ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 5, 2021

Kenny Brooks

Virginia Tech Hokies

Postgame Press Conference

NC State 68, Virginia Tech 55

KENNY BROOKS: Disappointed with the outcome. Obviously I felt like we had an opportunity to come in here and continue to play for a long time. We got a little bit of a tough draw when you get the No. 3 ranked team in the country as a 2 seed in your league, but you give them a lot of credit.

I thought they were just a little bit more experienced than we were in a lot of areas. Where we have sophomores, they have seniors. But I'm very proud of our kids' effort. Whether it was because of fighting through injury, whether it was the short bench, I thought our kids did a really good job and just kept us hanging around. Kept hanging around and came up a little bit short, but it doesn't discredit what we've done, especially since January. Very, very proud of this group and what they've accomplished, not only from a record standpoint but they've established our identity and who we can become as a program.

It's been a long time coming, but we've put together two years where we felt like we're a winning basketball program, and I think we're going to continue to grow with these experiences. But I just can't thank those kids enough for their dedication the last two months and everything that they've done to accomplish to get to this point.

Q. Could you just speak to how difficult it was to string together a nice solid run of defensive stops? Seems like you got one but it seemed like it was a big mental hurdle to get a few together in order to get some rhythm there in the second half.

KENNY BROOKS: Yeah, it was mental but it was also physical, as well. We had kids that were hobbled. Aisha Sheppard obviously was hobbled, wasn't able to make some of the rotations she would normally be able to make if she were healthy.

We had breakdowns. I remember we kind of cut it down a little bit and we missed a couple of opportunities to get a defensive rebound. Gave them an offensive rebound and they were able to extend the lead when it was really crunch time.

But that's what happens when you play against really good teams. They're methodical, precise in their movements and what they're trying to do, and they capitalized on our mistakes.

That's just what happens when you play against a great team like we had to do against tonight.

Q. How much of a factor was Aisha Sheppard not being 100 percent play a role in not getting the momentum that you needed, especially in that second half?

KENNY BROOKS: Yeah, it was big. Valiant effort. Very proud of her for coming out there. We talked about her 60 percent, 70 percent of Aisha Sheppard is probably better than most people, and I'm very proud that she gave it the ol' college try.

But she just wasn't herself. Really couldn't get into a rhythm offensively. As I mentioned defensively wasn't able to move. It kind of threw us off a little bit because we had to put more pressure on Georgia Amoore to try to make plays. Plays we normally run for Sheppard we were putting Georgia, inserting Georgia into those area, and I think that put a little bit too much pressure on Georgia to try to make a play and she had a couple costly turnovers.

Again, we knew we were going to be a little bit shorthanded. For us to win the game yesterday took a lot out of us, the kids. And then to try to come back on 24 hours' rest, 22 hours, and play the No. 3 team in the country without resting, that's a tall task.

Q. You get the benefit of time now before you continue this season. How do you manage the next couple of days and the next week or so before you resume the season?

KENNY BROOKS: It's just like the whole year, we're going to be ready to pivot. It's obviously very different than what we've been accustomed to. Normally they would be on a spring break right now and we would give them three, four, five days off before postseason would start.

But they have classes next week. We're going to have to be very diligent to make sure that these kids are staying safe. We're actually going to try to create our own bubble a little bit and just ask for them to be extremely careful, pretty much try to isolate themselves. And that's going to be a tall task, but we're going to be able to give some kids rest who need it desperately. We're going to be able to work on some things individually as we head into this time off.

But we're going to utilize it and use it very, very well to make sure our kids are recovering and recouping not only from a physical standpoint, but also mentally.

Q. What about State's defense made it such a tough shooting night for you guys? Obviously that's one of your lowest points scored for the year.

KENNY BROOKS: Honestly, I give credit to NC State. They do a tremendous job. They're one of the best teams in scouting, and obviously when you give them three chances to look at you, they do a tremendous job of taking you out of what you want to do.

No discredit to them, but I really think it was us. Aisha Sheppard just wasn't herself. She couldn't get into rhythm. She couldn't get into her shots. She didn't have the elusiveness trying to make some of her moves, get into our shot. So that puts more pressure on the other kids, and obviously they have to guard her differently.

I just thought we had a couple shots that kind of bounced around the rim that could have made a difference. I think Georgia had a couple that just kind of bounced around. Cayla didn't get going until late.

I do give them credit because they do a tremendous job of scouting, but I do think that it was mostly we just weren't able to hit shots tonight.

Q. Obviously second quarter you were up by a basket and then they took control. What changed in the second quarter?

KENNY BROOKS: Well, I think that we just missed shots. I really do. I'll watch the film, and again, I give credit to Wes and his staff. They do a great job. When you have to play somebody three times, they get three looks at you, they do a good job.

I'll tell you, it was difficult, too. They probably had a week to prep for us. They probably insinuated that we would get a win and they were prepping for us, and we had to put our full attention on to Miami and then try to go with -- you know, trying to prep and get our kids a little bit of time.

That's the benefit of the double bye. That's what you have to take advantage of, and they did so. We just didn't capitalize. I thought the 1 for 15 shooting, I don't think I've ever seen anything like it, but we just didn't get the ball to fall in the basket.

Q. Between Sheppard being hurt and only having two baskets in, them having Elissa back, how much different was round 3 from the first two meetings in January there?

KENNY BROOKS: I mean, Cunane is a really good player, but her performance tonight was so different than what Hobby's performance was against us in the second round, or both games. They got point production in the paint which really was hard for us.

You give Kitley credit. She played a lot of the game trying not to foul. She knew she had to stay in the game, and so sometimes she kind of was very loose in the post. But they're a good team with or without Cunane. I really believe that. So they had a -- I would probably say Wes would think they didn't really have it going great tonight. We had some moments where we stopped them and put them in some situations that they didn't really like, but they just capitalized on them.

Perez does a really good job for them running the show. Jakia Brown-Turner is all conference for a reason, and then I love Kayla Jones. I think she and Crutchfield just do what they have to do to help their team win.

Q. And finally, let's not overlook this. How meaningful is it that you've still got the NCAAs to look forward to? A lot of years at this tournament this was the end; this is not the end for you guys.

KENNY BROOKS: That's exactly what we told our kids. They were in there and they were disappointed, had some tears, and I just told them, it's a different feeling. This should have been the second consecutive year that we made the NCAA Tournament, and that's proving to a lot of people what your program is.

It's not just a one-hit wonder, and these kids have done a tremendous job. It's a little bit of a different feeling. We'll go home, and I don't feel like I have to watch scoreboards or other tournaments as much. I feel like we've got a great body of work and we can kind of not only relax a little bit, but just really take care of ourselves from a physical standpoint, but also mental and just regroup and get back to resting our bodies but also resting our brains.