NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - MIAMI (FL) VS SOUTH CAROLINA

March 20, 2022

Dawn Staley

Aliyah Boston

Brea Beal

South Carolina Gamecocks

Media Conference

South Carolina 49, Miami 33

DAWN STALEY: Just want to say that Miami was a very competitive game. We knew coming in they were a really hot team, and we wanted to just do our best to disrupt and not give them open looks because of how hot they were from an offensive side of the ball.

Also just want to thank our fans for creating an environment that is second to none across this country. Just hats off to our players who have fought so very hard getting to this place.

It's not an easy place to get, but they found a way to win and I'm proud of them for that.

Q. For both of you, the defense today, did you do anything different to try to get them in and knock them off their rhythm, since as coach said they came in shooting about 40% from the field?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Yeah, coming into a game our goal is always to disrupt, and I think our defense did a great job of that. We were very dialed in, made sure we were focused on the scout and knew what was everyone was doing, and it worked out good.

BREA BEAL: Definitely took advantage of the scout, made sure we knew what everybody was on the scout from what they do best, what they do worse. No matter who we played, just exploit.

Q. Wanted to ask about playing with Kamilla. One, her performance today, like how good was it see her play as well as she did? Two, I noticed she smiles a lot while she's playing. Much as her teammate, what plays into here joy on the floor?

BREA BEAL: I think she just naturally is like a giggly person. I would say in practice she can turn the ball over and just laugh and say, Sorry.

She's just uplifting, and I just love that about her, because it gets me going, too. It's just a happy joy for her.

ALIYAH BOSTON: I agree. Kamilla is always a really happy person. Today she played really well. Coach had been telling her to just shoot the ball, and she did a great job of that tonight and I'm really proud of her.

Q. Aliyah, out of 26 straight double-doubles this seemed like the hardest today in terms of how much Miami was attacking you in the paint defensively. What did you learn from the way teams might try to look at you in the rest of the tournament that you can try to combat in the next couple games?

ALIYAH BOSTON: I learned that I just need to continue to be patient with myself because I got a little frustrated tonight, but it's all right.

I still tried to do what I could on defense and make sure I rebound the ball and put my energy into something else, and I still got it, so, yeah, thank God.

Q. For both of you, being in a situation like this where yesterday you guys put up or two days ago you put up 80 something points; today more of a slugfest defensively. What does that say about your team and being able to find different ways to win knowing throughout the rest of the tournament you guys will be in situations where maybe the defense has to step up a little bit more, or the offense?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Yeah, I think as we play each game I think teams are going to play us differently and we're going to be able to knock down shots.

If they step out, we're going to attack the basket and just going to keep them on their heels.

BREA BEAL: Yeah, continuing to trust our shot. We happened to miss a few more than usual the past two games, so just continuing to trust our shot and play within each other, and take us a long way.

Q. Aliyah, to secure that 26 straight double-double you had to knock down those two free throws there with about a minute 15-ish to go in the game. Was there any pressure when you stepped to the stripe there? Was that not even in your brain when you were taking those two free throws?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Well, I really just tried to knock the free throws down because I missed the ones before. It wasn't really, Well, knock these down you get double-double. It was like, Can we make a free throw? So happened.

Q. Tell us, what was the level of intensity like out there on the floor today? It seemed like you really had to stay dialed in because every mistake was so crucial just because of the way both defenses were playing.

ALIYAH BOSTON: Yeah, I mean, in these games moving forward coach says all the time the margin of error is very slim, and so we just got make sure we're doing all the little thinks things, making sure we're taking care the ball.

It was intense out there. Miami is very physical, very aggressive, and so we just needed to stay composed.

BREA BEAL: I think going off what she said, we definitely have to make a minimum of mistakes. Make sure if we do make a mistake we have to learn from that real quick, turn the page real quick and make sure that does not happen again.

Really just, again, the trust factor. Just trusting us and trusting that we're going to keep pushing and keep moving on.

Q. Aliyah, you may not have had your best game today, but your teammates had your back and they played good. You guys still won by double digits. How comforting is that for you knowing, Okay, even if I'm not at my best because of double teams, triple teams, my teammates have my back and we can still win?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Yeah, it's very comforting to know that. I mean, everybody stepped up. Everybody had a great game. Everybody on defense, Brea and LeLe guarding Marshall like they did really well and caused some turnovers that allowed us to be able to run.

Everybody did a great job, and I'm just excited for the next game.

Q. Aliyah, you're no stranger to having a lot of contact in the paint, seeing a lot of double and triple teams. Did Miami throw anything you weren't expecting, or was it just that they were hitting you maybe a little more than you were used to?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Yeah, I think I was just moving a little too fast.

Q. Brea, you talked about the trust, and you guys have played with each other for so long. How important is that trust and experience going to be just moving forward to not panic when things get tight or things aren't going the way you guys envisioned it?

BREA BEAL: I think it just shows examples. Like their pressuring Henny today, it's the trust with me bringing the ball up. They crash on Aliyah, it's a trust having Zia and Henny hit those outside shots.

So little examples like that, that really carries us for games to come, just believing in one another. That puts encouragement for he me to go knock down those shots.

So that's big for us.

Q. For both of you guys, in practice this week leading up to being able to -- whether it's a bus or plane or whatever you take to get to Greensboro, before you step down up there, what would you like to work on in practice offensively so you guys can avoid another performance like you had today?

BREA BEAL: I think just being consistent with, again, the ball through the rim, whether it's laying up, just seeing open drives to the lane. When the lane is closed, being able to kick out.

Ball reversals, little things like that, just watching myself and watching us offensively and defensively.

ALIYAH BOSTON: I think we're doing a great job moving the ball and I think we're getting pretty good shots and they just haven't fallen these past two games.

So we're just going to continue to execute like we've been doing and they will fall.

Q. For both of you, I guess how important was that to be able to have these two games at home in the post-season, and what was that atmosphere like just playing in that and hearing the crowd? How did that I guess get you guys amped up, if it at all?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Yeah, our fans are great. They're super load and they keep the energy in the building. They just continue to pump us up no matter what happens.

If they think the ref made a bad call you'll hear it, and then if you think something good happened, you'll hear it. And so it's just great energy.

BREA BEAL: Yeah, definitely they like always have your back, like no matter what. The atmosphere gets you going, it gets you pumped, it gets you just wanting to run through a brick wall. That's how to feels having them out there, and it just feels great.

Q. Dawn, the players mentioned the scout on defense. Which assistant had the scout today? And was there anything I guess revolutionary that you threw in the defensive plans just for Miami?

DAWN STALEY: Jolette had the scout, first one in about six weeks. (Laughter.)

And then, no, I mean, I don't think we prepared any differently. I think at this time of the year you focus in and you don't want to be the person that has the lapse defensively.

I thought Miami tried to take advantage of our bigs by popping on ball screens and spacing the floor, and we were switching a lot of those ball screens.

I just thought we were just really locked in to make sure we didn't give them anything easy. Any player that touched the ball, I thought we did a really great job just locking in and making sure we were doing our part on that end and not relying on our ability to knock down shots.

Q. On the other side of the court you started the game I think 1 for 14 on layups; got better by the end of the game. What did you see there and what do you have to do going forward to fix that?

DAWN STALEY: I just thought that our players saw opportunities to score. I think they got a little bit just -- I mean, it was open and it was like they couldn't believe how open it was.

So you tend to change your shot for one reason or another. But the layups, you know, I just hope we'll be able to knock them down. If we can get the layups in, it'll straighten out the field goal percentage.

Because we're not making layups and outside shots, we end up shooting 30% from the floor. You're not going to win a whole lot of basketball games shooting like that, unless we defend like we're defending.

Q. According to ESPN, holding them to just 54 points in these last two games, in these tournament games combined, that smashes the previous record of 71. What can you attest to what you've seen defensively from this group and being able to have the defensive performance today knowing that the offensive side was struggling a little bit?

DAWN STALEY: I mean, we got smart players who are committed to defending. I think they hold each other accountable when it comes to making sure they know their scout.

I just feel like there is a -- you know, there is a nastiness to us on that side of the basketball. We see it. It wins basketball games for us.

We to have definitely pack it because, again, we don't know if we'll shoot another 30%. If we do, our defense still gives us a shot at still winning a basketball game.

Q. Just how clutch was Kamilla in the fourth quarter and how happy were you with how she stepped up on both ends of the floor there at the end?

DAWN STALEY: Super happy for Kamilla. I think this is probably one of the games in which she wanted to play. Like it's an ACC opponent. She used to play in ACC, so maybe there is something there that we didn't know about with just maybe it being rivalry.

You know, but once she got in, and then I didn't go back to her in the first half, but I made a concerted effort to go back. I knew we were going to go back and play her extended minutes because, one, she was effective, two, she actually shot nine times.

Is that a career high for her?

Q. Uh-huh.

DAWN STALEY: Yeah, so I hope she packs that part of her game because she gives us an incredible option, especially when Aliyah wasn't having the night that she normally has. It's good to have another post player step up and command and shoot the ball and be efficient at it.

Q. Dawn, following up with Kamilla, we heard Aliyah and Brea talk about how she's always happy. As a coach, would you like to see her play with a little more anger? I'm thinking about Alaina Coates who always seemed to play better when she was mad.

DAWN STALEY: I really don't care if they're smiling or growling. I just want them to help us win basketball games. Kamilla is -- you know, I mean, that's her. That's her personality; don't really want to change that.

I just want her to shoot the ball a little bit more, continue to rebound, when they space the floor, to guard on the perimeter.

She's done a tremendous job with us, and I just hope her best basketball started today until we're done.

Q. I wanted to ask you to follow up on the pitch that you were giving out there to head up to Greensboro, it's only about two and a half hours away. How much does playing close to home help create the atmosphere look ya'll created here, just moving it down the road a little bit for the next two games?

DAWN STALEY: Well, if it's anything like when we were in Greensboro in 2015, yeah, I thought our fans did a great job traveling and creating an atmosphere that was advantageous to us.

It's driving distance. I think some of our fans had already performed tickets well before they knew we were going to be in the Greensboro region. Which we're thinking a lot of times that doesn't turn out the way you plan it, but I'm happy that our fans don't lose money.

We're there. They pre-purchase their tickets, and I hope it ends the way that it did in 2015.

Q. Dawn, you mentioned kind of the unknown of what this team will be able to give you guys offensively each time you step out there. As a coach, I guess where does that unknown have you mentally? I guess where is your confidence level, and how do you guys just continue to work to where you might try to find some consistency moving forward?

DAWN STALEY: I mean, you can only do what you do. I mean, this is what they'll say. I'm not intentionally trying to miss. You know, they'll say that.

I think you just have to continue to play good basketball, just take good shots. You know, basketball has a way of just repaying you for doing it the right way and be disciplined.

If we're not making shots and we're not defending the rebound, then there is really -- it's an issue. But as long as we're defending, as long as we're rebounding the basketball, those two areas really give us a good chance of winning basketball games.

And at this point, the offense is a cherry on top at this point.

Q. When you think about eight straight trips to the Sweet 16, what does it mean to have gotten this program to that place of consistency, and what's the hardest part of being that consistent year in and year out in the tournament?

DAWN STALEY: The bottom line is players, it's talent. They make it work, because when you don't have the talent, I don't care how good of a coach you think you are, you're not going to outcoach somebody that has that talent.

I mean, it's the commitment from them. Our players are committed to doing things the right way, or actually doing things that our coaching staff -- whether it's the right or wrong way, they're committed to it.

It's worked out for us, and hopefully these players that are experiencing it will continue to create memories and memories of checking off their goals.

Q. Dawn, how much of your offensive struggles today were part of Zia getting in foul trouble. Seemed like when she was out there there was a little more edge to your offense.

DAWN STALEY: I don't know. I mean, Aliyah doesn't sh0ot -- I mean 4-15, I mean, that's not -- you know, I thought probably Aliyah's inability to make the shot that she normally makes.

Like we've played through Zia not shooting the ball well. We haven't played through Aliyah not shooting the ball well.

So I think that's a really good sign that we're able to just play through that. You know, but it's always comforting to know that when you're able to play your starting five and the people that play most of the game, when you don't to have make adjustments because of foul trouble, gives you a good shot.

But when she had to go to the bench, you got other people having to do things that they haven't been able to do. They haven't shown us that they could do for an extended period of time.

So it puts a little bit of pressure on those players to perform. I thought they held serve, and I thought we did a really good job with trying to get Zia back in and out and LeLe, just substituting in that way.

LeLe didn't score a point, but I thought defensively her energy was great. That's how it's going to be. I know we didn't LA, we didn't play Breezy Hall as much as we normally play them, but this time it's situational. We got to take advantage of where we think we have the advantage.

Q. Kind of a big picture question few for you. Parity in the women's game gets better and better every year. I think March is good example of that. Six double digit seeds in the second round this year. Creighton beat Iowa earlier today. Just curious if in your coaching career if there is any specific reason you can point to as to why the parity is where it is now? Is it something on the grassroots level or different levels of investment or visibility? Anything specific?

DAWN STALEY: I think the parity comes with players are spread out. Really good players are spread out, and it's not just Power 5 schools that are getting good players.

It's everybody. There are enough good players out there that everybody can be successful. I'm not really surprised by some of the mid-majors being able to upset some higher seeds.

They're probably not seeded the right way, and it's because they're probably not Power 5 and not playing the schedules that some of us play.

But it's good players, great coaches. All of our game is pretty special, and now we're just really starting to see other -- the other side of it.

I think sometimes we just concentrate on the hot teams and coaches in the Power 5. Now the mid-majors are, you know, they're rising. I don't think they're catching anybody off guard either.

I think they're catching the people who are -- who push the narratives. They're catching them off guard, but they're not catching actually the coaching and watching our game grow and be as special as it is.