team from that team might be able to take the most from it or could take something from it?
MUFFET McGRAW: Probably everybody with the exception of Arike because she just plays. I think Jessica looked at the game. I think Kat kind of studies the game a little bit differently. Jackie looked at the game and how that went. So I think that -- I think we could take a lot from that to see where we went wrong.

I think we changed some things since then that have helped us. Hopefully, those guys will help Arike remember what we did.

Q. Muffet, you and I talked a little bit about it, but what Kat's done the last three weeks, from potentially seeing her career end with an injury to a big win over Villanova. Just talk about what she's done and a chance to play near home for her last games.
MUFFET McGRAW: I was saying to someone after the Oregon game, I couldn't be happier for a person than I am for Kathryn Westbeld. She has gone through so much, so many injuries starting last year. She had the injuries, she didn't practice the last six weeks of the season, only played in the games. Played through a ton of pain, had a surgery off-season. Took a bit longer to get back. She was supposed to be 100 percent in October, it was November, then it was December. Then she turns the ankle again. We wouldn't have beaten Villanova without her. She's won the Oregon game for us.

She's done so many things that have just not shown up anywhere. She doesn't always show up on the stat sheet like she did in those games because she's taking a charge, getting an offensive rebound that gives us another possession. She's steady and always calm. We call her the glue because she just keeps us together and does so many things.

And then to come back home and be able to play is just a phenomenal story. Couldn't be happier for her.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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