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NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: CHICAGOMarch 30, 2019Kellie HarperJasmine FranklinDanielle GitzenChicago, Illinois Stanford - 55, Missouri State - 46 KELLIE HARPER: Well, we're disappointed that we don't get to keep on playing and the journey doesn't get to continue with this group. It's been an exciting run. It's been a lot of fun. Obviously Stanford is a really tough team. We knew that coming in. But I'm proud of our players going out and competing and giving it their all and not backing down. So it's been an exciting time, and I'm really proud of this team. Q. Danielle, can you take me through your thoughts and how you're doing? DANIELLE GITZEN: I mean, obviously it sucks we lost. We definitely wanted to keep going, but at the end of the day, I'm honored to have put on the Lady Bear jersey and represent Missouri State University these past four years. It's definitely been an amazing experience, especially senior year being able to go to Sweet 16, and along with that, I'm just really proud of our team to be able to go to the Sweet 16, and we only have, what, three upperclassmen is something that's pretty amazing. And I think we kind of put Missouri State on the map, and, hey, you're going to want to watch the Lady Bears the next couple years because it's going to be a good team. Q. Just kind of take me through the future. It's a young roster that you're leaving behind, but seems to be in good hands. DANIELLE GITZEN: Oh, yeah, for sure. Just in one season, the freshmen have matured so much. This one has matured so much, and the fact that they can make such a big impact, just their first and second years, I think it just puts like the goals limitless. I feel they can go -- I feel like they're going to be a good team to watch. Q. Jasmine, can you take me through what Danielle has meant to you? DANIELLE GITZEN: Let's hear this. (Laughter). JASMINE FRANKLIN: Danielle has been a really good leader to me. As you see, I'm very vocal on the court, and I share my feelings out, and she's always helped me calm down, talk to the reps. And on and off the court she's helpful. In practice she helps me when I don't know the plays. She's just a very helpful person, and I appreciate her so dearly. Q. You said the other day how you think they're going to get better and better. How much has this experience kind of showed you that you guys are just going to get better? JASMINE FRANKLIN: This experience definitely tells me that our team can hang, like even though we're the underdogs we still can keep going. We've got a little fight in us, and I think these next few years will definitely be great. Q. How much did their length bother you guys offensively when you drove in the lane and tried to get your shot off? JASMINE FRANKLIN: Post-wise, I started to realize that they were jumping a lot, and so kind of shot fake and go up really helped. But it did bother me personally a lot because no one wants their shot blocked. But yeah. DANIELLE GITZEN: I would say that, yes -- well, first of all, Stanford is a great team, and they're very long, and I think that it definitely was disruptive having their long arms and getting into passes, but I think also we got good looks, we just couldn't hit them at the end of the day. Q. Danielle, can you kind of take me through this emotional day starting with that pep rally when you jumped on the microphone all the way through hugging Kelly. DANIELLE GITZEN: A little bit of a roller coaster, mixed emotions. I guess going into it, I wasn't thinking, hey, this is going to be my last time playing, last time going into a pep rally, going in front of the fans, and obviously to now definitely stinks. But at the end of the day, I mean, I wouldn't give up the experience for anything. I've met so many amazing people on this journey, made so many memories, and Missouri State fans and the community as a whole has been the most supportive towards me, and so it's been -- it's definitely been a mix of emotions. Q. Jasmine, to get a couple upsets in the opening weekend and then make a team like Stanford just scratch and claw their way past you guys, what kind of statement do you feel like this team has made in the last two weeks? JASMINE FRANKLIN: Definitely don't sleep on us because, once again, we can stick around. Don't sleep on Missouri State. We're still here. Q. I guess for both of you, if you're to recap the whole season, does this kind of set a new standard do you think for the program, what you guys have been able to do? DANIELLE GITZEN: Yes, I would say so. I think coming in you kind of know the history of the program. We have Jackie Stiles as one of our coaches, so getting back to kind of that standard and that level of play is always something I think in the back of our minds. So I think, yeah, coming in and proving that, hey, we can fight and we can play with the best of the best is definitely going to set a standard for Missouri State moving forward. JASMINE FRANKLIN: I agree. (Laughter). Q. Danielle, how are you smiling through all of this? How are you able to keep it together right now? DANIELLE GITZEN: I don't know, I guess at the end of the day, it's just been such an amazing, I guess, last year. Yes, it's sad -- I don't know if it's fully like hit me yet. I'm trying to kind of take everything in and experience it and just take the opportunity. So I feel like maybe later tonight or a week from now I'll kind of be like, okay, it's over type thing, but as of right now, I'm just, again, so proud of what we've accomplished as a team and what my teammates have done, and I guess that's kind of why. Q. Coach, some games where it's a little faster paced, 13 points is easier to make up when every possession is not such a grind. Would you agree that that slow pace made it really hard to come back at the end? KELLIE HARPER: Well, yeah, we were still pushing the ball offensively. We weren't able to knock down some shots that we -- we got it close and just couldn't get a bucket or two when we needed it down the stretch. You know, and they started chewing up some time offensively on the other end. I thought the two big threes they hit were really daggers because I thought we had a little momentum and they knocked those two big shots down. Q. I think you talked about it yesterday that you were a little worried about their length and how it might affect you guys. Did you see that sort of borne out in how the game went? KELLIE HARPER: Oh, for sure. I thought early on their length created a lot of adversity, really, for us. We were shooting over taller people. We didn't get a lot of clean looks that we're used to getting. We couldn't get a lot of lay-ups, couldn't get all the way to the basket early on. I didn't think our spacing was great. We tried to change a few things. I thought we did a better job in the second half, but still we missed open shots when we did get our open shots, which I just felt were few and far between. I just felt like they could be a little bit late and still contest with their length. I was definitely worried about it, and I do think it affected our shooting for sure. Q. Can you just take me through Danielle's last game, just hugging her for the last time and just the emotions of losing her right now? KELLIE HARPER: Well, I'm like Danielle, it doesn't quite sink in yet, and you don't go into a game ever thinking, oh, what am I going to say, what am I going to do if this is our last game. I don't ever have that game plan. You know, it will sink in later. We'll have a postseason banquet and we'll get all emotional and teary eyed then for sure. The one thing I said to her when she came off, I just said, you have had a great year, and she did. She had an unbelievable season for herself personally, for this team, and I couldn't be happier for her. She's been everything we needed her to be. Q. Can you just kind of put into words what kind of run you guys just went on, one senior, one junior, being able to make it to the Sweet 16? Does it sound crazy? KELLIE HARPER: Well, yes. Yes, it does. You know, we felt like we were going to be a good basketball team. We had to get there. And we felt like we had talent. We just had to figure some things out. And we did. And they bought in. And you were able to witness it. We played four great games in a row and put it together at the most important time of the season, and I was -- I'm so, so proud of them. I'm so happy for them because as a coach, when you're asking for their best and you're asking them to believe in the vision and the possibilities and they can't really see them yet but they have that blind faith, and then to see it come together, I'm just so proud, so happy for them. Q. And when you just look at the youth on the roster, how excited does it make you to possibly get back here? KELLIE HARPER: Well, let me tell you, getting here is hard. Getting here is very, very hard. You've got to be a good basketball team. You've got to get a great match-up and you've got to be playing well. Everything has to come together. But I love the experience that our young players have had through this. I think their level of expectation is higher for themselves and for our basketball team, and I'm not talking about wins, I'm talking about execution and what we need to look like to be a championship team. They've got something that I couldn't teach them otherwise, so this has been great for us moving forward. Q. You talk about their length, but also your defense was pretty solid. I mean, you were out on their three-point shooters, you contested when they did drive the lane. So just talk a little bit about how well you guys played defensively. KELLIE HARPER: Well, I'm pretty sure that this was a season low in points for Stanford, and they -- you may have to correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what I was told on the way here. They missed some shots, but man, our team played tough. Our team lined up and guarded, and that's what we've been doing through this stretch. Unfortunately, I think we were also season low in points, as well, unfortunately for us. But I'll tell you what, we've said, and I truly believe it, we felt like somebody was going to have to beat us. We weren't going to come in here and back down. Somebody was going to have to beat us. Stanford beat us. They had to work hard to do it. Q. This is the 50th season of the Lady Bears. What's it like knowing that this was the 50th year and this is what you guys were able to do? KELLIE HARPER: Well, I think for us what's been really special, throughout the season we've been -- we've put this team in the record book. I mean, for different things, for wins on the road and different streaks. So I think this team -- I think it's just really special that this team has made their mark on a very storied program and such rich history, and this team is -- they have their name in there, and that's a big deal. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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