NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - UTAH VS TEXAS

March 19, 2022

Vic Schaefer

Audrey Warren

Joanne Allen-Taylor

Texas Longhorns

Media Conference

VIC SCHAEFER: Good afternoon, y'all. Just happy for our players. To be able to win in the NCAA Tournament is really hard. Everybody is really good. And I thought while it wasn't our best night, I thought Fairfield had a lot to do with that. And, again, congratulations to them on a great season. As I told our players, we beat a champion. They won their regular season conference championship as well as their tournament.

Anytime you beat a champion, you've done something. And even though it might not have been as clean as we would like, it's still a win in the NCAA Tournament, and you just try to win and advance.

And so we're here today advancing and have to play a tremendous Utah team. Just, obviously, they played extremely well last night and have been playing really well down the stretch. Coach Roberts and her staff have done a great job, and it's going to be a real big challenge for us.

I think they present a lot of issues for you defensively. They'll challenge you every possession, and they'll go deep into the shot clock challenging you. So it's going to take a real focus on our part for the full 30 seconds to defend them and defend all the things they like to do.

They've got tremendous players over there that are playing extremely well at a high level. Great point guard play, which is -- you got to have that to win this time of year. You better have that, and they've certainly got that.

And so we'll have to play -- we'll have to be really good on that end to start with. And I think that's where it starts for Texas is on the defensive end. I think if we're playing well on that end, our confidence really flows into our offense, and we feel better about things on that end.

We'll be challenged at every position, and you'll be challenged in every set because they're going to really try to put some pressure on you in different spots on the floor.

Happy for our kids. Happy for our players to be able to get through last night, and I thought we had a nice atmosphere in the Erwin Center for our game last night.

Q. For the players, obviously, the 15 three-pointers from Utah stands out, so what's the key to stopping that? What defensively -- you go into a game like this. What's the priority when you are facing a team that can just light it up from outside like that?

AUDREY WARREN: I mean, we've seen teams that were capable of all shooting the ball before, so I think going back to those games and seeing what worked, we'll all need to handle our match-up one-on-one so we don't have to come off and rotate or have to help each other too much where we get off the shooters and they're able to kick it out to them.

JOANNE ALLEN-TAYLOR: We just have to be really tough on the ball. Extremely aggressive on ball to me.

Q. Kind of as a follow-up to that, you guys have been pretty good at defending the three all season. When you look back at the games where you were able to successfully do that, are there any in particular that stand out that you think can serve as the template that you want to do tomorrow?

AUDREY WARREN: Can you repeat it one more time? I don't think I heard what you are asking.

Q. Basically, are there any games this season that you feel like your three-point defense was really on point and you want to use that as an example for what you need to do tomorrow?

AUDREY WARREN: I think the closest resemblance would probably be an Iowa State, just players that can shoot it one through five.

JOANNE ALLEN-TAYLOR: Just being extremely aggressive on ball like we've been all year. I think that kind of sets the tone for us defensively.

Q. Audrey, a lot has been made about equality of tournaments, trying to improve the women's tournament to be on equal standing as the men's. One of the differences is they play first round games at neutral sites as opposed to, obviously, the reason we're here right now. Do you like it the way it is, or would you prefer the format to be more like the men's?

AUDREY WARREN: I like having the advantage of a home court. You know, we get -- typically there's more fans from our area that are rooting for us, so that's a good environment to have.

Just having -- getting to play on your home court is a huge advantage itself, and then considering we won't have to -- we don't have to travel anywhere. You know, we get to stay close. We're at our homes throughout the day, so it's an advantage.

I like the way it is. I liked it last year when it was all at a neutral site in San Antonio. I'm fine either way. I'm just happy we get to play basketball.

Q. Jo, when you went back and looked at the film or thinking back to last night, what did you like, and what did you dislike about how you all performed yesterday?

JOANNE ALLEN-TAYLOR: I think there were spurts of just seeing the freshmen really do well and come into their own. I think that was a positive for us, them stepping up late in the season, and that's just growth for how they're going to -- or what type of players they're going to become throughout their college careers, like Tasha and A-Mo really having big minutes for us.

And then I can only speak on myself personally about what I dislike. I mean, I just felt like I wasn't comfortable defensively, and I kind of gave up too many easy buckets. Especially not turning and running and staying in front of the ball and kind of getting in foul trouble a little bitterly, so that was just my little niche that I had to look back and see what I had to be better at personally so I can carry that into the next game.

Q. Since last year you guys were a 6 going into this round, and you had UCLA, you had Maryland. Does it help to know what the mentality of an underdog is so you kind of know what Utah is coming out there playing? Or is that overblown, and this is just basketball, and y'all are just playing?

JOANNE ALLEN-TAYLOR: I, honestly, think we're just playing. I mean, Utah is a really good team, so it's hard to say underdog this, underdog that, because, I mean, they're a 7 seed. But, man, they hung 90 on Arkansas last night. That's tough to do. So, yeah, I think we're all just playing. We're just playing, yeah.

Q. Regardless, unless y'all decide to come back next year, this is kind of it for you at the Erwin Center, or I guess this is it for you at the Erwin Center regardless. What do you think about playing here one more time in this arena?

AUDREY WARREN: There's a lot of history in this arena, and I think Jo and I are both really excited to have gotten to play the four years here. We want to end it right at the Erwin Center with a win and going on to the next round.

Q. The Fairfield coach last night really complimented you guys in a way, saying that if you are going to play Texas, you better have designed two or three different ways just to get the ball up the court, two or three different ways just to keep the ball inbounds. That seems to speak to just how intense you guys are on defense. Is that where it all starts for you, just from 94 feet all the way?

AUDREY WARREN: I definitely think that that's who we are, is our defense. And that's where it's going to start, is in the ball. You can't get the ball on offense without getting a stop on defense. And I think pressuring people for 94 feet and making them turn it over multiple times or just throwing it out of bounds or anything really gives us a momentum goer on offense.

JOANNE ALLEN-TAYLOR: For me personally, it's not something you can necessarily always control. You can always control your effort defensively. You might not always be able to control balls going into the hoop every single game, but it just sets the tone for you, and it's something you can bring to the table every single game. So, yeah.

Q. When you look at the turnovers that Utah had last night, I think it was like 19 or something like that. Was there a common denominator that you saw, and, I guess, lessons from anything Arkansas did to force those turnovers that you guys can do?

VIC SCHAEFER: Well, I think during the course of a ball game, as I watch the film, many films last night and into this morning, I think there's things that you pick up offensively and defensively that might be similar to what you do.

And you try to show your kids, okay, here's something here, here's something we might be able to do here. But I just think we're way different than most people as far as how we play. I think that we've got to be us. At the same time, we've got to clean some stuff up.

I just -- the only thing -- I just didn't -- I actually didn't think we were near as sharp and played as hard as we had been playing, which I knew it was coming. I told you all. I knew it was coming last night coming off of the Big 12 Tournament Championship, and having the young, inexperienced team that I have and some of the immaturity. I saw it coming all week, and there's nothing you can do about it sometimes, and just getting through the night.

Again, giving Fairfield tons of credit, but I think we got to be -- we've got to be really disciplined tomorrow night. They're smart. They're heady. They got the same film I got. They're going to try to put us in some spots where we're stressed, and we're going to have to handle them a whole lot better. And so we'll see if we can get some things ironed out today in practice.

For Arkansas, I think they're a little bit different than us as far as defensively, and so I think we've got -- you've got to go through a ton of film to get to something that is similar to us. And, unfortunately, there's not a lot of Pac-12 film that looks like Texas defensively. So, I mean, I think you really have got to do some research.

Q. Vic, Oregon coach Kelly Graves the other day on a podcast said that to reach true equality with the men's tournament that games should be at neutral sites even from the get-go. What's your reaction to that? Obviously, you're playing at home, so I don't expect that you would agree with him this year, but just generally, do you think that's the way the tournament ought to go?

VIC SCHAEFER: Well, I used to be that person, but here's the thing. We can do that, and there might be this many people in the stands if we go to a neutral site. That's why they've done it. They haven't done it just to go, hey, let's give somebody an advantage. There's some adults that got in a room and said, what's more important for our kids? What's more important for the student-athletes?

I used to be that person that go, hey, that's not fair for 64 teams to have to go to 16 home team sites. But the other side of that is, well, everybody has the same opportunity to be one of those 16 teams, right? I mean, it is.

I think what you then have with the NCAA is, okay, what's a great experience for our student-athletes -- playing in an empty arena or playing in that environment last night?

I'm not saying I have the answer. I'm telling you that's what the talking -- the people are trying to figure out. Everyone has their opinion, right? That's where we're at.

Look, in the old league I was in, it was three hours from South Carolina when we played in our conference tournament. Was that real fair? Huh? But that town, that community does a great job in supporting that event, and there's people at the games, which, in turn, created a great environment for our kids to experience, if that makes sense.

It's whatever you think is most important, and apparently the bosses think that what's more important is that we have bigger crowds that's better for the games and creates an atmosphere that our student-athletes can really have a good experience in. So -- and, again, everybody has the same opportunity to be one of those top 16 seeds, so --

Q. Vic, were you concerned by the amount of threes or I guess success from behind the arc that Iowa State had in the tournament, or was that just one of those days where they just made the extra passes and just had a good day?

VIC SCHAEFER: No, I was very concerned. We've been pretty good out there, but we weren't good that day. I'm sure if you are Utah, you're probably going to that film and feeling pretty good about yourself, and for us I've shown the same film, and it's concerning. We've been pretty solid out there all year. That day, that game wasn't very good.

And so we've got to do better. I've got to find a way to get that fixed today and tomorrow in shoot-around because it's going to be a problem. You're going to lose the Horse game. If we stand out there and try to play Horse with them, we're going to lose. So we're going to have to find a way to fix that.

And you fix it by handling the ball. You can guard the ball, you don't have to rotate, you don't have to come off people, you've got a whole lot better chance. That's the thing I think that you are impressed with Utah.

The thing about film, y'all, is film doesn't show quickness or speed. Like, when you are watching game film and scouting film -- it's why in the old days, y'all, they used to let us have one in-person scouting a year. You could go in-person scout somebody one time a year. And when I would go do that, I wasn't writing down plays. You can get that off film. I'm writing down quickness and speed.

That's the thing when you are sitting there last night, that's the thing that really jumped out at me about Utah. They're quick, they're athletic, and there's speed. I think that's the thing that we've got to be really on point with tomorrow night.

Q. Kind of going off what you just said as far as the in-person scouting, yesterday you were sitting next to your assistants for that game. Was that just because you hadn't seen Utah? Because I know, you know, Dionnah, April, Calamity were kind of out there by themselves in the Big 12 tournament, but you joined them yesterday. Was that because you wanted see a firsthand account of two teams you really hadn't seen?

VIC SCHAEFER: No, typically I do that, quite frankly. In the NCAA Tournament I do it for sure. Even in the conference tournaments, I'm typically out there scouting. The time schedule and the time frame in Kansas City made it a little bit hard for me.

And, plus, I had already seen those teams we were fixing to play twice, and I had seen them recently. So I felt good about what I was looking at and who I was dealing with.

Typically, NCAA Tournament, I'm always out there.

Q. When it comes to looking at film, how do you balance wanting to just look at mistakes that you want to correct versus showing them this is some stuff that we did well, or does it depend on the game or the opponent you're going to face next?

VIC SCHAEFER: I think in such a quick turnaround, it's hard to cover everything. I think you have to figure out as a coach what's more important, and that's what we did this morning. We watched what was more important to the head coach, and that's what we did.

You know, I think my job is to be a realist, and at the same time you've got to present to them some answers and make them understand: Here's what we've got to do. Here are things that we can do to be effective. Here's some mistakes that we typically don't make, we've been really solid on for whatever reason. We've made them. We have to make sure we clean that up.

Q. We've obviously talked a lot about Rori this season and her development. I'm kind of wondering, obviously, the talent is there, and the skills are there, but how much has being tutored by Dionnah helped her, how much has your coaching and what you have taught her helped her with this, I guess, transition she's made this season?

VIC SCHAEFER: I think she listens well. I think she's very coachable, and I think that having someone like Dionnah around that's been there, that's played the game, and, obviously, has instant credibility really benefits her.

And then she knows I've had some really good point guards in my career, so a lot of them similar in a lot of ways. And so she's very coachable and wants to get better.

And, again, you're talking about a kid that's the ultimate competitor. I mean, she just is such a competitive kid and just extremely -- that motor is just running a lot. I get used to the fifth year, and I notice the fourth gear. Fourth gear is good for most people, but you know me. I'm always wanting fifth gear, and I notice the difference.

And so she understands that. And I think that's the challenge with any freshman. They go through these -- anywhere. It's -- this isn't personal. We're just trying to help them become the best they can be. It's our job to push them to places and limits that -- pass limits that they never really knew were there.

And I think Aliyah said it in the newspaper the other day. She's learning to be uncomfortable, and that's what's helping her become good. And that's the challenge, is learning to deal with being uncomfortable. A lot of kids don't want to be uncomfortable, and they run. I'm uncomfortable. I don't like it. I don't like it here because I'm uncomfortable. Okay. They take their ball and go somewhere else.

That's the challenge for kids today, is don't run. You're uncomfortable because you're learning. You're growing. You're becoming a better player. You're going against better talent against you. And so that uncomfortably is what is going to allow you to become the best you can be.

And I think for somebody like Rori, Rori has the talent. What separates her is her effort. You've heard me say that. There's not a lot of players in the country -- forget freshmen. There's not a lot of players in the country that play as hard as she does on both ends of the floor and impact the game. She's in everybody's scouting report on defense. Forget the fact that she's our second leading scorer or whatever she is or her assist to turnover ratio.

She's in their scouting report on you better take care of the ball because you're going to get to know her for two hours on whatever night you're playing her because she's going to be that close to you.

You know, it's the old Hoosiers. What kind of chewing gum was she chewing? You know, most nights she can tell you. That's just the kind of player she is. And, man, those players, y'all, are getting fewer and farther between. Everybody wants to score, but not many people want to do what she does.

And she embraces it. She loves it. It's why she's at Texas. She's told you that. That's what makes that kid so unique and so special.

Q. Who are some of those former point guards who you see as being similar to Rori?

VIC SCHAEFER: Jazz on my staff. Jazz's motor was very similar, speed, up and down the floor. Jazz saw the floor so well. She knew Blair was going to be standing in that left corner, and if she could get it down the floor fast enough, she knew she could throw a slice pass across court, and Blair would be standing there, and there's a good chance she's going to bury a three.

Morgan William, same thing. She was that tough, physical, took over 100 charges in her career. Tough kid that had played with no fear. Sydney Carter was on our national championship team. Just maybe one of the top three toughest kids I've ever coached at 5'6", stand in front of a freight train to take a charge, but smart and heady.

I could go on, but Rori -- I think, again, where it excites me about Rori is where she is as a freshman, she's probably further ahead than everybody I just mentioned. Again, all those kids I just mentioned had the motor. They had the motor. Again, Rori's skill set is probably a little better right now in this time in her career.

Now the challenge for her is to get better even with her skill set, right? Don't lose what -- don't lose the motor. Keep that motor, but now we've got to keep working on the skill set and making it.

And she will. You saw her make a bunch of threes the other night in the Big 12 Championship game. She hasn't done that all year, but she's been working on it. It's not just something that happens. That's something that she's worked on, and she's developing some confidence in. Special. I mean, she is very special.

Thank you. Praise the Lord and Hook 'em Horns.