NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL FINAL - MICHIGAN VS LOUISVILLE

March 27, 2022

Kim Barnes Arico

Naz Hillmon

Emily Kiser

Maddie Nolan

Laila Phelia

Danielle Rauch

Intrust Bank Arena

Michigan Wolverines

Elite 8 Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We will open the floor for the Michigan student-athletes.

Q. As you rewatch and think about the Louisville game, what kind of emotions come up about that game?

LAILA PHELIA: Just thinking back, I know we had a rough game against them, but I felt like we have learned a lot from it, so it's like a lesson learned and we were able to work and get back. I feel like this will be a great match-up for us tomorrow night.

DANIELLE RAUCH: It was early on in our season and we were still figuring some things out. Playing at Louisville is a really difficult thing to do. So we definitely were shocked in that situation.

But I think we've grown a lot since then and gone through a lot of different things throughout this season to prepare us to play them again.

MADDIE NOLAN: For sure. And like those two touched on, it was early in our season. We have learned a lot, we've grown a lot, I think we have learned how to play with each other a lot more. Our confidence has grown not only in ourselves but in our teammates and in games as well.

NAZ HILLMON: I think what everybody is saying is exactly what it is, and definitely a lesson learned. And we have grown a lot from that game. It will be a great battle but we have been reflecting on it and figuring out how we can be better. They still have the same players. They're a great team, and we will have to work around that and make in-game adjustments, but reflecting on that as a lesson.

EMILY KISER: I'm not sure I can add to that. We let their defense speed us up with their pressure. So I think we've grown in that, and we're more confident in our ball handling and passing. So not letting them speed us up.

Q. Following up on that same point, how are you different? You had 24 turnovers in that game, you were outrebounded significantly. What's the difference in this team today than December?

EMILY KISER: Yeah, I mean, I think a huge difference I saw, just I think everyone saw that crowd last night, I think it was all South Dakota Coyotes, and we didn't let that energy affect us. And in the Louisville game, we let that crowd and defense speed us up. And not doing the things that our team focuses on, not losing our identity and not letting the other team affect what we do.

NAZ HILLMON: Yeah, that game helped us to put people in better positions. We really figured out, you know, if people are doubling and tripling me, how to put people in their best spots to be a contributor to our team and focusing on slowing down the game for us sometimes.

Definitely felt like we were sped up, like somebody said earlier, so knowing what pace we want to play at throughout the game.

MADDIE NOLAN: For sure, Emily touched on it, we have played in a lot of hostile environments this year, and last night was probably our most successful game in that. To know that we are capable of playing in front of however many South Dakota fans were there and pulling out the win was huge for us. Knowing that we're confident in each other and with our ball handling and anyone can score at any given moment, I think we saw that last night as well.

DANIELLE RAUCH: I think just the different experience, we are in March, and March is a different time. I think our team has grown through a lot since then and that loss.

It hurt, but it also taught us a lot and helped us be successful. I think our growth and our experience throughout this season is definitely what has helped and made us different now.

LAILA PHELIA: I feel like our chemistry has gotten better, and the best thing we can do is play Michigan basketball.

Q. Take me inside the locker room. Who is the most vocal before the game?

NAZ HILLMON: I would say Coach gives good pregame speeches. She gets us fired up before the game. But we have a couple of huddles, within our warm-up or before we go out, and Danielle gets us going, as well as Michelle. She gives us a good -- she is making us want to run through a wall so the combination of those people.

Q. Naz and Danielle, and if anybody else has a good story, what was it about Kim that appealed to you during your recruiting process? What did you learn about her? What made you feel a connection there, if you have any specific stories on that?

NAZ HILLMON: Yeah, for me she was very similar to my parents, in terms of just always being honest. Sometimes during the recruiting process people tell you what you want to hear. That was the complete opposite. Like I always remember after AAU games when I played bad and she was like, yeah, that wasn't a good weekend. I was like, I know.

So just that honesty and never allowing me to think that I was going to come into Michigan and just be able to walk on the floor and do whatever I want to and still be successful.

She laid out a plan, and we had this power play of how successful I could be at Michigan, but she said at the end of it I have to work for it. Nobody is going to hold my hand to get there.

And I felt like that was very important, and I knew I wanted to grow throughout my college career, and those words of encouragement and putting that into perspective definitely helped me build that connection with Coach.

DANIELLE RAUCH: I think for me what Coach is building at Michigan and the culture of Michigan basketball aligned with who I was as a person and wanted to achieve, not only on the basketball court, but in the classroom as well.

And bonding with Coach, and at Michigan knowing who she was, and Coach and I are similar, and we have grown a lot together through the last four years. So knowing that coming in, I knew that that was going to be how it was going to be.

Q. Naz, Louisville has an ability to throw a couple of different bigs down low, whether it's Olivia, Liz or Emily. What did you learn going up against them the first time and adjusting that?

NAZ HILLMON: Knowing that they're going to throw a couple of different looks, whether that be coverage or a single player or double or triple teams, being aware of the defense they're throwing or throwing multiple bodies where my teammates are going to be. And I think that's definitely something we learned from last time we played them. So in-game adjustments and what they have drawn up, Coach Walz is crafty at throwing different things, so being aware of what I have coming at me.

Q. Naz, at the beginning of the season, at Media Day you said that there was some unfinished business and you wanted to come back and as a senior to get back further than you all went last year. What did that moment feel like when the buzzer went off and you knew that you had done that but still have more unfinished business ahead?

NAZ HILLMON: Yeah. It was just so many emotions running through my mind. Every time we win a game, I reflect on the entire season and how hard we have worked and all the ups and downs, the great moments, the bad moments that we've had. And just everything we went through, you know, put us into position that we were in last night.

Just so happy and thankful for my teammates, to be able to share that special moment with my classmates, and how great they played during that made me reflect on that and thinking about all the people who came before us. It was a ton of emotions, happiness and joy and thankfulness all wrapped up in one, and excited to continue to keep this thing going.

Q. Making history and I would love for you to put into perspective what this historical run means to each of you.

LAILA PHELIA: Well, as a freshman coming in, I knew and watched how the season ended for these girls last year and just going down in the Sweet 16 against Baylor, so coming in I felt like I really wanted to do whatever I could to help them make history and get back to that position.

So I feel like the biggest thing is for me, just like my emotions and stuff, I'm just really thankful and happy for these girls, the seniors and stuff, because I know how hard they've worked, and I'm glad to be able to pitch in to that.

DANIELLE RAUCH: Being a senior and thinking about the last four years and everything that we've gone through, the good and the bad, just having this moment to make history. Last year was awesome, going to the Sweet 16.

But now to be in this position, I think Naz hit on it, too, we felt like everything has prepared us for this moment, and that started our freshmen year and what we set out to accomplish here. So seeing it all come together, joy, elation, all of that, I was like sobbing after the game yesterday.

But just this feeling and being able to accomplish it with this team is just incredible.

MADDIE NOLAN: I think going off that, especially not after winning a Big Ten Championship, we had a lot of heartbreak, and we looked at what we could do in order to make history and make it to the Sweet 16 and to the Elite Eight like we did last year. Just kind of building off that, trusting in each other.

And coming in as a freshman, having the seniors in the class ahead of me, you believed. You could tell something special was going to happen. They took me under their wing, me and D joke about that, but you couldn't have ask for a better group of people. And it means a lot not only to make history but to make history with the teammates that I do have.

NAZ HILLMON: It's crazy to think about just like us making history, because the year before our class came, Michigan didn't make the tournament at all. They went and they won the WNIT, but Coach talks to us and says, like, we thought we were getting into the tournament, and we didn't. That was heartbreaking for everybody who was a part of that team.

At that point if you were to say that we made it to the tournament and made it this far and made it to the tournament three of our four years, with COVID being the exception, people wouldn't believe us.

Just to see that hard work, the turn-around, the growth and what Coach has done to bring us so many special players and so many people to buy into it. We've talked plenty about Danielle and Emily not playing as much their freshmen through junior years and being that special player that has that bye-in and being those special kids that Coach brings in.

EMILY KISER: I think the people that came before us -- Danielle and I called Nicole Munger after the game because she had the vision, she was the senior class when we were freshmen, she had that vision about being Big Ten champions, and thinking about the people that came before us.

Our class didn't start from scratch. There was a lot that went in before us. So adding to the joy that we have paid off. What they started has been really cool.

THE MODERATOR: That's all the time we have. We would like to thank the student-athletes for their time. All right. I think we will go ahead and start early with questions for Coach.

Q. I'm looking at Hillmon's statistics, and they were obviously very good during the regular season. A lot of times when you get into the NCAA Tournament, those stats go down as better teams focus on them. Her stats have actually gone up. She is shooting 70% from the field in the NCAA Tournament. How has she done that?

COACH BARNES ARICO: It's funny and I have been thinking about that as well. I feel like she has this incredible fire inside of herself that doesn't want her college career to be over. She is coming out with that burning fire every single game. That's -- I don't know how she does it because she faces those double teams, those triple teams night in and night out. To still not get worn down at this point of the year but just come out and sometimes carry our team and load is really special.

We talk about All-Americans and Players of the Year, and Naz Hillmon is still playing and she is playing her best basketball right now, and she's doing things that are absolutely off the charts.

I just think she doesn't want it to end, and she knows at any second it can. So she is just bringing it. I've watched her for four years. Almost the bigger the game, the more important the game, the more she is able to turn it up. It's really a special thing.

Q. Coach, the previous game was easy to rationalize, your players talk about it as a lesson learned. How has your team changed?

COACH BARNES ARICO: I think a couple of things, I got to listen to them. We definitely are a different team, and it definitely was December. But that's not to take anything away from Louisville. Obviously Louisville is one of the best teams in the country. They are a No. 1 seed for a reason.

Their defense I think that first game really surprised me, was great, outstanding, probably better than I anticipated. And kind of a little bit of a wake-up call of, holy cow, this team just dialed it up against us. How are we going to handle that pressure?

I think they have been able to do that against a number of teams this year, and that's going to be a challenge for us tomorrow. That's one of the many strengths of their team, their defensive intensity.

And the way Emily Engstler can affect the game and roam around and block people's shots and has a great nose for where to trap. That was probably the first time this year that we faced -- Naz faced that double and triple team, and since that day we work on that every single day. That's become a staple in our practice plan because they really kinda went at her and tried to take her out of the game plan.

Obviously, I have the utmost respect. Our players are using it as a learning tool, for sure, but their defensive intensity has been exceptional, probably one of the best we have faced. And we've played a really tough schedule. The Big Ten has prepared us for these moments. We have played some great teams in our league and played some great teams outside our league, with Baylor being one of them as well in December.

Louisville's defensive intensity is probably the best that we have faced all year.

Q. Coach, it seemed like against South Dakota you guys were able to use your length and Naz's versatility to put a lot of pressure on the ball, both full court and half court. Louisville is a different team, but will you guys be able to do some of that again, or is it a very different game plan in terms of defending them?

COACH BARNES ARICO: No, I think we have to be able to do that. I think we have to change things on them, like you're talking about, and we have to use our strength.

And we feel like we can be disruptive in some ways to be able to do that. We were able to do some of those things against Baylor, for sure.

But some of the problems we faced with Louisville is we weren't able to score. When you can't score, you really can't change your defenses too much. But from an offensive perspective, try to face Naz up a little bit and do some different stuff to alleviate some of that pressure.

Then if we are able to score a little bit better, I think we can certainly maybe change some things up on the defensive end.

Q. You talked about the pressure Louisville tries to put on. Is there something unique about the system that Jeff tries to deploy in those situations that separates it? Otherwise, how have you seen Louisville grow since that game from what you've studied?

COACH BARNES ARICO: I think a combination of things. I think they have some really great players and some great players that buy into playing defense. Especially at the guard spot.

Like I said about Emily, I think she is a difference maker. You have a 6'2" athlete that she is and can move so well, can block shots so well, can play and probably defend any position one through five.

I think he gives her the freedom to roam around and to be able to double, to be able to be a pest, to be able to just go run at somebody. I think he allows her that freedom to really do that. And I think that's going to be key for us, is to try to make her engage somebody defensively and not give her that much freedom because she is disruptive and her length is disruptive.

So I think he allows her to do that. He allows their team to pick and choose what they can double and what they're feeling at the moment.

In terms of their improvement, you know, I watch that Notre Dame game, holy cow! If you don't take care of the basketball, if you turn the basketball over, even if you don't turn the basketball over, their ability to get out in transition and make shots in transition is incredible, whether that's Smith or Hailey Van Lith, they fire and they make shots.

So I think the speed and the space is going to be really important for us.

Q. You mentioned the intensity they play with defensively. Louisville is known to throw a lot of different traps, different looks, zone schemes and switch-up mid-play. How do you prepare for that in such a short window?

COACH BARNES ARICO: Yeah, we had a little bit more time to prepare for it the first time, and it still was difficult. We do a ton of different drills in practice to prepare for those teams, to prepare for handling pressure, to prepare for all that stuff.

We talked about it this morning with the quick turn-around and us playing essentially last night, you know, it's going to be more of a mental preparation than it is really a physical preparation.

But hopefully our experience will come through in those situations. And he does, he tries to throw -- whether that's at timeouts, the end of the quarter, the beginning of the quarter -- some different looks, half-court traps, just tries to change it up and tries to catch your kids off guard and really tries to pressure them.

So just handling those moments, being able to pivot, to be able to handle pressure, move the ball quickly out of those traps is going to be key. And we talk about maybe not turning -- if we're going to turn it over, can we not turn it over for points? So even if you hold the ball and get a 5-second call, we give ourselves a chance to set up defense. If we try to pass and they steal it for 2, that hurts more.

So just trying to be smart in those moments and try to rely on our experience, and hopefully we have been in a ton of those situations this year and we will be able to handle it in a quick turn-around.

Q. Coach, this is unchartered territory for your program, and that's why they call it "Elite." What does it mean for you and the program to reach this level of excellence?

COACH BARNES ARICO: Yeah, I mean, you and I have been friends, have gone back for a long, long time. You've kind of seen this program get to where it is today. You heard these five young women up here today and what it means to them and the sacrifices and the commitment that they have made to reach elite. It's really special.

I know we said I stole Jim Harbaugh's quote a couple weeks ago where some people start on third, you know, we started in the dugout, so to speak, and now we're "elites."

And I can't give enough credit to Naz Hillmon, who leads the way, but there are so many more, we say 15 strong, with the sacrifices and the belief that these women made that they could do something different and be here today. So it's really a special moment.

But I think something that we talked about even with South Dakota and heading into that game is you don't want to just be happy to be here. And I think that's something that a lot of you guys are asking those questions today, and it's going to be the first thing that I remind our team when we get back to the locker room.

It's great. It's great that we're elite and one of eight teams playing in the country right now. It's unbelievable. But we're not done, and we got a chance to keep on going. It's one game at a time, and anything can happen in one game.

And I know Louisville beat us by 20 in December and I know Louisville has beaten us the last four times I was a part of it. I know all those things. But it's one game. And, you know, who knows what can happen tomorrow if Michigan comes out and plays like we're capable of playing.

So we gotta remember that. And that's going to be the message when I get back in the locker room, and that's going to be our goal tomorrow.

Q. We have seen strides in terms of salaries for women's basketball coaches, we've seen a slight uptick in the number of women who are head coaches at the Division I level. That number is at 43%. Is that an acceptable number? If not, how does that change? Where does it start?

COACH BARNES ARICO: I think there are a lot of people out there making that change. If you look recently at even the Power Five hires in this past week, they have been women. A bunch of them have been women of color. I think that's really, really important. I think it's really important for young women, young girls that are playing to see that.

I have two daughters that are sitting in the back row there, and my daughter's high school coach left this week. And they're sitting at the table and talking about who could potentially get that job, and they're like, No, Mommy, we want it to be a girl. And I'm like, Yes! And that's nothing against -- but we want someone that looks like us and we want someone that knows what we're thinking.

I just think it's really important for players to see that and for women to have those opportunities. Just really happy with the hires that have happened this week. Am I satisfied with 43%? Heck no. Do I think we're there? No! And I know we don't have enough time in this press conference to talk about all my thoughts about equity and inequality and all of those things.

We have a long way to go. But I'm really happy with the strides that are being made. For sure.

Q. Kim, going way back to your days at St. John's, or maybe even further back to Delphi. What did you learn about program building at those places when you are starting out and building things up?

COACH BARNES ARICO: On the bus ride over, I was going through social media, and I saw Shaheen Holloway's quotes, and I felt like I could really connect with him. I almost wish I could reach out and talk to him because, you know, my path has been a little bit different.

I wasn't a big-time college player, and I wasn't, you know, a GA at a big-time Power Five program, and I started as a high school coach. I coached division III and Division II, and went to St. John's when we were rated worst of the worst programs in the country, number 300 and something. I could never have imagined. I couldn't have written the script.

But I think Shaheen said this: "I've been fortunate in my lifetime that people have given me opportunity and people have believed in me." He said that, I want to be the coach that believes in a kid that somebody else didn't believe in. I get that.

When Danielle sat up here -- holy cow -- and said "Coach gets me" because she was that kid that maybe -- everybody thought couldn't play at a Power Five, and now is a starting point guard at the Elite Eight. Like, holy cow. I don't know. Sometimes I think I could write a book about it; sometimes I don't think anybody could read it, or would read it, but maybe there are the Shaheen Holloways of the world that it would touch because it's been a different journey than a lot of people.

But blessed and fortunate that someone took a chance on me and gave me an opportunity, and hope that I can do that for some other women that come across my path in this lifetime.

Q. What's been the significance of the No. 11 jersey you have been wearing during games?

COACH BARNES ARICO: I think they talked about that yesterday, but I lost my brother, and he was out -- he was a college basketball player and wore No. 11 and I wore No. 10. And it was always a thing in our family. And he was out for a run, and his heart stopped. It a long story and it happened a while ago.

But my children were playing in a basement when I got hired at Michigan, and I was at a Christmas party with our old athletic director. I came home, and our director of operations was watching my children, because we didn't know anybody else in Michigan at the time. She's like, you're not going believe what your kids found while going through boxes, unloading boxes in the basement, and it was a picture of my brother in a Michigan hat. And my brother had the accident before I was even at Michigan.

It was always kind of, to me, like, wow, he told me this move is okay everything is going to be okay. I know it sounds weird, and I don't really go there, but it was kind of this thing like, everything is going to be okay.

This year I walked into the bookstore, and I know we're in the time of the NIL, and we have a Barnes on our men's team. So you go into the bookstore, and there aren't very many women's shirts. Naz has one, yes, and Leigha has one, but I think that's about it. But all the men have their shirts hanging in there.

And I looked up, and it was the Barnes No. 11. And obviously that's my last name, and that was my brother's number. And once again it was like, it's going to be okay. So I bought a couple and sent one to my nephew, my brother's boy who was a year and a half when my brother had that accident in the park. And I sent one to him, and I sent one to my dad.

It means the world to them, and I just always feel like a piece of him is with me.

Q. If you'll indulge me, a two-part question. I have counted five "holy cows" from you. Is that average, or are you more amped up today? That's the first question. Second, a month ago today you gave up 104 points to Iowa. You haven't given up 50 points in the tournament. Has there been a change in your defense, or is that a reflection of the competition?

COACH BARNES ARICO: Two great questions. One, I guess I don't use "holy cow" too much, but I think I said "darn" yesterday, and some people quoted me as saying "damn." So I try to work on not using bad words, ever. Sometimes they slip. Holy cow is a good one so the bad words don't ever slip.

For those of and you, I guess, people around the country felt the same way, heading into the NCAA Committee certainly did, heading into the NCAA Tournament, if you see the way that Iowa could score the basketball, 102 points wouldn't be surprising.

We went to their place with a chance for them to win the Big Ten Championship to a sell-out crowd of 15,000, and they happened to have one of those 102-point scoring outputs, which they had multiple times during the year.

They are a potent offense. They are unbelievable. They had some days where they didn't -- a couple weeks before that we beat them at home and they didn't have 102-point scoring output and Creighton beat them and they didn't have that.

But they have the ability to score the basketball in bunches. Obviously led by a National Player of the Year candidate in Caitlin Clark. That was a tough one for us. We pride ourselves on our defense.

We went back and reflected a ton, obviously, after that game of how we can be better on the defensive end. I like the fact that we are at a neutral court the last five times.

I've talked about playing Louisville. We have been at Louisville in front of those 15,000 screaming fans like we were at Iowa, and it makes a little bit of a difference. But I know they're still a great team and I know they're a team that can score in bunches as well.

So I think, you know, we do pride ourselves on our defense, and that was a combination that night of us be not being totally on but Iowa being unbelievable. That's a credit to them. So hopefully tomorrow will be a better defensive team, and we've shown our capability of being a better defensive team in this NCAA Tournament.

THE MODERATOR: That's all the time we have. Thank you, Coach.