NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - PRINCETON VS KENTUCKY

March 19, 2022

Carla Berube

Abby Meyers

Kaitlyn Chen

Princeton Tigers

Media Conference

Princeton 69, Kentucky 62

CARLA BERUBE: So happy to be making this opening statement that we came out with a hard-fought win. So much credit to Kentucky. They were tough. It was a battle from start to finish. They certainly rattled us for a bit in the first half and the first quarter, but I think we got our footing and you know, made some plays on both ends of the floor. The team defense was good, was great. You know, it was -- it's heart-stopping, Howard and Edwards and all of their incredibly gifted players and athletes.

But we stayed the course and made the plays we needed to, yeah, throughout, down the stretch and made some big free throws to seal it. We finally came up with some big rebounds, too. That is such a great offensive rebounding team and it took all five of us to get in there and rebound the basketball. Just thrilled to get this victory for us, for Princeton, for the Ivy League. The mid-majors are doing great and I love it. But just want to say thank you to Kentucky for a well-fought game.

Q. Abby, when you're in that zone and making shots like that, how much license do you have to freelance and find your shot versus running whatever offense your play coach is calling for?

ABBY MEYERS: Really the first half I was checking up some crazy ones and at that point I had less of a green light. I think we always pride ourselves on being really patient and just having our composure on the offensive end. We have one through five, we have so many weapons. We can do so many things one-on-one.

But like our offense and our team, our principles is let's work together as five, and down the stretch and like Kaitlyn, Grace Stone had some big, clutch, one-on-one moves and plays near the end. It's just like Coach trusts me, I trust her and I'm happy to have somewhat of a green light to be able to do what I want. At the end of the day glad we got the W and we have to set our sights on Indiana and that should be exciting.

Q. After not having a season at all, and now have an upset like this, what's it like sitting here in the moments afterward?

ABBY MEYERS: I feel like we kind of like proved ourselves in the Ivy League. Credit to the coaching staff throughout the whole conference but they are just working hard on getting good players like Kaitlyn Chen, like Top-100 players on ESPN. It's a growing conference. It's just good to prove that the Ivy League, we can handle ourselves and we can really compete on a really, really high level and on a great stage. I know like for Kentucky, this is like a home game for them; it's only three hours away.

It just feels really good. All that hard work is paying off.

Q. If you can put this into perspective, especially what's happened the last two seasons and not being able to play last year, you get a chance this year, and just what that meant, especially in those Final seconds as you realize you're going to win.

KAITLYN CHEN: It's honestly just been so much fun playing with this team and that's what we talk about. We always play to like have fun because we enjoy playing with each other and we are proud of each other's success and that's what makes it seem so special ask that's the best part of it.

ABBY MEYERS: We all grow up dreaming about playing on this stage in Division I basketball in the NCAA Tournament and us to finally be here after a year and a half, two years, some of us the first time, it's a special moment, having our families come out and be able to watch another game. So yeah, it's just special.

Q. You took four or five charges on the defensive side. How much do you harp on that defensive hustle and energy as a team?

ABBY MEYERS: Just got to hustle and get there fast you can. At the end of the day we are not going to win them in jumping contests, so if we can beat them on that end, taking charges on stuff that's not as noticed, it's a huge momentum changer and I think we did that tonight.

Q. Obviously a lot of that was played in transition, and it's hard to decide whether you're going to take it all the way through or flick back out and reset. How do you approach that decision when you're playing a Kentucky team that wants to push the pace and go fast?

KAITLYN CHEN: I felt like I was waiting the court, surveying, seeing what they are giving me. I mean, they are really fast, talented players, so at times it was difficult. But also just knowing my coach and teammates will back me on any decision that I make, I know they will be there if I ever get in trouble. So just knowing that they have my back.

Q. Talk about the defensive effort. Seemed like you really frustrated Howard. Talk about that.

ABBY MEYERS: Well, you know, I think we have to call out Julie Cunningham because that was her matchup for the night. She's a great player, right. She's going to be a top five draft pick and we knew coming in that she was going to make a shots, or make a lot of shots, and then we just had to figure out how to deal with that and just bring it back on the offensive end and try to get another stop on defense.

Yeah, it's tough. Just kind of getting that game plan ready and all the principles and the coaching style, just being as prepared as we can. At the end of the day it's a competitive game and we just wanted to rise to the occasion and we did that.

Q. How much do you credit the system you play and how do you deal with that when a team knows it's coming and has several days to prepare for it in a tournament setting.

ABBY MEYERS: Yeah, I mean, it really just gets down to like it's Ivy League defense, it's Ivy League play. I don't think a lot of people -- they just underestimate how good the Ivy League is at both ends. So we wanted to come in and just shock them, and I think we did that.

Yeah, I think just making them uncomfortable, too, down low, we doubled up on Edwards. She's a great player, very strong and just trusting in each other 1 through 5 and knowing we have help.

Q. It looked like the game slowed down at the end with the free throw and took awhile to close it out. Was it nerve-wracking for you guys, too? What was going through your mind as you guys were at the line?

KAITLYN CHEN: Honestly it wasn't too nerve-wracking. Coach has prepared us for situations like these all throughout practice and all throughout the season. I felt like we were pretty prepared and we were ready for it.

ABBY MEYERS: At the end of the day, there was some fouls called on us, and just can't control that. Just got to overcome it, play through it, and know that at the end of the day like everything's going to be okay, especially if you're up a few in the fourth.

Q. You guys are the fifth double-digit seed to advance to the second round, that's two fewer than the record. Curious your thoughts on the upsets.

ABBY MEYERS: We'd like to say this wasn't an upset in our minds. We were ready and knew we were going to be underestimated, just being a mid major, Ivy League team and it just feels great to break the curse of getting knocked out in the first round and we are going to set our sites on Indiana, prepare as best we can, heel our bodies over the next day and be ready to shock the world again.

Q. Putting this into perspective with the team and with the open you face, is this the biggest win in program history?

CARLA BERUBE: I think so. I've only been here a couple years, so I don't have a lot of my own history with this group but I think on this stage, with the seed we had, and beating a Kentucky team, the SEC champion, and yeah, I think it's definitely up there as one of the best wins and yeah, just really, really like I said, thrilled for the squad.

Q. This is just the second time Princeton has advanced to the round of 32 in school history. What is it about this team in particular that led them to that point?

CARLA BERUBE: They work really, really hard. They play for each other. They play together. Yeah, it's such a joy to come to practice every day. You know, they are really resilient. I think we were really tested in the schedule, in a non-conference schedule playing Delaware and Villanova. They were battle tested so I think they were ready for this, this moment and for this game, and yeah, just they were locked in.

We talk about just defensively being locked in, and they certainly -- they certainly were.

Q. After not having a season a year ago, what's it like sitting here now after all that time, watching games, and now getting that big spotlight, upset win?

CARLA BERUBE: Yeah, I've said this before, it was certainly a challenging time when, you know, the season was cut short, and then the Ivy League decided to not play. You know, we were scattered all over the country, you know, watching the NCAA Tournament. It was strange and it was tough. But we stayed together. We stayed connected.

You know, we came back just really grateful to be together again, and playing the game that we love, and you know, I think Kaitlyn says it best, like there's just so much joy that they have in playing basketball and playing for Princeton, and yeah, just playing together every single day, and that's player one through player 16. If you watch our bench, like they are so into the game, and every day in practice, we play against really great players. So we are competing every single day, so that, you know, we are ready for games like this.

But I'm truly just grateful that we had a season and we are now advancing to the second round.

Q. You said early on that they rattled you a bit early. Was there something that changed and how much did Howard and Edwards going to the locker room for little stints of time for injuries maybe play in your favor?

CARLA BERUBE: Yeah, I think Walker just puts a lot of pressure on us, incredible defender.

Yeah, we don't see that kind of pressure every day, and so I think it took us just a couple of moments to get our feet under us and take a couple deep breaths and just work together. It couldn't be all on Kaitlyn to try to break that press and that kind of -- yeah, just resiliency on their end defensively.

Yeah, you know, I wasn't really paying attention to when they went out or why they were out. Just focused on who was out there in the matchups and what we needed to do both offensively and defensively. But of course, without those two players, you know, they are definitely a different team.

Q. Talk about Kaitlyn and Abby, they gave you a one-, two-punch today.

CARLA BERUBE: Yeah, Abby took a couple shots in the first half, that was like, I don't think that's our best shot. But it's hard to give her any red light; sometimes it goes yellow.

But she certainly came up with big shots, big plays and big free throws, and same thing with Kaitlyn, right. Her pullup was awesome. Yeah, just a great playmaker for her teammates. And like I said, she just took so good care of that basketball with Kentucky hounding her for 40 minutes.

I mean, they had an awesome, awesome game, and they had really great teammate in the round and they played their roles really, really well.

Q. You mentioned in your opening statement, and I asked Kaitlyn and Abby, this is the fifth double-digit seed in the majors. How big is it for the mid-majors and higher seeds to be pulling upsets for the tournament and growth of the games?

CARLA BERUBE: It's awesome. People talk about there isn't any parity in women's basketball, and this is March Madness, and it's actually March Madness in women's basketball now. It's awesome for mid-majors because it's great basketball. Yes, Power Five, conferences like SEC, Big Ten, yeah, there's some great teams there as well. But you're seeing it, like there is awesome basketball at the mid-major, so I'm loving it.

Q. Curious, you know, how much you felt like you had to make adjustments at halftime, what was the message there to the team, and after the game, what the vibes were in the locker room or what the message was.

CARLA BERUBE: Great vibes after.

Halftime, no matter what the score is, I put on the board, it's 0-0. Yes, we had a little lead. They actually got some momentum at the end of that first half when Howard hit that three and I just wanted us to just refocus, and, yeah, play the way we're capable of playing. Just a couple adjustments with some screening action.

But you know it was more like let's take care of the basketball, this is way too many turnovers, right. They had so many -- so many points off of our turnovers, and yeah, let's take care of it and get good shots and play the defense we're capable of playing.

The vibe after the game was awesome. I had to change my shirt because I am soaking wet. Really, really excited. Now we have to turn the page to Indiana and just looking forward to this next challenge.

Q. The parity within the women's game, there's still elite teams in basketball but feels like especially in the last few years, the gap is getting smaller and smaller, and you mentioned the parity. Are there specific factors over the last two decades that have elevated or brought that parity at the grass roots level or high school or college? What are the contributing factors?

CARLA BERUBE: I definitely think it stems from the grass roots level. There are more girls playing basketball and the game is just growing, so more playing, better play, they are putting in the time, there's more talented players and now they are dispersing all over the country and we are very fortunate that we have some really talented players at the mid-major at Princeton University.

My goal is to keep doing that, keep bringing in great players, great student athletes, great people and yeah just hope that we can keep building on this. But I think it has to do with the grass roots level.

Q. You have experience in this tournament as a player. How does today compare, the experience of today?

CARLA BERUBE: Way more stressed out today than I ever was as a player. I said this to our people that Elzy, she played at Tennessee when I was at UCONN and she was on that Cinderella team that ended my career. Just a little tidbit there. No, I don't remember that game at all.

But yeah, I mean, it's just awesome as a coach, and I'm so happy for my staff that puts in a lot of time, too, getting our players ready for the game and it's hard to compare a player that just showed up and I have Rebecca and Jen and a lot of really good players around me, so this is very different but still pretty amazing feeling.