NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - GEORGIA VS IOWA ST.

March 19, 2022

Joni Taylor

Georgia Bulldogs

Media Conference

MODERATOR: Coach, if you'd like to start with an opening statement, we'll then take questions.

JONI TAYLOR: Obviously, spent last night and this morning preparing for Iowa State. Really, really good team, another three-headed monster with their guards, when you look at Ashley Joens and what she can do as an All-American, and then you got Lexi, who's really, really good, and then Emily Ryan. And so we've gotta be really, really good about taking away the three, but also dribble penetration. I think they do a really good job of getting downhill to get to the rim, get to the free throw line and find shooters. So we're going to be stretched on all ends, and they've got great pieces around the three of them. So it's going to be a fun game, but a challenging game for us as well.

Q. Coach, can you just kind of take me through the timetable of the last 16 hours or so? I saw you guys at the game last night, but how have you guys gone about preparing, because as you said, Iowa State is a really good team.

JONI TAYLOR: Obviously, the girls went back last night, they went back, ate, watched the game, and we went to sleep. And so we had breakfast this morning at 9:30, then watched film at 10, prepped for Iowa State with our film work, with our scouting and then just had a two-hour practice and walked through some stuff offensively and defensively. And that's what it is. It's a quick turnaround. It's where you lean on your maturity. You lean on the mental side of the game being locked in and trusting just who we are with our principles, defensively and offensively.

Q. And then in the SEC, you guys obviously go up against one of the best players in the country, Rhyne Howard, Aliyah Boston, you name it, but Iowa State has another one in Ashley Joens. How difficult is it to handle her along with the pieces around her, as you said?

JONI TAYLOR: Well, she's somebody who can just take over a game, right, and score in a multitude of ways. She truly is a three-level scorer. She shoots the three. She can create her own shots. She can get by you, put it on the floor. She's got moves, and she's versatile around the paint. She rebounds the basketball, plays extremely tough. She's just a seasoned player and somebody who is just relentless in how she pursues things and wants to be a leader for their team. So it won't be one person guarding her. That's going to be a team job, a team assignment. And understand she's going to make tough shots. It's where we've gotta be disciplined with everyone else as well and make sure that we're not giving up things that they want. We've gotta make their shots tough.

Q. And the last thing I had, so I guess the advantage they have is obviously the depth and the options because last night 70 of 78 of Iowa State's points came from Joens, Donarski and Ryan. How can you guys use that to your advantage, having 29 points off the bench last night?

JONI TAYLOR: Well, it's been our secret sauce all year long, so it's where everybody has to be ready to go when their number is called. It's where we have to be locked in to know what it is we're looking for offensively and get to that. And then we've gotta go pursue the basketball when it goes up. We've gotta rebound the ball, give ourselves second-chance opportunities. And I think that's what makes us dangerous is that, yes, we know it could be a few people, but it could also be somebody else. So, again, it's taking rhythm shots, taking the shot that we know we're going to take when it's our turn, and then the biggest thing, again, is just going to rebound it.

Q. Coach Fennelly talked highly of you when he was in here. He said you served on some committees. He spoke of your eloquence. What do you know of Bill Fennelly? And if you hadn't come up here to play now, but somebody had asked you in Georgia, well, what is the Iowa State program, how would you respond? What's their brand?

JONI TAYLOR: I think number one, I know Coach Fennelly really well. He's someone who I've watched and admired for a really long time. When I was an assistant at Georgia in 2013, we played Iowa State in Spokane. So very familiar with them. And I've always watched their program from afar. When I think about Coach Fennelly, I think about him being a steward of our game. He's one of the guardians of our game. He serves on the same committees I do and is really one of the leaders in that respect in terms of growing the game and making sure that we're equitable and we're just pushing the needle in all types of ways.

When I think about their program, I think about history; I think about tradition. I think about players who shoot the three really well, but also who defend really, really well. I think about atmosphere; I think about environment, the crowd. Like it's what you want when you look at women's basketball. You want people in the stands who are excited, who embrace our women's program, and just how they've built it and grown it here is something that's really, really, something we look up to and we admire.

Q. And, conversely, when someone is asked what is Georgia women's basketball, what do you hope they say?

JONI TAYLOR: Hope they say it's a tradition-rich program that when you watch them play, they play hard, they play for each other, they play with their heart and that there are women there who are carrying on a legacy that was created by the people who came before them.

Q. Bill also mentioned that you've spoken very eloquently about the future of basketball and what you want it to look like. Can you give us a thumbnail sketch of what you envision for the future of the game?

JONI TAYLOR: Well, I hope it continues to grow. I think we're in the right direction. I think there have been a lot of things that have happened when you look at just the things that we've been able to do this year. The NCAA has really stepped up in terms of branding. We've got March Madness. We have 68 teams. I think last year's disparities in the bubble really pointed out how there's still room for us to grow. Right? And with this being the 50th anniversary of Title IX, we'd be remiss to continue not to push the needle.

So I think for us we want to continue to have our games televised. It's really been fun to go back to the hotel room and watch every game on TV. That has not always happened. So there is growth, but we're not done. So for us, I think the path to parity has to come on the business side of things, you know, making sure that our game has the same market value as the men, making sure that there's revenue distribution. There's still places that we can stretch and grow and ask people to make it more equitable for our game.

Q. Coach, kind of a bigger picture thing here, but I was thinking about the last year or so that your family has been on the NCAA tournament appearances, Darius getting to be a head coach and assistant GM in Atlanta and all the success that your program has had. I mean, can you put the value of the latest chapter of your all's journey into words? I mean, two kids, all that. Can you put it into words?

JONI TAYLOR: Blessed is what I would say. Grateful, humble. Darius and I have the same dream and passion for what we want to do professionally and personally, and that's affect the lives of young people, right, and continue to help them in any way we can. And it's great to have a partner to have a family and a support system who understands that and who does nothing but help you achieve the goals that you want, not for yourself, but for the program that we're playing for and for the young women who walk through those doors. So it's been a blessing that that has happened, but more importantly, the impact that our young ladies have on our two daughters. Right? And I think also the impact that our two daughters have on our team. It's been fun to watch the dynamic both ways. And so it's something that you don't take for granted. And basketball is something that we're all here that binds us together, but I think it also allows you to put things in perspective, when you see two young children running around and when they see the late hours that you're putting in because you're trying to do something special. So I think it's just perspective for everybody, and hopefully it allows them, not only my two daughters, but our players, it allows them to see that you can have what you want, right? And that's what it's about. It's about having choices. And as long as they understand they have choices, and if they work hard, the sky is the limit for what they want to accomplish, that's what we want to do.