NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MISSISSIPPI STATE VS CREIGHTON

March 16, 2023

Jim Flannery

Emma Ronsiek

Lauren Jensen

Purcell Pavilion

Creighton Bluejays

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Like to welcome Creighton student-athletes Emma Ronsiek and Lauren Jensen to the podium.

We'll get started with questions from our audience.

Q. Obviously the big question going in is who the opponent was going to be, and you're playing Mississippi State. I know you got the chance to watch last night's game. What was the takeaways for you guys from watching?

EMMA RONSIEK: Yeah, definitely Mississippi State is a talented team, really good. They've got some bigger bodies than we do, but that just comes with any opponent that we play. We're normally undersized typically with any team, especially nonconference games.

Big East tends to have some smaller posts, but this is going to be a challenge and also a challenge for them to guard our stretch 4 and 5. I'm really excited for this matchup.

Q. Just what you talked about, Big East not tending to have as big of players, can you reflect on the season, times when you did, maybe in nonconference play if it was, just fashioning bigger-bodied people that you might see with Mississippi State?

LAUREN JENSEN: Yeah, in our non-con we faced some players that have been bigger than us. Stanford, they're obviously very big. Even their guards were all bigger or the same size as our posts. Nebraska, teams like that.

And so it kind of depends on what guards you have on the floor, too, and how you're going to guard them. And being a little bit undersized, obviously a big thing with that is rebounding. That's always an emphasis, but it's going to be a big emphasis for this game.

Q. You guys had the amazing run last year. When you kind of reflect on last year after what you did and now in this moment, what makes you feel like what maybe was so key for you guys to make that run last year when you reflected on it?

EMMA RONSIEK: Yeah, last year was a really special moment for all of us and something we want to do again. So trusting in each other and the coaching staff that we'll be prepared for each game, because we didn't have a lot of time to prepare for Mississippi State. We didn't know who we were going to play up until last night.

So just trusting in each other, making different decisions, it's just going to go along with keeping us in this run.

Q. For you guys, leading up to today, now that you actually know your opponent, what was it like after Selection Sunday when you found out you made it, but didn't know who you were going to face? What was the preparation like before you knew?

LAUREN JENSEN: Yeah, obviously preparation is a lot different since you don't know who are actually going to play. There were some similarities, so just prepared for tendencies and tried to the best we could there.

Q. When you kind of are going into this back-to-back season of just making it in the tournament again, when you look at the body of work that you bring in, what are the things that stick out as far as things that make you feel confident to get the first win?

EMMA RONSIEK: I think it has to do a lot with who we are off the court as well as on the court. We're all really close. We know the work that needs to be put in outside of practice time and lifting, and a lot of our teammates including me and Lauren, were in the gym a lot of extra time.

I think that just builds the trust we have in each other and the coaches know, and it builds their trust in us. Just really fun to see all the hard work get recognized.

Q. I know you guys mentioned already being able to stretch as 4 and 5s and maybe challenges that you bring for Mississippi State. What else sticks out for you as things that you think you do well as a team that could be a challenge for them?

LAUREN JENSEN: I feel like our offense as a whole, you know, it's kind of unique compared to other teams, especially in the SEC. You don't see many teams like us.

So I feel like that is definitely an advantage in this game.

Q. Is there anything about your guys' play that you think is maybe underrated, that people don't pay as much attention to?

EMMA RONSIEK: I feel like everyone has eyes on the three. Everyone of us on the floor normally can shoot the three. But I think people undermine the ability to get inside looks as well because we are undersized.

That doesn't really mean when we get it inside that we can't score, so I think it's a little bit of that. They're always looking for the three because that's what we're known for, but we can get some easy twos.

THE MODERATOR: That all for today? All right, thank you, ladies.

LAUREN JENSEN: Thank you.

EMMA RONSIEK: Thanks.

THE MODERATOR: Opening statement from Coach?

JIM FLANERY: Congrats to Mississippi State. Thought think played well and earned the win last night. You know, it's been tough for us to prepare because we didn't know our opponent.

As Lauren said, there were some common threads between Illinois and Mississippi State, so we used the week to look at things they had in common that maybe would help us in preparation.

But also we need to be who we are tomorrow night, and I think that on short prep we can be a team that can be difficult for which to prepare.

I think our balance hopefully is on display and our experience. Having played in the NCAA tournament last year I feel like we -- you're going to have stretches where you don't play as well. You need to pull yourself out of it more quickly I feel like. That's harder to do in a tournament setting, a pressure situation.

So I'm confident that we can do that. We have a lot of respect for what we think is a really good opponent, and they'll present some issues. We hopefully will present some problems for them, too.

So excited for tomorrow night. There is nothing better than being in this position.

Q. Obviously number one question, you now know you're playing Mississippi State. Didn't know that going into it. Mentioned to the girls, too, you got to watch them play last night. How beneficial was that for you and your staff and what kind of stuck out as far as their style of play?

JIM FLANERY: Sure. Well, I think it was beneficial to watch them play live. For our players, too, there are certain things that, like you said, pop more when you're live versus watching on a screen.

Just size, physicality, quickness, all those things are a little bit firmer in your mind after you get to see it live.

So obviously Carter, post player, is going to be a difficult matchup for us. She's 6'5" and a really good player and we're 6'1" at the tallest. So we're going to have to do a good job there.

They have good balance. They're deep. They play nine. If you look at what they did last night, they had four made threes off the bench and they have guards that can make threes but get downhill.

So they'll be difficult to prepare for on offense, and then defensively they're disruptive. They can force turnovers. I thought really when they created the separation in the third quarter, it was turnovers that they forced where they could get out and get easy baskets.

Offensive rebounding, which is an area that I know Lauren talked about, is we're going to have to be -- the big areas of ball security, taking care of the ball, and then defensive rebounding. Make sure they're getting one shot the majority of the time.

But, yeah, good to watch them play live, and then kind of re-watch it. But we had watched enough film to understand who they are even before last night. We'll have our hands full, but feel like we are a tough team to prepare for on a one-day prep, which is what they have.

Q. When it comes to a player like Jessica Carter, obviously not able to stop her, but what's key for you guys, like you mentioned with the size mismatch, of at least trying to limit her?

JIM FLANERY: Yeah, they did some creative things to get her post touches. Sometimes it's -- she's a way from the basket and diving off a ball screen or they will set screens to get her into the post.

So we have to be in good position before the action starts. A lot of times that's key. They put you in some tough positions, but we can't give her second-chance opportunities, put-backs, offensive rebounds. We have to be good at blocking her out, and then we have to be careful we don't get a little bit too high.

They did a good job. She's so big they can throw that thing up to her, so just our positioning is going to be to have good. And try to keep her off the free throw line. She's going to get some.

We'll crowd her from some different places, too. There are some actions they run where I feel like we'll be able to crowd her and hopefully make it a little bit more difficult to think she's open.

Q. I know you guys haven't got on the court yet to practice today and since you got here, but did you maybe notice a little bit of maybe just energy change with the girls this morning in knowing like, okay, now we know who we're playing?

JIM FLANERY: I don't know if it's energy change. I think I'll see that when we get on the practice court. Their focus was maybe a little sharper. We went through film and went through a review of them this morning.

I feel like now it's Mississippi State that their focus was dialed up even more. That's what you want. I think I'll see the energy in practice.

But I know that we don't -- again, we don't have a lot of time to prepare, but they don't either. We took yesterday off physically, so we'll go do probably a little bit more today than we normally would do the day before a game.

We did that kind of intentionally because we felt like we probably wanted to go a little bit longer today with not knowing who we were going to play.

So we gave them yesterday off to just with the travel help their legs. We'll go a little bit longer. But I expect them to be high energy and focused.

Q. Have you gotten the sense that the girls, because obviously you have so many, basically almost the whole roster returning from last season, do you sense that they feel a little bit more comfortable maybe going into the first game as opposed to last season?

JIM FLANERY: Yeah, I don't know if I could tell you if I read last year's team. It's easy to look back and think, well, we did this because. In the moment you don't always know that's the case.

I do think this group will be confident. And just talking to them this morning, it's like what I said earlier. It's not going to go perfectly for 40 minutes. You're going to encounter obstacles. We'll have to make adjustments. You'll have to slow down because they'll go on a run and you can't speed up. Those are the times you need to slow down and be who we are.

And collectively you all have to make sure that somebody isn't so sped up. That's what have to do on the court. So I feel like we'll be in a good place that way for having played the games we did in the NCAA tournament last year. Like I said, the tendency is to maybe at least individually at times feel a little bit more pressure.

Collectively we have to take a breath at the right times. It might be somebody -- you might be telling somebody to settle down in the first quarter and they might be telling you to settle down in the third or fourth quarter.

That's who we're going to have to be if we're going to be successful.

Q. You mentioned really I guess the struggle with getting your team to maybe focus when you don't know who the opponent is. I'm wondering with having made the Elite 8 last year, some other teams in this region will have some injuries. Is it also hard when you don't have an opponent to prevent them in looking ahead and paying attention to who could be down the road?

JIM FLANERY: To me that's the coach's job to look ahead. We need to be ready -- if we are to win tomorrow, we need to be ready for whomever we're going to play on Sunday.

But you certainly hope that players are not in that position. We need to be prepared as a staff because that's -- again, it's a quick turnaround.

But I don't know. I feel like our players after watching Mississippi State last night, our full attention. I think they understand that, yes, we can win the game but we're going to have to do A, B, C, D, E well to do have that opportunity. We are not going to have to be perfect, just like Mississippi State is not going to have to be perfect to win.

But I think we'll be in the moment. I don't think we'll be looking ahead. Again, that's our job as coaches to make sure that we're -- if we win tomorrow night, that we're ready for Sunday quicker so we can get going.

But that's not really -- that shouldn't be in the players' minds.

Q. I know I asked Lauren and Emma this question. I don't know if you have the same answer as Emma when I ask something that's maybe more underrated about your team. The focus is on you guys shooting the three, but feels like you guys have got better at elevating the game and being? More in the post and the paint. Would you say that's maybe something on the radar, or is there something else you feel like is underrated about the team, too?

JIM FLANERY: Sure. I do think we're an underrated rebounding team. I mean, defensive especially, that's -- that gives me confidence for tomorrow, because I know Mississippi State is a good offensive rebounding team.

But I think when I checked last week we were the 18th best defensive rebounding team in the country. You're talking about in the Top 5 or 6 percent of defensive rebounding teams. That gives us an opportunity. Overall I think that makes us a slightly better defensive team than we're obvious times given credit for.

If you look back at last year, the run, we held Iowa to 62 and Iowa State to 68. We have longer possessions on offense, but I think our -- I think we're sneaky decent on defense.

I have said in the past we're not an elite defensive team, but I think we prepare, our kids prepare, and they account for their weaknesses in ways that give them an opportunity to win.

So I think that's important. Like I said, the rebounding piece is a big part of that because that's how you finish defensive possessions. We were the No. 1 defensive rebounding team in the Big East ahead of UConn and Marquette. Odd because I don't necessary -- even as the coach of this team, I don't necessarily always think that.

Q. Just curious whether it was a game in the season or a moment at all in this season where you felt this year's team kind of start to find its identity or just what made it click, if anything?

JIM FLANERY: Yeah, I think -- and this is not to disrespect Providence, but we lost at home to Providence. I think we -- you know, we didn't show them a lot of film the next day, but just enough to kind of get them upset about what we were doing on the defensive end.

I felt like we owned it as a group. Coaches, too. We needed to hold them more accountable on the defensive end. Then we came out the next game and held Marquette in the 40s, held Seton Hall to 51 or 53. So I just felt like that was maybe a good -- we had started 7 and 0. We were 9 and 5. So again, part of that was schedule.

We played Arkansas, Stanford, UConn in that stretch. But I think we had slipped a little, and I think to me that practice and that next game against Marquette where we said we need to be better defensively and we committed to that.

THE MODERATOR: Great. That's all we have time for. Thank you very much. Good luck.

JIM FLANERY: Thanks, guys.