ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 5, 2021

Quentin Hillsman

Syracuse Orange

Postgame Press Conference

Syracuse 68, Florida State 67

QUENTIN HILLSMAN: Wow. What do you say? Just toughness by our team. Same result, different day. Our kids just came out and played really hard. They played with a lot of effort, a lot of passion, and that's what it takes this time of year. It's a team who stays interested, it's the team who stays engaged that's going to win these basketball games. In this game we had every reason to lay down, every reason to not be engaged in the second half of this game, but our kids really came out and played tough. They played aggressive. We just made plays and just all the credit goes to them. Second half they really, really followed the game plan, and we were so -- they were so cohesive as a unit on the floor, played together, they talked, and we just shared the ball and made great plays. So just really happy for them. They deserve it.

Q. Can you just describe your team's resiliency? Priscilla goes down, no Tiana. Your team showed a lot of fight today. What is it about this team and its resiliency?

QUENTIN HILLSMAN: I just think that we're at that time of year, and all we talk about is playing hard, playing with a lot of energy, playing with a lot of effort, having great attitudes on the floor. I think that's the difference right now. We're playing as a unit, sharing the ball. They're playing tough. We're not making excuses.

If we mess up on a play, we go on to the next play, next possession, and they're just doing everything that they need to do to win basketball games right now.

Q. With five seconds left, you called timeout and you drew up a play. Can you talk me through what you told your team there?

QUENTIN HILLSMAN: Well, we knew they would expect a lob to Kamilla, so we set that screen because we knew they would jump to that. That's a logical play to run. Then we just ran some go screen action on the backside and we slipped it. And I thought we got a clean catch, and maybe we bobbled it, I don't know what happened, because it was crowded down there, and then when the ball sprayed out to the perimeter, I knew we had to get a shot up. I actually thought KeKe was going to make the shot because the shot was straight. It was just a point of -- honestly, today I can just say Kamilla grew up today, because she didn't give up on the play. She had every reason to say, she missed the shot, game's over, and she just stayed with it, got the rebound, had the wherewithal to put the ball back up on the glass. That was just a big-girl play, so she really grew up today, and I was really happy for her because she deserves it. She hasn't had great games lately and she was a little frustrated with her play, but today she was big. She was big-time today.

Q. You probably haven't lost too many games when you make a half-court shot. What kind of lift did that give you guys? I saw you -- it looked like you were saying, That's not the game, to her when she came over. What kind of lift did that give you, and it almost was inevitable you'd win this game it seemed like.

QUENTIN HILLSMAN: No, I said the opposite. I said, That's game. That's actually what I said. I said, That's game. Because I knew that we had all the momentum at that point. That's actually what I said. I said, That's game. When you are given -- when you respond with that much energy and then we come and we hit that shot, I told her, I grabbed her and I said, That's game. I got in the huddle I said, That's game. We've been there, done that before too, where we had all the momentum and then somebody hits the shot that you think is impossible, and then everything starts to go their way. So that was it.

Q. Obviously going into the second half it must have been pretty disappointing with Priscilla going down. What was the conversation in the locker room?

QUENTIN HILLSMAN: It was just about staying engaged and staying tough. That's a hard thing to come back from. I was over there with her the entire time, and she was coherent and I think she was just really scared and really nervous.

When you have that kind of injury, everyone is concerned and everyone is nervous, and she was, but she was really positive. She looked at me and nodded her head that she was okay, and we just tried to finish the game off the best we could. It was tough, but we got through it.

Q. The way you won the game today was so exciting, but tomorrow is a different day and a different game and a different team. How can you continue the momentum from this game into your game against Louisville tomorrow?

QUENTIN HILLSMAN: We've got to go out and play hard. We've got to go out and play with a lot of effort. We've got to be aggressive and play our way. We're starting to figure some things out on the defensive end of the floor, and that's going to be important for us, to play great defense.

Q. You mentioned a little bit earlier, is this a play Kamilla makes at the beginning of the year?

QUENTIN HILLSMAN: Well, I think it's a play that takes a lot of maturity and takes someone to really stick with it. I don't know, I mean, it's tough to say, right, because you come into the season as a freshman and you don't know what college basketball is like, and you've got to be taught to finish plays. I don't want to say it's a play that she doesn't make, but I will say that that was a big-girl play to make right now for us.