NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - SOUTH DAKOTA VS BAYLOR

March 19, 2022

Dawn Plitzuweit

Liv Korngable

Allison Peplowski

Maddie Krull

South Dakota Coyotes

Media Conference

Q. I know yesterday was exciting, but how quickly or how long did you take to enjoy it, and how quickly was it back to business? I'll start with Liv.

LIV KORNGABLE: We sat in the precious present and enjoyed it. A great feat for this program. Quickly after it was business time and time to get recovered and get some good rest and to be prepared for today to scout a little bit more.

Q. For any of you guys, what do you see from Baylor, and what makes them so good this season?

LIV KORNGABLE: Watching them against Hawaii, I just thought they competed very hard and very aggressively. So that was my first impression, and obviously, great size and speed, so our coaches will have a game plan for us.

Q. Allison, obviously, you played some really good minutes yesterday. I guess what were some of the things that you were seeing out on the court, and how do you feel like you could bring that into the next performance?

ALLISON PEPLOWSKI: I guess as far as on the court, it was kind of -- we prepared really well going into it. So I think we were just prepared when we were out there playing. So I think that preparation going into it was how we were all able to succeed out there.

And I think that's kind of the same thing going into the Baylor game, although we have quite a bit shorter of a time to prepare. I think we're just going to follow what our coaches lay out for us.

And then same thing across the board. It's all about playing tough and playing really hard. I think that is -- with these games and being in the NCAA Tournament, I think that's one of the most important and crucial things to success in any aspect.

Q. All of you, obviously, have NCAA Tournament experience. How important was it to be able to draw from that in the win yesterday, and how important do you think it's going to be in getting ready and staying composed and prepared against Baylor tomorrow?

MADDIE KRULL: I think that it was Chloe that was saying this yesterday in a press conference question, but last year, obviously, being the first year that I was able to gain that experience, it's more of just exciting to get there. It's exciting to get there and to get the feel for it.

But this year we came and had a mission. It was a little bit -- it meant a little bit more, and there was a lot more experience going into it.

So I think that has been super important, and it will be super important going into this game. But as we've talked about, a lot of this is new to us, so just continuing to follow what the coaches are saying and to continue to prepare for the next game, as Pep was saying.

LIV KORNGABLE: I think it goes back to the Allison Arens era and the Ciara Duffy era, them getting us here and getting us more exposed has really helped us now as veterans to be more prepared and experienced.

Q. Allison, you guys had a lot of success against an All-American in Shakira Austin in the paint yesterday. Are there things from that success that you take tomorrow? Because, obviously, Baylor's front court players are a lot different.

ALLISON PEPLOWSKI: Yeah. I think there are things we take, and I think I guess even you take from the sense of just playing against someone with that much size. I think there is carry-over just from playing against someone bigger. But, obviously, Baylor is a different team, and their posts are different than she is.

And I think one thing that's important, too, is as a whole, Baylor is different and has different guards and players, and I think that affects so much what you do across the board. So I think there's a little bit of carry-over, but we'll have to adjust to the way Baylor plays and make a plan specific to them, so ...

Q. Maddie, have you talked a lot about just what a different challenge this will be now? Obviously, yesterday was what it was in Ole Miss, but now it's not only second-seeded Baylor, but on their home floor, and the difference that the environment is just automatically going to be.

MADDIE KRULL: We absolutely have talked about it. We saw our 10 seed, and we knew that the road would not be easy. We know that there would be challenges the whole way, but we've played in challenging environments before.

And I think about comparing it to kind of a Frost Arena, where we play there against our rivals, it can get loud. And I think it will be loud. But I think that those are also super fun environments for us to play in, and I think that that's also something that we can use to kind of feel and kind of get going at certain points in the game.

Q. Maddie, even before that big third quarter, it looked like you were looking for a shot a lot more. Was that a goal of yours coming into the tournament?

MADDIE KRULL: We talked a lot, especially Coach P to our entire team, about wanting the ball in your hands, to want the ball in your hands and to want to score the basketball. And she's always said that, but I think that something different really clicked.

And I think that everyone followed that very well yesterday. And I think that it helps to see the first one go in, and I've always thought that. When it did fall, it kind of made the rest of the game flow a little bit easier on the offensive end.

Q. With the goal of winning an NCAA Tournament game that was discussed all season, but was there ever a moment of the season that you thought about what these 24 hours, 48 hours and between would be like, or could you ever even imagine?

LIV KORNGABLE: I didn't. I just kind of -- we go one game at a time and one goal at a time, and we didn't know what this felt like yesterday, so it was hard to kind of put into perspective early on in the season.

Q. Liv, when you start playing D-I college basketball, and you think of all the places you could go for a region, is Baylor kind of one of those places where you open your eyes and go, wow, we're going to one of the big spots in a way?

LIV KORNGABLE: Yeah. I think growing up Baylor has always been a very successful program in the games that I've watched on TV. It is cool kind of being a vet now and kind of looking back on those days of growing up and playing basketball and kind of being here now. It's a very full circle moment.

Q. Pep, I know yesterday Dawn and Chloe and Hannah gave a lot of credit to the role players, Maddie, yourself, and Kyah. Role players is a bit broad of a term there, but all three of you made significant plays in that game at crucial times, and it was a big reason why you were able to keep Ole Miss at an arm's length. How important is that going to be again tomorrow to have similar efforts out of people outside of Liv, Hannah, and Chloe?

ALLISON PEPLOWSKI: I think it's going to be crucial. Basketball, as you know, is a team sport, so I think it's going to take everyone and everyone's best. And I think that's kind of how these tournament games go, is you have to give your best no matter what you are, and that's even people that aren't necessarily playing as much.

Our energy on the bench affects how we play on the court, and it translates -- if I'm sitting on the bench and our bench is flat and then I'm going in the game, I'm probably going to be flat; but if everyone else -- I mean, it starts kind of bottom-up in that way.

If the bench people have energy, then people going in off the bench are going to have energy. The starters are going to feel that on the court. They're going to have energy, and everyone just kind of mirrors each other in that way.

So I think whatever we do, we have to give 100% no matter what our role is on our team.

Q. For any of you that would like to talk about it: You played a really talented player yesterday in Austin, and now you get to play one of the best with NaLyssa Smith. What kind of attention do you guys do as a team to prepare for someone as talented as she?

LIV KORNGABLE: I think our coaches help with our scout, and then just playing defense together. It's not one person's job just to guard a great player like NaLyssa Smith. It's all of our responsibilities.

Q. Dawn, we asked the girls this too, but it was -- it's a very different challenge now to move on from Ole Miss. They were one thing, but to see Baylor on their floor in this environment, just the conversation that you've had about what that is going to be, and how different it will certainly be?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Baylor is a team that plays at such a high level on both ends of the court. They push it, and they score in transition. They score it inside. They offensive rebound. They shoot it well from the arc. They hold their opponents down. They're the complete package.

It's probably shocking in some ways that they aren't a No. 1 seed. They do it all, and then they have great fan support on top of all of it.

So, yes, a challenge in every way, shape, and form.

You know, the good news is we've played on this floor once already, so maybe that is a little bit more familiar, but it's going to be a much different environment. It's going to be a much more challenging environment in terms of the crowd and those type of things.

Q. How much film do you expose your players to, either yesterday night or today, and is that something as a coaching staff -- do you watch film on Hawaii and Baylor even before the games happen yesterday?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: We didn't watch film with our team prior to the game. We just focus on who we are and what we have to do. But last night our young ladies stayed and watched at least three-quarters of the game, and then had to go get some rest, recovery, and some food and get ready to go again.

They've seen a little bit -- saw a little bit last night, and then also had some time with their families, and that's important too. You know, we talk about being in the precious present, being in the moment, and that was important for us.

Then today, yes, we watched quite a bit of film on both ends of the court for them and tried to find different ways to do what we can do. You know, we can't simulate. We can't do what some other teams that they play against in their conference can do because that's not how we're wired, that's not our make-up.

We have to try to figure out what can we do, and understanding that we're giving something up in all ways that we try to attack them.

Q. Coach, you only get a two-hour window to practice on the floor to prepare for a whole new opponent. How kind of challenging is that? And when you are out there practicing, is it just hitting -- getting ready for Baylor?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Well, actually, we spent time before practice going through film and going through all those type of things, and then our bodies -- we took a lot of energy out of our young ladies to get to this point in time.

So there's not a lot that we can do that's actually really aggressive and live because we want to have enough energy and enough juice and try to have some zip and some pop and be ready to play again.

A lot of it at this point in time is things that they're watching, things that they're seeing and things that they're kind of going through, but maybe not necessarily always at full speed.

Q. Coach, yesterday Atwell from Hawaii said they watched film on NaLyssa Smith and said: We can't stop her, we have to do other things. Is that the approach you take, or can you find a way to stop her?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Has anybody really found a way to stop her? If they have, that would be a great game plan to come with.

She's very, very special. She's very elite. She's so sound. She's basically -- I don't know how tall exactly she is, 6'4", 6'5". She looks tall to me, but I'm not that tall.

She's like a point guard out there. She handles the ball in transition, gets to the rim, just can make a multitude of different moves, just sees the floor.

She's a handful. She's a really, really special player. Fun to watch when you don't have to coach against her. Not so much fun in our shoes.

Q. I guess speaking of having a little fun, we've talked about this a little bit over the course of the year, but in practice this week you've been focused when you have needed to be focused, but there's been plenty of positivity. It seems like the team hasn't been tight. They've been loose. They've been ready to go. We've talked about that this year, but how important is it to be able to maintain that perspective and have sort of that right mental state, I guess?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: It's certainly -- this is something that's really special for our young ladies. This is not -- it's something that you want to be able to say that you played in this tournament, but at the same time you don't want to take it for granted either because it's really hard to do.

So you want to try to find ways to balance them enjoying the moment but also getting ready to play. And I thought our young ladies did a really good job of that in terms of being ready for our first round opponent in Ole Miss. Now the challenge is even greater. And so can we find that balance and can we play well enough to compete? Those are all things that we're trying to figure out at this point in time.

Q. There was talk obviously all season about how much of a goal winning the NCAA Tournament game was, and you probably imaged what that would be like and what the celebration would be like, but did you have any idea what the next day would be like?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Actually, I never really thought about what the celebration was going to be like. That was kind of spontaneous in the moment. Our fans were right there, and we got to sing the fight song with our pep band and cheerleaders that were there and our fans. That was a neat, neat time. And that's something that we expected, but it was really fun to do.

No, honestly, we did not really look ahead at what the manual said happened after day one, but that's kind of how we approached our conference tournament too. It was a one-day itinerary at that point in time, and then kind of figure it out.

The good news is that we've done this for a little while in terms of coaching for a while, so you figure it out. We have a full day. We're on spring break still at this point in time, and so we can kind of find ways to maximize our players' time at this point and still get them rest and recovery, but also try to educate them to the best of our ability on Baylor.

And I think our players certainly have a huge -- a great level of respect for our opponent. Now it's just a matter of what can we do as a team? What can they do as individuals to try to put ourselves in a position to be out there and be in the battle?

Q. Coach, with Baylor transitioning their program from at last April and May to this year, and I believe you and Nicki Collen had crossed paths before, but is all of women's college basketball kind of watching to see what Baylor does this year, and what's your take on what they've been able to do?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: I think Nicki has really stepped into a potentially really challenging situation. You're replacing a legend. That's really, really hard, and I think she's done really a tremendous, tremendous job because the toughness and the grittiness defensively of Baylor women's basketball has continued.

Then, on top of it, they also shoot the ball at a very high percentage and shoot it more, and then they stretch the floor. So it makes it even tougher. It's really -- it's really fun to watch it, again, until you have to play against them and see that.

I think she's done just absolutely a tremendous job.

Q. At Baylor's press conference before, Nicki mentioned that she expects that Chloe could enter her name into the WNBA draft, and that's something that Chloe has actually said that she wasn't considering. Do games like this on this stage and how well she played yesterday kind of prove to a player that maybe they are good enough to play at that level?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: I think what's really special about the young ladies in our program is that they have had such a team-first mentality and have continued through that. And because of that, I think they have played at such a high level. Because when you are not concerned about you, you can actually play really well too.

And they have done that, and Chloe certainly is somebody who has done that. It will be fun to kind of watch and see what she decides to do, but she certainly will have some options when she's done.

And coaching is definitely in her future at some point in time. She coaches the team during time-outs. She coaches them on the court. She makes -- she is interacting with us during the course of the game and practices.

Even today in practice, when we got done with a drill, and I looked at her, and she had a funny expression, and I asked her, what are you doing right now? She goes, I was just trying to process in my mind who I think might be open on that while I'm coming off of this action. I'm thinking, you're just light years ahead. You're just kind of seeing things ahead of them happening.

Q. You faced some size yesterday, but you get to face even more with Baylor. Obviously, they're quite long down low. So how is that something you can kind of overcome with their size challenges?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: I don't know. (Laughing). That's really -- instead of having one 6'4" kid out there, you have two 6'4" kids out there. Unless we can clone some of our players tonight, I don't know, it's going to be kind of a challenge.

It's difficult for us. Certainly we give up an awful lot in terms of size, speed, athleticism. And so we've got to try to find ways to hopefully make them uncomfortable, but I don't know that -- until you get out on the court and you see it, you don't know.

And the good news about our kids is at least they've been in situations where they've had to make adjustments throughout the course of the game. And so I'm sure that we're going to have to make quite a few adjustments because what we think might work isn't something, again, that we can watch a team and say, wow, we play like this team and this worked really well for that team, because not many things work really well against Baylor anyway, and then we can't replicate what a lot of other teams do.

And so we've got to just kind of get out there and see and then make adjustments a little bit on the fly.

Q. I know the players talked about the importance of playing as a team and togetherness and cohesion when you are trying to counter something like that. What makes this team so good as a unit? What makes them so cohesive all season?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Again, I think they're really focused on the goal for the team rather than any individual accolades or what they're looking for out of it. I think the kids on our bench have been tremendous.

The kids that are getting us ready for games have been tremendous, and we talk a lot about the players that come off the bench and the players that are in the games doing it, but there's a lot more to it than just those young ladies those five players that are on the floor.

I think that starts from -- Regan Sankey is a great leader for us as a senior who doesn't play a whole lot for us, and she has done just a tremendous job for us. But to have someone that's that locked in in their fourth year and trying to make sure that everything is taken care of during the game, on the bench, in practice, making sure everyone remembers all their stuff to take on the bus, make sure that everything is cleaned up after you leave the locker room, those are the little things that I think really go into our team having that kind of chemistry and cohesiveness because everyone is looking out for the whole and each other at the same time.

Q. You mentioned Regan, but, obviously, having Aspen on the team, going through scout this week and knowing that you are going to go against Shakira, I guess how big was that just in practice and able to sort of mock that type of player?

DAWN PLITZUWEIT: Well, Aspen is really special for us because, again, there's one of the young ladies who gets us ready, who her name is not usually in the headlines, maybe it's not ever been in the headlines, but someone who gets us ready for practice or for games in practice and does just a tremendous job in our program of doing all the little things that help us be successful, to help us get to this point in time.

But she's not someone that is out on the court in the same way that other players are, but her value to us is tremendous. We're not where we are without our players being able to see that size in practice. Our practice guys aren't even that big, so it's really special that we have someone who has got size, athleticism, and is someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to help her teammates be ready to play.

I was thinking of "Queen's Gambit" when Chloe was going through that and she was going through that and seeing what was happening. That was "Queen's Gambit." That was the moment.