NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - CREIGHTON VS IOWA STATE

March 25, 2022

Jim Flanery

Morgan Maly

Tatum Rembao

Greensboro Coliseum

Creighton Bluejays

Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference

Creighton 76, Iowa State 68

JIM FLANERY: This team just continues to amaze me, and we're so proud of how they've grown, what kind of fight they have and how they play for each other. Just couldn't be more proud of them, the growth that we've seen.

I told a lot of people, we were 4-8 at the end of January a year ago. We had won four games, and we had, obviously, a lot of COVID, but it started last year. I felt like we really got a lot better.

People like Morgan, who were freshmen, got experience, and we got in the NIT, and we came back hungry, and we didn't get out of the blocks.

We lost two of our first three, but we've been a good practice team, and I think when you practice well -- and we've been healthy. That's a huge part.

We've had a really good practice situation this year in terms of people being healthy, and I think when you do that, you can get better.

Iowa State, congratulations to them. They had a great year. They're a great program. Tremendous team.

We have a lot of respect for them, but about these two, somebody referenced Morgan as a bench player the other day, and I said that's kind of an insult. I know she was Sixth Player of the Year, but she's not a bench player. We just don't start her, but she's on the floor a lot.

Then Tatum was incredible tonight. The third quarter, her confidence and her ability to make the plays that she did really kind of flipped the game I felt like. We had a good run at the end of the second quarter to get ourselves into a tie at half, and I felt that really helped us.

We're going to get ready for South Carolina starting in the morning. We're going to swing away. We're going to prepare the right way, and then we're going to come swing away Sunday night.

Q. This is for Morgan. I guess you were doing a TV interview at midcourt, and you got doused pretty good. Most people hold the water until the locker room. Just kind of what was your emotions kind of in the celebration and getting doused on the court?

MORGAN MALY: It was so fun. I guess it's kind of a tradition now that we keep winning, but I just love playing with this team, and it makes the celebrations that much better.

Q. So in that third quarter into the fourth quarter it kind of felt like you guys could do whatever you wanted. They would switch. You guys would slip. They would bring nail help, and you would pop out. What was that process like on the court? Do you have to communicate that stuff when you see it, or do you have it built in to what you are doing out there?

TATUM REMBAO: We have a lot of freedom in practice, and we practice that motion almost every single day, so I feel like it's a little rough when you are in June and July trying to figure each other out. But once you start to build that chemistry, you kind of know who is going to back cut, who is going to curl, who is going to bump and pop, and who you want to bump and pop. So it definitely comes with a lot of practice.

MORGAN MALY: I would just say we have players who make plays. Then they pass it to someone laughing).

Q. Morgan, speaking of making plays, I don't know if any of your three of pointers you were close to the line. They seemed like they were all deep. I don't know if any of them touched the rim either. How did it feel? You were ready to let it go.

MORGAN MALY: That's kind of what I'm used to, just coming off the bench, just letting it fly. My teammates got me great looks. Just kind of read the defense, and once the first one or two go down, it gives me a lot of confidence to keep letting it go.

Q. Tatum, obviously this is your last season. That's getting extended now. How does that just feel?

TATUM REMBAO: I cannot be more grateful that this season has gotten to be extended two more weeks just from the Big East Tournament, and these girls have made it so worth it on and off the court. They're definitely my best friends, and I wouldn't want to go through this with anyone else.

Q. As the final seconds were ticking off, can you just describe your emotions? I mean, the parents and fans behind me were crying. What was it like for you guys?

MORGAN MALY: It was just unreal. The past two weeks hasn't felt real, but it's been amazing to have that lead going into the fourth quarter and do enough to stick it out and have Tatum make great -- make those free-throws at the end. Defensive stops were huge. This is just a great experience.

Q. After you guys lost in the Big East Tournament, did you think this was going to happen? What was your mentality then and how did it take you to now?

TATUM REMBAO: That loss hurt in the Big East Tournament. It's really hard to play a team three times, but that was definitely a game that we shouldn't have lost. And I think everyone came back from Spring Break really eager and ready to go because we know how good we are, and we knew how good we were back then.

So I think we had to change our mindset a little bit to prepare ourselves a little bit better.

MORGAN MALY: Yeah, that one stung, but I think we came back stronger, and we really dialed in on what each of our roles are, and we just kind of focused on meshing and making a run because we knew that we could.

Q. Tatum, as a quick follow-up to that, your parents and family were very emotional. Can you just describe what it means for this program, this fan base, everybody associated with the magnitude of this win?

TATUM REMBAO: Our parents are amazing. As you guys can see, they travel so well, and they all stay at the same hotel, and they all go out to eat before the games, and they hang out after the games, so it really is just one big family here with a lot of love.

Q. This is for both of you guys. It seemed like around I want to say the middle of the third quarter you went on a little run, forced Iowa State to call a timeout. You guys were celebrating and really hyped up as that time was called, everyone on your bench. At what point in the game did you guys really, like, smell blood in the water?

MORGAN MALY: I would say, yeah, in the middle of the third quarter. We had -- our offense was really working well, and a lot of people stepped up and hit a lot of -- hit some shots, and we started rebounding the ball better on the defensive end, and that was I think kind of how they hung in the game, second-chance points. So, yeah, right around there.

TATUM REMBAO: I feel like we're an emotional team, and we're going to celebrate who deserves to be celebrated. So when someone hits a big three and we go into a timeout, we're going to show them all the love.

Q. We were asking the players about their emotions, but what was yours like when the horn finally sounded and you could stop worrying about this game? You went over to the crowd and gave a couple of thumbs up. But what were your emotions after many times have trying to get to this point, and now you're past it?

JIM FLANERY: Yeah, it's -- I don't know. I've enjoyed this team so much that it's -- I told them, you know, you want to keep advancing because that's the goal, but I also want to just keep coaching this team, so that's kind of what I was thinking as I just love coaching this team because it's different people different nights.

We had 30 bench points tonight, and that's typical of us. Emma Ronsiek is our leading scorer, and I didn't play her in the fourth quarter tonight. It wasn't because I didn't trust her. It was because I trusted some other people. Payton Brotzki was unbelievable tonight. She's played the best basketball of her career this year. We just have different people. Molly Mogensen I thought was really solid. Then we got some people who don't get to play who are super unselfish.

I think it's about just continuing to play. What a great opportunity Sunday night to play South Carolina. After watching them play, we came out to the bench, and we were watching Iowa State in front of us warm up and us on the other end warm up, and we all seemed so small. Then they pass it to someone (laughing). Their post players. It will be different. We'll have to -- we'll have our work cut out for us, but just the opportunity to keep coaching and just so grateful.

Tatum mentioned our parents. We're a small -- smaller school, and I think when you are a women's basketball coach, you get maybe just -- you give yourself a little bit more access to parents because, like she said, they are in the same hotel, and they're a part of it. So I'm super happy for our players, but I know what kind of sacrifices their parents made to get them to this point, and that's so cool.

The images I had in my head after we beat Iowa were of our players hugging their parents, and that's what's really cool about where I am right now in terms of viewing what just happened.

Q. Can you describe the composure of your team late in the game? Iowa State is battling back. You make your free-throws. You are able to seal it.

JIM FLANERY: Better than their coaches. I got a little animated a couple of times.

Yeah, good. When we put Tatum and Molly on the floor together, now we have two ball handlers, it helps us. They downsized and went small, and they did that a lot during the game, and we downsized really a lot in the second half, and then down the stretch we were playing five guards too because we had -- I felt like we had a big enough lead as long as we didn't give up threes and as long as we didn't turn the ball over, we were in good shape. The other part of that was we made some free-throws. Tatum stepped up and made them. Lauren made a couple.

Yeah, I think it was a little bit -- you know, part of it's Tatum being a fifth-year and a couple of our kids who are just steady and flatliners, and then just I thought going small where we had a ball handling team on the floor where you look like you're composed because you're not sped up as opposed if we had a bigger line-up on the floor.

Q. Coach, I asked the players about what happened after that Seton Hall loss, and I want to ask you. What were you feeling then, and then what's changed since then to get you guys to this point?

JIM FLANERY: Sure. Well, first of all, Seton Hall is a really good basketball team. They're in the final eight of the NIT. We had a double overtime game with them about two weeks before the conference tournament, so it's not -- there's no shame in losing to them.

I don't know. I think the newness of the tournament helps. I really believe from a style standpoint we're just a little different. When you talk about what we do on offense, we're a little different than what most people see, and I think that helps us in a tournament format where they only have X number of days to prepare and they're trying to find film maybe of teams that play like us, and so I think that's helped us.

Once you win one, your confidence is for sure greater. So we've had three tight games, and so there's some good fortune in winning too. The Colorado game was tighter than the final score. Went down to the last two, three minutes. Obviously, Iowa away went down to the final possession. Today we had a little separation, but not a ton. I don't know.

I think we're -- what I love about this team is our -- I mean, our sophomore class is really good. Our three leading scorers are in our sophomore class, but our upper classmen provide so much. Tonight Tatum was a scorer, but she doesn't have to be.

I think we have that really good combination of youthful enthusiasm and they don't know any better and then good leaders who kind of guide them and reel them in when they try to get a little too either emotional or maybe aren't quite as focused. That to me has been impressive.

Q. Iowa State infamously has a unique fan environment for their games. Especially these kinds of games.

Is there a way you mentally or emotionally prepare your players to deal with that and play through it?

JIM FLANERY: Well, it certainly helped us to play at Iowa City last weekend in front of 15,000, so I think that was a help. I thought it was great. A lot of the -- I know North Carolina men played right after their women, so I did see a lot of Carolina Blue.

But I thought a lot of the South Carolina fans stayed around. That was nice. I thought the atmosphere -- I thought that helped make the atmosphere. But, yeah, Bill has done an incredible job at Iowa State, and what they've built in terms of the success of the program and how they draw and how they're supported is really impressive.

Our players have been in that environment some, and I just think we were ready to play.

Q. It was a tie game at the half. What was your message to the girls before they bent went back out on the court?

JIM FLANERY: That we can play better. I felt like we turned the ball over too much in the first quarter, and then in the second quarter we didn't defensive rebound. I know that -- I think we had five turnovers in the first quarter. Ten for the game. Much better job the last three quarters. And then we gave up 8-0 offensive boards in the first half and only three in the second half.

We cleaned those up, and I said we're tied, and we can play better. We can play quite a bit better. The nerves are hopefully a little bit behind us, but Iowa State probably felt like they could play better too. They missed some open threes in that first half. Other than that, it was just a few tactical things, but a few things that they were running that we didn't defend very well.

Just trying to get them to slow down a little offensively, but I thought we had done that in the second quarter much better than the first.

Thank you.