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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 7, 2020Kevin McGuffJanai CroomsMadison GreeneIndianapolis, Indiana Ohio State - 66, Michigan - 60 KEVIN McGUFF: We can just go right to questions. Q. How does it feel with a young team just to get to this place, and how are you going to keep that momentum going? JANAI CROOMS: It feels great. Being so young, just coming out and getting our names out there, I think everyone has projected us for the underdog, so I think we're proving something, and I'm really proud of us how we came out and started strong throughout this whole tournament. MADISON GREENE: Yeah, this is definitely big for us. Throughout the season we've grown and matured to who we are right now and I feel like it's showing, so I'm just excited to be in the championship tomorrow and see what we can do. Q. Tonight's game was very different than last night's game, same result, though. Can you talk about how different the flow was and what you had to do to win a different type of game? MADISON GREENE: I feel like this was an Ohio State-Michigan game, it's a rivalry game, so of course they're going to come out punching and I feel like we were punching, too. I'm just proud of what we did tonight. They went on runs, we went on runs, but I was glad in the end that we won. Q. If you guys could both answer this: What is the physical toll of having to play -- this is your third game in three days. Obviously there's some adrenaline that plays into this in terms of maybe not noticing certain physical things, but how taxing is it to play three games in three days, especially with this one being a back-and-forth game. JANAI CROOMS: It's very tough, especially when we're down numbers. I think we only have like eight players, so it is very tough. A couple players had to play a little bit more time. So I think that is like really a downfall for us. But I think what helps us is our depth. I think we all contribute in some type of way. I think if we just keep that going, I think we're going to do really successful things. MADISON GREENE: Yeah, it definitely takes a toll on our body, and even mentally, too. It's just our job to make sure we're preparing mentally and physically, getting our rest, eating the right things, stretching, and I feel like our strength and conditioning coaches really take care of us and help us prepare for the next games. Q. For you guys being such a young team, is there some value having to kind of gut out a game like this and find a way to win on such a big stage? JANAI CROOMS: Yes, I think so. I wouldn't say no, but I'd say in the beginning of the season yes, because we were so -- we weren't used to each other, our chemistry wasn't there, but now as the season went on, I think we kind of learned each other's roles, and I think we've all contributed in some type of way, so as the season went on I think we did a really good job of doing that. Q. Greene, you had a great game tonight. What was the deciding factor in making you play 33 minutes? You played substantial minutes tonight. How did you feel about that, and how is it going to move forward? What did Coach tell you at halftime? MADISON GREENE: Well, I'm just happy that they trust me to bring the ball up and give it to the people that I need to give it to. I'm just blessed to have great coaches. Q. How did it feel to play almost a full game? MADISON GREENE: Well, I just had to take care of the ball, do what a point guard does and I feel like did my job. I may not have scored with the threes or lay-ups, but I contributed like with the free throws at the end, which were very important. So I'm just glad my teammates believed in me, got me the ball, and I'm just blessed to make them. Q. It seemed like down the stretch there late, you guys got the stops you needed to hold Michigan off when they went on runs. What was the focus to be able to do that? KEVIN McGUFF: Well, we certainly had to pay attention to Naz Hillmon. She was outstanding tonight and she's so hard to guard. So a lot of our conversations were trying to keep the ball out of her hands, which is very difficult to do, and then keeping her off the glass. She's a great player and showed that again tonight. So a lot of talk about that down the stretch defensively. Q. What's the value of a young team like this having to play in an environment like this, the third game in three days, Michigan goes on a run there late, just all of those things combined to be able to kind of pull together and pull out this win? What's the value of that not only for this tournament but looking ahead to the rest of your season? KEVIN McGUFF: Well, I think what we saw tonight was sort of the culmination of a lot of young players playing a lot of minutes throughout the year because they rarely looked like freshmen tonight. In November and December and even January, we looked like freshmen because we are, but these young kids have played so many minutes in so many tough games that we've really grown up, and it's really great to see the maturity level and the ability to execute in a tight game like tonight. Q. Michigan still had a large rebounding advantage, but for the second half you pretty much caught up. Was that an emphasis for the second half? KEVIN McGUFF: As a matter of fact, the last thing I told them before we left the locker room, if we'll be even on the boards in the second half, we'll win the game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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