NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - NORTH CAROLINA VS ARIZONA

March 20, 2022

Adia Barnes

Shaina Pellington

Sam Thomas

Cate Reese

Arizona Wildcats

Media Conference

Q. This is for Cate. What is it like for you coming back from this injury? And, you know, it was about three and a half weeks ago, you didn't play, you were going through getting better. And then, you know, healing and everything and then you come out and you score 16 points last night.

CATE REESE: Well, it was one of my first major injuries that I ever had in my whole life, so that was really something that was hard for me mentally at the beginning. My teammates, a lot of them had injuries like that or, you know, serious injuries, so they helped me a lot, encouraging me. My athlete trainer did a great job with rehab. So I felt really confident to come back on the floor and be the same that I was or almost the same. So yeah, I mean I was really excited to be back on the floor with my teammates. I mean it's a perfect time. March Madness is exciting, so I was really happy to be back last night. I was really confident.

Q. Bendu, Kelly from North Carolina had a big game yesterday. I mean going into a game like that, matched up against possibly her or a player that scores like her, what is your mindset?

BENDU YEANEY: Just not let her score. I mean just make her take a lot of tough shots. She likes a lot of pull-ups so just make a lot of our pull-ups really hard. She likes going left a lot, so try to force her right to make her uncomfortable. So just making her as uncomfortable as possible. I think I have a lot of length and I'm a little taller than her so it's going to help me have a little advantage.

Q. For Sam, coming off last night, the win, how do you refocus and get set for a really good North Carolina team?

SAM THOMAS: I just think knowing this is the tournament, so you celebrate last night and then tomorrow we wake up, we watched film, just preparing for North Carolina. We know they're probably going to be a better team than UNLV was. So just being ready and following the scouting report and knowing like what we did. Yesterday was good, but it means nothing now. Now we focus on the next game. It's 0-0 right now.

Q. Cate, going back to you, you talked about other people having these injuries and Adia mentioned Shaina had been through it. What did she tell you?

CATE REESE: I mean the biggest thing was I was kind of nervous that we hadn't played in three weeks. And coming back, not knowing, not having any expectations for what could possibly happen. So she said just go out there, don't be nervous, don't think about it because a lot of times when you think about it, that's when you can hurt yourself. So I mean I just went out there and did exactly that, didn't think about it one time. So she's been great. Especially right after the injury, I came back, you know, after the x-ray and stuff. And she was in the locker room, and she was really talking to me and just telling me keep my head up, you know, work hard, just focus on rehab. And yeah, she's been great.

Q. What did you see from Cate during this time? I mean she's shooting right away. She injured her -- I mean, yeah, she's right-handed, injured her right shoulder. And then to come back and not be tentative and to really be the player, a lot of the player that she normally is. What did you see during those weeks while she was, you know, maybe off to the side shooting or then getting into scrimmages? What did that look like from your perspective?

SAM THOMAS: Yeah, we'll Cate's been a competitor. She's always going hard like it is the last second play of every game on every possession. I knew when the injury happened, and we figured out what it was and the time coming back and she's going to work as hard as she could to be back here because she wanted to help us out during the March Madness run. So I mean just seeing her dedicated, doing the rehab and working with Jesse on the side and not rushing back and vocalizing what feels good and what doesn't feel good. And then as a team, we are all just there supporting her.

Coming into the game, obviously we knew it was her first game and didn't show how she was going to feel, because it is nervous coming back from an injury. But I think after she hit that three, I was like Cate's back, we're good to go.

Q. Question for Sam. What have you seen from Carolina's guard play on tape and how dynamic are they?

SAM THOMAS: I think Carolina is an offensive team like UNLV. UNLV was post dominated and North Carolina is guard dominated. A little switch up for the guards. They have a lot of great guards coming in. We talked about Kelly Littlefield. They're very athletic, they like to score. We know they are a transition team, and they are going to run and do as much as they can to get the transition offense.

I think we just have to stay true to ourselves. Play our defense, put pressure on them because obviously they are able to hit pull-up threes. Three-level scorers all around with the guard, so do what we can.

Q. Is there anybody they remind you of in the PAC-12?

SAM THOMAS: Probably Utah, I would say. Just scoring and shooting the threes and hitting screens off pull-ups, just doing it all.

Q. The question is for Cate Reese. You let out a loud scream the late bucket. Where does that come from and talk about that emotion --

CATE REESE: That's always the player I've been. I'm a very emotional player and I get hyped. That just -- those plays just really bring out, I don't know, the best in me. So that was really exciting. I mean, the three I was a little nervous. Being able to hit my first three give me confidence and I just felt really good for the rest of the game.

Q. And Bendu, when you see that, what goes through your mind when you see Cate reacting like that?

BENDU YEANEY: I love when she reacts like that because it makes everybody hyped. Especially Cate coming back, having the energy back on the floor is amazing.

Q. Sam, Carolina was down by 10. So yesterday you guys had difficulty with UNLV. Iowa went out today. I mean, when you see these things, what do you think about?

SAM THOMAS: Just knowing that the seeding doesn't really matter. Just coming into the game, following your game plan and knowing that you could get beat on any given night, so you have to bring your best and play like it's your last game. Us and North Carolina kind of got our jitters out the first game, so I think we will bring it to the next level tomorrow, knowing that they are probably going to play ten times better, ten times harder. Sweet 16 on the line, the season on the line, you want to go to the next region. Everybody is going to bring their A game tomorrow.

Q. So you pride yourself on the defense and first in the Pak 12 in scoring defense and turnovers and going up against a UNC team who do the 2-2-1 zone press. How are you looking to sort of give them a different defensive look?

BENDU YEANEY: We're just going to pressure. Going to do the same thing and pressure and try to turn them over and get easy points off of turnovers.

Q. I believe that they put up like 36. Just kind of what is your game plan to stay competitive on getting those rebounds?

CATE REESE: In our game yesterday, we didn't jump out on top and defensively and that is not something that we normally do. We have to come out ready defensively and play Arizona defense and just got to box out. I think that will be a huge focus for us. Rebounding's going to be huge for us. I think just being able to lock down, focus, because right now it is do or die for everyone.

Q. I just wanted to ask about having that sort of home-court advantage. I was in the media room yesterday and just could hear the Arizona fans roaring all the way from there and they were loud during the UNLV game. How important will it be to have that support in tomorrow's game?

CATE REESE: I think we have some of the best fans in the country. They are always behind us. They are our sixth man. We love them. I think every home game it is an advantage for us. No one really wants to come in here and play us because of the fans that we bring. We had 10,000-something yesterday. So we are trying to sell out tomorrow. So I think the community is excited for us and we're excited, so they're going to be a big part for tomorrow.

Q. I'm going to go back to the rebounding because that has been an issue. It looked like yesterday there were a few times were you guys got caught ball watching in rebounds and UNLV came in and took them. What do you have to do to fix that? What do you think is happening?

SAM THOMAS: I think it's about the mentality. Doesn't take much skill to turn around and box Oklahoma south and rebound. We are light on the size a little bit, which is why we got caught ball watching because we felt we could just jump them and get the rebounds, which isn't the case. Knowing we have to work on techniques and have the right mentality, we got to box out because we know North Carolina is a great offensive rebounding team. So we have to focus on the boxing out and rebounding if we want to win the game.

Q. You started out cold or slow in the game. Was it a lot mental, the misses? You guys missed a lot of short-range shot. Just talk about how you guys were able to overcome that start.

CATE REESE: Maybe it was jitters, nerves, being the first March Madness game. I don't know. But that is definitely just a mental lack for us. We just need to get out there and we need to jump out there from the beginning. I think we were all serious, so I don't think it was anything like that. We were missing shots and they were hitting tough shots. I think that is sometimes how it happens, but tomorrow we have to be on our A game.

BENDU YEANEY: The ball has changed, too. We are not playing with a Nike ball. It is a little harder and you have to adjust differently. We played with Nike balls the whole year and now switched to Wilson. It is a little different and our shooting is a little bit. It is different a little bit. The texture is different, so...

Q. All right. So 11 players on your current roster have experience in the tournament. And you guys obviously went to the championship game last year. Can you talk about how that experience factors into tougher games like you're going to see tomorrow?

SAM THOMAS: It helps us having the experience, just knowing the pressure that happens in certain games, knowing that it is only one game at a time. You get upset -- you could be the person that is getting upset or being the upsetter. Just having that experience really is beneficial for us.

And then last year, I mean it was completely different being in the bubble. So it was like we were playing an away game every time, which honestly, I think is more beneficial for us now that we have it at home because we knew what it's like to play away and now we have home-court advantage. But we are still able to play like it is our last game as we would if we were away. Just having that mentality and going in and knowing the quick turnarounds it takes. In the PAC-12, we always play Friday and Sunday. This is kind of similar, and having the quick turnarounds in the tournament, having that experience, we know what it's like.

Q. Sam, were you able to talk to -- you probably were able to talk to Jade last night. What was the family togetherness like after that game?

SAM THOMAS: I got to talk to my family and all the friends that we had around. We're super happy that Jade obviously got to play a little bit. And obviously I was happy we won. It was mixed emotions, but Jade will be at the game on Monday. She's able to stay, so now she'll be an Arizona fan.

Q. I saw you step up and sit back down. Were you kind of trying to get back on the floor?

SAM THOMAS: I was just joking around. A little sister-on-sister action we could have got for the last minute of the game. It was all fun. I was glad to see her go in the game. She deserved that.

COACH BARNES: I'm happy with yesterday. Definitely happy that we were able to take care of the home-court advantage and win a game at home. Now it's on to the next one.

One of those things, a quick turnaround, you can only celebrate for a few minutes and then you have to think about your next opponent. Our next opponent is North Carolina and obviously they are a good team. We know that playing at home. One of the advantages from the PAC-12 is we're used to playing Friday/Sunday. I think that in the tournament, that really typically in most years helps us. So hopefully it does this year, just that quick turnaround.

Q. Hi. What have you seen from Kelly in North Carolina? It seemed like she got pretty hot yesterday in the second half. And what is that point guard match up going to look like tomorrow night?

COACH BARNES: I'm really familiar with her obviously from the recruiting process and just watched for many years and playing for my friends at the AU club. She's a scorer. I think what's really stepped out about her game is she is an incredible mid-range jumper, but now has been consistent from the three and she's been really hot as of late. So I think it's going to be a battle -- a battle, and they are two very different players. But I think it's going to be fun. And I think Sheena has to definitely disrupt her and prevent her and she has to always defend her and defend her mid-range game. And I think one of the things that she's really effective in doing is rejecting screens and left-hand pull-ups, so we have to slow her down.

>> Adia, the rebounding, you know, rebounding 36 of 22, and North Carolina has some good rebounds, but they're mostly guards or small forward types. Just comment about what kind of challenge that is for you guys.

COACH BARNES: I think that we didn't do a good job of that yesterday and a lot of it had to do with our slow rotations. I think because we were in the slow rotations, we weren't doing good on the backside for rebounds. We have been good, especially against like Colorado and late in the season. Have to rebound better, have to box out better and definitely have to box out perimeter players.

I know that if I think of a couple of keys in this game, the first one is transition defense, second is boxing out. Those are things that we have to do. They're tough, they're physical and we are going to have to do that in order to win the game. If we don't, we won't win the game.

Just a mentality. One of the things where I can't take two hours today and work on boxing out and transition defense. Just you want to do it and have the mindset and mentality. Boxing out is not the mindset. Have to have some technique and put a body on someone and have the mentality to do it. If we don't do that, we won't win the game.

Q. Adia, Cate coming back from this injury so quickly is pretty impressive. She went from not playing at all, doing some shooting, eventually working back into scrimmages and coming out yesterday and knocking down 16 points. What was that like? What did you see in her to make her make this recovery so quickly?

COACH BARNES: I knew that she was going to do that. I mean, I would have been shocked if she didn't come in and have at least 12-15 points because I have been watching her every day in practice. It was one of those things that obviously the first week after the injury she didn't do a whole lot, getting mobility back, but she had pretty good mobility after a couple of days. So I was optimistic and knowing the turnaround for the PAC-12 is really quick.

So in my mind, it was like why rush her for the PAC-12 and be 70 or 60% when we can get two more weeks. We had the two-week hiatus and then she had -- I think it was almost a month to get better. So I think that also gave her a lot more confidence because she had time in practice. It was not like her first contact was the game. So she had been doing that for like a week and a half in practice. I think that correlated over to in the game to be confident, ready and I think not hesitant.

And I think -- but the mentality of Cate is a separator. And one of the things that makes her special is that she can just come in the game and do that. It is different having contact in practice and then a game where people are hanging on you and stuff. But she's strong today, not a lot of soreness. I mean, I'm really impressed with how she responded. But that's who she is, so I'm not surprised at all.

Q. Obviously two scoring point guards, but you look around the country, there are a lot of scoring point guards. How has that position evolved since you played?

COACH BARNES: I think it's different. I think teams either have one or two point guards obviously, one that is a big scorer or one that is a really good facilitator. Some top teams in the country have a point guard that is more of a facilitator. I think if you look at us and North Carolina, it is not like -- those are two really capable scoring point guards in different ways.

So I think it is kind of what you have in your personnel. But I think they have a complement, and they can play different ways. They can run Deja at the one or the two. She is not only a point guard. And Shayna is not only, too, because she can slash. The difference is Deja is more pull-up and threes.

I think it's going to be a battle. I think it's a really exciting match-up for March Madness. But we both have to control the point guards. I think North Carolina does when Deja goes, and we do when Shayna goes. We both have to slow each other's point guards down.

Q. Adia, you talked about Sam needs to make more shots and we had a period in the middle of the season where she did. How do you get her back?

COACH BARNES: Of course, I always evaluate that, and I don't think she passed up a lot of shots. I just think people are guarding her, too. So I think maybe I would say maybe three or four times yesterday, watching the film, that she maybe passed up some shots. But I do see in some situations why she did. A lot of times it's, you know, the first reversal and those are shots I don't want.

So I think that us as a team and finding a way to look for her on certain penetrations or after movement and I think that is kind of the part that we are missing right now. Making the extra pass faster and driving and kicking a little bit faster, you know, and then to her. She has to be aggressive. But she's not only a shooter. She could get in court and go. My rule is you don't have to look for the point guard. Different ways to be aggressive, because she was aggressive at one point in the season and she's capable. We need that from her. And people don't go under on her and don't leave her. That is good in some ways because it opens up the floor for Shaina. I got to put her in situations where I have people create for her a little bit more and she can create it off of certain situations and I can help her and do that a little bit more.

Q. You mentioned Kelly in recruiting. Did you recruit her or just part of --

COACH BARNES: A little bit. Not a whole lot, because I think I had -- I thought she was going to go and stay kind of more in her region, so not hard. And it was kind of -- I wasn't here that long, so we were just building the program.

So I didn't recruit her hard, but I did recruit her some. But you know, probably should have recruited her a lot harder. It is not like she stayed in Texas. I think at the time when a lot of her class -- a lot of those players were staying in Texas and Baylor was right there and Kim Mulkey was at Baylor, so much competition. Should have recruited her a lot harder. I should have taken my shot and recruited her from Arizona. I really like her, love her family and knew her mom from AU, and I was good friends with Jason Terry. She's a really good player, yeah. I need to find me some Deja Kellies.

Q. So, Adia, we know what Cate's output is, you know, and how important she is pointwise. But what about the intangibles and what about the intangibles for the rest of the team knowing that she came back like this and she's raring to go?

COACH BARNES: I think that there's a lot of factors. So everybody always immediately says okay, scoring, she helps you score, yes. I don't think that's the most impactful thing. I think that definitely helps because at times we go through some droughts and then that is when we rely a lot on our defense.

But I think the things that she really helps with is she knows the system. She has been in my system four years or almost four years. She understands the way we need to play. She has experience from the championship game at a very high level. She knows what it takes to win. She's a winner.

And so it is not all about the scoring. It's about her getting hyped on certain possessions and plays, about her talking on the floor. Her chemistry between her and Lauren are very cohesive and our starting five is a very cohesive unit off the floor, bringing energy on the bench.

All of those things make it more valuable. At times when we need a big bucket, we can rely on her. And she had some great moves down the stretch and then her aggressiveness. A lot of times we tend to not be super aggressive and she brings that.

So it is all those things in addition to her scoring that make her special and just a leader on her team. She's a captain, so I think those things make us go.

And, you know, I said before, she didn't -- she doesn't get hurt at the end of the season, we don't end the way we did. I think we would have also been a different result in the PAC-12 tournament, and I think we would have had more success.

It is what it is. Anybody that losses one of the best players and the secondary scorer -- you bring them back, like the psychology of the team, they are more confident, and you know you have another weapon. All of those things play a factor because the mental part of our game is really important.

Q. I remember talking to you before in the earlier press conference about how you are preparing your younger players and you kind of said it is not time to mess around with -- you dug really deep into your bench last night. Is that just something you needed to do, or do you anticipate kind of getting your bench involved a little bit more?

COACH BARNES: I always want to do that. I think as a coach, you always want to give your younger players experience because they're your future, right. So giving them some experience, five minutes in an NCAA tournament prepares them to know what to expect. It's a different level of stress and a different level of pressure. I think those are things that are valuable like long-term. And definitely Jedela and Nelly and those players that you definitely want for the future, there is a time and place. These games are tight. It is not a 20-point cushion where you can mess around. As a coach, you don't want last second one of your starters to get hurt either.

I think there is a combination of things. Definitely some minutes to learn from for our freshmen. But that's what it is, it is a learning process. But as a coach, you can't do that when games are important because you lose, your season's over. I think that you have to figure out when to give players experience at the right time and also put them in a situation where they can be successful and not put them in a situation where it is really difficult.

So but yeah, I always want to do that and go to -- if I could -- as a coach, if I could play 15 people, I would. Because, you know, you want to give -- you want to, as a coach, reward people that work hard every day, do the things that you have to and have a great attitude. Like I want to play them and sometimes it is hard because there is a balance of wanting to play and make everybody happy, and there is a balance of winning games. I think as a coach that is hard.

Some coaches probably don't care. For me, I was a player, so I know what that feels so I care. But I will have to do my job and do what's best for the team and play who is going to help us win. And sometimes that looks different. So yeah, it's hard.

Q. You talked a little bit about just getting your rebounds up. But what are the keys, the main keys that you are breaking down to your players for beating UNC.

COACH BARNES: One thing, transition defense. I think they are really good in transition, and they go fast and have multiple people that bring up the ball. The second thing, we have to box out and we know that. We have done really well with that at times. I anticipate us doing well with that because it is a focal point today. Those are two biggies. I think that if we do those things, I think we give ourselves a chance to win. If we don't guard them well in transition and we don't box out and rebound, we won't win the game.

So I think on the flip side, we have to do those things. We are pretty good in transition ourself and I -- yeah, I mean, I think we do those things in transition.

Also, a lot of times teams that area good at something, they also aren't great at defending that. So I think that we can have a big advantage in open court. We get stops and I think our pressure can disrupt them, too. I think there's different things that we can do similar to the keys probably they have where we can be successful.

Q. Thank you. And your players just talked about it earlier, but UNC has some really dynamic guard play that allows them to score at all three levels. What have you been talking about as far as the defensive strategy against this?

COACH BARNES: We are not changing any defensive strategy because we are pretty good defensively. We know what their strengths are. We know -- I think North Carolina has one of the best mid-range games in the country. Deja Kelly is phenomenal at mid-range, and multiple players. We know we have to guard that. We know that we have to box out. We know that they sometimes play small, like yesterday they played small some, so we may have to play small in just different ways like that.

We don't change what we do defensively. We do what we do, and we make people adjust to us. If I can steal other people's practice time, we are doing something right. You have to do certain things against Arizona and that is a strength, so I'm not going to go away from that. We have to play solid defensively and we have to be able to guard them on balls and transition and rebound to win the game. If we don't do those things, we won't win the game. I don't think it will be a game where it is just flat X's and O's. I think it will be who is more physical, who can push the ball, who can defend the transition, because on both teams -- we're goon on transition, too. And then who can rebound. I think who does that, that will be team that will win the game.

Q. Adia, Badu made a comment about the new Wilson ball. Have you felt the ball and what are your thoughts about the texture of it?

COACH BARNES: Well, as a player, I hated when the balls changed. I don't think that should happen. I think there should be one ball, and it should be consistent. As a player, we used to play the men's ball in Europe and then you come back and have a women's ball. That stunk. I don't like when they change. I don't think they are good for the game. I'm not talking about sponsorship. Just talking about basketball and pure players.

I don't think the ball is bad at all. I think it's different. It's different and different is an adjustment, but I'm sure it's an adjustment for North Carolina, too. I think it is what it is. Those are the little things. Who can handle those types of changes are successful in the tournament. Who can handle like limited time on the court, who can handle quick turnarounds, who can handle not tons of preparation for the next team, who can handle a different ball, different atmosphere, those are teams that do well. And last year, we were great at handling all that stuff and so we have to be great at doing whatever we need to do. If we had to play with kind of a flat ball, you do what you need to do. So does North Carolina. You figure out a way and you don't let all of that stuff get to you.

Q. Coach, thank you so much. We're done.

COACH BARNES: Thank you. Bye guys.