NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - GONZAGA VS LOUISVILLE

March 19, 2022

Lisa Fortier

Anamaria Virjoghe

Kaylynne Truong

Yvonne Ejim

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Media Conference

Q. What's the feeling after a big win yesterday and how do you move on emotionally from that to a somewhat bigger challenge?

YVONNE EJIM: I feel like a lot of smiles after our win last year, just knowing we're one step closer to our goal. I feel it really pumps up our team and gives us a lot of energy and taking that energy into this next game. Tough opponent but we want to be as excited more than nervous for what's coming up for us during this tournament. And just really bringing that like energy into our game offensively and defensively.

KAYLYNNE TRUONG: To piggyback off of that, we're having fun and we're lucky to be here. Not most teams can say they're still dancing now.

ANAMARIA VIRJOGHE: I mean, we are excited. It was a good game last night. And we are hoping to have a great game tomorrow. So yeah, we're happy.

Q. Obviously with Louisville being the 1 seed and you guys come in as underdogs, even more so with this being their home arena. Are you guys leaning into this, where it's going to be a pretty slanted crowd toward their side tomorrow?

ANAMARIA VIRJOGHE: We played with a lot of crowds in the gyms. We know how it feels like. Of course they're No. 1. We know they're going to come out and play like they're No. 1. But we're going to come out playing, too, like, doesn't matter, it can be our last game, so we're going to put everything on the floor.

KAYLYNNE TRUONG: Our home games and our conferences prepped us, especially at BYU. We played against their home crowd coming into this game it's nothing new for us.

YVONNE EJIM: What Lynny said, I feel like the BYU game had a really swarming crowd when we were playing there. I feel like that was kind of enough prep for us just coming into this Louisville game. But I feel like that atmosphere is just going to make it a lot more exciting for us and taking that perspective and really putting that into our game tomorrow.

Q. Obviously you guys have thrived in the paint, on the boards and you probably are going to have to do that again tomorrow. What does that matchup look like right now for you guys against another team that rebounds well?

YVONNE EJIM: Yes, it's definitely going to be a big matchup. I feel like they're super aggressive, both inside the paint and outside. But I feel like we just have to take that on and kind of like experience that, get a good grip of it throughout the game.

I feel like practices and other teams that we've played in our conference have prepared us for stuff like that. So really just taking in like the physicality and the aggressiveness that's going to come to us tomorrow. And just getting through it one by one, helping each other out through it. So just doing that throughout the game.

KAYLYNNE TRUONG: We'll continue sticking together, going with the game plan, make sure we take care of the ball. We saw yesterday in their game they were pressing, speeding up the other team. We have to take care of the ball and stick to the game plan, stick together and play together.

Q. Their coach already noted how much you guys all rebound, not just the post players, not just the forwards, but guards too. And how much is that team effort a part of your game, especially for you, Kaylynne?

KAYLYNNE TRUONG: Rebounding is a very big thing for our team, at least. And I mean, I'm mostly safety. I have to do that job well. Because if we don't get the rebound we've got to have someone back. And if I'm in the hound position, I've got to make sure I get to the free-throw line. And just everything's important, especially just crashing, but then also having a safety. And if we do that all together, that's what makes our team so great on the boards.

ANAMARIA VIRJOGHE: I mean, we know we had a great rebounding team and not just like the post players. We're going to get a tip on the ball and I know my teammates, my guards are going to be there to get the rebound if I can't get it. I think we're doing a really good job all five of us going to get the ball.

YVONNE EJIM: What they said.

Q. Lynn and also for you, Yvonne, a little bit. Louisville has talent all over the floor. But Hailey Van Lith is kind of a star for them out there on the perimeter. What's made the key to keeping her in check?

KAYLYNNE TRUONG: You know, as great as a player she is, we don't really shut down a player. We just can limit her. And so to limit her we just gotta make her other teammates do what they can't -- bouncing off BYU, that's what we did. We tried to limit Paisley and Shaylee and make their teammates do what's out of the ordinary and what's out of their comfort zone. That's pretty much it.

YVONNE EJIM: I feel also leaning towards a lot of team defense against her and all their other players. Hailey is a really good player. We can't just leave one person to do that job by themselves because she is like a really capable player.

So really, like, using the five players on the court to help limit her and then also contain the other really good talented players on floor as well.

Q. As the rounds get more, the pressure amplifies. And sometimes you can overthink. So I would love to know from all three how do you not allow the moment to get so big? What keeps you focused and grounded?

YVONNE EJIM: Really good question. I feel like one thing that I like to do is just lean on my teammates. That's just something that keeps me in the moment. Keeps me going, just knowing that I have them, because at least if anything we're kind of all sharing the pressure together, really.

So just making sure that we're having each other's backs, I'm having my teammates backs, they're having my backs. And just knowing that in the back of my head I feel like suits me a little bit more when it comes to being too flustered or out of control or fast paced during the game. I feel like that's something that I just think about.

KAYLYNNE TRUONG: Yvonne said it all just leaning on my teammates. I know when I step on the court I don't have to do it myself. And I hope my teammates know that they don't have to do it themselves and we have each other's back, stick together.

ANAMARIA VIRJOGHE: I'm just going to take it one play at a time. Like setting up the game, I'll make sure I start with a lot of energy, make sure that my teammates can feel the energy. And just get a quick rebound, get a stop. Just taking one play at a time.

Q. An overarcing storyline these first round games is a controversy of you showing up in Leigh's jersey trying to convince Lisa you were the same player. We asked her and she put all the blame on you?

KAYLYNNE TRUONG: I'm going to blame her because she used my loop. It ended up in my locker. That's okay. We have fun over here. I can take the blame, I guess.

Q. Something about a loop and an issue and she wore the jersey. [Inaudible]?

KAYLYNNE TRUONG: It's funny because for practice I put my jersey on as a cape. I didn't really look at the jersey that I put on. So when we went to go do 5-on-5, I took off the cape and then looked at the jersey and it was hers. I was like, oh, wow, okay. I don't know. (Laughter).

Q. I know you talked about the atmosphere a little bit with Louisville hosting, I want to know from your perspective, what is it like to now be prepping for a 1 seed, how daunting is that task to play a 1 seed here in the NCAA Tournament?

ANAMARIA VIRJOGHE: It's really exciting. It's exciting to play a great team, great program. It's just going to be exciting to like have a lot of people in the gym. We're going to play our game and we have nothing to lose. So we're going to put it all on the court.

KAYLYNNE TRUONG: Again, very pumped and excited. Not a lot of people get to say they play a No. 1 seed. I think most people just forget. We're very lucky to be here. We should just have fun because that's what basketball's about we should have fun and play together and play with your friends, that's what we're here for.

YVONNE EJIM: One thing I think about when seeing Louisville as a 1 seed and obviously Nebraska is our 8 seed, I feel all our teams coming into the NCAA are just really good teams. This is just a different really good team that we've got to prep for, we've got to do different things for, because they have like different strengths and weaknesses as well. So I feel like that's just something we have to keep in mind, just knowing that we're always going to play good teams, one game after another here. We've just got to come out with our best.

Q. I think you put up more 12-, 15-foot shots in the last month than the previous three years. Talk about your confidence taking those long shots now.

ANAMARIA VIRJOGHE: I can talk about like San Francisco game. I think I took like 10 shots in that game. Like six of them were like mid ranges. I mean, if one is going in, I'm going to take the second one. If the second one is going in, I'm going to take the third one.

Sometimes just like having confidence. And yeah, I think I took yesterday one, it went in, I said that's my shot. I'm going to take it again.

COACH FORTIER: We're excited. Our team did a good job. We've seen some film of Louisville, and I really hadn't watched very much. Our paths hadn't crossed this year. I'd seen them a little bit, but not a ton. Very good defensive team. They're problematic on offense, primarily. If you turn the ball over, I think that's the number one thing you have to do, take care of the ball. And then they're like everyone else, it's really hard to stop people from making layups after you turn over with live ball situations and they're so aggressive they spend a lot of time doing that.

I like some things we can do in the half court. If we can handle the pressure with poise and then part of it is handling the pressure and taking care of the ball. Part is what you do after that. A lot of teams that are aggressive defensively force you into questionable offense.

I think they have maybe the 3 that you would separate offensively but then the rest of their support players do a really nice job of filling their role and being ready when called upon. They've played good opponents who have tried to do all the things. They've tried to help off you. Tried to double you here. And so like one of these guys said, we're just going to have to do it better.

Yvonne, I think, said they're the next good opponent we have in front of us. So I hope our team can figure out how to execute and find some things that we'll be successful with and carry on.

Q. What's the attitude emotionally on the team that you can glean so far?

COACH FORTIER: I think they feel excited. I think they feel loose. Ling and Leigh (phonetic), I think, create that for us. They're pretty goofy. And we don't have a lot of uptight people when it comes to life.

I think they're a pretty laid-back group, when it comes to school. They're modern teenagers or 18 to 22-year-olds. So they are trying to be really good at things.

But they kind of handle themselves in a way that's fun and lighthearted. And they're joking and Craig's jumping out behind trying to scare Lynn at the elevator.

I think we have a nice -- we feel practice was good. We were in practice trying to stretch them. I think it gets a little tense. But I think they seem excited and confident that if we can do some stuff, we can do some stuff. If we can't, we can't. I think they're excited to go into tomorrow and try to do the things we're trying to do well.

Q. Louisville has a lot of different ways to pressure teams. You guys seem to handle Nebraska pretty well. You didn't seem too rushed at all. How do you go about game planning for those pressures, when the half-court trap, full-court press you, do something every other possession?

COACH FORTIER: It's tricky, because you have one day to prepare for all of that stuff. I know that Louisville is different than San Diego and Stephen F. Austin and Portland, but those are three teams we've played five games' worth, where we were just pressured the heck out of.

They pressed you for 40 minutes also. And I'm thankful that we've seen some different types of pressure defenses, because you can't prepare for everything in one day where you're not trying to overdo it.

But really we have a couple of things in the package that I think will be helpful. And we've got to identify which one it is. And what we're going to do against it. The half-court trap at the top is going to have a different feeling than when we're in the full court trying to break that initial trap, or whatever it might be.

So we have pretty veteran guards between Truong and Abby and Cierra specifically. We have Mel, a veteran player, Ana is a fifth-year kid as well. Vonny handles it a lot. I think personnel-wise we're equipped to handle it, as long as we maintain composure.

And we spend a lot of time talking about real time reading the defense, where is the help coming from, where is the double coming from. You have to not just see it but actually see it and tell where we need to attack it.

Easier said than done, which I also told them. I know it's hard.

Q. You mentioned that you could tell that the players, it meant so much to them to win yesterday after what happened last year. Do you think that them officially being able to close the book on that and put that in the rear view will help them approach this game tomorrow?

COACH FORTIER: Hopefully. You know, we really try not to -- I try as a coach to get them to not dwell on the past.

But they just do what they do. So I hope that that is done now and that we can have that fine balance of playing loose while also executing and not being casual. And that will be important for tomorrow.

And I do think that certainly that is pushed out of their minds now. And we got a new game tomorrow and it's going to have challenges of its own. But I think that we're probably done with that other team, Belmont, now.

Q. Going way back to the past, for you as a coach, you were an assistant then. But how big does that win over Louisville in 2011 rank for you?

COACH FORTIER: That was fun. So that was the win to put us into the Elite Eight. It was Sweet 16 in Spokane. And we made some big defensive plays. I was coaching defense at the time. And so that was -- I think I was pretty young, assistant coach, but they're very different now and all those things.

That's the only experience I think we have with Louisville. I think that's the only time we've played them in modern times.

And it was a big-time game. And haven't thought about it much. I mostly think about how -- my kids ask me all the time, who did we lose to in the Elite Eight? Who did we lose to in the Elite Eight?

They don't ever ask us how did we get to the Elite Eight. They say who did we lose to and that was Stanford. It was fun to play them. Hopefully it will be fun to play them here again tomorrow.

It was a great environment. That's something I remember about it. Our team played well, which we needed to. We were a lower seeded team as well. They weren't a 1 but they were like a 2 or 3, something like that.

Our team needed to play against a good team. That's the main similarity. Me and Jeff were both there.

Q. Could you compare the two environments from last year's tournament and their own struggles last year of course being in front of little to no fans and then this year being in front of literally a home audience for Louisville?

COACH FORTIER: Well, I mean, it's way better. I'd rather be in front of a home audience for Louisville than in front of nobody but our parents last year, and we love our parents. They're here this time, too.

They're kind of like not comparing apples to apples. It just feels very different. I know the crowd won't be pulling for us tomorrow. It's more what we're used to. We're used to people being here and it being loud.

Even at Gonzaga, it's loud for us, it's still loud. That's an environment that we enjoy playing in front of and we're accustomed to. And I think in the NCAA Tournament that's what creates a student-athlete experience. And I think both programs are very fortunate that our student-athletes have a high-level experience, because it's not like that.

Our fans and probably the Louisville fans don't realize that it's not like this in other places. So credit to them and their community for supporting their program. Credit to the Spokane community for supporting our program and creating the best environment for our student-athletes.

Q. I asked you yesterday about Melody's consistency. Can you talk a little bit about just her growth from being that star player off the bench the last two years to now sort of -- you say it's a "we" team but being a leader for you on the floor and how much playing as that person off the bench the last two years has helped her be this great leader on the court for you this season?

COACH FORTIER: I think when they have to go through that transition, it really helps. It's humbling a little bit because every player we have on our team is the best player on their high school team or one of the top two. Then you go into college and you're not the best player on the team.

It's very rare. It happens sometimes. But not very often. And so I think it's humbling a little bit. I think it helps them to learn. I think it helps you become a better leader because you can speak from experience. And in our program, at least, you're able to learn from people who have done the same thing. So they've also grown through that.

And so Mel can relate to Yvonne, and she can relate to Eliza and Maud, and those are just the other bigs, but she can relate to the guards who are going through that same thing right now. And it's hard. It's hard to going from playing every minute on your high school team to playing not even every game sometimes, as a freshman or sophomore, sometimes a junior. It just depends.

So I think that's a big part of her leadership that's helped us. And then also, again, I talked about, I don't think it was your question but maybe it was someone else's where I talked about that ladder they kind of go through sometimes. With the post player, specifically, as we've been fortunate enough to have some good ones they're just learning, they're getting their teeth kicked in oftentimes by the starters, just time after time after time trying to stop them, trying to front them, trying to push them off the block, whatever they're trying to do. And it makes them better because they've been doing that.

So Mel is a better player for having to have done that with Zykera and having done it with Jenn Wirth and just the same as Bonnie is the better player for having to -- she matches up with Mel almost every day. And I think that's a good thing for Mel, is that she's not only leaving a legacy behind her, but she's also crediting the legacy that was ahead of her.

And she just is very aware of it and big part of the development that we do. We talk a lot about development in our program and you can see it if you just watch them, a few clips from each year. They just keep getting better.

Q. Wondering your impressions Hailey Van Lith and how much of her you got to see, if any, when she was growing up in Washington?

COACH FORTIER: We got to see a lot of her. We tried hard. We tried to get her Gonzaga, Jordan is a Cashmere guy. I know she says Wenatchee but she went to Cashmere High School. They came to camp every year. We spent a lot of time out there.

I got to spend some time with her at USA Basketball. That was a fun experience because a lot of these players that we play against, I got to coach at some capacity at least on the court with. And we're pretty familiar with her. She's continued to get better. Her work ethic is among the best I've ever seen. And just her intensity out there and her desire to do the job.

So she looks like we would expect her to look on the floor, based on how she works and how she pushes herself and I think she's improved her game and gotten stronger just like we thought she would, and she's certainly a tough guard.

Q. You brought up before how you had a few players who are very loose, able to keep the team energized and not think too much about the struggle of the game. But for you, when do you feel like it's a time for you as a coach to step in and help your players feel less stressed or when you allowed the players to do it themselves?

COACH FORTIER: That's a good question. I think that I look at my job a lot of the time is trying to balance whatever they have. So when they're too loose, then I kind of gotta reel them in or if they're too tight. I say something in the locker room. I'm famous for messing up quotes and pulling stuff out that actually doesn't apply and confusing everybody and creating chaos.

If I'm not doing it then I have three kids running around and a husband running around who also create chaos for our team.

We're probably better at that loosening them up than reeling them back in mode. I think there's a balance. I don't know how to -- not necessarily defined by the number of players loose or a certain thing. You just have a feeling for it. And I think at times like this, and the circumstances that we're in right now, they will, I think today is a fine day to be loose. And tomorrow we don't want to be uptight. But we just have to make sure that we're balancing the looseness and the focus. And so I think I'm kind of reading them. If they seem like they're about to burst or if I touched them they're going to crack, then that's probably my sign that I need to bring some levity to the situation.

We also try to balance what we're working on. We're right now in friendship one of our leadership characteristics. About to switch to accountability. So kind of keeping their mind on things that matter but don't necessarily, isn't bringing more focus than is necessary to the game.

I think they're putting a lot of that there already. And I don't know if that answers your question, but trying to read them well, be aware of how they're feeling and how they're behaving and then filling in accordingly.