PAC-12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 3, 2021

Jody Wynn

Washington Huskies

Postgame Press Conference

Washington 68, Colorado 54

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for Coach.

Q. The defense you played, I think I saw everything, every defense that I've ever seen in my entire life.

JODY WYNN: Yeah, if we don't confuse ourselves, right?

Honestly, depending on their player personnel and our player personnel, we just tried to mix things up and keep them off balance without mixing ourselves up.

I think our ladies did a really nice job of adjusting. The reset button from Sunday till now was quick, right? We had to get refocused and leave Sunday in Pullman, focus on ourselves, making sure that we're locked in.

Having our bench repeat everything really helped, as well. I think it wasn't just the players on the floor that were big contributors. Obviously they performed. But I think as a whole our team was as focused as we've been.

Q. Playing them last week, that was the defense you played late last game. Tonight it seemed like you did it the entire game.

JODY WYNN: Yeah, when we didn't get rattled after that first quarter that didn't exactly go our way, we kept our composure. We learned a lot from playing Colorado just a week and a half ago at our place. Three, maybe four players scored in that entire game. I think we got to the free-throw line maybe five or six times. We turned it over 21 times.

We learned a lot. We watched film. We learned to have a little bit more patience and poise when the ball was in our hands, and to work for each other as a unit.

Then defensively, I thought we did a nice job against Colorado at our place, even though they won the game. But holding them to 55 points, really limiting Mya Hollingshed's easy touches. We just drew back from that, and how we could correct ourselves a little bit more on some of the perimeter players.

Q. You had a freshman play her first post-season game. Tameiya looked like she belonged out there.

JODY WYNN: She played with a lot of joy in her heart today, didn't she, or tonight? It's so late.

Yeah, she worked for herself, but she worked for her teammates first. The ball moved, she moved a little bit without the ball. She didn't try to force action. I think she changed her speeds really well. That's something that she's working with with Tamara McDonald, my assistant coach. She did a really nice job of just not getting herself caught in the air with no outlets.

Q. You've been through this before two years ago. As you go forward, what's the key now, the sort of trick to keeping the momentum going?

JODY WYNN: Continuing to stay together and play as a unit on both sides of the ball. I think it's important. UCLA is so talented. We saw what they did just a couple days ago. They have players that can really fly around and disrupt things.

We've got to make sure that we stay poised with the basketball and dribble with purpose when we dribble, have better screening action, and having greedy receivers as well so the ball doesn't just stick in Tameiya's hands or a couple players' hands. Today we did a nice job of sharing the basketball, playing inside-out, just making that extra pass, looking for one another.

Certainly keeping UCLA off the offensive glass, I think every team in the conference, that's the number one key when playing UCLA. That's going to be a big component of the game as well.

Q. You mentioned the word talking about the UCLA game, 'poise'. Talk about the poise your team had this game overall, turnovers.

JODY WYNN: Yeah, that's been a big emphasis from Monday's film session and Tuesday's practice here is to have that kind of poise. Today in shootaround we talked about poise as well. It's been the word of the week, if you will, to making sure that we're sure in our passes, that we're dribbling with purpose, that we're pass faking, that we're not just holding the ball out on the perimeter with the ball over our head, and that we're playing under control.

I talk to them about very rarely are we getting to the point where it's five, four, three, two, one. Let's just make sure that, you know, we're comfortable and confident with our passes. I thought we did a really nice job of controlling that throughout the game.

I think early on maybe in the first quarter we had a few too many dribbles in the paint. I think they dug in and created a few turnovers in that first quarter. I think we settled in and we passed the ball beautifully tonight to one another.

Q. The intentionality to finish the game, talk about that.

JODY WYNN: That's big, right? It took everybody. It was great to see the ball go through the net. Obviously Quay Miller shot the ball beautifully in the first half. Kind of got us going. Tameiya, Haley, Lexi, it was contagious. They made the extra pass to one another. They did a good job of pass faking, taking what the defense gave us.

Q. You had 16 turnovers today as opposed to 21. You talked about that already. One thing I noticed was there was 29 points off those turnovers. Did you talk to the team, to Tameiya and some of your guards, about being aggressive off of turnovers?

JODY WYNN: Certainly. We wanted to score early off of transition layups or wide-open shots. We did a great job I thought turning them over 20 times. A couple of them were run-out layups, which certainly helps the point production.

We just wanted to make sure that we took good team shots every possession. If that's a wide-open layup, let's take it. If it's a wide-open three off of a kick, let's take it, right?

I don't want them second-guessing themselves ever on the basketball court or worrying if they miss a shot. That's the last thing we want for them to worry about. So, yeah, it was nice to be able to see some defense turn to offense.

Q. Back to Tameiya's performance, she had a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. Did you talk to her or can you tell us about the improvement as far as maybe the decision making?

JODY WYNN: We talked about just being shorthanded, right, with herself, not getting caught up in the air. I thought the last couple weeks she got going downhill pretty fast and got caught in the air without an outlet or with only one pass in mind. If it got taken away, it was a turnover, right?

Just playing with a little bit more pace. I thought she did a really nice job of changing speeds and controlling a tempo of the game. Certainly when your teammates are making shots, your assists appear, correct? That obviously helps as well.

She is a talent offensively. Her assists don't always show up because we don't always knock down those shots, but she did a really nice job making a conscious effort of just taking what the defense gave her, whether it was a pull-up jump shot or a three or a penetration and kick-out pass without making it an all-or-nothing type of pass.

Q. How has her defense improved or pretty much steady the whole season?

JODY WYNN: I think every defender improves as they gain a better understanding of what's going on around them, right? Certainly you have to be urgent. You have to be in a stance, give yourself a chance, right? Tameiya is learning, as all freshmen are, and understanding I think what we're asking of her, really learning as the game goes on. I think the best players kind of learn as the game goes on what the offense is trying to do, how they're trying to start their offensive flow.

It was great to be able to see her get out in the open court and generate some of those offensive possessions through her defense as well.

Q. How about Lexi tonight?

JODY WYNN: She was perfect, right?

Q. Some great defense on the opposing player that shoots from outside quite a bit.

JODY WYNN: Formann. Yeah, she was awesome tonight, right? 4-or-4, 3-or-3 from deep. Incredible leadership. She's a young lady that has been in our system for four years. She and Khayla Rooks. The two of them could pretty much coach every practice. They really understand what's going on for the most part around them. They're able to talk and direct and lead by their voices every day. It was great to be able to see Lexi and Khayla as well played a nice ballgame tonight.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Appreciate you.

JODY WYNN: Thank you, guys.