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NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: CHICAGOApril 1, 2019Muffet McGrawArike OgunbowaleJackie YoungChicago, Illinois Notre Dame - 84, Stanford - 68 MUFFET McGRAW: That was unbelievable. First half, could not make a shot. I thought we looked just completely out of sorts, very unlike what we normally look like. I think credit Stanford's defense. They were hitting the boards hard. They were packing it in. We couldn't get anything going. And then second half we looked like ourselves again. I thought that Arike was just phenomenal down the stretch. Jackie Young picked up where Arike left off in the third quarter when she got her fouls, but I thought Abby Prohaska gave us such a huge lift. That momentum really helped turn the game around. Q. Arike, what felt different first half to second half for you guys, and just getting to the Final Four again, how does this year's feel different for you, if it does? ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: Well, the difference in the halves, we weren't knocking down shots, but we also gave them a lot of second-chance opportunities. So I think once we hit the boards in the second half, that really changed it around. I guess it really feels the same. We got there the first time, at least in our careers, and to get back there again, it really feels the same, but it's a long way to go. We know we're not done yet, so we're celebrating now, but we've got to get back to work. Q. Arike, a couple years ago obviously things didn't work out the way you wanted them to, especially with that last possession against Stanford. How does that feel to get the taste out of your mouth? ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: I mean, it's been out of my mouth, but it's definitely a good win. They put us out two years in a row my freshman and sophomore year, so that was tough, and to get it back is great. But they're a great team. They gave us a great run, and they really played us well, so it's great that we came out on top. Q. Just describe the frustration, such a big game, having all those lay-ups, point blank, just bouncing out like they did? What's that like? JACKIE YOUNG: Yeah, I mean, it was definitely frustrating, but I thought that we kept our composure and were able to just lock in and focus for the second half. We knew that the shots were going to fall in the second half, and that's what they did. But I think it had a lot to do with our defense and just getting rebounds. ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: Definitely what Jackie said. Q. Jackie, what was clicking there for you in the third quarter? JACKIE YOUNG: I was just being -- I mean, I thought I was aggressive the whole game, and I just kept that same mindset, and the shots were starting to fall. They were sagging off me a little bit, so I just had to read the defense and take what they were giving me. Q. Besides just talking X's and O's at halftime, was there anything else said just to kind of remind you guys to keep your composure? Was anybody mentioning anything or Coach said anything that got you guys back in the groove? ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: I think as a team collectively we just talked about we have 20 more minutes to get back to the Final Four, and a lot of the mistakes and reasons that we were down was us, we weren't really holding good defense, we weren't getting rebounds. So if we could fix that without even the shots falling -- we knew the shots were going to be able to fall the second half, because the first half was rough. But if we just held defense, it would get us back in the game, and with our shots falling, we could take the lead. Q. You know the All-American list was announced earlier today, and you guys didn't have any first-teamers. Do you think that's a testament to the balance you have on this team, or were there any upset feelings about that, possible snub or not? ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: I think we didn't really come to college to do individual accolades. What we're doing right now, we're getting to the Final Four, and there's only four teams that were allowed to do that. We played great team basketball, and we're not focused on anything with individual. We just want to get team wins, and that's what we did today. MUFFET McGRAW: I forgot to mention, I wanted to thank DePaul, Jean Ponsetto and the Wintrust Arena. It was a fabulous venue. I liked that it was very pro Irish, very green. But everything here was so well run, first class. We were so happy to come here and represent the Chicago region, taking them to Tampa. Q. What does it say about your team that you guys really hadn't trailed by very much at all in this tournament, but to keep their composure in a big game like this and the way it started? MUFFET McGRAW: Yeah, it was difficult at halftime. We kept talking about how it was mostly us. We were getting the shots we wanted to get, we just weren't making them; that we were going to be able to make them the second half. I didn't think we rebounded well. We needed to do a better job on the box outs so we could get our break going, which we weren't able to do in the first half. I thought the defense got going in the second half, which allowed us to run, and I thought that was a big reason why things turned around for us. Q. Following up on that, does it take a veteran team to not get rattled by that? MUFFET McGRAW: Yeah, absolutely. The thing today was it really was everybody. Sometimes there's somebody -- I thought Brianna Turner was playing okay, but the other four really weren't playing like they normally do. Normally somebody is going to pull us out of it, so they did. They kept their composure. I didn't see a lot of frustration out there. We did talk about that at halftime, about their body language and just running back on defense, and I thought we definitely kept our composure in the second half. Q. When you got that -- you finally built that lead at the end of the third quarter and then kept the pressure on at the start of the fourth. The one thing you seemed to do is, even though they hit the five threes, you kept them from getting a run that got them within two or three possessions, you maintained that lead. How important was that to keep that gap and keep them from getting back in your face? MUFFET McGRAW: It was huge because I was worried we were trading three for two on almost every possession, and we did talk about trying to get some stops. But we were able to answer, and I think that was key. We were able to make our free throws. That was a huge key, also. And then we were able to milk the clock a little bit more. Q. Does it feel like déjà-vu again that you're going to be facing UConn? And what can you take both from the game this year and the game last year in the Final Four? MUFFET McGRAW: Well, last year's game was a great finish, so I wouldn't mind seeing that again. But they're a great team. They played really well against Louisville in the final yesterday. They're a team that has so many weapons. Katie Lou looks like she's back in good form. Napheesa has had a fabulous year. Dangerfield is a great defender, and she can score, as well. They have a lot of weapons. And similar to us, they don't have a very deep bench, so I think there's a lot of similarities between the teams. Going back to the first game, we really lost our composure in that game, so hopefully we've learned a lot of lessons since then. Q. What did you say to the team during halftime to really turn the game around? MUFFET McGRAW: We talked mostly about what we were doing wrong, not so much what they were doing. We needed to box out so we could get our transition game going. We were getting great shots, we just weren't making them, so it was really just about relaxing, take our shots, keep doing the same thing. We needed a little more motion in the offense, so we went to some different sets in the second half so we could get a little bit of movement. I thought we were standing around too much in the first half. Q. As many Final Fours as you've been to and winning the championship last year, what feels unique about this run or this team? MUFFET McGRAW: I think I'm just so happy for Brianna Turner. She had to miss all of last year, and she wasn't able to be there, and when you have a veteran team like this, it's great for the freshmen to get a taste of what it's going to be like. I think it feels -- it's probably a little more relief than excitement because we were a No. 1 seed who was supposed to get there. Last year that team showed such resilience, it was kind of amazing that we got back. Q. You came over to the side in the stands and took a picture with a group of people. Can you share who that was and just what it kind of -- I think sometimes when you step away from the court and you see family or whatever there's a different kind of sentimentality. MUFFET McGRAW: Yeah, for sure. Two of my sisters were here and two of my college teammates were here. And then I have kind of a support group from South Bend that we meet after every game, and they were all here, so there was quite a nice crowd for me. I'm so appreciative of the support that I get from people because they really helped me get through a long season. Q. That 10,000-point record, is that a big deal? If you could speak to that, about achieving that. MUFFET McGRAW: I mean, it's a milestone and certainly the first time it's been done, men or women. It's pretty amazing, but it really doesn't mean anything, except they get a lot of shots. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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