NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MISSOURI STATE VS OHIO STATE

March 19, 2022

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton

Brice Calip

Abigayle Jackson

Missouri State Bears

Media Conference

Ohio State 63, Missouri State 56

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: Well, obviously we wish we were able to keep dancing, but we're not hanging our heads. Just really proud of this group, and that's what I told them in the locker room. Obviously there was tears from me, from them, from everybody just because we love each other so much. And this journey that we were on this year was filled with adversity, but we just grew closer as a family. And the skill sets that they learned to persevere through adversity are going to set them up for life, especially our seniors that are moving on.

I'm proud of that. I know they're going to be okay. I've seen them gain confidence, learn how to fight, all kinds of things through the course of this season. This game in particular was up and down, and I thought we had them. We were right there. Couldn't really execute down the stretch, but some of the defense that we played and some of the grit and character that we showed out there was really amazing, and I'm just really proud of this group.

Q. Brice, I saw you smiling when you walked in. Just kind of on and off a little bit. Take me through what you're feeling right now as it comes to an end.

BRICE CALIP: Just proud of our team. I know it probably won't hit me for another couple days. Just soaking this all in. Just really proud of our effort, especially throughout the year as we lost a lot of key players. Even when us starters weren't doing the job, our bench picked it up. Just overall thankful to still be wearing this uniform. I don't know how long I'll keep it on, but I want to keep it on as long as possible.

No. Overall just a good feeling. Glad we made this run. Just bittersweet.

Q. Six years; is there any little bit of regret in there, just being able to put that uniform on for another year?

BRICE CALIP: Oh, no, not at all. Definitely learned a lot of skills outside of basketball this year, just being a vocal leader, being grandma of the group, keeping everybody level-headed, and just being a great vocal leader, like I said. And just an overall presence where if I'm going well during the game, our team flows with me. So life skills, kind of learn and be ready for the real world, so yeah, no regrets at all.

Q. Brice, what turned it around the third quarter when you finally solved their press? What did you see that finally got you over that hump? And for Abby, you finally got going in the second half of the third quarter. What flipped for you because you really reeled it back in and turned it around.

BRICE CALIP: I think just poise. Overall us returners were kind of rattled in that second quarter, but just knowing overall we need to be level-headed for everyone on the court, especially me and Mya being the ball handlers of that group. And just overall just staying to our game plan that Coach Mox had and playing as we are as Lady Bears.

ABIGAYLE JACKSON: Yeah, just like she said, just poise. We had to get after it is what we had to do.

Q. Obviously the defense was really good, the effort was really there, it was a really tense game. But knowing how you guys are capable of playing, I wonder is there anything that you feel like you didn't do as well as you usually do or anything that they did that gave you problems that may have tipped the balance?

BRICE CALIP: No, I just think we had a little hiccup sometimes in offensive execution. But overall I thought our effort was there, our heart was there, left it all on the line. No, I think it was just our little mistakes. They didn't really do anything that we didn't know of.

Q. Abby, what was the year like for you? You're able to step into that bigger role, just kind of be a star for the team when they needed you. What was that like and what did these years mean to you being at Missouri State?

ABIGAYLE JACKSON: These years have meant a lot to me, just the experience, and like getting to know the team and the coaches. It's a great group of people, and I could not thank them more to like take me in under their wing and help me to excel to where I have. I could not do any of this without them, so I enjoyed every single minute of it.

Q. Brice, what was it like watching her grow?

BRICE CALIP: It was amazing. I get so hyped when she gets up. I was really hoping she would dunk one of these games. But just the growth from her, we all knew it was there. Mox told us, oh, this is a good transfer, and I'm like, I'm ready for it.

But just knowing that she definitely excelled this year, put honestly our team on her back during Valley play, just exciting to see her flourish not even just on the court, but off the court. Just her bright spirit kept us going, and we just love Abby J.

Q. Brice, six years, three NCAA Tournaments, two Sweet 16s, winningest Lady Bear in program history. What are you going to look back on and smile the most about in the next few years when you look back at this time in your life?

BRICE CALIP: I just think the growth. Just overall sitting out my first year red-shirting and just seeing me flourish throughout the six years. And even the confidence my teammates and all the coaching staffs have had the last six years, just knowing that I've excelled and grown into a young woman and think I'm ready to take on the real world now.

But, honestly, I think this year was definitely the most memorable because we've just gone through a lot and we all stayed together. We wanted this and we got here, and we just put our name in history once again.

Q. Abby, what's the last month been like for your team through the Valley Tournament and then getting into March Madness and playing really good on a big stage? What's that last month been like for you?

ABIGAYLE JACKSON: I think our last month, it's just been an experience, I feel like. Like it's been fun. We've had our ups and downs but we've gotten through it. We've fought through so much this entire year, but this month I think it was just have fun, honestly, enjoy our time.

Q. Brice, what's going to be your statement or your legacy here at Missouri?

BRICE CALIP: Ooh, that's a good question. Just trust the process. Just work. Work in the dark, your work will shine on the court. Just give your all. Also defense. Defense, best part of the game, but also just knowing that if you take care of defense, your offense will come. So yeah. Trust the process.

Q. Either player can answer, but can you just talk about the effect that that 'Nya had in this NCAA Tournament? I know she came into the tournament only averaging a couple of points and a couple of rebounds per game but really shined the last two.

BRICE CALIP: Yeah, she's a big presence on our floor. We've always known that with her, as well. She comes in off the bench, gives us energy. That's the reason why -- she could be a starter but she's just that spark off the bench. Loves the game. You can tell her spirit. She's definitely hyped to be here. She's never been here, so just knowing that her energy carried on the floor. So we needed that, and she had some good put-backs and I'm super proud of her growth, as well.

Q. Just wanted to get the opponent coach's view of the way Jacy Sheldon played and influenced the game. What did you think she did?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: Well, Jacy is a great player, and we knew that coming in, her and Taylor Mikesell. I understand Jacy ended up with 25 points, but I think we frustrated her in the half court. We guarded her in the half court, which was the game plan. She got away from us a little bit in transition and off the press, and she made a lot of free throws. I think she made 10 free throws. I don't have a stat sheet in front of us.

But in the half court, I thought Brice did a great job of locking her down, but when she was in the open court, that's where she kind of got away from us.

But she's that kind of kid. She can play off their ball screen action, she flourishes in transition, she plays the top of that press, and she plays for 40 minutes. So she's a great player and made some plays tonight for them.

I really liked what we did with Taylor Mikesell, though. We face guarded her the whole game, Mya did, and Brice and Mya pretty much played the whole game on those two, and I thought they did a really good job.

Q. Coach, a difficult year, but you still end up here, you still end up going toe to toe with Ohio State. When you kind of summarize the season and what you're going to take away from this, what is that going to be?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: Just the character of our team, the culture, our grit. A lot of people would have quit. A lot of coaches would have just given up and been like, okay, this season is a wash, let's just recruit and get better next year, whatever.

But for us, I still knew that every single person we brought here is here for a reason and they can step up. Now, some had to get thrown in the fire and kind of mature in front of everybody's eyes, but I knew the talent that we have on this team, and in different games, different people stepped up. Even some of our freshmen, Issy was a big reason we won first two conference games after Jas went down. She was freshman of the week in our conference after those two games.

Everybody has played a part. Abby J.'s growth was huge, Brice stayed steady and played pretty much 40 minutes the whole year. Everybody just -- Mya, she matured so much and did a lot, Wilson played 1 through 5. You could just go all the way down the list. And then obviously 'Nya and her growth has been tremendous, especially rebounding but even just scoring. She just became a catch and score kid, offensive rebounder and really helped us that way.

Jen coming back, I told them in the locker room, we're not here if Jen doesn't fight to get cleared and do her rehab and all that stuff because we needed that position and we needed depth in that spot.

Everybody played a big role in why we're here, and I'm just really proud of this group.

Q. We've talked about Brice and just kind of her legacy here at Missouri State and winningest Lady Bear ever. Now that it comes to an end, I don't know if you can find a seventh season for her, but what has she meant to you and this entire program behind the scenes?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: Yeah, that's hard to put into words. Lady Bear Nation loves her. She's meant -- it's really hard to put into words. She's sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears for six years. That's hard to do. When she plays, she doesn't take plays off, and she's played pretty much 40 minutes a game for the last couple years, at least since I've been here, and she plays on both ends. Defensively I've said it time and time again, she's the best defensive guard I've ever coached.

She doesn't take plays off. She's evolved offensively. When I got here, she wasn't on any all-conference team at all. And I got here and I saw her in workouts, and oh, she's a defender, she's a defender. I'm like, what? This kid has a skill set. This kid can get downhill, she can shoot, she's pull-up jumper, all kinds of things like that. And we just really dove into player development. She was open to anything, and next thing you know, you just see the accolades start running in.

It's just pretty crazy what she was able to accomplish. She was defensive Player of the Year, Player of the Year, then defensive Player of the Year again, all-conference team every year, all-defensive team, scholar-athlete. She's just really excelled on and off the court, and I just couldn't even be more proud of her. That's why we call her DPOY, POY, DPOY because that's the order she got those awards in.

Q. What will you take from this, and how did you keep the young players level? Was it Brice? What did she say? What did you say to the young players to keep them level coming into today's play?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: Part of that is, yes, when you get into the NCAA Tournament, lights are bright, it's different if you've never experienced it. We knew there was going to be a little bit of jitters with our young kids. That's the reason why we schedule the way we do in the nonconference. And we had already played before the NCAA Tournament five Power Five schools and we did well against those.

We have that experience under our belt, and we do that purposely because we've got to prepare for March. So they had already played against teams like USC, who's probably one of the biggest teams in the country. They had 6'7" and 6'6" and all this stuff. Oklahoma State was big and you go down the line. LSU, we played them, they were huge.

So the size and the athleticism and all that stuff didn't rattle us because one, we're big, too. We have athletes on our team. But we were used to playing that. So our young kids got to mature through that process, and then when we got out here, it was just time to go. We did all this work, we fought through adversity. This is where we wanted to get, so we just had to seize the moment, stay present, and enjoy the journey. They hear me say that a million times, enjoy the journey because that's what it's all about. You don't want to look back with regrets. We want to stay present and walk with that confidence that we belong, because we do.

Q. We talked about before the season we were like, what do you think about March Madness, getting back to March Madness, and you talked about well, I just hope we enjoy the journey, I hope we play through this journey and enjoy the journey. What did you enjoy most?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: Well, the fundamental reason why I coach is the relationship-building piece and the mentorship piece. I enjoyed watching people just grow right in front of my eyes, on and off the court. Brice has come a long way, like she said, even just being a vocal leader. She's an introvert by nature, but she's become more extroverted. She's reached out to her teammates more on a personal level, developed lifelong relationships, kind of came out of her shell. Just watching her grow and mature in that way has been amazing to see.

And Abby J., same thing. I can't say enough about Abby J. and how she walks with a different confidence now, and off the court, first and foremost, which carried on to on the court. And she went from not believing in herself at all and me telling her how good she could be to being one of our go-to players, and that is something that she should definitely be proud of. And we're all proud of that accomplishment for her.

But I could go all the way down the line on every kid on our team because I think every kid on our team faced individual adversity in the year. That had to do with basketball sometimes, it had to do with other off-the-court stuff. And just to see them learn the skill set to persevere through hard times and learn to smile in the face of adversity and just stay optimistic and positive and really pour into each other, that kind of stuff fills me up.

Yes, of course we want to win games, and we want to be competitive, but what I enjoyed was the actual growth that I saw happening with these individual kids.

Q. So much of today's game probably went the way you wanted to. You certainly played at the tempo that I'm assuming you wanted, you out-rebounded them by 18. What do you think the difference was in the end, though?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: Well, I think the end of that second quarter took the wind out of us a little bit and also gave them a little bit of a cushion. I think they went up by five or six. I don't remember exactly what it was.

But the end of that second quarter messed us up a little bit, but we were able to regroup at halftime. I put a press breaker in at halftime and also just reminded them of the areas that we were trying to attack. Once we got settled, and really our seniors had a little bit more poise to them facing that press, then we were able to attack it fine, which made them back out of it, as well.

I just think if the end of that second quarter didn't go the way it did, then maybe we would have maybe had a different result in the game.

But I thought we battled back, and I thought that everybody stayed together and we were able to get stops sometimes when we needed them. We were able to score when we needed it. But one team has to win at the end of the day, and unfortunately it wasn't us.

Q. I know you talked about 'Nya's impact a little bit, but coming into the NCAA Tournament averaging 2.9 points and four and a half rebounds and to have the game she had, what kind of impact and process behind that?

AMAKA AGUGUA-HAMILTON: Oh, it was a process. 'Nya, she just stayed open to the process. I can't even tell you like how proud I am of that kid. When she got here, she had a whole bunch of moves, an arsenal she wanted to make, and she was traveling and people were doubling her. We had to simplify what she was doing on the block. She struggled to remember some of the plays at times or defensive coverages. And then all of a sudden, she just really started to lock in once obviously she knew that the team needed her when we lost some people. She just really bought into the process, and next thing you know, she simplified her offensive game, catch and score, offensive rebound, put-back. And her gift is rebounding, and rebounding outside of her area and attacking the boards that way. She did that.

And defensively she got way, way better. Her defensive coverages, like the way she would guard ball screens or even guard the post players because of her length was really impressive. And she always had that in her, but she had to understand how we do things here, and I think it just took a second for her to get it, but once she did, she impacted our game big time.