NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - GARDNER-WEBB VS UTAH

March 16, 2023

Lynne Roberts

Alissa Pili

Jenna Johnson

Jon M. Huntsman Center

Utah Utes

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll start questions for the student-athletes.

Q. As you ladies reflect back on what this season has been from November to now, is there a moment or a game that stands out above others?

ALISSA PILI: For me I think it's beating Stanford for the co-championship. I think it was just a moment where we proved to ourselves that we could really just do what we put our mind to, because that was one of our big goals starting the season out, and we accomplished that. So that was a great moment, I think, in our season.

JENNA JOHNSON: Yeah, I agree with her. I feel like each game, especially in the PAC-12, like you're just focused on Friday and then focused on Sunday, you don't think too much about what the greater thing is that you're going for. I think when we won that game and just looking around and all the celebrations and stuff, it's like, wow, we really did something big here and that was fun.

Just seeing all the fans there, I think it was a cool moment of being, like, okay, Salt Lake City really can get behind us and got me really excited for having March Madness here as well.

Q. Jenna, last year, you got to experience the NCAA tournament and being able to go to the second round, but this year you're hosting it and being able to get all the festivities that way. How different is it this year? And what's the confidence level as opposed to last year?

JENNA JOHNSON: Last year, everyone was new to the NCAA tournament, so I think everyone was just experiencing it for the first time. Also just losing in the second round last year, we're definitely a lot hungrier this year, and then obviously hosting in Salt Lake, it's fun just being in your own environment, to be around your own fans. I think it gives us an elevated level of confidence, both knowing what it's like it play in this tournament and also getting to be at home.

Q. For both of you, when you look at this year's team, what's kind of been the defining characteristic that's propelled the unparalleled success that you've had this season?

ALISSA PILI: I think just the amount of focus and toughness this team has, just to stay together throughout the whole season, because it's a long season and by the end of it, teams get wore down and tired.

So I think just how well we've done, even during the end of the season or towards the end of the season, it's just shown how locked in and focused we are on continuing to chase our goals and things we set out from the beginning of the season.

JENNA JOHNSON: I would say we're just very steady and consistent. We've never had a losing streak. I think that is just because each day, even if we've lost a game, we come back really focused. We don't get too high or too low. We just play in the moment.

Q. For both players, it's been a couple weeks since you've played a game. What kind of impact has this layoff had on you guys and how have you handled it?

JENNA JOHNSON: I think it's been good, just we went into the PAC-12 tournament a little bit banged up, so a couple weeks off just to recover and be at full health has been really nice.

We got to play our practice team last week, so it was nice to get up-and-down, kind of get our lungs back where they need to be. Playing at 5,000 feet, obviously it's hard sometimes when you have an extended amount of time off. But I feel like just refocusing on us getting healthy and continuing to stay sharp has been good for us.

ALISSA PILI: Yeah, I would agree. I would just say that ending the tournament how we didn't want to, I think that kind of motivated us more to just put in that work in practice and just stay focused and locked in for the tournament.

Q. You just touched on it, but obviously you guys -- you came from winning the co-championship to then going to the tournament expecting to go far. What does a loss in that first round or sort of the second round of that tournament allow you to be able to do going into this tournament knowing that any night could change?

ALISSA PILI: Just not to take anything for granted and just knowing we have to be sharp every single game. Just take care of business when it comes down to it. We've been talking a lot about it in practice, but just every possession is important, and we've been stressing that in practice. These games are -- it's one and done, so once we lose, we're out, and this is the final go round, so I think we're all taking it pretty seriously and we're just, like I said, locked in and ready to go.

Q. You obviously get Gardner-Webb first. You probably haven't seen much of them, but then you also have two other opponents that you have to scout. How difficult is that from your guys' standpoint? I know the coaches will do their own thing, but from your standpoint trying to go into those games not really knowing either of those opponents?

JENNA JOHNSON: We learn the scout a few days before and that's been similar to what we've done all year. So I think we stay focused on who we have to beat on Friday, just like we have every single PAC-12 tournament or PAC-12 weekend.

I think the coaches definitely have more responsibility with that, just looking ahead, and we just have to show up and be in the moment and know who we're playing Friday night.

Q. Now that you are in this situation and here, how much of a competitive advantage does it feel to be home and in Salt Lake City and it's your gym and your locker room? How much of an advantage does that feel like?

ALISSA PILI: I think it's huge for us, especially with the fan base that's been built over here. Just the energy we feel from the crowd and everybody who supports us, it's boosted our performances and our energy on the court as well. So, yeah, it feels good to be at home, play at our own court. And I think we play well here, so it's definitely an advantage.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you, guys.

Would you like it start with an opening statement?

LYNNE ROBERTS: Sure. I appreciate you all being here. Thank you. This is exciting. I also want to say that we're sad about the passing of Dirk. He was such a great guy. He was such a faithful supporter of our program and just a fun reporter that I got to know pretty well through this process. So condolences to his family and we will miss him for sure.

We're excited to be at home. This is just such a great opportunity and we're grateful that we are here. And as I've shared many times, losing at Texas, they were the 2 seed last year, in the second round, to them, we've all had our sights on this in terms of the opportunity to host. As you asked the players, the advantage that it is, that doesn't mean it's a given that you win or it's easy to win ever in this tournament.

But certainly we are appreciative of the opportunity to host and we hope we have some great crowds. And we're playing a really good team on Friday. Gardner-Webb's good. They have won 21 games in a row. That's really hard to do. I don't care what league you're in, that is really hard to do. They're very well coached. They play super hard. So it's not going to be easy.

Those are dangerous teams, when they come in with that kind of confidence, upperclassmen, kind of nothing to lose in the regard of they're not favored to win. Those are dangerous teams. So they have our attention, for sure. They have our team's attention. We'll be ready to go tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. When you look at this year's team compared to some of your teams in the recent past, one thing that stands out is you guys were able to pull out close, tight games in league play this year. What about this team contributed to them being able to have success in crunch time and in those tight situations?

LYNNE ROBERTS: I think there's two things: One, experience. There's no better teacher. Last year, we started two freshmen, two sophomores, so sometimes you have to learn by losing. Those freshmen and sophomores had those moments where you lose the game at the end, you know what it takes the next time around. So they're one year older, wiser, better.

Then the second part is talent. I think those guys coming back, our core group, they're very talented. Then you add Alissa Pili, who obviously is very talented. So they make me look good down the stretch, that's for sure.

Q. Issy missed the PAC-12 tournament, but you've alluded to the fact here a couple times that you expect her to go and to be at full strength. Is that still the case, you expect to be at full strength?

LYNNE ROBERTS: Yeah, we do, barring any sort of setback with her. We've been -- you know, the rest time has been critical to get her back. As of today, right now, whatever time it is, yeah, we anticipate her to go. So we'll see how the next 24 hours goes. But, yeah, we anticipate her back.

Q. When you look at last year and you talk about obviously getting to that second round and losing to Texas, what lessons have you learned from that that maybe give you an advantage this year now that you've been through that experience?

LYNNE ROBERTS: The losing, losing that game? I think, you know, it's just that every possession matters. I think we showed that, and our players just alluded to that, that everything matters. And we got beat at Texas. I mean, it was close for awhile -- I don't remember the final score, but they controlled it from tip to finish. So we didn't want that feeling again.

I think we've earned the seed that we got as a 2 seed. I think we've earned it. We've won a lot of close games against some really good teams. We don't have a single bad loss on our schedule. So we've earned it. I think there's no better way to gain confidence than feeling like you earned something, you worked for it, you commit to it, you dedicate to it.

So I think there's just some confidence. That game specifically, we didn't learn anything specifically, other than we don't want to be in that situation again. This tournament, if we're fortunate enough to move on, every game, no matter who we're playing -- and I think Friday's the same thing, it's going to be hard, they're going to be hard. But you got to have your fists up ready it fight, and you can't just walk in because you'll get your tail beat.

Q. You kind of alluded to this earlier, but what challenges specifically does Gardner-Webb post for your team on Friday?

LYNNE ROBERTS: Yeah, like I said, they're very good. They have got some really good players. Their leading scorer, Williams, is a handful. She's kind of a matchup nightmare. She can play the 3 or the 4. She's averaging 27 points in their last five games. She can attack, she can shoot, she can put pressure on you.

They have got one of the best shooters I've seen in Bevis, a little guard they have that can really get going. They're just a complete team. They have got a great point guard, they got a great shooter, they have got post play, and then they're very athletic and aggressive. So that's why they have won 21 in a row. They have every spot.

So they like to get up and pressure defensively, so we've got to take care of the basketball. They rebound really hard offensively. We've got to do a good job keeping 'em off the glass. A lot of their points come from second-chance points. But they're just aggressive and seemingly very fearless.

Q. I was doing some research and it seems that -- or not seems that, but Alissa has a history of playing football, of wrestling, when she was younger, and I'm wondering if as you were recruiting her to come to Utah, like how much did you know about that kind of side of her athleticism and how much did you see that, especially when she came in and it was day-to-day? And like do you still feel maybe she has a little bit of football player or wrestler in her?

LYNNE ROBERTS: I knew about her history. I knew about her in high school, and I always joke that I tried to call her in high school, but she didn't return my call. But when she went in the portal, I tried again, and thankfully she answered and we went from there.

So I've always known she was just such a unique athlete. I think she also won the shot put by like 6 feet, which is silly. But she is so unique and it's been fun. The credit goes to her. She came in feeling like she didn't do what she needed to do at USC, take care of -- she had so much potential, and she didn't protect it and work towards it. So I think this was a clean slate for her in terms of, okay, now I'm going to change how I'm doing things and get after it.

But, yeah, you see some of that football, wrestling. We practice every day against our practice team, which is a group of college men that played high-level high school. Some even played NAIA basketball in college and they transferred here. These are big guys, and you can kind of see, when she posts 'em up or boxes 'em out, kind of the look on their -- just like, holy crap, because she's so powerful. And, yeah, she would have made a heck of a football player.

But she's also incredibly -- she's powerful like that, but she's incredibly graceful and explosive. So it's just a matchup nightmare for opposing teams. And then she can shoot the 3. So as she continues to develop, and this offseason with her working on those perimeter skills even more, she still has room to get better, which is scary.

Q. Last year, you obviously had Gianna that was a major part of your offense and just being able to be that overall player. How do you feel like her game's changed, maybe especially since Alissa is there to maybe take some of that load off of her and also the rest of the team knowing that you've become proficient in scoring?

LYNNE ROBERTS: I think Alissa has deserved all the credit, and the publicity she's gotten, she's earned it. The team loves it. There's no ego on our team, which I think one of you asked what makes this team special. I think the fact that there's an absence of ego. They don't -- they really don't care who gets the ink, who gets the points. When you have a team that legitimately wants everyone else -- other people to succeed and be great, then you have a chance to have something special. I think that's what it is.

Gianna is a great example of that. Her numbers, her efficiency, everything is up from last year. So she's not getting as much attention about that, but she needs a couple more free throws in this tournament and she will finish the season 50, 40, 90. 50 percent from two, 40 percent from three -- that's insane. And she's just a sophomore. She's the kid that -- this is the honest to goodness truth, we have to tell her when she cannot be in the gym. Like, she just asked me right now, Can I go shoot? It's like, No, you need to -- like, we have a -- and that's who she is.

Yesterday, we announced to the team that Alissa was AP All-American, and G was the most hyped up about it. I think that's what makes this team kind of special. But she was PAC-12 Freshman of the Year. She's First Team All-League this year. She's up for the Cheryl Miller Award. She's the finalist for the forward position, that wing position, she's one of five. She's just a sophomore. She doesn't think she's arrived either. She has this humility, a combination with work ethic that's really elite.

Q. You look at just like the roster 1 through 5 kind of the depth and versatility you have at each position. What does that do for this team in terms of just like a tournament setting where you have to adjust to so many opponents on the fly within a short time span?

LYNNE ROBERTS: I think it's everything. I think to answer your question earlier, why have we been able to win some close games, it's because of depth. I've had teams here where we have been really talented, but we didn't have the depth. So if one of your key players doesn't have a great game, you're not going to beat a great team.

We've beaten great teams this year and not everybody has to play. We don't have to catch lightning in a bottle for us to beat those guys. So I think the depth is huge, especially playing just like PAC-12, the schedule has been very -- it's exactly mirrored with playing Friday and then Sunday. Those Sunday games, not having depth can really hurt you. So in this tournament format, same thing.

Q. One more thing on Alissa. She told me the other day there was something -- a big change for her this year for her has become -- has been becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. I'm curious from your perspective how has that manifested itself?

LYNNE ROBERTS: That's a great statement by her. I love it. I think she recognized that she was not living up to her potential. It's like all of us that join a gym on January 1st because we want to get in shape, and then by February, we're like, oh, yeah. Right?

So she got here in June saying, I need to get in shape and I need to change how I am away from -- off the court. And it's one thing to say that and it's one thing to want it. It's another thing to do it, and every day do it, make those choices, the commitment, the dedication. That's why I am so incredibly proud of her, because that's hard. And when you feel like you've got a long ways to go to just -- what's that saying? Step by step man goes far. Right? Like, it was just a daily choice to get up early, meet with our strength and conditioning coach early. She was doing that three, four times a week until PAC-12 started. That's hard.

But I think as any of us, if you start seeing results and you start having success, when that alarm goes off it gets a little easier. But those daily choices of how you're eating, how you're training, how our recovering, how you're living off the court, have been the difference for her. And her just discipline, I guess, is the word has been incredibly -- I'm just so proud of her.

Q. Considering the post-season history here and how rich it is, Bird, Magic, '79, I don't know how old you were, you were probably in diapers, I don't know --

LYNNE ROBERTS: I don't want to answer that.

Q. Yeah, a long time ago. You being the latest piece of that -- I guess the Stanford game kind of gave you a taste of what it could feel like, right?

LYNNE ROBERTS: Yeah. Yeah, that was awesome. That's why I took this job, that's why I wanted this job, is because of the tradition and the history. Salt Lake City's a basketball town. I knew we could do it, and "it" being have a championship-level team and have a packed house. It's hard. We've got to do our job as a program to put a product on the floor that people want to come see. So it starts with us.

Now I think we have that. We're going to work our tails off to continue to have that. But we have a pretty good retention rate. When people come to our games they come back. But it's humbling for me to be a part of the tradition here, it really is. There's a little imposter syndrome in that regard of just the greats that have been here. And as you mentioned, that great game in '79 -- when I was four -- and Majerus and Elaine Elliott, there's been some incredible basketball played on the Huntsman Center and I'm honored to be a part of it.

THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you.