|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: PORTLANDMarch 29, 2019Kelly GravesSabrina IonescuRuthy HebardSatou SaballyPortland, Oregon Oregon-63, South Dakota State-53 THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Oregon. Coach, we'll begin with your opening statement. KELLY GRAVES: Well, first want to congratulate South Dakota State on a great tournament, a great season. We saw them in December. We saw them again tonight. I don't want to play them again. They play so hard. They're so well-coached. Those players just know how to play. Gave us everything that they could tonight. I was really proud of our team. I thought once we established a little bit of dominance there, we just kind of played to hang on. That was unfortunate. We certainly didn't shoot it very well tonight. But I thought defensively we were on point. I thought we played really hard, played to the scout. I was really proud of these three. The three All-Americans are supposed to step up in these kind of games. They did. I think all three of you had double-doubles of some sort. That's nice to see, when you're not playing your best, your best players got to step up. THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up to questions for the student-athletes. Q. Sabrina, the other night after you had a triple-double you talked about it a little bit on Instagram. You didn't get there tonight. You were super close. Could you give us a little background? Do you feel like even with how accomplished you have been individually, you hear from some male haters, none of whom have any athletic talent anyway? SABRINA IONESCU: That was nice. I mean, yeah, even after that post, I got about 2,000 to 3,000 comments. More than half of them were bashing me or my team. I did it in a joking manner. I read it, but I don't take it to heart. I mean, I was just trying to advocate for what I believe in, what I think all women should believe in. Now I'm starting to see it more on Twitter. People are kind of starting to post about it. It was nice to see some former Oregon players, some former NBA, WNBA players responding to that post and appreciating it. Q. You didn't shoot particularly well from outside three-point range. Do you think the background in the bigger arena had anything to do with that? SABRINA IONESCU: Yeah, it could have. I mean, we're just so comfortable shooting at our home court. But we're going to have to adjust and hit those shots on Sunday. We're given another opportunity. I think we did well for the fact that we didn't shoot the ball very well. We got the ball inside. We were still efficient regardless of our shooting percentage. But we're definitely going to have to adjust and do that Sunday. SATOU SABALLY: I feel like we all have to get used to those kind of gyms, especially where we want to go. Getting all the misses out today was actually a good thing. The good thing about our team is we are not defined by shooting threes, we're defined by getting the ball inside, having really strong players that can do everything. Q. Satou, you were pretty ecstatic after that game. What was going through your mind right as the game was wrapping up, you get back in the locker room? What was going on with all those emotions you were showing? SATOU SABALLY: I was just so excited for our team. We've been working so hard all through season, even before in the off-season and summer. I'm just really proud of each player in our team. We deserve this. We know where we want to be. Just being able to close the game like that, having a great game, except like maybe our shooting, but we finished it like champions. That's what we want to be. Yeah, I was just super excited. I was just screaming around, hugging everyone, just being the energizer I'm trying to be. Q. Ruthy, I want to know why you got rid of your braids. Is it a superstition thing? RUTHY HEBARD: No. No. Coach was actually like, When we beat Mississippi State, you wore your natural hair. Here we go, let's do this. Let's get there. Just trying to switch it up. Q. Sabrina, did Ruthy and Satou hog too many rebounds tonight? SABRINA IONESCU: No, not enough. I hold them to a super high standard. She should be getting every single rebound. It was a little difficult because of how many threes they shot, those rebounds were a little bit long. That's what we have to do every game in order to take our team to another level. Q. What do you think about being matched up with Mississippi State again when the bracket came out? I know it's one game at a time, but players look ahead. Did you want another game with them? SABRINA IONESCU: I mean, it didn't really matter to us. Super excited to be able to play that team again. Their offensive efficiency is great. So is ours. I think it will be a great matchup on a neutral court. I think we're excited. They're one of the top teams in the country. I think it's going to show how much we've grown from the last time we played them and what we need to work on. There is pros and cons to playing a team for the second time. But I think we're so used to that with the Pac-12, we'll be able to grow on our weaknesses. SATOU SABALLY: I mean, I'm personally excited because I had a really bad game the last time we played them. I'm really fired up. I wanted Mississippi State. I know that they're a really great matchup. They were in the Final Four last year. They're just going to make us better. Q. Sabrina, third year in a row that y'all are in the Elite 8. How long have you been thinking about this opportunity? What are your emotions now that you're here? SABRINA IONESCU: I mean, we've been thinking about this opportunity since our last loss last year to Notre Dame. This is what we work for, this is what we dream of. Now it's time to make our dreams a reality. We're going to come out tomorrow -- Sunday, we're going to come out Sunday dialed in, ready to go and not let this opportunity slip away because it is a great one. THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thank you very much. We will see you on Sunday. SABRINA IONESCU: Go Ducks. THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up to questions for Coach Graves. Q. It looked like you were in man most of the time. Other games you've done a lot of switching. What was your thinking behind that? How big a key do you think that was? KELLY GRAVES: Well, we always start in man every game. We make the adjustments if we're not doing so well. But I thought we were on point defensively right from the start tonight. So we played 40 minutes of man-to-man defense. The one thing that concerns you about South Dakota State is their ability to beat you three at a time. I thought by playing man, we cut down on their opportunities. They didn't have as many good looks out there. They shot almost as poorly as we did. That was an ice cold shooting game for both teams from downtown. Q. Looking at the stat sheet, the one thing that stands out to me is you were out-rebounded, 20 offensive rebounds. Probably don't want that on Sunday, do you? KELLY GRAVES: Well, probably not. They were wearing blue. I thought it was UCLA there for a while, the way they rebounded against us. I thought we got out-worked on the boards. We got pushed under too many times, and they seemed to get all the long rebounds. We've been a pretty good rebounding team most of the year. I won't be too concerned with that other than we better do a better job because Anriel Howard and Teaira McCowan, they get a lot of them. Q. You've already played Mississippi State, you have a scouting report on them. I would assume they're going to change their defense because you killed them with the pick and roll in December. How much can you change in 36 hours? KELLY GRAVES: We'll use a little bit of what we used last time. I think both teams are a little bit different now. I know Chloe Bibby is not with them. She was when we played them the first time. She's an outstanding outside shooter. So they're playing Espinoza a little bit more. Yeah, I mean, we're not going to change at this point too much. We have one practice tomorrow. We won't even have a shootaround on Sunday. We've got to get this in pretty quickly. I think in these back-to-back games you kind of stay true to your character. I think the first game of the week you have a chance to put new things in if you want to. No, it's going to come down I think Sunday to who just plays harder and is tougher. Ultimately somebody is going to have to make some plays to win the game. It's going to be a really, really good game against two very good teams. Offensively we've been two of the top three scoring teams in the country all year, two of the most efficient. The game will probably be decided at the defensive end. Q. What goes through your mind when you see Sabrina flying at the scores tables and benches? KELLY GRAVES: I love it. That's the only way we know her. That's how she plays. You know what, if it was a drill in the first third of practice, she'd be doing the same thing. I mean, that's just kind of who she is. That's how she's wired. That's why she's as great as she is. No worries. She won't change. We don't want her to change. Q. Talk about Satou, the energy she played with in the first half especially. Seemed like she was out there to energize people. KELLY GRAVES: She was. I thought her first half was one of the better halves of the season. Both ends of the floor she was a factor to block shots, rebounding well, changed some of their shots as well. Just was really aggressive offensively. When she plays like that, that gives us a whole different dynamic. It's not just a Ruthy and a Sabrina show. She can bring something that no one else can to us. If we can get the rest of our shooters to, you know, kind of get their rhythm and hit something, then we become pretty tough to guard. But she is that X factor, no doubt about it. Q. There was so much buildup about this opportunity to play in Portland. Did it feel like it took the team a little bit to settle into that? Did it feel like a home game but maybe not quite like a home game? KELLY GRAVES: Yeah, we felt like we were at home. I mean, the crowd was loud. They were really engaged. I think we put them to sleep in the fourth quarter. But, yeah, we had eyes toward Portland right from the beginning. I'm not going to lie about that. We wanted to play well enough. We knew we had to earn it. They weren't just going to give it to us. By winning the Pac-12 regular season championship, we earned the right to come here. Like I said, it was in the back of our minds. Now I'm glad we're here. It's an advantage. The reality is Mississippi State has played in a lot of very tough venues in the SEC. They've already played at our place. They're used to this kind of an atmosphere. I don't think it will affect them at all. That's a pretty seasoned basketball team with one of the best coaches if not the best coach in college basketball right now in Vic. Q. You talked about how it wasn't a great offensive game, but you really got Ruthy going in the second half. Was that deliberate or just sort of the way the game presented itself? KELLY GRAVES: A little bit of both. We knew going in they just didn't have much of an answer there. Especially if they were switching in the pick'n roll, which they did, we were able to get to it early and often. She even left a few out there on the court tonight that's almost automatic for her. I think that's always our first priority, when we game plan, how can we get her the basketball. Then what happens, you make the other team adjust, are they going to send help, if they send help, then we're the best by percentage, we've been the best three-point shooting team in the country all year long. Four of 20 tonight may hurt that a little bit. That's kind of how it all starts. So you look at the two games we lost in the Pac-12 this year, we didn't have Ruthy for the most part. That hurt. Q. You talked about the three. Erin was held scoreless. How disappointed was she? Did she stalk to you after the game? Did you talk to her about her evening? KELLY GRAVES: Oh, I haven't yet. I mean, I think as a shooter, you have to have a short memory. You just got to get back out. The one thing with Erin is if she makes one, she's going to make five, and they're going to come quick. She needs to see the ball go through the basket. We ran a couple sets for her, got her some good looks. It's one of those nights it happens. Every shooter has been there before. You saw the young man that plays for Virginia, he was like one for 18, then finally hit a couple. That was the difference against our men last night. Well, we hope that Erin is just saving them for Sunday. Q. Charli said after the Mississippi State game she doesn't think there's anyone in the Pac-12 that's like Mississippi State. Do you agree with that or do they remind you of anyone? KELLY GRAVES: Well, they're athletic like UCLA. We've seen that. I think that's the beauty of being in the Pac-12, we see a little bit of everything. But, no, nobody has a center that is like Teaira. She's just one of a kind. Man, I'm telling you, she is so, so good. The pressure they put on you defensively is really unlike anything we see in the Pac-12. Arizona State is a good example. But they don't really pick you up full court and try and turn you, disrupt your tempo like Mississippi State. But we played them before. That gives us a little bit of experience there. And nobody has one-liners like Vic Schaefer. He's really the best in the game. He truly is. Q. Was there any thought toward playing Taylor tonight? KELLY GRAVES: There was a thought, yes. To be honest with you, I wish maybe I'd gotten her in at the end just to have her feet on the court before we play Mississippi State. But when you're injured, I think any chance you get to just get a little bit more rest I think is a good thing. But we're hoping that she's available on Sunday because she gives us a huge lift and is a player that we don't have. We don't have anybody that plays like her. We need her and we've missed her, so fingers crossed. We'll see. It's late. Let's go to bed. Can we do that? THE MODERATOR: I like that plan, coach. KELLY GRAVES: You can go to bed. I got to watch film. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|