NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - PRINCETON VS INDIANA

March 21, 2022

Carla Berube

Abby Myers

Julia Cunningham

Princeton Tigers

Postgame Media Conference

Indiana 56, Princeton 55

CARLA BERUBE: Yeah, first off, thank you to Indiana. What an amazing weekend, and the fans were incredible. It was an incredible atmosphere and environment, so hats off to you all here.

Yeah, this is never easy to see your season end. We had a great year, and I'm extremely proud of my team, my staff, the university, so much support, the Ivy League. We just came up a little short against a really strong team, a great Indiana team. But we fought until the end, and I can't ask for anything more from my players. Yeah, it was a great battle.

Q. Abby, you had Ali Patberg on you most of the game. What kind of a matchup was that?

ABBY MYERS: Well, I think we are both kind of veterans in the game. I know this is her seventh year, and for me it's kind of like my fifth year going into the sixth. So yeah, we both have experience at NCAA Tournament games in just tough situations, and I think she's a great player on a really great team. You can just tell she's definitely a leader on that team, and it showed tonight.

Yeah, I think it was just a competitive matchup. It was fun. I had a lot of fun out there. A lot of emotions were flying everywhere.

Yeah, you know, at the end of the day she made some good points down the stretch, and I think that helped them. Yeah.

Q. What was it like to kind of make that second-half run and what would you say that you guys did that really frustrated them that threw Indiana off that allowed you to get back in the game down 14?

JULIA CUNNINGHAM: We came out of the halftime room, we always write 0-0 on the board no matter what the score is. We came out ready to play. We knew we were down 10 at half, and I think we kind of went back to our principles defensively. We got a lot of stops, got a lot of hands on the ball there, and we were able to push, and that always leads us to our best offense.

That was definitely the plan, and I think in the third quarter we held them to six points in the third quarter, and that's like a big-time number. That's a Big Ten team that can score the ball, and holding them to six points in a quarter is big for us, and that was our game plan, and that kind of allowed us to crawl back into the game there.

Q. Just curious for you both, I know the emotions are raw right now, but for folks who maybe haven't watched you all season, do you feel like you made a statement this weekend playing on this national stage and doing what you did tonight?

ABBY MYERS: I hope we did. Yeah, we just really wanted to go to the Sweet 16. But yeah, I hope that we left our mark and our legacy, and obviously it's unfinished business, and I know that the team next year and the coaching staff, they're super excited.

I feel like we've kind of lit the fire on to next year's goals.

But yeah, I hope that we left our mark and really opened people's eyes to the Ivy League because it's a growing league. It's really competitive, and there's a lot of ballers that are coming out of that league.

JULIA CUNNINGHAM: Yeah, absolutely. I think this could have been a Sweet 16 or an Elite 8 matchup. I think we put Princeton on the map. I think we made some people aware of what we're able to do, beat the SEC champs, and then come in and have a one-point game with the Big Ten runner-up. I think for the Ivy League it's huge. For Princeton it's huge.

I think the mid-majors have just been killing it in this tournament, and they're putting people on notice. I'm really proud of that. I'm really proud of Abby. I think she's been a huge, huge factor in getting us there and just making people aware of what the Ivy League is made of.

Q. Following up on that, you guys came in here and there was a lot of smiles as you guys came up here and into the media room. Is that why, just being able to -- what you guys accomplished and what you all proved on a national stage?

ABBY MYERS: Yeah, you know, I think we have to be proud of what we've done. We worked so hard, and obviously not having a season last year, we've just been working since day one. Every practice -- obviously we pride ourselves in being student-athletes. We take our academics very seriously, and for us to just do that with excellence and then come into practice and be focused, never complain and just be our best and embrace greatness, I think it's just something to be proud about.

So yeah, we're going to just hold our heads high and be proud of what we've done. But we're going to let it sting a little bit because we all value winning as competitors, and yeah, we're going to be happy with what we've done.

Q. Just curious with the early foul trouble tonight for Abby and Kaitlyn and Grace, obviously every team says next player up in that position, but that's a lot easier said than done. For either of you, what was going through your head in those moments where you knew that someone other than Abby is going to have to step up, and how did you guys really hang tough in that moment?

JULIA CUNNINGHAM: Yeah, I looked at Abby and I was like, please stop fouling. Please, Kaitlyn, you too.

I mean, it is what it is. It's things that are out of our control. So you know, we went back in there and told them to be smart. We have a lot of faith in them and their defense. But I think Grace did a great job stepping up, scoring big buckets in the first half, and then again, we're just going to fall back on our defense, hold them to as little points as possible.

We need other people to step up offensively, and I think we did that in the first half, and then they came back in the second half, and it was a little easier with no foul trouble.

ABBY MYERS: Yeah, I'm just proud of my teammates out there on the court for stepping up, making really big shots. Really hit a lot of tough ones, ones we needed to just stop them from getting the momentum.

But yeah, proud of my teammates for being relentless out there.

Q. Coach, I asked Teri this on the defensive side, but on the offensive side you have the ball down two and the turnover on that play, are you looking for a three there or a two there? It looked like Kaitlyn Chen had that step there and tried to pass it back. What was your hope on that play?

CARLA BERUBE: Yeah, just looking for Kaitlyn to make a play, whether it was for her own shot -- she got caught in the air a little bit there, so yes, Abby was coming behind for an outlet if she didn't have a shot. Yeah, it was a tough play. Credit to Indiana that they defended it well. You know, those things happen.

Q. As you came back in the second half and ended up grabbing the lead, what was the response that you saw from Indiana, and what made them tough to kind of really create any separation on?

CARLA BERUBE: Yeah, tough. They have great toughness. They have great play makers. It was certainly tough to defend them in the post. Down the stretch just getting around Holmes and No. 10, Gulbe, they're big and strong, and of course Berger made some great plays, too.

Yeah, we got that lead and then we couldn't extend it, and yeah, credit to them, they made the plays. That's what it came down to.

Q. What were you telling your team going into that fourth quarter after only giving up six in the third? How were you feeling as a coach and what were you telling your team?

CARLA BERUBE: Just keep getting stops. That's what got us here in the first place is our defense. We gave up 39 points in the first half, and that's not really who we are, so we really -- the foul trouble definitely hurt us.

We just needed to get back to the basics, and yeah, really proud of the effort in that third quarter. They actually scored a little bit in the beginning of the third, and then we really put the clamps down and did a great job.

Yeah, I'm really proud of the way we came back and fought, and yay, just kept saying, like just keep getting stops, those will hopefully lead to easier buckets down the other end.

Indiana was tough. They played great defense, as well.

Q. Did you like this being in front of 9,000 opposing fans or would you prefer it on a neutral site, and do you think that affected the outcome? Would it be your preference to play the entire tournament on a neutral side or do you like how you get to host if you're a high seed?

CARLA BERUBE: Neutral would be better I would think. I mean, we love the environment. I'm not going to lie. It was incredible. But yeah, I mean, but again, if you have this incredible season, maybe you do deserve to host.

But I think I'm on the side of let's make it a neutral site like the men.

Q. Ellie Mitchell had a great game rebounding with 15 boards. She just seemed in the second half that she could not be stopped on that offensive glass. Just talk about what she means to your team.

CARLA BERUBE: Ellie is -- she's just unbelievably relentless. Like nothing stops her. She has a knack of reading the rebounds and then she has this just drive to go after every board, every loose ball, diving, diving out of bounds to save a ball. She's everywhere.

Yeah, she's like the heart of our defense. She was Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year for a reason, because she gives it her all on every single play.

When she plays like that, which is very consistent, she makes her teammates play at another level, too.

Yeah, really proud of her effort tonight, but that's what we see day in and day out. You see that in practice. Sometimes I'm like, Ellie, let's not get hurt. But that's how she works.

Q. Carla, Grace got 15 points, but it seemed like there was definitely stretches during the game where your defense was able to limit her and neutralize her somewhat. What worked there, and then does it make it more frustrating that she was able to get to the bucket there at probably the biggest play of the game?

CARLA BERUBE: I mean, she's incredibly gifted and strong and smart and you can see she's got a really high basketball IQ. She uses her body really well, protects the ball very well and sort of just like uses the defense to her success.

Yeah, she's a hard guard, but I think our team did a pretty good job with her. She just made a couple plays that -- I'd love to see the foul at the end, too, on her arm. But yeah, she's a really great player.

Q. Coach, I'll ask you the same thing that I asked the players. Do you feel like you guys made a statement this weekend? And specifically looking at the box score with Abby being held below her average, do you feel like you showed something with the supporting cast and how they stepped up, as well?

CARLA BERUBE: Yeah, absolutely, I do think we showed the national -- on the national stage that we can compete with anyone. We have players, we have very talented players that work really hard and play together and play for each other and have a lot of fun.

I think it's a great recipe to show everyone out there that Princeton basketball and the Ivy League is really great.

Yeah, just proud of us, and hopefully we just keep taking off.

Q. Coach, as a Connecticut native I had the privilege to watch you play back in that '95 championship year with a completely filled Campbell Pavilion. What's it like now to come back as a coach in a storied arena like Assembly Hall coaching in front of an electrifying crowd?

CARLA BERUBE: It feels amazing. I feel very, very fortunate to be coaching the game I love, be coaching a group of incredible women, incredible student-athletes, and representing Princeton University.

I have to pinch myself sometimes that I'm able to do this for my job.

Yeah, I'm glad that they had this experience. I was fortunate to have experiences like this as a player. We talked about it, they're going to be really hungry to get back to games like this. We did mention we would like to host in Jadwin if possible next year, at our place, but I do think -- just having these first-round and second-round games and playing two really, really good teams and showing that we can compete with anyone, I think it shows everyone out there that Princeton basketball is really great.

Q. You played your college ball at UConn, and you've seen the top of the sport here. From what you know about the sport as a whole, what's it take to get a program like Indiana that is not a traditional women's basketball power to the level that it's at right now?

CARLA BERUBE: Recruiting, great coaching. I mean, I think they're doing a great job. I think Teri is doing an amazing job. They play at a really high level, and they've had a tremendous season.

It's keep getting in players like the ones she has, and yeah, they can compete with anybody out there.

Yeah, it was great. It was great to play against such a great team and great program, and I hope they keep having great seasons like this.