BIG EAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 7, 2021

Megan Duffy

Selena Lott

Marquette Golden Eagles

Mohegan Sun Arena

Postgame Media Conference

Marquette- 64, Creighton - 59

COACH DUFFY: We're absolutely thrilled to be playing in the finals tomorrow against Connecticut. We knew coming into this game, third time playing them, it's a grind and a battle to play against Coach Flan's team. And give them -- led by Temi Carda -- just were relentless these last three games, giving us all we could handle.

Just overall proud of our group to hang in there towards the end, make big plays, big shots led by Selena Lott here. And fortunate to move on.

Q. Selena, this is your last go-around of trying to win a Big East title as a Marquette Golden Eagle. What's the feeling like for you that you have one last opportunity?

SELENA LOTT: Ah, it's just we gotta go out and play with our hearts. The last three years have been devastating. So I just think to have the mentality to attack is what it is.

Q. Coach, this is your second season, second straight Big East title game and this time you're playing UConn for the third time this season. What are you hoping to take from these two games that you played this weekend into tomorrow? But also what are you hoping to do better against UConn in the regular season finale?

COACH DUFFY: We're looking forward to obviously playing them for the third time. I think we've learned a lot in the last two games.

And we struggled the first time we played them, but then I thought when we went out to Connecticut, back a little less than a week ago, we improved on a couple of little things. We're a lot tougher. We grinded some things out.

I thought our defense was a little better. We made it a little bit more difficult for them. We know the task at hand tomorrow is going to be challenging but we feel good. You've got one game to show up and try and get great 40 minutes together and see what happens.

But I think the big thing for our team, anytime you get a chance to play for a championship no matter who it is against we're thrilled, but also get some momentum going into the NCAA Tournament.

I know we're really excited about what we've done with our resumé this year and playing great basketball at the right time and hoping our seeding will be good by putting on a good show to finish up the tournament tomorrow.

Q. On that defensive position with 11 seconds to go when it was Chloe that knocked the ball away and Lauren pounced on the ball, since you guys had success turning them over today, were you looking for your defense to be extra aggressive down the stretch there?

COACH DUFFY: Yeah, we wanted to put a little pressure on them and not be on our heels defensively. So we wanted to get out and deny, switch aggressively. I thought we got our hands on a couple of different balls late in the game that led to 50/50s and our possessions which was huge. And no better than a combination of Chloe and somebody else -- Jordan had a tip on it -- to kind of get them thinking. And then Lauren Van Kleunen laid out in the pile and did enough that we had the possession on it, which was great.

And that's the key down the stretch: Can you make those little plays that, you know, end up winning a big game for you?

Q. The game on Monday, you turn into a slog, it had to be that way to hang in there to keep UConn from getting into transition. Did you have to sacrifice anything that you do well to keep them from getting out in transition?

COACH DUFFY: Yeah, I think you have to find a way to slow them down on the offensive side of the ball. And we wanted to try and get them in a half-court game. And the first time we played Connecticut they had a ton of -- we had a lot of, a ton of live-ball turnovers that led to easy baskets and easy points for them. If you give them that and obviously their ability to score in the half court, it's a bad combination.

So we tried to do a little bit better job of being in the right position in transition defense. The old saying, if you're going to make a turnover throw it to the tubas. There's no bands right now, obviously with COVID, but we want to have that mentality. You don't want to give them easy baskets and allow them to run. Because they're one of the best teams, if not the best team in getting out and running their lanes and sprinting the floor hard.

You have to be really smart about that. And we'll try to do the same thing as we did Monday night -- try and take care of the ball a little bit better and not allow them to get the big runs that can obviously keep compiling and be devastating.

Q. Selena, defensively, too, you did a really good job on Paige with the cuts that she's so well known for, especially getting the elbow jumpers. How tough is it to get around those screens that they set for her to get her free?

SELENA LOTT: Yeah, it's hard -- to get around 6'5" is just difficult. But to trust my teammates on the help side is what we have to do.

Q. What's it like seeing Lauren Van Kleunen get 1,000 in her career? And for Selena, what's it like sharing that milestone in the same year as somebody who you have grown in this program with?

COACH DUFFY: I mean, it was an awesome moment in the locker room after the game. Not only to play for a championship tomorrow but to see her and Selena celebrate together. We got Selena with some water early on in the year. And we got Lauren back.

But just even how Lauren played today made big shots for us, stepped up and hit free throws. I think she knew she was probably pretty close to it. But what a hard-earned thousand points for her career, just the way she's worked and committed to this program and accepted any role her coaches have given her.

Like Selena, they've been the glue for us for their four years, but obviously especially since I've been here, really rely on them a lot. And it's fun to see those two have some pretty special moments as we go down the stretch.

SELENA LOTT: Yeah, Lauren is my girl. We've been going for four years now. And it's just the heart and hustle that Lauren has, the grind, like Coach said, is just amazing. It's so beautiful to see her succeed. So I love every moment of it.