|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: PORTLANDMarch 31, 2019Kelly GravesSabrina IonescuSatou SaballyRuthy HebardPortland, Oregon Oregon-88, Mississippi State-84 THE MODERATOR: University of Oregon, your Portland regional champion. Coach, congratulations. We'll begin with your opening statement. KELLY GRAVES: Well, thank you. I first want to say congratulations to Mississippi State. They have been great champions. Obviously today gave us everything we could handle. Coach Schaefer I think is one of my very favorite coaches. He's humble. He's very gracious. He's a heck of a coach. I think he might be the best coach in our game. I think what's hopefully not lost in this, this was a great showcase for women's basketball today. I thought the crowd was amazing. The people here at Portland did such an awesome job with the entire tournament. That was as well-played a basketball game as I think you're going to find anywhere. I thought that is about as good as women's basketball can get. Really proud, though, of our poise and our confidence and how we played down the stretch. You look at the numbers. Only eight turnovers against that kind of pressure. Our shooting percentage was high. I can't believe we actually out-rebounded them. The Ducks really earned this. Proud of all three of these All-Americans who played like All-Americans today. Just happy for our fans and our university. THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up to questions for the student-athletes. Q. Sabrina, obviously you were awesome. We know what to expect from Ruthy also. Satou was next level tonight. She said openly she wanted Mississippi State. She was frustrated she didn't play well against them in December. You're a leader. Did you pull her aside and give her any kind of pep talk before the game? SABRINA IONESCU: I always do. I try to talk to her, what she needs to improve on, what she is great at. She knows. We a have a great relationship. Rebound, her will to win. Tonight it showed. She wasn't happy with her previous game. She came out really wanting to win. That's what it took for all of us, not necessarily just Satou. Yeah, definitely one of the best guards I've ever played with. Q. Sabrina, obviously you get a lot of national attention. So does the team. One of the best players ever, really prominent voice for ESPN, Rebecca Lobo after the game, went on Twitter, one word: Sabrina. What does that mean to you? SABRINA IONESCU: I hope she's talking about me (laughter). But it's awesome. I mean, her support for our program, for us as individuals is great. I'm happy that she's out there voicing her opinion. Like coach said, this was one of the absolute best games we ever played in, that I think women's basketball has been a part of. Honored for her to have tweeted that out. I might respond to it and ask her if she was talking about me (smiling). Q. Ruthy and Satou, for the second half, Teaira went from 12 and 10 at halftime, seven and five in the second. What did you try to do to contain her from offensive rebounding and trying to contain her, take her off her game offensively? RUTHY HEBARD: Yeah, I think we just kept it up. We knew what we needed to do to defend her, being physical, pushing her out. We had great guards around us getting rebounding, tipped balls. SATOU SABALLY: Yeah, just coming out of the halftime, we knew she will take those great shots. She will beast up. I don't know, like, Ruthy did a great job. We all all around did a great job of helping her, pushing her outside, then getting those rebounds. Q. Sabrina and Ruthy, you said afterwards to Brooke on the court that this feeling was better than you could even imagine. You have been so close. Last year after Notre Dame beat you, did you watch the Final Four? Was it harder to watch knowing you were right there? Do you think that fueled you? SABRINA IONESCU: Yeah, I was there, Ruthy was there, as well, for some awards that we picked up. I think that experience, there were positives and negatives to being there and watching the teams get escorted by the police and watching the teams get ready to play when your season was over. We brought that experience back, portrayed them to the team, just told them that, Guys, we can do this, we're right there, we have the tools and ability to get there. I think having that experience, it has definitely helped us and propelled us to this level. But these past two years when we've made it this far, and we lost in this position, it didn't feel like this. This had a total different feeling to it. I think we were so confident in our ability and our coaches' abilities to get us ready in this position. We were all excited last night. I think that feeling showed today on the court. RUTHY HEBARD: I remember going and watching the Final Four. I want our team to be here next year. Throughout the season, we've been getting better and better, knocking on the door. This game, we have to make it this time. We were confident. I'm super excited. Q. To all three, in an intense environment like this, kind of a home crowd, are you able at any time during the ballgame to look around and say, Dang, this is fun? Did you ratchet it up to max the whole time? RUTHY HEBARD: I had fun when the guards made the threes, when the fans are saying, Go Ducks, I was having fun the whole time. SABRINA IONESCU: That was the last thing Coach Graves said to us before we went out there today. He said, Have fun. He left it at that. We wouldn't take this moment for granted. Regardless what the outcome was, we wanted to have fun together and continue to have fun, so we did. The crowd was great when we went on our runs. The floor was shaking. I got goosebumps a few times hearing them, how loud they are, supporting us. We're definitely not taking that for granted. SATOU SABALLY: The first time I basically looked up into the crowd was after the game. I was like, Oh, my God. I'm kind of like more in the zone. I just hear it when Sab hit that big three in the end. It was just crazy how loud it was. Thank you to everyone that came out. It was amazing. Q. Ruthy and Satou, you had some emotional moments in the second half where you came up with some huge defensive plays, and your emotional level was high all night. Having the crowd be that supportive, does that help you when you're trying to reach or stay in that emotional state? RUTHY HEBARD: Yeah, for me it definitely helps. Hearing them, not wanting to let them down, I wanted to go quiet during those hustle plays, that gets the crowd riled up, gets our team riled up. I think it was really fun. SATOU SABALLY: This is what we're playing for, right? All these people watching, all these little girls or little boys watching up on us. We're a big inspiration for them. Just knowing that everyone has our back and is cheering us on, is traveling all the way, some people were coming from California. It's just amazing to see. Just knowing this is firing us up, knowing that we have to bring our own emotions into the game, it makes it easier. Q. Satou, was this kind of what you envisioned in terms of getting another chance to play Mississippi State? What were you trying to do differently coming into this game from the first matchup? SATOU SABALLY: I was just trying to be more focused. I did not want to do, like, silly mistakes. I wasn't, like, concentrating on getting scores or everything, I was just really concentrating on focusing on my controllables, getting those rebounds, trying to help Ruthy on Teaira, boxing out Howard. Just knowing that everything is, like, unpressured, I tried to take pressure off me. Obviously knowing that I wanted to be aggressive in the game, just doing my own thing. That's what I did. Q. What do you think you proved with this particular win? What do you hope it says to your upcoming opponents in the Final Four? RUTHY HEBARD: Well, I think we just proved that we can do it. I think we proved Oregon is an elite team, that we have great players, a great atmosphere. Hopefully we can go a few more steps further. SABRINA IONESCU: I mean, I think we proved to ourselves. We're not really trying to prove to the people that did or did not believe in us. We proved to ourselves if we put our minds to it and we put our hearts to it, we can accomplish anything. All I got to say is we're not done yet. We're not going to be -- of course, we're going to be happy, but we're not going to be pleased with how far we've gotten. I think that's one of the reasons we didn't necessarily set one goal before the season. I know we got a lot of critiques for that. Our goals are farther than one game, a Final Four, something that you can really pinpoint. I think our goals are things that we can control, and everything else will take care of itself. I'm excited to get to Tampa and continue playing with this team. Q. Sabrina, you get the ball with a buck-19 to go. Ruthy sets a screen for you. Walk me through that three. SABRINA IONESCU: That was going in regardless. No other way to say it. I wanted to finish this game off the right way. We've come so far. We played so hard that entire game. I knew it was my time to hit a big-time shot. Ruthy set a great screen, the spacing was great. I think that just shows we've been learning from the games we've been playing in. At that moment in time, I didn't want it to go to overtime. I didn't want to give them any more opportunities to score. I was also pretty tired. Let me hit this and walk off to the Final Four. THE MODERATOR: That's the time we have for our student-athletes. Congratulations. Thank you, ladies. Best of luck in Tampa. We'll open it up to questions for Coach Graves. Q. Maite's shot was also a dagger. Was that off a design play or part of the offense? Any adjustments you made in the second half? KELLY GRAVES: I think the one thing we did in the second half, we went more four out. We wanted to put Teaira in 50 ball screens. We started to rescreen a lot. We started to what we call step-up screens so that our kids could take the baseline a little bit more. I thought we did a really good job, Maite especially, as well as Sabrina. They were our two primary ball handlers, of keeping the dribble alive. From time to time we just pick up the dribble too quick. They kept it alive. Seemed like we got a lot of open shooters. I think we may have tired Teaira out a little bit. That's tough to go through those ball screens once, but then to have to do it again was difficult. So that was the main thing we did the second half. Q. And Maite? KELLY GRAVES: Well, listen, Maite is an unheralded superstar. She is. She's fine with kind of being in the background. But she is certainly a capable basketball player. I think she showed it all tonight. That was a great game. We only had eight turnovers against one of the better defensive teams, pressure defensive teams in the country. That's getting it done. When she's asked to make big plays, she does it. You look at her history. We owe a lot to her. She's the one that got this whole thing started. Q. The constant pressure, normally you would assume it would be Sabrina or Maite to break the press. Seemed like everybody contributed to being able to break the press and get into your offense. KELLY GRAVES: You're right. That's what has to be done in a game like this, against an opponent like this. It is everybody. But the lion's share of that work did fall on our two primary ball handlers. Satou at times was the third one. Listen, I thought we played about as well as we could have played tonight. I mean, you look at the numbers, again the poise with which we played the entire game. Phenomenal. Q. All week when you were asked about the location, you said the team had earned the right to play here by having a great regular season. How much of a factor do you think the environment was in this afternoon's final result? KELLY GRAVES: I thought it was incredible. It's a smart crowd. They know when to kind of cheer and get loud and kind of exhort the team on. There were a few plays tonight when sound had feel. I mean, you could feel it down there on the court. We didn't win because of the crowd. We won because we really executed well. It was certainly a help, there's no question about that. I'm glad that we got to do this in front of them, truly, because they've been along for the whole ride. They aren't just jumping on now. They've been with us all year. Q. Your kids seem to have a lot of fun in general, not just this game, but shootaround, loose. You seem to give them a lot of freedom. I'm sure part of that is Sabrina being smart. Was that a conscious thing going into this year, that you were going to make sure they had fun? KELLY GRAVES: Well, you know me. You've known me for a while. I'm a fun guy (laughter). I think everybody, whatever they do, I think they perform better when they like what they do and they like who they're doing it with. I think it's just human nature. It's worked for this group. It might not work with other teams. But with this group, it does. Those are the kind of players we recruit. It's our MO each and every day. It's not just in our games. Like you said, it's in our shootarounds. The ESPN crew that was working the game said we're as loose as any team they've ever worked for or worked with. Yeah, but I trust them. I had 'calmness' on my wrist today. That's what I try to do. I told them the root of being calm is trusting. I trust my team. I trust them to do the right things. I don't need to get up and micromanage every possession. They know, they're smart, who is supposed to be taking shots and when, who are the play-makers when the game's on the line. Yeah, I think it all just kind of works together. I'm glad that they were rewarded with a trip to the Final Four. Q. You did a real nice job at the end on their post player. Their other players were knocking down midrange shots. You had to concede that. How concerned were you that you do everything right defensively and still lose the game? KELLY GRAVES: Well, when you come up with a game plan, you devise what you want to do. You say, what our thought process was, are they going to make 25 of those twos? Ultimately are they going to make enough? We said no. Obviously once they made four or five in a row, we had to play them a little bit tighter. But I think everybody goes in with what they want to do. That was one of our, you know, strategies. In the end it worked. But you're right, they made a bunch of them. In the end, not enough. Q. Lydia had some pretty clutch screens in the first half. What kind of role did she bring to today's game? KELLY GRAVES: I thought Lydia was great. I don't know what her plus-minus was. I can't read without my glasses now. I thought she did a good job when she was in. The offense during that stretch had kind of gotten a little mojo. We started to move a little bit. I think with Ruthy sometimes we're so intent on trying to get it in to her. But Lydia doesn't demand that. Again, we're always comfortable when she's in the game. She may not give us a ton of minutes, but they're important minutes, and they were tonight. Q. In the space of five years, you're in the Final Four. Sort of a variation of what I asked the players, what do you think that proves about your program and what does it mean for women's basketball more broadly that you can take a team to being a championship contender so quickly? KELLY GRAVES: Yeah, it takes great players. It truly does. We started from scratch, so to speak. There were great kids in the program, really good players. We weren't quite the championship level yet. I give my staff a ton of credit. They worked their butts off. We had a plan. We stuck to it, recruited really well. You know, Oregon has a lot to sell. It's an amazing university. The athletic department is tremendous. Our relationship with Nike is second to none. It's just kind of a fun place to be. I think our student-athletes are the real ambassadors. When young women come on campus, they see what it's like, we talk family. A lot of people profess, hey, their culture is about family. Well, they see it and they believe it because it's there. Just took the right number of kids, a couple of good breaks along the way. But it's been a really fun journey. Hopefully that's not done. But we've taken that next step. Gosh, darn, we've been in this position a couple times, in a losing press conference. It's really nice to make that next step. Who knows what happens from here. Q. The second half shift to virtually triple-teaming Teaira, and also isolating her on the offensive glass, what was the thought process in that? The shot that I asked Sabrina about at the end, what was the play run on that play? KELLY GRAVES: Well, if you come to our practices, you see how we drill pick'n roll, all the reads that they get off that each and every day. That was a simple one. If they go under that screen, she's going to be there to make that shot. I don't think anybody who knows our program or know Sabrina Ionescu thought that wasn't going to go in. That's kind of who she is. Our plan the whole night, I thought we did a better job of it in the second half, was to put McCowan in as many pick'n rolls as possible. Then they started switching in the second half. We were able then -- with Satou, they would switch Howard onto Ruthy, then Teaira had to take Satou. We started ball screening with Satou. She was able to pick and pop. We spread the floor much better in the second half. I think that was the key. Listen, we were trying to keep Teaira down the whole night on the offensive glass. It's difficult to do. She's such an amazing player. That's why I voted for her for an All-American. That's a no-brainer. When you game plan for Mississippi State, she's the first, second and third thing you look at and try to figure out. I just credit our kids. I thought they played really hard in the second half. Wasn't anything tactically that we did different. I think they played hard and tough. We always say the toughest team wins, and I thought we were the toughest team. I'm going to test how many texts a phone can get (laughter). Q. Where are you at? KELLY GRAVES: Let's take a peek. THE MODERATOR: 310. KELLY GRAVES: I'll get to you. May not be tonight, but we have that bus ride home so I'll have some time (smiling). Q. We talked to you after Friday's game. 63 points, shot-making at a minimum. What's the biggest difference when you're shooting the ball as well as you did today especially with 29 points in the fourth quarter? KELLY GRAVES: Today the key was we got some really good looks. They were practice shots. I thought part of that was our guards were able to penetrate into the paint, deep along the baseline. Those passes out, those are the kind of catches and shots that you get in practice. We've been the best three-point shooting team in the country all season long. I knew four for 20 the other night was an aberration. We don't need to pump our players up, you can do it this time. We didn't make a mention of it at all, that, hey, we're going to do better. Tonight we shot 13 of 26 from the three. That's getting it done. That's because we had great spacing tonight and our guards made plays. Our kids again had confidence and poise and stepped up and made them. Q. Is there a game you've coached in that you remember the level of play on both sides being this high? KELLY GRAVES: No. No. I think of maybe the UCLA game we had last year that went overtime or double overtime. It was on ESPN. But, no, this was as good a game as I've been a part of. I thought both teams played really well. Both teams played well enough to win the game. We just made a few extra plays down the stretch. Kind of reminded me of that Virginia game last night against Purdue. Two really good teams. They were making shots. It was like a heavyweight fight. We just kept getting back up off the canvas and battling some more. I thought it was well played. Total turnovers, 14 for the whole game. 37 assists, 14 turnovers -- 39 assists, not very many fouls, both field goal percentages were good. Just a well-played basketball game. I thought it was great. Great showcase. Q. Sabrina is so good, we all know that, but she can be good quietly. Do you ever look at the stat sheet, Whoa, she almost had a triple-double again? Are you surprised or aware all the time? KELLY GRAVES: I'm never amazed at anything she does. After three years, anything she does, you just expect the incredible. I thought tonight she was purposely kind of let things happen early in the game. She didn't do much until almost near the first media timeout. I remember that in the timeout we talked about we got to get Sabrina the ball, we got to get her involved. Then we did. But she knows. She knows she can't do it all by herself. That's where she has grown the most as a player. I look at the Notre Dame game last year, this very same game, she just tried to put too much on her shoulders. I always believe in her, so I kind of allow it to happen. But I think this year she's really, really matured in that area. Q. What does it mean to make this run with your two seniors? KELLY GRAVES: Oh, you know, I owe so much to Oti Gildon and Maite Cazorla. They were the two that really took a chance on us. We didn't have much to sell at the time other than a beautiful arena and a good-looking coach (smiling). Bad joke and not true obviously. But they took a chance on us. They have been just tremendous leaders. Oti gets underlooked, undervalued, perhaps, by maybe people who watch us play or just follow the team kind of at a distance. But those who knows us, her teammates, she is the rock. She has been the rock for four years. We owe a lot to her. Same with Maite. I was really glad that Maite stepped up tonight on this biggest stage because she's going to be a long time pro and long time Olympian for Spain. We're going to see her playing for many, many years. I love those two. Again, they've been not just great leaders for our team, but in our athletic department and university. Q. You talk about how satisfying an effort and performance this was from your team in the biggest game of the year. A lot was made of the matchup with McCowan down low. You each scored 30 points in the paint in the end and you out-rebound Mississippi State. How satisfying is that? KELLY GRAVES: Very satisfying. If you would have told me those were going to be the numbers, I would have said we have a good chance to win. I'm just proud of the team. They fought. They fought tonight. Q. Are you going to wear a suit at the Final Four? KELLY GRAVES: No, no (smiling). You know how this all started? This actually came from Nike. I kind of had an idea. As soon as I said, Hey, I'm thinking of doing this, the Nike representative for women's basketball said, Oh, my gosh, Kelly, we've wanted a staff to do this. They really like to showcase their shoes, all that kind of stuff. I know, I know you probably want me to. Q. I just wondered. KELLY GRAVES: No, no, I think we're going to go with what's been working. This is kind of who we are. I think people, they wouldn't recognize us if we came out in a jacket and tie, yeah. Thank you very much. THE MODERATOR: 400 text messages waiting. One more question. Q. In your introductory press conference 2014, you complimented Stanford for raising the bar on the West Coast and your goal was to overtake them. What do you feel needs to be done to achieve that mark? KELLY GRAVES: We haven't overtaken them yet. They're still the standard by which we're all judged. I just thought we wanted to elevate West Coast basketball, Pac-12 basketball, for a long time. I was looking at it from a distance in the WCC, Stanford and everybody else. The everybody else were good, but they weren't at that level. Just look in the last few years, Oregon State has been to a Final Four, Cal went in 2013, Washington went to a Final Four, Stanford has been to a few, now we have. That's five Pac-12 programs in the last six or seven years that have now been to Final Fours. I think that's showing that, yes, the conference is being elevated, no question about it. But I think Coach VanDerveer is one of the best coaches in the country, runs an amazing program. I would love, I would love to run a program like she does. That's been our goal. Thank you. 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
|