NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - SOUTH DAKOTA VS OLE MISS

March 18, 2022

Dawn Plitzuweit

Chloe Lamb

Hannah Sjerven

South Dakota Coyotes

Media Conference

South Dakota 75 - Ole Miss 61

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Certainly I thought our young ladies played with just an incredible make? Amount of toughness in facing Ole Miss, who is really disciplined, really tough, they really take you out of running kind of an offense of any sort.

I thought our young ladies handled that with a great deal of discipline and poise. I thought we were able to battle early. I think getting on the board early was really important for us. Really fortunate to be able to do that.

And then I thought we were able to try to find ways to limit their opportunities at the rim. I thought in the beginning of the third quarter they were able to get the ball around the rim a little bit better again, so we had to adjust.

Overall, just really, really proud of our young ladies for the toughness they played with and the discipline they played with and their composure.

And to our fans. We had an unbelievable group of fans who came and joined us, so that was a lot of fun.

Q. Ladies, would love to hear your perspectives on this. But start with Chloe. This was the goal: Win one. Get here and win one. Now that you've done it what are the immediate emotions?

CHLOE LAMB: Just a lot of happiness right now, especially we got to have that moment with our fans and sing the school song with them, something that none of us have been a part of yet.

To do that as a group in a total collective effort I thought on both sides of the floor, to be able to do that and celebrate that moment was a lot of fun.

HANNAH SJERVEN: As seniors we'd been talking about for years wanting to win an NCAA tournament game and to build a legacy at our school that we can do this.

I'm really excited for us and the girls on the team that are younger than us so they know this is possible. Just because we are a Summit League team or whatever else, we're ready to play.

Q. Talk about some of younger girls, Kyah and Maddie and Allison had some big minutes for you guys today. Just talk about their role in today's game.

CHLOE LAMB: I thought they really stepped up. No moment is too big for them. It was fun to watch. We get to see it every day at practice, and so it may come as a shock to some other people, but we see that all the time. We're just waiting for it to come out.

But, yeah, great to see those kids have success and really propel us forward throughout that game.

Q. Chloe, how much of a difference do you think tournament experience made today?

CHLOE LAMB: I think any experience is positive. You know, being able to take past experiences and build on those and kind of have an idea.

You know, the location and facility is always different, but that experience I think as seniors and other kids that have been there, I hope was really helpful for young kids, yeah.

Q. Hannah, the very first two plays of the game you got a steal and a three. I guess obviously it's only three points, but how big was that immediate momentum grab?

HANNAH SJERVEN: Yeah, I think in any game we want to come out and just be aggressive. The ball bounced me and I'm really glad my shot went in.

From there it just set the tone for our offense and defense, and it was very positive for us.

Q. How much was your focus on defending Shakira? What emphasis was there for you on defending her?

HANNAH SJERVEN: Yeah, Austin is a great player. I mean, she's highly awarded for a reason and she is a huge threat for their team inside. I can't take the credit for the defense on her tonight, that was our team.

I had a lot of help inside. You know, that's why we were able to hold her down.

Q. For either of you, there was some talk yesterday how they thought they might shock you guys coming out of the game. I guess for you guys to grab the momentum immediately, do you feel like there was any underestimating happening?

CHLOE LAMB: I mean, I think both teams were very prepared for whatever the other team was throwing at them.

I think both teams did a really good job trying to challenge the other team throughout the game, and I thought we just made really, really good adjustments.

I thought that is what we had prepared for and what we practiced for early in the season, and going into the game trusting that, trusting our preparation and the work that we had done previously.

After that, that's all you can do, right?

Q. For both of you, heading to the second round; you get to play again. How exciting is that, especially as seniors getting to play another game and move on in the NCAA tournament?

HANNAH SJERVEN: Yeah, I think we're always grateful to have another game, keep playing together, and keep playing with the rest of our teammates. It's exciting. We'll get ready for it.

Q. Chloe, back that one up, but do you feel like getting this one almost takes some of the pressure off for the next one just because you don't have the extra thing hanging over your head about trying so hard for this one thing?

CHLOE LAMB: Maybe a little. You know, the successes always brings confidence, so I think with that, a little more comfortable going into the next one.

Just see what we can do, yeah.

Q. Obviously it was talked about before that you guys came back for this. This was obviously your goal coming into the year. What was that embrace at the end of the game like?

HANNAH SJERVEN: I don't know if I'm ready to put it into words. I think just look around in the last 15 seconds when we knew we had done it, it was a really good feeling similar to -- I mean, actually not similar to anything we had experienced before.

It was a great feeling, though.

Q. Ladies, how big were the role players today? I think Maddie had a couple big shots, Kyah took a couple big shots, Allison was huge late in the first quarter. How big were the role players today?

CHLOE LAMB: Huge. I mean, fearless. That's what they are. They wanted the ball and wanted something to happen when they had the ball. I thought they were very aggressive and made really good decisions.

But like I said, we see that all the time. You guys are kind of the odd ones out here seeing that kind of stuff. But, yeah, just really proud of them.

Again, no moment too big for them. Just playing fearless, and that's when we feel pretty good about our team.

Q. Dawn, how do you articulate how proud of the big three, let's just start with them just because of how badly they wanted this. Let's throw Regan in there, too, because she's part of senior class. But just for them to get this, I mean, to be their head coach for it, what's that mean to you?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: It's unbelievable, Jay. These young ladies have been incredible leaders in our program in the way that they work and the way they communicate with each other, in the way they lead us in terms of making sure that we're recovered and ready to go.

And so for them to want something so badly and then to do the right things, still doesn't ensure you're going to have a chance to get it, and they have a chance now to enjoy that.

They worked their tails off for it and they got it, so, yeah, really proud of them. Just really -- I think they've learned some great lessons. Before we came to the press conference Chloe talked to some of the younger players about different scenarios.

I think Hannah just mentioned it, leaving a legacy, and that's really important for them. For them it's more important than just trying to win basketball games. They want to leave a legacy, and this is the way we do things. They're just impressive young ladies, our four seniors and Regan, Liv, Chloe, and Hannah.

Q. At what point did you know it was going to be a good day?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Well, I thought we had a really aggressive week of practice, and I thought yesterday after our -- we started our practice here when you guys were there and we weren't very good and we couldn't score. We weren't guarding each other. We were wide open.

So at that point in time I didn't feel very good about what it was going to look like.

Then as I think we were on the court a little bit longer we felt a little bit better. Then as we were in this -- working through some of our things defensively, just thought our kids were -- they were in a really good mind space and really were locked in. Then we went back and went through a little bit of film and just watched some things.

So I think after we got through our practice yesterday, just felt at peace with -- I didn't know how we were going to play, but felt at peace. I think our players have done what they needed to.

Feel like the coaches have put together a great game plan. Now it's a just matter of can we execute, can we make shots. The first possession of the game we're -- I don't know, the ball doesn't look very clean. It did not look like we were going to get anything offensively.

End of the shot clock Hannah hits a three. So sometimes in basketball things go your way. I think there were times in this game things went our way and certainly that helps you feel more comfortable and confident.

I also think some things went their way. There were at least -- I think of their four threes they hit in the first half, we contested all four of them, and two of them were at the end of the shot clock.

So some things went their way, too. I think that is the game of basketball. There is some momentum shifts. I just think our young ladies had a really good demeanor about the whole thing.

Q. You mentioned yesterday possibly sending more people into the post, without giving things away, were there any new wrinkles added to the defense?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Yeah, we can't guard Austin one-on-one. Can't front her because we can't get to the lob pass. We're not big enough to do that.

So we had to make some adjustments, and I thought they made some good adjustments and kicked it out and shot it. I don't know that it was a surprise necessarily to coach Yo and her staff. They know because they watched us play against other teams with great size.

Playing against some of those teams has helped us just to be aware of different things for us.

Q. Hannah at times struggled against some taller players. Maybe not statistically but is this one the best games she ever played?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: I thought Hannah played great. I really did. You mentioned the role players, and we talked about in the locker room after the game was our big three do a lot for us. They got a lot of recognition and they deserve all they get.

But this was a game when we needed other players to make things happen. So gave a shout out to three players that been mentioned here. Allison Peplowski in the first quarter and third quarter when Hannah was on the bench. I thought she played outstanding.

Kyah Watson was in a stretch where we couldn't get some good shots and she did a great job attacking the rim and she hunted some open threes that didn't go in for her, but they were really good shots.

Maddie Krull made a lot of really good shots, really important things happen for us on top of, oh, you have to defend on the perimeter the whole time, pick the ball up and get through ball screens and help and then get back.

So we asked a lot out of those three, and I thought they really, really played with great confidence and composure.

Q. Dawn, Ole Miss is one of the top defensive teams in the country and you guys were able to find a way to score efficiently. What was it that really worked on that side of the ball?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Well, like I said, I thought we learned a lot from watching our offense against SEC teams that defended us on we didn't score against South Carolina. And I understand their defenses are slightly different in how they do things, but they're both man-to-man.

And we didn't score against South Carolina and then we didn't score against Texas A&M in the second half.

So went back and studied those things and tried to figure out are there certain things we can do out of our comfort zone. We have to tweak and change things so we can get shots against a team like Ole Miss.

I thought our players really adjusted to that and adjusted really well to it.

Q. With being four straight tournament appearances, what was the feeling going in on how experience could help you? How did you think that manifested itself?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: I think it's a great question, because I do think being here makes a big difference. I do. I do think that -- even in practice yesterday I think we kind of felt it because there is an excitement level.

When we were in Starkville and went to the NCAA tournament and it was the first time that we had done that, there was this jubilee, this excitement, and then this rah-rah emotion about it.

And, yes, we played pretty well. Didn't play well in the third, fourth quarter. Kind of got -- you know, missed some assignments. But anyway, I thought we understood this time. Now then we went last year and did not play well in the first half; we played great in the second half, not in the first half.

I think our players understood the time and the place. We talk a lot about the precious present. After this game there is a time and a place now -- and we don't even know what this looks like because we haven't done this before. Are we supposed to stay and watch the next team? Recover? How much time do you get with your family?

Those are all things we told them we're going to figure this out. Our kids are good at being in that moment. You want to giggle and laugh and have a good time. That's great. Lock in; okay, now it's time to giggle and laugh. And those could be 30 seconds apart.

They have a lot of fun with it. They have a great sense of humor, and nobody that anybody teases me more than Hannah Sjerven does. That's a fun environment to be around these young ladies.

Q. Obviously from a seeds perspective it wasn't an upset. Do you feel like it was an upset?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: I thought we played really well. I think Ole Miss is really, really good. I didn't -- I honestly didn't think it was a great draw for us when I saw it. I thought, This is going to be incredibly challenging because we haven't been able to score against SEC teams. We haven't done that. And then we look at their defense and they're just a lockdown defensive team.

So, again, felt that that was going to be challenging for us, and maybe went our way starting with Hannah's three first possession of the game.

I don't know if I -- how I feel, if's an upset or not. I thought our kids just played really good basketball today. Certainly the best that we've played all year.

Q. Dawn, how well did the girls rebound? Did it seem like the girls got to the glass well today?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: It's funny, because we talked about it. We started after we played against Oregon last year in the NCAA tournament and really got it taken to us early in that game and we couldn't rebound with them. It felt like we were probably one of the few teams in the country that worked on two things on our first day of our summer workouts.

One was rebounding and one was press break scenarios, because those really hurt us in the game against Oregon. The one thing that we did say when our matchup came out is, you know what? The two things we practiced right away after last year are two things that are going to be really crucial in that game.

The effort the players put into rebounding I thought was absolutely outstanding.

Q. Did how well did Allison, Maddie, and Kyah play? Talk to me a little bit more about how they played today.

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: They were incredible. I think they were difference makers in this game. Certainly the big three have a lot of attention that's drawn to them, so at some point in time other players have to make things happen because those kids are being really tightly, tightly guarded.

Sometimes you really have to help on them because they can make things happen. So other players had to find a way, and that's on the offensive end, on the defensive end. I thought all three were outstanding as well. I thought they did a tremendous job.

We were guarding ball screens in the third quarter and Allison was someone who got us going. Great communicator or. Kyah was one who I don't how many rebounds she ended up with. Only four? But boy, there were a lot of rebounds that she tipped and her teammates came up with them.

She did a great job defensively. Maddie I think certainly runs our defense, starts our defense for us. Really makes a lot of things happen. We were asking her to really get into spots where she could be a big time helper and then also get back and guard one-on-one.

That's really hard because your angle to defend at that point in time is really, really challenged. I thought she did a great job.