NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - SACRED HEART VS STANFORD

March 16, 2023

Tara VanDerveer

Kiki Iriafen

Brooke Demetre

Talana Lepolo

Maples Pavilion

Stanford Cardinal

Media Conference

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

Q. Talk about general just your emotions heading into the NCAA tournament, how excited you guys all are to have this final be here, starting the tourney, all that.

KIKI IRIAFEN: I think overall we're very excited. This is like a new season for us. I know this is my second one and I feel a lot more confident going into this one. So I'm happy to play, happy to be with my teammates. But I think we have something to prove, so I think we're ready to go.

Q. Talana, as a freshman, what has the past week been like for you, just what has this experience been like just getting to head into the tournament and just kind of what are your expectations for the atmosphere and just kind of what this run is going to feel like for you.

TALANA LEPOLO: Yeah, I definitely feel like that big-eyed freshman. Coming into a new experience is just like eyes wide open. I think I'm trying to live in that excitement and have it kind of drive away the nerves so I can perform the way I would like to.

But I think ultimately I am just excited to be with my team, and like Kiki said, we have something to prove, so I think focusing on that and attacking whoever's in front of us.

Q. For both Kiki and Brooke, since you guys have played in the big dance before. Talana, it's your first time. But For those of you that have played before, just talk about how much it helps you have that experience under your belt, having competed in it before, knowing what to expect, how much does that help going into a tournament having seen it before?

BROOKE DEMETRE: Yeah, I mean, having seen it, we know what it takes and know that it's going to be very competitive. No matter what round we are in, you have to win to advance. So I think just knowing that -- our road ended a little bit earlier than we wanted to last year. Seeing that, it's going to be really competitive and we have to put it all, all that we got to advance.

KIKI IRIAFEN: Just adding on, we saw our seniors, we kind of know what it takes to get there, so kind of emulating that this year. Like, we have to work just as hard to get back to that position and then win it all over there.

Then I also think we kind of already know what to expect, we know every team, regardless of what their name is, is very good. So kind of just preparing for that and just playing one game at a time is kind of what we're looking for.

Q. Talana, Sacred Heart also has a freshman as their starting point guard. She's only 5-3. But as Southern said, she has the heart of a lion and she almost had a triple double last night. What excites you about matching up with her? And what in her game -- what do you like about her game and what do you expect?

TALANA LEPOLO: From what I saw, she was really aggressive. We love some smaller player representation, so that's great. (Laughing.) But I don't really think it matters who the opponent is. I try to bring the same excitement. I definitely am excited to just play and it's nice not having to guard someone larger than you. So there's that as well.

But, yeah, I mean, from what I saw yesterday, she was fast, got to the rim, so definitely I think the game plan will just be to beat her to the house.

Q. Building off that question, were you all in attendance at last night's game or did you watch the film already? What have you seen so far from your opponent?

TALANA LEPOLO: There was about half the team in attendance, I think. Others were in class. But, yeah, we're -- we started scout -- not yesterday, a few days ago, throughout the week, and I think we'll continue that scouting today.

Q. Talana, just from the start of the season until now how do you feel like your defensive game has improved? And like, what have you learned from day one until now where your confidence defensively has risen to the point where it's at?

TALANA LEPOLO: I think it has grown by leaps and bounds. In high school, it was just get low, bend your knees. But since coming here, I've learned that there's so much more to defense than just bending your knees. Obviously that's important as well.

But there's definitely different methods to go about it. I think we -- focusing on defense as much as we do has definitely helped. It's something that we do all throughout practice every day. They say like offense buys tickets, but defense wins championships, and I think that's true.

Q. You guys have had some real ups and downs this season. You lost on the road to USC, lost on the road to Washington, tough loss at Utah. You guys have had some bumps in the road. How do you guys think those bumps that you guys have gone through will help you and can help you for this tournament?

BROOKE DEMETRE: As much as we hate losing, I think each of those games we learned something new. It kind of gives -- not an advantage, but it gives us an experience that we can build upon in the tournament so that when we're facing similar experiences in these games that we can persevere and push through 'em and hopefully make a different outcome.

KIKI IRIAFEN: Yeah, I also think that we're kind of like the underdogs this year. It's very different from last year, but I think being the underdog is nice. No one expects anything, but we'll show it to 'em. So I think going under the radar is a good thing for us.

Q. What does it mean to you to be able to play at Maples and what are you expecting from the crowd tomorrow?

KIKI IRIAFEN: Rowdy. (Laughing.)

BROOKE DEMETRE: I'm excited.

KIKI IRIAFEN: I think we have some of the best fans ever. They're super encouraging, super loud. I think it will be really fun. This is one of our last guaranteed home games of the season, so I think it will be great energy. It's a 4:30 game, but despite that, I know our fans are going to show up, so it will be fun.

BROOKE DEMETRE: This year it's not during spring break, so hopefully we get a good crowd.

KIKI IRIAFEN: Yeah, some students too.

Q. In a lot of your successful post-season runs, there's been maybe a player who wasn't as big during the regular season who stepped up and had a big post-season. Who on your team could you see playing that role this post-season?

BROOKE DEMETRE: Obviously any one of us. Tara always says how it's an orchestra and some nights people have solos. I think throughout the season different people have had their solos. So I think, honestly, any game anyone can step up and really make a difference.

Q. You guys got finals coming up. How are you dealing with that while also preparing for an NCAA Tournament?

KIKI IRIAFEN: Yeah, it's difficult. Last night, I went to bed at -- or this morning, I went to bed at 2 a.m. I have like a project due. So I've been doing that. I have an eight-page paper. So it's just multi-tasking that, but then also giving my all to basketball. It's just one more week, a week and a half of pushing through that, and then just really focusing on basketball. So it's difficult, but it's not impossible to do.

BROOKE DEMETRE: I would agree. (Laughing.)

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you, ladies. Good luck tomorrow. We'll take a short break and be back with Tara.

(Pause.)

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for coach now.

Q. What's your read on Sacred Heart? What's kind of your opinion on how they've played this year? I know they had an early losing streak and have kind of come on hot here later in the year.

TARA VANDERVEER: I was really impressed watching them. We kind of had a -- this is the first time we've ever played a play-in game and it feels strange, and it felt really strange coming to the gym last night, watching and knowing you're not going to play.

In watching them, I really -- I thought we would be playing them, so I've been able to focus on them. And they're a very talented team, I think a very well-coached team. Their point guard is the engine of the train. She is very talented, really quick. But they have great complementary players to her.

So we know that we have to play well. Any time in the tournament -- that's what it's all about, you have to play well. You have to be ready to play and you've got to come out and get it done.

Q. The players mentioned that they feel like as a result of some of the losses you guys have had to Washington and USC and Utah, that you guys have more underdog mentality. Just curious if you agree with them, that that might serve you all well to have that kind of mentality heading into this tournament.

TARA VANDERVEER: When you're sitting here now, it doesn't really matter what your record is. It is all about being healthy. It's all about people really wanting to play hard with each other and for each other and coming to the gym and feeling prepared. I think for this team, we've had a great season, winning the regular season PAC-12. We have had some really challenging situations. I think that the team has weathered the storm, so to speak, but it's been tough.

When you play four of your last five weekends on the road. Us and Cal, Cal and ourselves, were the only teams to play twice against -- you know, they played against 1 twice, but 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, here and on the road. That just happened to be the schedule.

But we're ready. I think we're in a great place. We've had -- what we needed at the end of the season was some rest. So we had a couple extra days. Our team is rested. We've had real good practices. We're really excited about being a 1 seed and now we've got to come out and play well.

Q. Along those same lines, your players seem to have noticed that no one's -- very few experts are picking them to go -- picking you guys to go to the Final Four. This is a team that is one of the most experienced in the country. Does that just give it a little -- can it give it a little extra boost, a little extra sauce, in that we got to prove that that last week of the tournament -- of the regular season wasn't us, necessarily?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, you know what? I don't think it's bad -- I don't think it's bad for our team to -- and I'm quoting, I think it was Brooke, "have something to prove." I don't think it's bad for us to have something to prove.

But really, every team has that. You just have to -- once you're on the court, there's -- it doesn't matter what your seed, you don't get a head start because you're a 1 seed, you don't get 10 extra points or extra fouls or anything. So a lot of what's really important, I think, is that people are going to challenge themselves to be their best on the court, play the hardest they can, and we've had to play really hard against the competition that we've played.

We know the pain of losing. We know what it feels like. So if you want to kind of avoid that feeling, you've got to get the job done. We have a lot of different options in terms of different players, different people are playing well. I would say Fran Belibi is playing very well. Different people are stepping up in different situations. Talana's been playing really well, Indya Nivar, and different young people. Lauren Betts is not the freshman that she was when we played South Carolina the first time.

So for me the challenge is putting the puzzle together, and for them to say, We have something to prove, I think is great. I think it's always good to have a little stone in your shoe.

Q. How important is it to have players coming off the bench, like Fran, who have that type of experience and when you've had games where Hannah gets shut out, where they take away Cameron to paint, how important is it to have those experienced options coming in?

TARA VANDERVEER: I think our team is -- again, we played a very, very tough -- the No. 1 conference, playing all the toughest teams twice. I think our team has -- we've challenged ourselves the best way we've gotten ready, the best way that we can. We can't be dependent on one person going into the tournament. You can't be. It can't be all about just Cam or all about just Hannah Jump. Other people are going to have to step up. I think that Haley's a great tournament player. I expect her to have a great tournament. As I said, Kiki, Fran, Agnes has been playing very well. Our freshmen, Talana, this will be fun for her, and also Lauren Betts.

So we do have a lot of weapons and it's just a matter of clicking on all cylinders. People just -- they know it's a one-and-done. We learned that from the PAC-12.

Q. This is a question I could ask every tournament, but how much does it help to have an experienced staff around you, most notably Kate Paye, who's been here for a very long time? As you go into each tournament, how much does it help to have a staff around you that you have a lot of experience with and trust with and just having been through the battles so many times with them, just talk about the role that they play and how nice it is to have that kind of staff around you as a head coach.

TARA VANDERVEER: Yeah, it's great. You're pointing out something. I mean, Katie has been a head coach. Kate has just incredible credentials. Our whole staff was the staff that won a National Championship. So I think the confidence that the staff has, we've added some, I think, great personnel with our new video coordinator who helped scout this upcoming game.

So I think we're in great shape with that. I think people are working really hard to wanting to have the season go as long as we can.

Q. Catching up with Hannah a minute, she spoke about just a nice sit-down in Las Vegas in the team room where everyone sort of cleared the air and said, Let's hold each other accountable, let's be better, let's learn from this, and this is what we can do. What did you see in that chat? And I'm sure there have been other chats too, but she said, We're a completely different team today than we were one week ago.

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, I think we've had -- you know what? It's hard when you have a team that the expectations are what they are for Stanford. So we're a little bit a victim of our own success. But there have been teams that have lost in the PAC-12 tournament and gone on to do great things, and I hope that this is one of those teams. Would we have liked to have won the PAC-12 tournament? Yes. We didn't go there to say we want to lose in the second game.

But having lost in that second game, it did provide our team some extra days of rest, which this team probably needed more than anything else. I think we are really running on fumes. In addition to the traveling that we had, the travel problems that we had, we are -- we're picked as a top team in the PAC-12 and we backed that up. We won the regular season. But also, I think some of us playing Mondays and Thursdays and it was -- the end of the season for us helped us get what we needed. We needed to rest. We took extra days off.

We had great practices last week. We've had very good practices this week. We've had some people out with some stomach issues and some classes and everything, but hopefully we'll be all ready to go tomorrow night. I hope we are in a different place. We need everyone on the same page, everyone working really hard. Every team is kind of a different puzzle to put together, as I call it. This is a hard puzzle, but we have a lot of great pieces. But the pieces have to fit together. We have to play -- we have to rebound, we have to play great defense, we have to take care of the basketball, and we have to get good shots.

I thought in the tournament, we were getting much better shots, we needed to play better defense and we needed to rebound better and we've been focusing on those things, and time and score situations, which are helpful for us, I think.

Q. Did you learn anything about your group from that sit-down session that you maybe didn't know before you guys lost earlier in the tournament than you wanted?

TARA VANDERVEER: I think you probably -- you're always going to learn some things. But what came through, the message from the team was that they're close and they are committed to each other and that's where you want 'em to be, that they're going to work hard, that they want to play, play hard.

When people are really exhausted, what I saw more than anything was just, like, we need a break. I saw this with our Olympic team, maybe people feeling some pressure. I'm just like, let's just take a break, get away from it, and just say, all right, now we're coming back with the tournament. But I hope it's all good, like you said.

Q. Building on the question I asked Talana about playing against Ny'Ceara Pryor, it's exciting to see two freshman point guards in the tournament. Of course the Sacred Heart guard is only 5-3. Obviously she makes up for it in her ability to get to the rim. What are your thoughts on that matchup and what Stanford needs to do overall to stop her?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, again, I think that she's a terrific player. I was very impressed watching her on tape and in person. I think she leads the country in steals, which is just amazing. She's very quick, very talented. She plays really within herself. She picked up a quick foul last night, like within the first five seconds of the game, and she doesn't seem to get flustered. I think it's going to be a great matchup.

But sometimes you want to have -- like, if I'm a freshman playing against another freshman, I might want to say, you know, okay, I'm not going to let a freshman outplay me. So I hope there's a little motivation from Talana, or maybe Indya, to say, all right, she's great, but this is our house, this is our gym. A little pride.

Q. I want to get your thoughts on your previous coaching stop years ago, Ohio State. They're a 3-seed in the tournament. Just curious if you keep with them at all, follow them at all, maintain any relationships. Any thoughts on seeing that program succeed. And also, any lessons -- how much do you reflect on your days at Ohio State, how that kind of prepared you for your amazing run here at Stanford?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, I followed Ohio State probably a little bit more last year at the end of the year when they ended up in our bracket. But they have, I think, a great program. I think Kevin's done a great job there. They're very talented. I root for 'em watching 'em. But if it there's a Big Ten team I'm probably rooting for, it's probably more Indiana because that's where I went undergraduate.

But it's really exciting to see the Big Ten having the success that they're having this year. We would love to be playing Iowa. That would be -- that's our goal is to get to the regional finals, and if they get there and we get there, that will be a great game.

Q. You've been known to do some creative things with your team, whether it's bringing in somebody to speak or doing team-building exercises somewhere. Was there anything -- I'm guessing not, during -- you know, just a week where you needed a break mentally, but was there anything you did where you had 'em read something or go somewhere or do any kind of activity that wasn't basketball this past stretch?

TARA VANDERVEER: I think because of -- honestly, I felt like the schedule, there were times where we were on the road and we had planned maybe a team bowling activity or something. But people were so exhausted that it was -- we ended up just doing a kind of -- at our dinner table, there's a big dinner table, kind of a truth-or-dare exercise. So two lies -- or two truths and a lie or something. So it was just a fun thing just getting to know people better.

But since we've been back from the PAC-12 tournament, honestly, our coaches have gone recruiting and -- they might be tired, but they go recruiting. Our players have -- they have papers, they have finals, and I think just them getting away and just being able to just relax a little bit, not have to be packing a bag and going -- right away that next weekend going somewhere, but just relaxing and kind of just getting their focus on the tournament.

Q. (No Microphone.)

TARA VANDERVEER: No, that was back in Arizona.

Q. I talked to Haley in the locker room and she said she feels like this team hasn't come close to hitting its peak. How much would you agree with that assessment?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, I hope we're somewhat close because you only can possibly play six games together. So you can't wait around. You'd better bring it. So I do think that we're capable of more. I do think we're capable of playing better basketball, more consistent basketball.

And again, I know I feel like a little bit of a broken record, but we have seen great spurts. Like, when we went down to Arizona, I thought we played very well at Arizona. We had played some just incredible competition with seven teams going to the NCAA tournament. I think the fact that we had a chance to win at Utah -- winning in double overtime at Colorado, and we had a chance to win at Utah on a day that we didn't get any sleep the night before, I think said a lot about kind of the resilience of this team and the strength of this team.

But can we play better? I believe we can. And I agree a hundred percent with Haley that the best basketball, I believe, is ahead. Now you can't have any slipups. It's not like you can say, well, we'll play poorly tomorrow, because you've got to play well every night.

But I hope it's like, in a ladder, we just play -- we go up and play better and play better and play better and rise to the occasion. As you go through the tournament, every team you play is a better team. And we will -- we will be challenged to play better. But I have confidence in this team, and I told our team, this is -- we know what we're capable of doing. We know we're capable of beating anyone and we know that if we don't play well, we can lose to anyone. But that's really how it is for everyone. Everyone might not know that, but that's how it is.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.