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PAC-12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 6, 2020Lynne RobertsBrynna MaxwellLola PendandeLas Vegas, Nevada Oregon - 79, Utah - 59 LYNNE ROBERTS: First off, congrats to Oregon. I thought -- obviously, you don't need me to sit up here and tell you how good they are, how talented they are. So congratulations to them. I think as I have said, I do think they, you know, have the potential to win the whole thing, national championship. A few teams in our conference that have that potential. So congratulations to them. I wish them all the luck. I'm really proud of our team. You know, the score may not be indicative of kind of the fight that was out there. And, you know, other than that second quarter, they hit eight threes, and I think we had eight, nine turnovers. We played them completely even in the first, third and fourth. I'm proud of our young players for that. And this is just a great experience for these guys in that environment and that atmosphere as we move forward. I'm excited about, as I just told them, I'm proud of them, I was -- I was proud to coach them today. Every minute of it I enjoyed because they just -- they emptied their tank. They gave it everything they had. They followed the game plan. They just -- they represented our program really, really well. We will regroup and, you know, in a weird way I'm excited to get to work this offseason and we'll get a little break, but we have such a talented, exciting young core that I'm really, really looking forward to working with. So kudos to Oregon. They're just tough. But I'm really proud of our team. Q. Coach, you mentioned that that second quarter, I think Utah -- sorry, I think Oregon rattled off eight straight three-pointers. Can you and you ladies also talk about kind of what happened in that span, how that ended up happening? LYNNE ROBERTS: They turn your mistakes into points quickly. I don't know -- I haven't looked at the film obviously. I would guess half of those were in transition off of a turnover of ours. Usually those things go hand in hand, you turn it over, you give their playmakers and shooters a chance to just sprint and line it up. I know it was correlated with our transition D -- it is hard to get back on defense off of a live ball turnover, especially with their speed. So that was part of it. The other part of it was our pick-and-roll coverage, they started to figure out, and they were shooting behind the screen. And so in the second half, as an adjustment, we changed our pick-and-roll coverage. We were worried about their post play, pocket passes, so we were going under screens, and they just kind of rolling the dice with the threes, which they were hitting. So we changed our pick-and-roll coverage, and they had two in the second half. That's what happened in that stretch. Q. Brynna, what felt different this time against Oregon, and what are the biggest lessons you're taking, getting to play a team like this up close and personal that you want to take as you get ready for your next couple years at Utah? LYNNE ROBERTS: Next three years, not two. BRYNNA MAXWELL: Kind of the theme for our team all year has been rebounding, and we have struggled with that both times we played Oregon. We had also struggled with turning the ball over, and like Coach Rob said, second quarter we turned the ball over a lot. I think overall we outrebounded them, I don't know, the whole game, but a couple of quarters I know we did. We took care of the ball really well. And I think we just played a solid 40-minute game. One of the goals this game was to leave it all on the floor, and I think we did. I think every player on that team poured their heart out, and I'm really proud of them. Q. I got two questions for you, coach and the players. Coach, it was a point in time you all were down 13 in the fourth quarter, and you left your role players in. Were you trying to get them experience, any thought process behind that? LYNNE ROBERTS: A good question. I don't know that they are -- you know, it is about -- I left our seniors in, let our seniors play, and I put Brynna back in. But, you know, Kemery Martin is someone we anticipate to be a big part of our growth in the future. And next year when we're here, she'll be playing a lot. I wanted to give her those minutes. And we were rolling. It's not like she wasn't getting it done. So I would defend her to -- I don't know what the saying is -- defend her to the end. I thought she did a really nice job in that fourth quarter, and it is just great experience. And, you know, Dru is dog tired too, and she played so hard. Yeah, I thought that fourth quarter we -- I don't know what the score -- we were tied. Yeah, we just got in a big hole with that second quarter. I was proud of everybody that played. Q. And also, Brynna and Lola, you all pretty much weren't playing like freshmen. Can you talk about your experience and some things you can take in going into the next year? LOLA PENDANDE: Well, I think things that we can take to the next year, especially for me because I'm an international player, is the roles, the toughness of the game and how the referees work, and then just work through it, work harder than I have been working throughout my whole career and go get them next year. BRYNNA MAXWELL: I think, too, we have such a young team, it was really good for a bunch of the underclassmen to get minutes going into the next few years because it is going to be kind of the same lineup for the next few years coming. And I think having that experience, as freshman and sophomores, under our belt is going to be huge for us going in the next few years. Q. Brynna, can you talk a little bit about obviously Sabrina Ionescu is an outstanding player. You guarded each other throughout the game. What's it like? What can you take from playing against a caliber of a player like that? What's it meant to you as a freshman to get that chance since if she had declared for the WNBA, then you wouldn't have gotten to this year? BRYNNA MAXWELL: She's definitely an amazing player. She's very smart. She can make reads that, I mean, are insane. And it is almost impossible to guard her in the pick-and-roll because they're so good at making those reads. It was definitely fun getting to play against her. I was telling the kids, I'm playing against Sabrina, you can watch me play on TV. Going into freshman year, I was hoping she stayed so I had a chance to play against her. She's definitely a great player for sure. LYNNE ROBERTS: That's a good example of Ruthy, Sabrina, they have played together for four years, there's -- that's something that you don't see all the time in terms of that caliber. I think we have freshman like that too. So you keep a group together like that, by the time they're seniors, they are, you know, tough to stop. Q. Lynne, Kelly just referenced your relationship, how long you have known each other. What's your view of what they have done this year? And he mentioned your offense too and how creative you are. In a way you're both teams that are pushing the needle and kind of growing that area of the game. One, what's your view of what they have done to get better and to be so good when they're the hunted for multiple years in a row, and maybe what you want to take, that you highlight for the team, maybe beyond scoring, the three-pointers and all of that? LYNNE ROBERTS: Sure. Yeah. Kelly is a good friend. He's been a mentor of mine. You know, we talk. And he's always just been really supportive of me, which I appreciate. Even when I was a punk college kid, he was supportive of me. He's a phenomenal X's and O's guy. I think one thing I appreciate and take from him is that he keeps it pretty simple. And I mean that in the most -- it is the highest of compliments. I think basketball is a pretty simple game when you think about it. You know, beat your man. If you do and someone helps, then make a pass to the open man. Like, that's kind of it. And he has a way -- obviously recruiting is a huge part of their -- the reason they're so good, it is that they have recruited really well. But he keeps it really simple and, you know, there's -- he'll find something to exploit or if you're doing this, then he's going to counter with that. And it is kind of like a chess match, boxing match. And I have learned from him on that. I study what they do. You know, we run similar stuff in terms of ball screens and trying to attack, you know, a defensive coverage. But, yeah, I think what they have done in the last four years has been pretty remarkable, even the fans, the following they have created, I think they outdraw their men now. I think it is -- it is just impressive. He's a tremendous leader. Q. Lynne, you mentioned Oregon and four years with these players, and you said the words tough to stop. You have something special with these underclassmen. LYNNE ROBERTS: Yeah. Q. And so many years to go with them. What's the identity right now if you were to describe this team and what they have accomplished? What's your team's identity? LYNNE ROBERTS: I think right now the word I would use is just kind of resilient, for lack of a better one. I think, you know, I want to coach exciting basketball. In terms of on the court, I want to coach exciting basketball. We'll score, get out and run, and that's going to be our philosophy on the floor. I want to coach tough teams too. As we continue to recruit the way we're recruiting, getting these high caliber players, if we keep them together, keep them healthy and all pointed in the right direction -- I don't want to be an underdog forever. You know, I want -- you have to be resilient, and you have to be talented to not -- you know, I think that's -- in reference to your question as well, I think Oregon as the hunted, that's hard to do, to maintain. To not have slips and stuff, that's impressive. They just keep pushing and finding new things, and that's kind of -- I don't want to be an underdog forever. I told my team, too, let's push forward and keep these guys, you know, work, having a great offseason. But I think resilient. We have gotten knocked on our tail a few times this season playing powerhouses that are senior driven, senior led. These guys, they have gotten back up and keep swinging. So I can deal with that. Q. On Sunday all of us will be celebrating International Women's Day, so I wonder if each of you, especially Lola, could share a woman that you admire that's inspired you. Doesn't need to be tied to basketball, just somebody that's important to your life. LOLA PENDANDE: The woman that is important to me would be my friends that I grew up with, because they're big feminists. Thanks to them I'm starting to get in this world feminist and supporting women. And now that I'm playing basketball, and seeing throughout my career, I see the men always get more. I never realized this. Men always get more fans, they get better gear, anything is better than we get. Even us, because I play for the national team, I have more medals than the men, and we still get less paid than they do or fans than they do. I put on my social media all the time anything to support women. I don't care whatever people say. Like, you're not going to change the world, my brother says that to me, that's not going to change in a day. And I'm like: I don't care. I'm working for progress. I know as long as everyone sees it, and I get support, then I'm happy with that. BRYNNA MAXWELL: Preach. For me, I'm going to have to say my mom, actually, more personal note on that. She played basketball. She played basketball in college, and she kind of got me started playing basketball, and she used to coach me until I think I was 8 or 9 -- no, until I was 11, actually. She was my number one fan, number one supporter. She's -- I mean, you probably don't know this, but my team jokes about it, both of my parents come to almost every single game this season. It is cool to look in the crowd and see my mom smile, filming. Yeah, she -- I definitely look up to her. LYNNE ROBERTS: I could name a lot of people. I think as I sit here today and in this profession, this opportunity, you know, I think I want to highlight Tara, just how impactful she has been. I grew up in Northern California, she was at Stanford, and she must have lost my phone number in the recruiting process because she didn't call. I don't know. We moved, she probably lost it. But I remember growing up wishing that I could play there and just having the most respect for her and just kind -- what I respect about her most, obviously she's an incredible coach, that goes without saying, again, I don't need to sit up here and tell you all that. She's such an advocate for women. I can call her any time and she'll give me advice. And she's so supportive. And I respect that somebody at the top is not threatened by anybody that's trying to catch them. And as women we need to do that more to each other. Women need to help each other out, support each other, even if it is somebody that might be a threat. I respect so much that confidence and that big picture mentality. I would highlight her. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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