NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MIAMI (FL) VS SOUTH FLORIDA

March 17, 2022

Katie Meier

Kelsey Marshall

Destiny Harden

Karla Erjavec

Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Media Conference

KATIE MEIER: Well, first of all, just a bunch of gratitude for being invited and for the city of Columbia and the university for hosting us.

We are thrilled to be here. We will take advantage of every opportunity that we're given to play basketball, and I have a team that's full of joy, full of grit, a lot of toughness to us.

You know, we're going to lace them up and get ready to play. We are really, really fired up for this opportunity.

Q. How important in coaching is it to have a team that's hot, a team that's coming in on a hot streak like ya'll are?

KATIE MEIER: Right. Well, we lost our last one, okay, so I'll take some of that. It was nice to be playing well in March, but as a coach, we lost our last game, and so we had their attention.

It was quite a break in the way we run our ACC tournament. It was nice to play in the championship, nice to get a couple extra games in, but we're not where we want to be. We want to have cut down a net.

So I do feel like we matured as a team. I think we grew. I really haven't studied it, but I think if you took a snapshot in mid-February of all the teams in the country and then which team just popped up just really surprised people from mid-February on, we had to have had the most growth. Us, maybe Kentucky.

But we had volume of games left because we had a 25-day COVID break. While we are sitting there mid-February -- I don't know how many wins we had in the ACC, but you looked at the standing and you're like, Wow, we're at the bottom. I like my team. I can say, I like my team.

But then it was like, well we still have ten games left. So we had to go Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday Tuesday -- we had to do four games in eight days quite a bit, and ten games in 23 days to end the season.

Those ten games we won 8-2, so wow, right? We would've maybe had the same record or better, it was just a timing thing. So we are hot, we are surging, but we had to because we played ten games in 23 days recently. That was incredible.

Going 8-2 and the two losses being NC State and the other one at Virginia Tech, which is a great team, that's a really good stretch.

Q. You mentioned this stretch. Has it been nice to have a break though? Does your team need this time to rest and recover?

KATIE MEIER: Forget the team. The coaches need it. We were dying. I mean, that was something -- I have two new assistant coaches that happen to be two people I consider some of my best friends in the world anyway. One is an ex-player and one is one of my best friends in the world.

And so with two new assistance and six new players, it was like a little bit of mayhem. To wake up on that Monday after the ACC tournament and be like, what just happened? I mean, being very, very honest, I'm a veteran coach. I could not believe that stretch, and the pressure. Every game was a post-season game. We had to win every game.

And so we went through that, got a little bit of a rest, but heck, it's recruiting contact period, too, so off we went recruiting while the kids were resting. Players had a couple days off, and coaches were trying to make Miami better. It's been a push.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about your familiarity with USF prior to this week and some keys to the game?

KATIE MEIER: One the first texts, Jose and I texting each other at the same time when the bracket came out. We are very familiar. I actually had a symposium back in 2017 where I invited some coaches I really respected to Miami. We hosted it, put them up in a hotel, brought in some administrators, brought in a guest speaker, and really had like a X and O.

We shared everything, and Jose was one of those coaches. We scrimmage them every year except for these last two COVID years we'll meet somewhere.

So it's funny. The last time we played them apparently was Anchorage, Alaska. I remember my AD going, You're going to Anchorage to a game you could drive to? We signed the contract first, right.

And then now here. So that is the last time we played them in a game-game, but we are very familiar, and tons of respect. I'm really happy for actually all the state of Florida. What a representation of all of our universities that are in the tournament this year.

Q. Looking behind you there is March Madness on the logos; it's a different tournament this year supposedly. Have you seen a difference in how the women have been treated? Have the travel arrangements been better? Have the hotels been better? The NCAA has promised to come through with some improvements.

KATIE MEIER: We have been fortunate. We hosted, so that's kind of a -- the last one we were in I think we hosted, is that correct?

And Miami did a heck of a job, let me tell you. So I feel like I'm sure there will be. That's the last time I'm thinking about right now, but I do like the March Madness logo. I do like that and I like that 68 teams are in the tournament. I think that was huge. There was no reason not to do it and it just kept not being done.

So the fact that it's done now was a huge statement, but something that seemed like a ridiculous fight. That's a no-brainer. Gland we finally got our brains together.

Q. You had mentioned the players had a few days to decompress from the tournament. How much of the last 48 hours have been game prep and working on yourselves and getting yourself prepared for the weekend?

KATIE MEIER: I was so glad to be able to get back in the bubble, not the COVID, our mental bubble, and have an opponent and have a team and crank up really, really -- the bear came out. I'm the bear. I totally been a bear the last couple days to increase the internal pressure within my team, understanding -- I put them in a circle, I said, Listen inside this circle there has got to be so much pressure, because when we leave and go play somewhere else, the external pressure is going to try to push us in and we're not going to let it.

I'm here and I'm screaming at you and I'm pushing, pushing, pushing, and you need to push, push, push. All of us need to push the internal pressure to keep us in the zone we were in the last time we played.

So I'm tired because I've been madwoman just really trying to get after them. They know and I know and the staff knows what it takes to push this team to get that grit and get that toughness, and that's where I want to be when we tip tomorrow.

Q. Coach, a lot of times in a tournament it comes down to matchups. How do you feel about -- especially in an eight-nine game, pretty evenly matched. How do you feel about going into this contest specifically?

KATIE MEIER: Yeah, I think we played ourself into an eight-nine game, which some people say that's not always a great deal. I know that the eight and the nine have both beaten a one seed this year, so this is an incredible matchup, right?

Who else has beaten a one seed this year that's at a one seed? So that's incredible that that draw happened, because South Florida, and I watched it, they beat Stanford in the Bahamas. We were there; we beat Louisville as a one seed.

So I think you have this like incredible bracket where both of us are playing each other. If I am South Carolina sitting there going, How -- Kentucky has beaten a one seed; they're a seven. So that's the thing I think is the story of this particular bracket.

Q. This is a very competitive regional. You got two very quality eight-nine seeds and then obviously South Carolina is overall No. 1 seed. Do you as players got to see the overall picture or is it more focusing on one game at a time?

DESTINY HARDEN: All season we always focus on just be where your feet are, just play the game we have in front of us.

So we just take it one game at a time and focus on the next opponent after the game we play.

KELSEY MARSHALL: Yeah, same as Destiny. Just focusing each game one at time. Don't get too ahead of ourselves, and whatever comes after, comes after.

KARLA ERJAVEC: As they both mentioned, it's just one game at time, seeing what we can do in that one game, and then whatever comes next, we'll fight it after.

Q. Coach mentioned the stretch you had where you played a bunch of games in a bunch of days. Now you've had about two weeks off. Which would you be prefer, to have had another game two days after this, or do you like having that break to regroup and get yourself back together?

KARLA ERJAVEC. I guess everything has its positives and negatives. We got used to playing a lot of games in the small period time, but we also got used to not playing for a period of time, so I think we experienced both.

And it's good that we got our legs back under us after that four games in four days stretch. We are ready and rested.

KELSEY MARSHALL: Same thing as Karla basically. Now matter how many days we have off we have, one two, or none, I feel like we're all prepared for what's to come for that game.

DESTINY HARDEN: Yeah, just like they both said, we experienced four days and four games or 23 days off, so I guess we're prepared for both.

Q. For you, Kelsey, obviously the tournament run is great. Not the result at the end that you wanted, but some great wins to get the week going. What did you learn about the team through that run to make that kind of deep run into the tournament?

KELSEY MARSHALL: I learned that we are very gritty and we never give up. We go into every game, no matter a team's ranking is, above us or below us, we're always going to come out and compete and try to win.

We love working together, working hard, and that's it, yeah.

DESTINY HARDEN: Same as Kelsey. You know, like we come into the game as underdogs, so, I mean, I like that because we don't have no pressure.

Coach always says, A lot to gain, nothing to lose. We gain a lot then, so really that confidence is up for the next game.

KARLA ERJAVEC: I mean, whatever game you come into is zero-zero at the beginning, and at the end of the day who scores more points or gets more stops will win the game. Every game we approach as zero-zero and see where it takes us.

Q. You all and USF, fairly close together; play fairly frequently. Do you know some folks on the other team? Are there some people that you've had texts back and forth or talked about tomorrow's game with?

KARLA ERJAVEC: I wouldn't say text about or talked about, but as we all now USF is a really international team, just like we are. I personally played on a lot of national team competitions against all of those players, so we're pretty familiar with players itself, but not with the system. We haven't faced them this year. I think it'll be a fun game.

KELSEY MARSHALL: Yeah, I played high school with Maria Alvarez a couple years ago. I texted her, DM'd her on Instagram. It's going to be a fun one.

We're not on the same team this time, but we're competing against each other so it should be fun.

DESTINY HARDEN: I'm the opposite. I haven't played or I don't know anyone on their team, so it should be a good game.

Q. I said text and I instantly felt old. One other question I wanted to ask is I guess about Dawn Staley. She's been around long enough and done enough and rose to this level where she is at right now. Is it an extra boost to be able to come here and see her and to maybe get to meet her and talk to her?

DESTINY HARDEN: Yeah, actually, couple years back the USA Basketball was at our arena and she was there and she talked with us. It was good meeting her then, but playing in her arena is also like a famous arena, so I feel honored to play here and I will say excited to just compete at the highest level in women's basketball.

KELSEY MARSHALL: Yeah, same as Destiny. We met her a couple years at UM. She talked to us a little bit about work ethic and just being a great player overall. I'm extremely grateful and blessed to be able to come here and play on a court where she's gotten a lot of wins.

KARLA ERJAVEC: I mean, she's just been a coach that's been raising the standard for all female coaches and the NCAA in general, and it's just a blessing and I feel really humble to be here.

I feel really excited to play on the court where she's coaching and I really look forward to it.

Q. For those of you who haven't seen either of your two teams play, curious what you feel the keys to win the game tomorrow are, what coach has been pounding this week that we have to do this to have success?

KELSEY MARSHALL: Yeah, for this game we really have to box out and rebound, play really hard defense, cover for 40 hard minutes, leave nothing on floor, and just work together.

DESTINY HARDEN: Yeah, coach literally just got out of film and she just keeps telling us how aggressive they're going to play.

So I think I locked that in, because we're an aggressive team also, so the most aggressive team is the team that's going to come out with the win.

KARLA ERJAVEC: The only other thing I would say is just be Miami. That's what coach always talks about, let's be who we are, let's do what we do best, and let's take away their strengths, but make sure we put our strengths ahead and show who we actually are.

Q. When the bracket was first released, curious, obviously everybody is excited to be in and you look at it and see the No. 1 seed overall is in your bracket and possible second game. Wondering mindset of that, or is it just focus on the first game and we'll worry about Sunday, Sunday?

DESTINY HARDEN: Yeah, no, we always want to focus on first game. Just got to take it one game at a time. We also see we're going to face the No. 1 team if we win this game, and we also faced the No. 1 team in the ACC.

So we are familiar with No. 1 teams, so we just got to stay confident and believe in ourself.

KELSEY MARSHALL: Yeah, same as Destiny. We just got to focus on this first game we have. The next game will come, but I don't think none of us are scared or timid of the next game.

But excited, and hopefully we can be good.

KARLA ERJAVEC: Like they both said, we faced No. 1 seeds, the two No. 1 seeds in the ACC were from the ACC, and we faced them four times this year, two times NC State and two times Louisville.

I don't think nobody on this team is intimidated of it, and take one step at a time, see what tomorrow brings, and focus on Sunday after that.