BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 9, 2023

Krista Gerlich

Bre'Amber Scott

Bailey Maupin

Municipal Auditorium

Texas Tech Lady Raiders

Postgame Press Conference

Kansas State 79, Texas Tech 69

KRISTA GERLICH: I thought our kids played their hearts out. It's unfortunate that they aren't rewarded for how hard they play. I mean, kudos to K-State for winning. It's really hard to beat a team three times in a season, and I thought they came out and really played exceptionally hard, as well.

I have a lot of respect for Coach Mittie and what he does, and I wish them the very best moving on in the tournament.

I can't fault our kids. They give us everything that they have and more. You know, I just feel like they don't ever get the benefit of the doubt. I hate that for them.

But you saw a tremendous performance from Bre'Amber Scott tonight. She is one of the best players in this league and in the nation. It's going to be fun to watch her play at the next level.

For her to get 27 points and 10 rebounds is fantastic. She just really elevated. She just elevated her game this entire season. You're seeing our present in her and you're seeing our future in Bailey. I thought Bailey really -- I thought she really adjusted throughout the game.

I thought that the second half she figured out how to get downhill and get her feet in the paint and make some good passes out or jump up and score. She got tougher the longer the game went. She's going to be a shining star for us moving forward. She already is, but she's going to be even more so.

I thought that our seniors were just really gutty. I thought they were super gutsy and they played extremely hard. It's just unfortunate that we didn't come away with the win.

Q. Bre, in that fourth quarter what was your mentality?

BRE'AMBER SCOTT: Just do whatever it takes to get the win. You just try to encourage your teammates, let them know, just keep fighting hard. All year we hang our head on fighting hard, so I was encouraging them to keep fighting hard, and whatever happens happens, but don't go out not fighting. So I was just telling them to fight.

Q. (Indiscernible).

BAILEY MAUPIN: That's just something that we've worked on all year. We worked on playing from behind. We've worked on playing from ahead.

We all know that at this tournament it's do or die, and at that point we weren't ready to go home. We're still not ready to go home. But we left it all on the court, and I couldn't ask more of my teammates. I know they played their hearts out for me just like I did for them.

Q. What was the difference from the first two games to this game where they got the win this time? What was the difference?

BAILEY MAUPIN: I mean, she covers up for a lot of people and a lot of mistakes. She has a lot of experience in places that some of us underclassmen like myself don't have.

Although she doesn't score a lot of points every game, she does everything else, and she was a big piece that we were missing tonight.

Q. Bryn went down, she kind of hung on (indiscernible.)

BRE'AMBER SCOTT: Do you know who her mom is? Bryn is a fighter. Bryn has fought through so much this year with injuries and those type of things, but she wants to be here for this team. She wants to do it for her mom, of course. But we all just fight. It's not only Bryn; everybody has stuff going on. It's March, February. Everybody has stuff going on.

Her mindset, her mentality is to never give up, always fight. I think we see that in her so much, and I'm proud of her for that because it's easy to lay down, especially when you're behind. It's easy to give up. But she wanted to be out there with us to fight, so I'm proud of her for that.

Q. (Indiscernible) possibility of playing a WNIT. What are your emotions about this team and the fight you bring and the possibility of that opportunity?

KRISTA GERLICH: I would say that if they want to be inspired, if they want to come and be super proud of a team and obviously extend the basketball season, that they need to come and support us. We're hopeful that we do get a bid. We're hopeful that we host, and we're hopeful that that wasn't our last game that we played.

This team is so special, and obviously these seniors mean a lot to me and these freshman are learning so much from them. I would just -- the message to Lady Raider Nation would be just come and support how hard they fight and what they're doing to build this program back up.

Q. Gabby Gregory played three games against you guys. What was she doing so well that was hard to stop? This was her best game.

KRISTA GERLICH: I mean, she's a really good player. I've known Gabby for a really long time and she's an exceptional player. She's really tough, can score in a variety of ways. I mean, without Big Kat on the floor, it does eliminate another defender, and the first two times we played them we sent three different defenders on her at times to try to just change up what she was looking at.

We went with Tatum Veitenheimer at times who's strong and can be physical with her. We rotated Kat at her at times, the times before, because she's got a little bit more length, and then we rotated Bryn at her, as well, because it's kind of the same sized defender.

I feel like this time we didn't have as many options to go at her, and I will say that Sundell is playing really, really well, and you have to be alert and aware of where she's at.

Like I said, it's just hard to beat a team three times. They know how we're going to defend them. We had some different ways that we wanted to try to mix that up, but I thought Gabby did a great job of playing relentless.

Q. What do you see in Bre'Amber... (indiscernible.)

KRISTA GERLICH: Well, I just told them in the dressing room, if those underclassmen don't learn anything from Bre and Bryn, Tatum, all of them, it's how to fight continually and to embrace the opportunity and the pressure that comes with being a senior.

I think Bre had every opportunity in her career to give up and she fought through it. Last year she fought through. Only played eight games, went through a surgery, another surgery in the summer, and even was still injured this year.

But her mindset really changed this year as far as like I'm going to give you all I have until I can't go anymore. That's what I want our underclassmen to learn is that man, you're in the fight. You do what you have to do for your team. If it's carry us, it's carry us, and I think Bre has certainly done that.

Q. Coach, I know NCAA was the goal, but just to get to the postseason and keep building this program as you are, 18 wins, hopefully you get some more, can you talk about just getting to the postseason and extending the season with these young ladies?

KRISTA GERLICH: Absolutely. Postseason, particularly when you're trying to build a program, is something that you obviously build towards.

In the grand scheme of things, when I took this job, I was hopeful that by year three we would be in the postseason.

I don't think until I started coaching this group of girls that I thought, man, it could be the NCAA, and I truly believe -- I think they're an NCAA team. We're in a really tough conference. We've had to battle through some injuries. We've beaten some really good teams this year and we've played some teams really, really close.

I think for me as a coach and a mom of a player, whenever I saw what this team had early in the season, it became more of a sped-up process of building this program, because I really wanted my own kid, let alone the other 13 of them, to play in the NCAA Tournament.

There's nothing like it. It's an incredible experience. I think these kids did everything they could to try to get themselves there. I just hate that we weren't able to do it for them.

But in the grand scheme of things, we're still playing, I hope. I feel like we're still going to be playing.

That's an opportunity if we get to host at home, to Ariel's point, to build up our fan base, for them to come out and watch some playoff postseason basketball, for them to -- for an opportunity for our young kids to get more experience and to get postseason experience, they need to learn how to play through March.

They don't need their season to be over at the first of March. That's a mindset, because the season is long, and when you get to this point, if you haven't been used to playing in the postseason, it's easy for kids to give up and check out and do things like that. This team has not done that.

I think they're laying the foundation for future of Lady Raider basketball that they want to continue to play in March, and they want to play in the big dance.

Q. What was it like watching Bryn out there? Obviously she came in with the injury, but just the performance she had, what was it like, not only as a coach but as her mother?

KRISTA GERLICH: Yeah, you're going to get me emotional. I'm so proud of her for all that she's gone through just the adversity and how she's continued to fight.

When I left to come in here, her words to me were "I'm sorry." Those words shouldn't come out of her mouth because she has given everything that she can to this program and to her teammates. She's such a good teammate. I'm just so proud of all the guts that she played with and the lack of respect that she gets is disheartening.

I wish the ball would have gone in the basket a little bit more for her from the perimeter, but I did think that she made some really difficult shots. And when she twisted her knee again, and I saw it and it went ways that your knee is not supposed to go, to be quite honest, my heart -- I kind of had to look the other way for a minute because I know she's going to gather herself, she's going to be tough, she does not want me to come out on that floor.

She's never wanted me to come out on that floor, and I love that about her. But it's hard because your kid is in pain. Any of your players. I mean, Bre is playing super injured. She's got all kinds of injuries, and just the guts that they're playing with is incredible.

But I know one thing for sure: All these kids, particularly Bre and Bryn, they are going to be fighters for the rest of their lives, and they're going to be able to get back up when life gets them down and they're going to keep swinging.

Q. I know you mentioned Katie was out tonight. (Indiscernible).

KRISTA GERLICH: We're hopeful, yes. She is day-to-day, and so we are very hopeful that she has not played her last game in a Lady Raider uniform.