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

March 22, 2019

Lindsay Gottlieb

Waco, Texas

THE MODERATOR: Please raise your hand when you want to ask a question.

LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Thank you. Happy to be here.

THE MODERATOR: You have an opening statement?

LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: We're just excited to be in the NCAA tournament. It's the best event in all of sports. We're very fortunate. We're be back here in Waco for or third time in six years. I just saw Coach Kim in the weight room and she and I were joking that I should have bought property here back then and invested in it.

I'm excited to come with this group. We have a veteran group now. It's a terrific match up in the first round with North Carolina, and we're just excited to be playing on this stage, in this venue, and very happy to be back in Waco.

Q. Have any restaurant recommendations for me? No, you did mention obviously you have been here. You have a group of kids, girls, that have been here. Talk about familiarity at this time of year. Is there some advantage to that and something to that?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: I do think there is something to the emotional component of post season, right? There is Xs and Os and strategy; that stuff matters. Then there is I think the emotional component, and that's a combination of excitement, maturity, leadership.

I do think we're at the high end of that this year. I have a group of seniors that have been here - literally here - but also kind of on this stage, and I hope that works to our favor.

We have to put that all together on the court. We're going to lean on our leadership in that respect.

Q. I know you have another game tomorrow night before it even matters what happens Monday. When the bracket comes out and you see you're going to Waco again, possibly play Baylor again, you kind of go, What are they doing to me?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Not really. I mean, obviously this year was a little different with the whole way the bracket was unveiled, but first thing you look at is the first-round matchup. There is no more kind of storied team generally in basketball then we see with North Carolina Tar Heels. Our attention is solely on them.

In terms of where we're going to go, as you look and sort of see the general seed we might be, there is only a handful of places you can potentially go. Oh, wow, Waco again. Really then the focus becomes on the first-round opponent in North Carolina.

Q. You mentioned North Carolina. You have a senior guard who has got a North Carolina connection. Talk to me about that a little bit.
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Sure.

Q. Talk to me about her as a player, but her connection to North Carolina.
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Sure, our senior point guard, Asha Thomas who is an Oakland hometown hero, favorite; now all-time leading three-point shooter. She has a brother Quentin Thomas, who is 11 years older who played for North Carolina. There is a specific I have terrific picture of Asha as a little girl. Must have been around ten or so, maybe eight or nine, shooting with Q when he was a player at North Carolina.

So her love of basketball I think a lot comes from her relationship with her brother. They're a Tar Heel fan family. They've assured me they're all rooting for the Golden Bears this weekend, but it's just a neat connection, a brother-sister-family bond, and just so happens her senior year tournament that's who we're matched up against.

It's a nice story sure. He's been a huge support in her life, just a wonderful young person himself, so it's neat that there is that connection.

Q. Kristine, obviously we see the numbers. Talk about how she's has developed and what that means to this program and all that she's accomplished at this point?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: You ask about Kristine Anigwe and you say we've seen the numbers, but have you really he seen the numbers? She's averaging 23 and 16, which hasn't been done in the NBA in 40 years, hasn't been done in women's basketball in 30 years, in a conference that we play in that has some of the best defenses in the country. You're talking Stanford and Oregon State and Arizona State. She's been ridiculously consistent putting up those type of numbers, so the numbers are pretty outstanding.

What I'm most impressed with is she came in as a very talented kind, a young star, and she has matured into everything you hope to see in a young person as they grow their college experience. She's been triple teamed since freshman, media spotlight, so her growth has had to be more public, but it's been remarkable.

She is poised I think to lead her team in this NCAA tournament, but also ready for what comes next in life, WNBA, getting that Cal degree and affecting other people with that.

She's been tremendous. I would say the thing that's most remarkable this year is the consistency of excellence in every single way. A double-double in every single game. 25 and 24 against Stanford as an example. Big numbers in the big games and big numbers when it's not the biggest game on the schedule.

She's been unbelievable, and I'm excited for the fans here to be able to see here in person and for the country to see her on this big stage.

Q. When you came here the first time in 2014 you were coming off a Final Four the year before that. For you as a coach, how different are you now than you were then? Players we see for four years; coaches we see for a long time. How different are you as a coach, and how do you think you've grown in the game?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: That's a great question. Obviously the most tangible difference is I was seven months pregnant at the end of that LSU game and now he's a fun, exciting almost two year old.

But more so I am just really grateful to have been at Cal as the head coach for eight years -- this is my eighth year -- and to have a range of experiences. And more importantly, now a family of players and former players that I can watch them grow and develop.

That group that you're talking about coming in here as a seventh seed the year after the Final Four year, I remember the players and the faces and what they're doing now.

I think my growth, the story is told in what the players have done and continue to do successfully in life. That's the biggest thing we do, is prepare kids for the next stage.

For me, I've grown in a lot of different ways. I would like to think the more film I've watched and the more experiences I've had that I'm more savvy with Xs and Os, more able to handle situations that many come your way. When you saw me that first year, we were coming off a Final Four year and following up.

We've had more losses since then. I don't think anyone's career goes where you win almost every game. So you grow from learning experiences. Our league has gotten better, has been challenged by the great coaching staff in our Pac 12 conference to get better. So probably more savvy and aware in a lot of the different ways.

THE MODERATOR: Any other questions?

LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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