SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 2, 2022

Kristy Curry

JaMya Mingo-Young

Megan Abrams

Alabama Crimson Tide

Bridgestone Arena

Postgame Press Conference

Alabama 75, Auburn 68

KRISTY CURRY: We had some early adversity with foul trouble, and I just thought our kids just stayed the course. Love the grit. Love the toughness down the stretch. To out-rebound an Auburn team that's so relentless on the glass and then to have four in double figures on a day where, again, we were saddled with some foul trouble. I was really proud of how our kids just stayed together. Especially these two next to me. You know, on a day where it was ugly for Brittany to still have 15-11 and have a double-double. Allie Craig stepped up. I thought our bench really came in and made some plays.

Really proud of our team today. We'll enjoy this. I told them when they quit eating dinner, put their fork down, it's all Georgia. So we're going to enjoy it through dinner, and then we'll turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.

Q. JaMya, what does it mean to you to beat your rival in the very beginning of the tournament, and what kind of energy does that bring to your team?

JaMYA MINGO-YOUNG: It feels good. Especially when you swept them the whole season. You beat them three times. So, I mean, like she said, it feels good right now, but we got to get ready for Georgia tomorrow.

Q. This question is for both Megan and JaMya: You both played all 40 minutes, how do you maintain resiliency in such a hard-fought game?

JaMYA MINGO-YOUNG: Just being mentally tough. You know, throughout the game we're going to go through adversity. Each team is going to make runs. They made their run in the third quarter, but I told my team in the huddle that the game is not over. We had, like, 11 minutes left in the ball game. We just had to turn the tables and get our juice back and finish out the game.

Q. Megan.

MEGAN ABRAMS: Yeah, I say the same thing. It's a mental toughness. You know, you want to go out there and compete for your team and play hard. So I happened to play 40 minutes tonight, but it's a mental thing, so I was just glad that I was able to contribute to this team win.

Q. Megan, how was it to see Allie have a game like today?

MEGAN ABRAMS: It was amazing. You know, I'm so proud of her. She continues to work, and she stepped up big today for us. So I'm super proud of her, and we want her to continue her play like this throughout the rest of the tournament. So really proud of her, like I said, and just want her to continue to shoot the ball with confidence.

Q. JaMya, can you talk about the momentum you had in the last two minutes getting that eight-point lead?

JaMYA MINGO-YOUNG: I think we were on a rope defensively. Everybody was locked in defensively, helping over, and whenever somebody got beat, we just stepped over, and we came up with all of the loose balls, so.

Q. Auburn broke out to that 10-0 run in the third quarter, and the eventual lead, but you were able to make that comeback. What words were said during the time-outs to add that spark in the last minutes?

KRISTY CURRY: Just don't panic. Making sure that we just stayed together and take a deep breath. I thought we had missed a lot of shots, and I reminded them that the two previous games we were in the identical situation nearly.

So we've been here before, and our response needs to be the way it was before and just stay together.

Q. For you how important was it to see Allie play like today?

KRISTY CURRY: Just happy for her. She comes to work every day. She's a senior. With Khyla out, and we certainly hope she gets to feeling better, but Allie Craig really stepped up, and to see her make those threes that we see her make every day in practice, I thought she let the game come to her. I thought she was physical. I'm just really happy for her because she stepped up for her team, and she's been working really hard.

Q. How important were Brittany, Megan, and JaMya's performances today?

KRISTY CURRY: Amazing, and just the toughness and grit. You know, I thought they all three had some moments where it could have been really frustrating, and they didn't allow that to affect the next second, the next minute, the next play, and that shows a lot of maturity on their part. Maybe at a point where we weren't there earlier in the year.

So the way Brittany affected the game on the glass, even though maybe the offensive night was tough, 11 boards is pretty special against an Auburn team.

Q. What do you expect to see from Georgia tomorrow?

KRISTY CURRY: Oh, goodness. We're ready from a scout standpoint. Obviously, have a lot of respect for Joni and the job that she does. Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti coming back for a fifth year, leaving a legacy. What they've meant to that program and what they did by coming back I think is an example for every young lady right now in the country to come back and leave a legacy.

So I have a lot of respect for them, and it was a close game at Georgia. We were really disappointed in the outcome, and we'll see if we can turn the tide a little bit tomorrow. Thank you.