NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - COLORADO VS CREIGHTON

March 17, 2022

JR Payne

Mya Hollingshed

Sirena Tuitele

Colorado Buffaloes

Media Conference

Q. Is there a conference confidence to Creighton. How do you matchup or how have you game planned so far?

JR PAYNE: Not really. Creighton is a very unique team, I think across the country they're a unique team and they're really, really good at what they do. And they're different than the teams that we played in our conference.

Closest similarity would be Utah because they also shoot the ball really well and has a lot of versatility in their lineup and so our preparation has been very much detail oriented, like shell drill, to guard Creighton you have to be excellent in your fundamentals. It's not as much what they're running, it's how they're running it and so we've really prioritized those things and but it is a new look for us it's a different look.

Q. Expecting a sellout for Friday, probably a sellout for Sunday if you happen to win that one too. Have you seen any atmosphere like that throughout the season, PAC-12 or otherwise?

JR PAYNE: Yeah, our conference draws really well, so at Oregon state we'll play in front of nine to 11,000 people. Oregon the same. Arizona the same. There's a lot of teams in our league that draw very well. So 14,000 is different than 9,000, I don't know if all 14 will be here for the early game tomorrow, but it will be a great crowd and I know that this community loves basketball.

And so it's not just, they're not just Iowa fans, they're basketball fans, so I know that there will be a great crowd. We have to make sure our communication is where it needs to be in a loud arena like this, but not super different than some of the arenas that we've played in.

Q. Creighton doesn't turn the ball over. You guys get turnovers. Do you guys have to try to be careful with your defense as far as maybe not being too aggressive and fouling or how are you going to kind of game plan a team like that that's been so good at not turning the ball over?

JR PAYNE: I think at this point in the year everyone is sort of is who they are. Creighton is not a team that we're going to be able to come in and turnover 25 times, that's just not going to happen, they're too experienced, they have too many veterans and they consistently take care of the ball really well. I think we're focused on doing what we do well. We need to play with high hands, we need to make sure we communicate on rotations and things like that. But if we can force turnovers, awesome, but we're not going to have time to change who we are in 48 hours, neither are they. So I would expect we will work to be aggressive, I would expect that they will work to take care of the ball like they always have.

Q. Your first season here ended in this building with a WNIT against Iowa. So do you draw upon that experience as far as what it might be like as far as atmosphere?

JR PAYNE: Yeah, I remember years ago that even I think it was the Sweet 16 of the NIT against Iowa and they were really good and it was a great atmosphere. I mean this is what college players and coaches want to experience, this type of atmosphere. Like I said, this community loves good basketball and so I don't know that we don't have any players on this year's team that played in that environment, but I think we draw more from last year's post-season experience where the crowd was still pretty good and we hadn't played in front of anybody all year because out west we didn't have fans all year and then all of a sudden we had fans and that was a fun environment. But we're just excited again to play in front of a great crowd and play a great team like Creighton.

We'll now take questions for the student athletes.

Q. You guys won your first 13 games and then lost to Stanford and then had kind of a losing streak there. How were you able to sort of pull yourselves out? I mean, that had to be kind of a big shock. Were there certain things that you tried to do differently on the court, off the court?

SIRENA TUITELE: I think we just try to come together as a team and practices and talk about it and really take action into what we needed to work on instead of just saying things.

So I think it really came down to practicing and relying on each other and fighting the adversity as a team rather than individuals. So I think that's what helped us get out of that slump.

MYA HOLLINGSHED: Just watching a lot of film, seeing what worked in the beginning and going back to that, not trying to do anything new or trying to change anything, per se. Really just watching film, what we did well, our weaknesses, our strengths. But, yeah, just a lot of film sessions.

Q. Could you guys talk about two of the last 10 games. How are you playing compared to that 13 game stretch. Are you playing as good or better?

SIRENA TUITELE: I just think we're playing more as a team. We're coming together. We're communicating a lot more. We're executing defensively and offensively. And I think we just bought in a hundred percent into the coaches blueprint and I think that's led a long way. And we're also watching a lot of film and understanding and growing in our IQ.

MYA HOLLINGSHED: Going off that, definitely valuing that and valuing the time that we have together, knowing where we're trying to go, knowing that every game matters. And I think just simplifying it to just taking it one game at a time I think helped our chances a lot better.

Q. Quite a journey for both of you guys. I know you guys haven't been on the court yet practicing for the NCAAs, but can you kind of sum up what it's been like rolling to this point? I mean, you've taken this program to new levels.

SIRENA TUITELE: I just think it's been a very long journey. It wasn't easy. We all went through a lot of adversity together. We were probably Coach J's and their staff's first class coming in.

So they did a wonderful job building us from the ground up and I think Mya and the veterans, we worked really hard together as a unit to grow the culture and to grow the program and I just think I wouldn't replace the journey with anybody else. I wouldn't want to go through it with anybody else.

And it just, I think it helped us also grow into young women that we are today.

MYA HOLLINGSHED: Yeah. It's taken a lot of years. Coach J and I talk about this all the time. I've been here since all her years here except for one.

But just having that vision and playing early on when we came on our visit and just believing in what she talked about and just really having a future with the Buffs and just trying to take the Buffs to new heights, new levels, and just looking at what they have been able to accomplish in the past.

We wanted to put Colorado back on the map of being that national championship state. And this is what kids dream about, playing basketball, coming to the NCAA tournament, just doing this. It's our first step and a great first step for the future Buffs that follow us after we leave and we graduate.

But just to continue that culture and journey that we've laid the foundation with.

Q. You talk about the journey since you were her first class. Tell me what you saw in the program that gave you the thought that it could rise again.

SIRENA TUITELE: I just remember my very first phone call with Coach J, and I probably will never forget it. She told me about a vision about rebuilding. That's what I've always wanted to be a part of. A lot of other athletes want to be a big part of big names, big schools, but I wanted to be a part of somebody, a program that's rebuilding a program for future generations.

I know that that's like who I am and so I believed in the coaches. I believed in what her future was for the Buff women's basketball team. So I just went off of that and look where we are now. So kudos to the coaches.

MYA HOLLINGSHED: Yeah. My story's a bit different. My younger self not really having any awareness of anything, just living in the moment, just how you described it, a deer in the headlights, just had the first conversation with them. It was like I was talking to one of my friends. It wasn't even like they were trying to recruit me. But it was just like, I was like, okay, I heard. I talked to Coach J. I talked to Coach T. And we had a long conversation.

And when I first got there I had no idea who they were, what conference they were in, what kind of teams they played. But after coming to my visit, they were my first official visit, and I committed on my visit. Just seeing like how they were, because family's like a really big deal for me just because I come from a family-oriented background. Seeing how they were with their players, how they were with us, how they carried themselves on and off the court.

Like, a lot of coaches like to play this facade of like who they can be, but not who they actually are, and I think they have been true to who they actually been since the first day I met them. So it was real easy to make that decision and to believe in their plan.

SIRENA TUITELE: I think like she said, it's very family-oriented. The coaches treated us as humans rather than objects and players that can fit their puzzle. So I think that's really why I came here as well.

Q. It's such an accomplishment to get here, not only for this program, it's been nine years, but for this group, it's been such a long journey to get to this point. And Sunday was a celebration. But the last couple days, how has this team been able to shift to the business of basketball and having a game to win on Friday? Do you feel like you guys have been able to do that and focus on Creighton?

SIRENA TUITELE: Yeah, a hundred percent. I think it's a lot to do with our veterans. We've done a really good job making sure that the team is focused on what's at hand and taking it one game at a time.

So I think us veterans, it's our job also to do that because we know what it takes to be prepared as we can for Friday.

MYA HOLLINGSHED: Outside of our veterans holding each other accountable as players, our coaches echo it all the time, like, okay, we can celebrate on Sunday. We can do that, enjoy the moment, but once we get there, like, it's time to focus on Creighton.

And since then we've been dialed in on the scout, what they do, what they don't do, and just things that we need to do to execute the game plan in order to beat a good team like Creighton. And I think we've taken that into account and just treating it like we've done in the past to move farther than where we want to go.

Q. Can you tell me what your impressions are of Creighton, what you've seen on film, and what are the kinds of things you guys are going to have to do well?

SIRENA TUITELE: Well, first thing is they're a very, they're really good at shooting three-point ball. So I think we need to really do a good job of defending the three-point line. They made it to the tournament for a reason. They're one of the top 68 teams in the country for a reason. They're here.

So we can't look past anybody at this point. We got to make sure that we're focusing, especially defensively, on our P's and Q's.

MYA HOLLINGSHED: Yeah. Seeing what we saw on film, they move the ball really well. They move off the ball. They pass the ball. They cut. They do a lot of things really well. I think for us being a defensive-minded group leading the PAC 12 in defense it's just good that we go back to our basics.

And I think that's what we've been working on, our basics, our fundamentals, just doing what we naturally do best, and just simplifying the game a lot more and just pressuring all around.

SIRENA TUITELE: Apply pressure. Yeah. (Laughing).