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

March 25, 2019

Waco, Texas

Baylor - 102, Cal 63

COACH GOTTLIEB: First I would just like to thank all the fine people in Waco who work here at Baylor and the city of Waco who put this on. You could not have treated us better. I say with a due respect, I hope not to see you again next year or the year after or the year after.

But the familiarity and the kindness with which you've treated us and the professional way you handled this speaks well for your university and the city.

Credit to Baylor. No shock they're really, really good. We said as a game plan we wanted to make their guards beat us. When it was more of a game early in the game, even going into halftime, I think Lauren had six and Kalani had six and their guards beat us, had a lot.

So it got away from us in the second half more, but that's a sign of a terrific team. I don't know if Kim has already been named National Coach of the Year. If she hasn't, she should surely be one of the ones up there. You lose your point guard early, got a ton of talent, but making it all work together is something that is pretty remarkable.

I will say regardless of the score I am extremely proud of our young women. I thought how they handled themselves at the start of game when it was close and we had the lead, and even more so when it got away from us is a credit to them.

I have two of my seniors up here who I love like family. To be honest, it's neat that they're sitting here with Kianna, who had an amazing game and will take over probably for them as the face of the program. That's a really neat thing when you can see your seniors and feel like they can pass on what they've done to the younger people.

You could not get seniors that have done more for a program than Kristine and AT. I know they haven't won the most games of any Cal players ever, but they have been remarkable. Where they are now as people is something I'm really proud of, so I'll cherish every last minute I have with them here, and then I will be their biggest fans when they're professional basketball players and professional in other things as well.

Thanks.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. Questions for student-athletes.

Q. Kristine, obviously a tough way for it to finish, but talk about you had the two fouls early on. Did that affect you much at all, take you out of what you were trying to do? Looked like it only slowed you down for a minute though.
KRISTINE ANIGWE: No, nothing can really slow me down. I guess the two fouls definitely I had to adjust and play differently. Kalani is really, really good player and Lauren Cox as well. Playing against them when I was in foul trouble was hard. Couldn't be as active as I wanted to be.

You know, I don't know. My team had my back I feel like. We had those doubles really hard. I think they ended up with like below their average clearly. I had two fouls in the first half. I ended up having four falls in the third quarter. That really, really was like I had to back off. I couldn't be as active as I usually play.

I think we played our best many like against Kalani and Lauren, so...

Q. AT, obviously your last game. Try to put in perspective what it means to get to this point. I know you're disappointed, but in general.
ASHA THOMAS: Of course we don't like the outcome of this. I would say to get to this point with my teammates, my family. There is no better feeling knowing you do what you could do. I mean, throughout these four years, not just this game. Definitely been a blessing, connection, sisterhood.

That's something I'll have for the rest of my life. I wouldn't take anything -- I don't think I'll regret anything that I have right now.

Q. Kianna, talk about that first quarter. You kind of got on a hot roll. You all had a lead until right there late. How well were you playing in the first quarter?
KIANNA SMITH: We came into this game believing we can win. This is the NCAA tournament. That's what you do. Baylor is good team. We had no doubt that we could come out on the other side.

Q. I would like to know from any of the four of you, what was going through your mind when Baylor was just going crazy scoring there beginning late in the first quarter through the next two periods?
KRISTINE ANIGWE: Like Kianna said, it's the NCAA tournament. Of course we're trying stay in the game, trying to do whatever it takes to win.

We were still in the game the first quarter, the second quarter. We could have came back. We didn't put our heads down, didn't give up. That's what's going through our mind, not giving up, and I think that is what every team in this tournament is doing.

There are 32 teams left for a reason, and those teams are incredible and really good and they can compete. The score does not show like who we are. Like we are -- I don't know. I wish we could play that game over again. Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Any other questions for the student-athletes? All right, ladies. Thank you very much.

ASHA THOMAS: Thank you.

KIANNA SMITH: Thank you.

KRISTINE ANIGWE: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the coach.

Q. How does a coach and team react when they're just going nuts shooting the ball and scoring so many in the second and third quarters?
COACH GOTTLIEB: Well, it's not the fun part of the job. I mean, my reaction when their guards are hitting every mid-range pull-up and Juicy is gonna to go 50% from three, I'm thinking, This team is a favorite to win the National Championship.

Can we have been better in our game plan? Absolutely. We gave up too many offensive rebounds. We were late on a few rotations. But they're so powerful inside and there are so many bodies coming at you.

We say Kalani and Cox, but then there are three more coming off the bench that are pretty darn good. You can't play them one-on-one inside so you've got to give up something.

If you're forcing them to beat you from the outside and they're beating you from the outside, my thought is, Gosh they probably deserve to win. Even though we're looking for adjustment of what we can do better.

Q. Coach, you mentioned Baylor's having to reinvent itself at the point guard position. Chloe Jackson, the way she was hitting shots, really was the catalyst for them tonight. What's your impression of what she's been able to do for them this season?
COACH GOTTLIEB: Yeah, we actually played against her couple years ago at LSU. She was really good then. When you have a grad transfer, it's a different kind of deal. It's a one-year thing. You have to integrate quickly and figure the roles out. I don't know intimate knowledge of their system, but I know she wasn't naturally a point guard. They had a need for a pint guard, and she's been able to fill that role to the tune of them being the No. 1 team in the country.

Credit to her figuring out what they needed her to do and she's done it really, really well.

Q. Like you said, you almost have to pick your poison with this team. I think Juicy missed her first four. Are you feeling like maybe we did pick the right thing?
COACH GOTTLIEB: Yeah. I mean, I thought the first quarter, you know, was indicative of how we wanted the game to go, which is you have to sandwich the big kids and not let them get touches; when they get touches, double them and try to make the other people beat you.

Obviously Juicy is over 40% from the year for three. She's a good three-point shooter. We're not trying to let her get as many open looks. You can do some things a little bit with DiDi because she's knows her role and she's not necessarily looking to shoot a ton.

We we're just trying to make them take uncomfortable, awkward shots, like we faced at times when people double and triple Kristine. When you are out of the shots that you normally get, that's when you have a chance to maybe rattle a team.

Unfortunately the ball screen action really hurt us, because that kind of got rid of the primary defender, and now she's hitting open mid-range shots. We had a hesitancy for a post player to show or hedge, because now you're dropping it to six, seven, and it's hard to rotate on that.

They made the shots they needed to make. Then, like I said later, got away from us and everything wasn't working. Early on we would take a game like that where we're scoring and they're missing some shots and hitting some shots. That's how you stay in the game with them.

Q. As you said a minute ago, this is a team that can win a National Championship. You've seen them too much at this time of the year. Is this team much better than the other two you faced?
COACH GOTTLIEB: I mean, I thought the team that we lost to here two years ago was pretty darn good. That was when the Final Four was in Dallas, right? They ended up losing to I think Mississippi State in the Elite 8. That team I thought could have easily been in the Final Four as well.

This team is really, really good because the post play is more mature. It was younger at that time. They're so deep so they can withstand one of the posts getting in foul trouble. Their strengths aren't matched by anybody else's in the country exactly.

But other teams are really, really good in other areas and can maybe find weaknesses of theirs I guess. I think they're obviously a contender to win the National Championship, as are, the fun part of college basketball this year, five other teams.

Q. Kristine had the double-double streak. Were they just doing that good of a job blocking her out and making sure she wasn't getting in there?
COACH GOTTLIEB: Yeah. Can we just talk about that for a second? 33 consecutive double-doubles. The kid has had a year that should be in the history books, will be in the history books of women's college basketball. She had a tough night tonight. They can do what some other teams can't do against us is why it was a terrible matchup for us.

Kim said some really nice things in her pre-game, that for them it's more like Sweet 16 matchup. It's not a great matchup for us because they can guard her one-on-one more than most teams can and pressure our guards because of the size.

She missed a couple she can make, but obviously it's a little bit different. There is one of her and six of them on that roster. Literally size-wise they can just run people at her.

I think they wore down a little bit. Some of the out-of-area rebounds that she goes and gets. Here she is still incredibly athletic and can get her hands on them, but doesn't completely come down with it.

And I do think the early foul trouble was a factor. I have a lot of the confidence to play her through foul trouble because she is pretty smart and has good body control, but of course it's going to make her a little less aggressive.

All of that together made her have a little bit of a tough night, but I think she still puts a lot of pressure on the defense where they have to guard her quite a bit.

THE MODERATOR: Any other questions for coach? Coach, congratulations on a great season. We appreciate your time.

COACH GOTTLIEB: Thank you. Appreciate it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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

March 25, 2019

Lindsay Gottlieb

Kristine Anigwe

Kianna Smith

Asha Thomas