NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - WASHINGTON STATE VS KANSAS STATE

March 19, 2022

Jeff Mittie

Brylee Glenn

Ayoka Lee

Kansas State Wildcats

Media Conference

Kansas State 50, Washington State 40

THE MODERATOR: Coach Mittie, if you could please give us an opening statement.

COACH MITTIE: Well, I will say, I think they were two really good defensive teams. I think we each had something to do with the struggles early in this game. And I think both teams really were sound in that area. I was proud of our group, obviously when we got a lot of players struggling, we just kind of stayed the course. We struggled getting the ball to Lee, she struggled finishing early in this game. But we kept our focus I think decently in those areas. And when shots weren't falling -- that's been a majority of our team when shots weren't falling we dug deep today. I think that's something that this team has learned not to tie their defense to their offense. And I think we're moving on because of that. We obviously don't win this game because we're sharp offensively. We just enough plays. But defensively I liked what I saw. And you know, we're moving on because of it.

Q. Ayoka, in the first half it seemed like their emphasize was trying to deny you the ball -- even catching it in the post. What changed for you in the second half and how were you able to get free?

AYOKA LEE: I think that was definitely just a struggle in the first half. I think things opened up more just as we continued to play together. I think like Coach said, this was kind of a grind through it game. But we kept working hard I think is what helped us, and like the guards continuing to work and move I think was the biggest thing in us moving the ball.

Q. What was the mood like in that locker room at halftime and who is it? Is it coach doing the speaking or the players speaking up? What is it like when you're down at half?

BRYLEE GLENN: Even if we are down we also maintain a positive attitude. When coach walks in, we do clap. And we do celebrate like the little things that we had done. We try not to dwell on what we're doing bad, but stay confident and maintain that composure so that coming into the third quarter that we do what needs to be done.

Q. Similar question for Ayoka. Did you sense that you were able to kind of get them fatigued as the game wore on? Did you sense maybe some tired legs from Washington State out there later in the game?

AYOKA LEE: I didn't really think about that. I think coming out of half, I think it was -- like we knew we were still in it. We knew it was anyone's game. And like we have been in so many different game situations this year. I don't think there was any question of whether we were still in it or not. And I think our mentality was like, we just have to keep doing -- sticking to our game plan.

Q. Brylee, what was the focus on the defense end in the second half?

BRYLEE GLENN: Watching film, doing scouting and everything like that, we knew they were really good spot shooters. So I think coming into this game -- we do play a lot of zone. But the emphasis on it was not to let them get super wide open three's. We kept working better together, and we got more confident as a team. We were able to get better defensive stops and limit their three-point attempts.

Q. You seem very subdued right now. You just won a game. You played a lot of minutes. Or is it kind of your personality? You just seem very --

[ Laughter ]

COACH MITTIE: It's 90 degrees in the locker room. We just got out of a sauna.

AYOKA LEE: Yeah. I would say it's my personality. Yeah, I think definitely like celebrating. This is huge for us. But also I think, I don't know, I think I'm pretty, like, steady.

Q. You seem to position yourself better in the second half, what kind of changes do you make because you definitely got more rebounds in the second half than you did in the first half?

AYOKA LEE: Yeah, I just think the second half we were just playing better as a whole. And I think if I can get better position earlier on when -- and I know they have bigger windows to get it into me, I think that puts me in better rebounding position. I think that starts -- earlier on in the possession than just when the shot goes up.

Q. Brylee, it seemed like you had a little bit easier time, you and the rest of the guards, getting the ball in to Ayoka in the second half. Why do you think that was and how much of an emphasis was placed on that at halftime?

BRYLEE GLENN: During halftime I think there was a lot of emphasis. We all know what a great player Ayoka is so we all do want to get her the ball. I think in the first half we saw there were two people there, so we might have shied away from passing the ball into her a little bit. Coming out in the third quarter, we did put a big emphasis on looking at it more. And see those small windows, because there were small windows of getting her the ball. We wanted to just wanted to be able to do that for her.

Q. Ayoka, when you started getting to a rhythm a little bit there in the second half, just how did that feel for you especially after kind of some ups and downs in that first half?

AYOKA LEE: I think it was just something to keep building off of like every possession. I think our defense was better the second half, so having that too I think it was all just like, okay, let's keep building, keep building, keep building.

Q. Coach, I guess kind of the same question I asked Ayoka. What worked in the second half that didn't in the first?

COACH MITTIE: Well, we tried to get a different line-up out there in terms of they weren't guarding Ebert, they weren't gaurding Macke. They didn't guard Cymone, and so trying to put a better shooting line up out there where they had to stretch a little and give us a little bigger windows out there. So Dallinger got looks. Dallinger didn't shoot the ball well, but they know she's capable of knocking some three's down. And so I think stretching them a little bit. The other adjustment we tried to make is a little more middle of the floor with our entries. And then with the players they weren't guarding -- Goodrich had a really good stretch at the end of the 3rd start of the 4th because she shrunk the floor down herself getting closer to Lee. So she was able to make some plays there. It wasn't a great offensive game. I think what we talked about at halftime is there are windows in there. You have to show a little more discipline. You have to show a little more poise and be more decisive. I thought we were indecisive in the first half.

Q. The defense was also much better from you guys in the second half. I think you didn't allow them to make a field goal in the last five minutes of the game. Did defense come easier once you got the lead?

COACH MITTIE: I think confidence. I think both ends. I thought -- what Brylee alluded to was the rhythm defensively -- I thought we had a good feel for where they were trying to get their three's. I thought our switch outs were good, I thought our communication was good, I thought we were mixing things up enough to keep them off balance. You know, as a coach you can mix things up. If your players aren't on point with communication, if they are not locked into the action, all the stuff that you can draw on a white board doesn't matter. Our players really just continued to grow in their confidence. I thought, you know, one of the things that we wanted to do was -- Brylee alluded to running off the three-point line --I thought we made them shot fake and step aside on some plays. We were committed to guarding the three. And you know, they got the first three and we have a saying that there's a difference between pressure and posing. First three they got you guys could have got a great picture of us doing this. After that we were flying and we were making them bounce the ball. So our players really played well in that area.

Q. Just also the same question I asked Ayoka for you, I think this was her first NCAA tournament victory if I'm correct. So what is it about her personality? Does she get high?

COACH MITTIE: She does, but her coach played her 38: 53, so I think she's a little tired. So I didn't give her a lot of rest. Forgive her for resting during the press conference. It's the only time she gets to rest. One of the things that's great about her is that there's not anybody in the locker room bouncing around hugging everybody more than she is. And I think that -- but she really is the best balance of she has a mean streak between the lines, and then what you see here is just she's pretty chill and pretty relaxed outside of it. I know that she wanted to play well, and I know that she wanted this victory as they all did. And she was preparing. You go to our preparation last night, she was preparing all the way until 10 o'clock last night to get ready to play well today. So we didn't necessarily play well today, but we're moving on, and we're 1 of 32 that's going to be doing it.

Q. They got in foul trouble with their posts, and how helpful was that? They kind of went smaller the rest of the way. How beneficial was that in getting the ball into Lee?

COACH MITTIE: Yeah, I think it was helpful. You know, obviously it forced us to do some things differently at the defensive end. I do think there were bigger windows to get her the basketball in the second half. There's no doubt the free-throw line became a factor for us in the second half. We were very intentionally were driving it hard at them, we were very intentionally trying to get every opportunity we could. I thought our group did a good job when we did get in the bonus with staying with attacking the rim and forcing those calls.

Q. You guys most likely will get North Carolina state on Monday, playing them already, how does that change your guy's preparation as far as scouting them for Monday?

COACH MITTIE: Well, if we get North Carolina State that was a lifetime ago in basketball terms. I mean, I think it was our fourth game of the year, maybe fifth game of the year. You have some familiarity because you have seen them live in terms of personnel. But in terms of what they are doing now, where they have evolved to, I haven't seen them play much. I will dive into that as soon as I'm done with you fine folks, and dive into that as quickly as I can. Yeah, as you know, Tim, that was I think a Friday in the preseason NIT. So we were a young basketball team. I thought we came in and competed well, boy we sure couldn't stop them. Defensively we could not stop them. It was actually a good message to our group going back to Manhattan back then because we needed to improve, and we need to do it quickly. I'll be curious to see more North Carolina State going forward, if that's who we get on Monday. The odds are pretty good, but they still got a game to play.

Q. Coach, you mentioned Dallinger a little bit earlier. She didn't light up the stat sheet or at least she didn't score super well. How important was her willingness to drive the lane and draw fouls?

COACH MITTIE: Her plus minus is +11 on the day. So her value wasn't showing. I think her value showed in what I mentioned earlier in that I think they felt like they needed to guard her more, so there was bigger windows. I also thought she moved the ball fairly well. And while it doesn't show with a ton of assists, some hockey assists, spacing of the floor, and then defensively I thought she really played well, she took a big charge in that second half. So I thought she had a very good game and did some things that don't show up on the stat sheet.