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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 8, 2019Kim Barnes-AricoNaz HillmonHallie ThomeIndianapolis, Indiana Michigan - 72, Wisconsin - 65 (2OT) KIM BARNES ARICO: Great win for our program. Wisconsin obviously is playing really well right now. They're playing without any pressure. They're playing loose, and they're playing confident. And they challenged us to two overtimes tonight. Just a great basketball game. We had to figure out a way to grind it out. Thanks to Hallie Thome doing a little bit of everything. She scored the basketball, she made some free throws down the stretch, but she also passed the ball exceptionally well. So our inside presence was able to get going down late. We picked up some fouls, which was really critical to our success. But for our program, this is the first time since 2001 we are advancing to this point, so I just think that speaks volumes to our senior class and kind of what they've meant to our program. Obviously we have some young freshmen in Naz and Amy Dilk who have made major contributions, but we're led by our seniors out there, and I thought -- I was really happy with the way that they hung tough, even when things weren't going our way, to figure out a way to grind it out. Hopefully we're not feeling that much pressure tomorrow and we play a little bit more confident, a little bit looser than we did today because we're playing against a great Maryland team. My last thing that I'm going to say because I want this to be a shout-out to the world, our league is stronger -- I've been here for seven years. I came from the Big East with the likes of when the Big East was the Big East of Rutgers and Notre Dame and UConn and on and on and on. Our league is stronger than it's ever been, and it's stronger than it's ever been from top to bottom. And any team can beat anyone on any given night, and I think we saw that yesterday. So it's just an exciting time for the Big Ten. Q. Naz, how are you feeling about this, about this win, and what can you take from it moving forward? NAZ HILLMON: Yeah, this is very exciting. Big stage, big lights, but had my teammates behind me and carrying me through this experience. It's been just amazing. We've had our seniors and juniors all the way down. They've been in this situation before, so they know the likes of what's going on, and they've just been helping me throughout this process. But it's been amazing, great to play with my teammates, and it's awesome to get a win. Q. Hallie, you've been through these battles before; what is it like getting ready with the double bye? You're playing a team with a lot of momentum generally these last couple years. What are the challenges there? What do you communicate to your teammates? How do you handle it differently than other games? HALLIE THOME: Definitely this year coming in, we saw Wisconsin kind of like the Cinderella story, so can't take any team lightly. So you've got to go out there and play like it's your last game. And then also just making sure we're mentally prepared and focusing on that, and then realizing we're fresh, we have legs. So the two other times I feel like if we were like a Wisconsin team it would have been harder, but I feel like we were able to get up-and-down the court very fast and get easy buckets in transition. Q. Hallie, it was a physical game the whole game, a lot of bodies hitting the floor. How were you able to kind of take control of the game in the second overtime with those lay-ups and with those openings that you were getting? HALLIE THOME: So with that, I think our teammates did an outstanding job of putting us in position to score, and then having two posts, Naz and I, you've got to pick and choose your battle, and having Nicole Munger on the perimeter. With that, either you give up a two or you give up a three. With that we have to make sure we're moving the ball easily. And at the end of the day the guards are putting me in the right position to score, so I don't really have to think about it, I can just go up. Q. Naz, I'm sure some history or creating a legacy for yourself on this team was probably important to you when you committed, but it's the first semi since '01 that the program is going to in the Big Ten Tournament. Does that have any significance for you as a young player with big dreams? NAZ HILLMON: So just being able to be a part of something like this, like Coach said, 18 years, finally getting in this position, I want to do anything that I can for my team and just being a part of this has been amazing. It is special. I mean, as much as the accolades -- personal accolades are great and good, but we want the ultimate Big Ten championship. That's all we're focused on right now, and of course it's amazing to be a part of this game and have that, being an 18-year fan. Q. Handling the double bye, you've been through this. What are the keys from a team prep standpoint that there always seems to be -- most teams seem to get tripped up by or it can be a struggle? What's different? KIM BARNES ARICO: You know, I thought about this, and I didn't even ask Sarah to check it out. But I don't know personally if I've ever won a game where we've gotten a double bye. You've checked it out, uh-huh, so I would think about it leading up to it. I've never said that to these guys. But the year at St. John's when we beat UConn and we went to the Sweet 16, tremendous, tremendous team, we got a double bye, and we were upset in the first round. So it's tough, and we tried to switch things up a little bit this year and come and watch yesterday's game and try to change the mood. But then I felt like I've been here since probably Christmas. You know, either way you go about it, I think it's definitely tough, and I think that's why this first one was really important for us, and our kids were tight. I think they were really tight because the expectations were we've got to win. We're supposed to beat Wisconsin. We just beat them twice, and Wisconsin had nothing to lose. I had a pit in my stomach. I did. I think the double bye is great, but it doesn't give you the mojo of playing. But finally, it's been broken. It's been broken. Q. Today was definitely March Madness for your team. It was pretty much a chess match the whole game. What do you attribute that to? Do you think it was offensive, or do you think it was more defense from both teams? KIM BARNES ARICO: You know, we just played Wisconsin last week, so they just saw everything that we were all about. I mean, we did for them, too, so that's why you're saying it's a chess match. And they were prepared for us, and we were prepared for them. Things that we got them with last week, they handled a lot better today in terms of our press. We really were able to frazzle them last game with our press, and today we really weren't. But like you said, in March, it's going to be madness, and you're going to see some different teams that are going to step up and be able to make great plays and win games. That's why I want our kids to really celebrate this and enjoy this for a second because it easily could have gone the other way. Q. How do you, after a double overtime game, get your team rested up and prepared for the match with Maryland? KIM BARNES ARICO: Yeah, I think that's what the Big Ten Tournament is all about. That's what March Madness is all about. We challenged ourselves. We challenged our team all year long with our schedule. And we went and played in a tournament at Thanksgiving where we played three days in a row, and we didn't just play, we played Missouri, we played Texas and we played Washington. So we challenged ourselves against three Power Five teams to put ourselves in a situation that we would be in tomorrow. Our kids are ready for it. We're excited for it. You saw Wisconsin today, they had played three days and still was able to grind things out. So we know we have an incredible match-up tomorrow with a tough Maryland team who played exceptionally well against Michigan State today. But our kids are -- it's survive and advance. They're hungry. They're excited to be here, and we're excited to continue to play. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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