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NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: PORTLANDMarch 28, 2019Sophia ElengaKianna IbisCourtney EkmarkPortland, Oregon THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Arizona State University players. We'll open it up for questions at this time. Q. For all three of you, but Courtney, you touched on it Monday, what does it mean for you guys to make it to the Sweet 16 for Charli, the impact she's had on your careers? COURTNEY EKMARK: Yeah, I mean, it's obviously really great to be here. Really happy for our team and for our entire coaching staff, especially Charli. She works so hard. She watches more film than any coach in the country. She always has us prepared. I'm just really happy that her hard work has paid off and we're able to get here for her. KIANNA IBIS: Like Courtney said, just being able to make it like this far for her means a lot, especially for our team because we know how hard she works. We know how hard all the coaches work. Just to be able to make it this far, it means a lot. SOPHIA ELENGA: This is really awesome for her, especially because at the beginning of the season when we were doing summer training, she always been saying that she believe in us, and she believe we can go as far as we are today. Q. You played Mississippi State in Cancun. Now you've studied their current team, some difference in personnel. What do you remember about the game in Cancun? What do you see differently about the team they are today? KIANNA IBIS: I just remember them being really a great team offensively and defensively. Definitely they play pressure defense, so it was kind of hard for us. I just remember it was a really close game. We knew that it was just a battle of possessions. That's what it possibly could be tomorrow, as well. Q. Can you describe how you've grown this year, how Coach Charli is able to bring you along the way she does? Talk about how she's able to do that. COURTNEY EKMARK: Yeah, I think during the season how we've grown is, you know, early off we played Baylor, played Louisville really close, one-possession games, came up short. I think that was because we didn't go every possession the way that we should have. We kind of took a quarter off in each of those games. Now one of the biggest things is we play for the entire 40 minutes. If we do that, we're going to be really hard to beat. Charli has definitely helped us be able to do that. I think she's been able to do that by being honest in practice every single day, not to take a possession off in practice. Whatever happens in practice is what translates to the game. Charli is definitely motivating us. It's definitely good for our team because when we're playing for each other, playing for our coaches, we're not playing for ourselves, and that's when something really special can happen. Q. Sophia, we've seen throughout this season and especially against Miami as well, that the depth of this team is so strong. Obviously turned out with great success. How will the depth have to do in order to be successful tomorrow? SOPHIA ELENGA: Just be ready. I think in the bench, everybody in this team is ready because Charli is always say that everybody has the opportunity to play, everybody has to be ready. They cannot have a team where we are playing with five player or six player, it's everybody. Going to practice, everybody is getting reps, everybody has the opportunity to just really work on what she expect from us. I think everybody right now, especially the leader of the team, are making sure we are all lock in and know exactly what we need to do. Q. Sophia, could you describe the confidence level the bench has concerning you have made it this far. SOPHIA ELENGA: We are just really excited. We really do believe that we can go to the Final Four. We really want to. I think it's a lot of excitement in the bench. In the bench, you can see the reaction. We are all so into it. We are really just really into it, really cheering for each other, making sure that we still have this connectiveness and everybody is ready to just step up. Q. Kianna and Sophia, it seems like all season long you're playing taller people, bigger people, yet this keeps happening, it's going to happen again tomorrow. What are the key challenges to controlling a player like McCowan? KIANNA IBIS: I definitely see the key challenges would be, you know, because she's so much taller than us, it would be -- just got to keep a body on her honestly. Because she can easily play over the top of us, so just being able to be more aggressive. We just have to be more aggressive than her, and the whole team honestly. Yeah, definitely would say staying more aggressive is what we definitely need to do. SOPHIA ELENGA: I agree. I agree with Kianna. I think we just really have the first minute of the game, just set the tone, play really, really physical with her because I think that's something that can really bother her. Q. Kianna, not to throw you in the way-back machine, but growing up till eighth grade in small town South Dakota, how did that help mold you as the player you are today? KIANNA IBIS: I mean, when I lived in Emery, South Dakota, and I played seventh grade I think because it was a really small town, seventh grade, I could play on varsity and junior varsity. I would always play against competition that was always more experienced. I guess I would say that definitely everybody, because everybody in that town just knew each other, supported each other. So I would just say all the support from all my friends and family that lived there, all my coaches that have coached me, helped me into the player I am today. I would say that really helped into making me the player I am now. Q. Courtney and Sophia, what makes Kianna a special player? COURTNEY EKMARK: I think a lot of things. Definitely her scoring ability has really helped us this season, putting the ball in the hoop. She does so many things for us. Especially even if she's not scoring, they're guarding her tighter, that's opening things up for other people in the team. So definitely that. SOPHIA ELENGA: Yes, I agree. Like, she's present in both parts of the court. This season she has been recognized as an offensive player for the Pac-12 and also defensive player. She's just everywhere, like rebounding, scoring, in defense. Everybody can see she's just a complete player and really a key. As Courtney said, she's a big threat, so everybody is kind of on her. She's also giving open looks for other player, so... Q. Courtney, because you won two national championships, what do you think are the key things when you get to the Sweet 16 to try to win a regional to get to the Final Four? When you get to that level, what is the separation that gets you to the Final Four? COURTNEY EKMARK: Yeah, well, I mean first things first. It's easy to look ahead and be like, Oh, so close to the Final Four. But I say first of all just taking it one game at a time, so focusing on the present. Then within the game, taking it one possession at a time. Then really emptying out. I'd say the most important thing for us right now to get there is to play connected and really play together, leave it all on the floor. If we do that, it's going to be really great. Q. Kianna, do you have any family back in South Dakota? Do you visit at all? KIANNA IBIS: Oh, yeah. I go back every summer, sometimes I go back to Christmas. I have an uncle, cousins that live there, my grandpa still lives there, yeah. I have a lot of people that still live there. It was actually funny because my freshman year, in the NCAA tournament, our regional was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was a bummer we didn't get there, but I knew I had a lot of people coming there. It would have been awesome if we could have played there. Q. South Dakota State and South Dakota have been building their national profile. Do you see recognizable names? KIANNA IBIS: Yeah, I definitely played with some players, played against some players. Yeah, I think it's awesome to be able to -- also like South Dakota State is here. I know a couple players on that team, as well. I think it's amazing for them. They have a great program over there. It's great to see them actually in the Sweet 16. Q. Who do you remember? KIANNA IBIS: Tagyn Larson, I actually played with her. I played on South Dakota attack team my junior year, yeah, the end of my junior year, sophomore and junior year, in high school. We played on the same AAU team. Also Rylie Cascio Jensen. I played her when she was at Bellevue East in Omaha, Nebraska, or something like that. I played against her. Q. Kianna, have you ever played against a bigger player than Teaira? KIANNA IBIS: At Baylor, we played a 6'7". I think she's the same height, yeah. She's a pretty big girl. I think we have played against. I mean, it's just similar. It's not really me, but I know I'll be switched onto her a couple times. It's mostly NeNe (phonetic). I think she'll really do a great job. THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thank you so much for your time. We wish you the best of luck tomorrow against Mississippi State. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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