NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS USC

March 16, 2023

Aaron Johnston

Paiton Burckhard

Myah Selland

Cassell Coliseum

South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: The No. 8 South Dakota State Jackrabbits will take on USC in the second game tomorrow night. It is a 21-game win streak for South Dakota State, the longest in Division I.

Q. How excited are you to play in a new place, playing a brand new opponent; you've won 21 straight games.

MYAH SELLAND: Yeah, we are really excited. Even just getting in last night to a new place, seeing some green glass and some nice weather today and just get to campus. It's an awesome facility from we've seen so far and we are excited about that.

Any time we can meet up with another opponent, it's fun. We have spent the last 21 games playing very familiar faces, so I think we are excited to play somebody new. Our coaches have done a great job of getting us prepared for that but yeah, really excited for this opportunity.

PAITON BURCKHARD: We are excited like she said. Got the nice weather. It always feels good to be out with some sun and obviously playing a tough opponent coming up tomorrow, and yeah, just making the most of this opportunity.

Q. How difficult is it to prepare?

PAITON BURCKHARD: Yeah, I think it's just what this time of year is about. I mean, you know that you're not going to know maybe a day, two days before the team the opponent you're going to be playing.

So really just taking every practice that we can, taking advantage of it, locking into our scout and listening to what our coaches have to stay and leaning in each other and focusing on the stuff that we can control.

Q. For Tech fans showing up for the early games tomorrow, do you feel like it would be worth their while to stick around to watch you guys play? Would that be a fun experience?

PAITON BURCKHARD: I just think, yeah, why not, come out and watch some more good basketball. I think tomorrow is going to be a really fun and exciting game and good matchup against two top, top teams. Yeah, I mean, why not, right.

MYAH SELLAND: I think March is a fun time of year. So if you're a basketball fan, it's going to be a good game. We are very proud of what we present when we go out there and play, so yeah.

Q. For people around here who have not seen you play this year, obviously you put up a lot of points. What makes your team so prolific, and what kind of a contrast are we going to see tomorrow against a stingy USC team?

MYAH SELLAND: Yeah, I think we kind of pride ourselves on just how unselfish we are and how deep we are. We have so many people that can come in and make plays for us. We don't rely on one or two people. We all contribute, and we are really proud of that.

Q. Down low, they have some big posts really know how to -- rank in the top of the nation in blocks. What's going to be tough down in the post tomorrow?

MYAH SELLAND: Yeah, we have emphasized a lot, like rebounding is going to be really important for us. That's an area that we are really focusing on, and I think just staying within our system like we always do. We're so good at just finding the next person, finding the open shot, and so that will be important as we continue to go forward.

PAITON BURCKHARD: Yeah, I guess the same with what Myah said, focusing on rebounding, make it physical before they get the ball. And then getting the dirty work done as quickly as we can, sharing the ball and taking advantage of open shots and that type of thing.

Q. What have you been focusing on since you learned of this matchup on Sunday?

MYAH SELLAND: The same; rebounding is going to be really important for us. Defending is going to be important for us, and those have been keys for us all year.

And then getting out and running in transition, and like I said, sharing the ball and doing what we do best on offense. Those are two big keys that we are kind of focusing on.

Q. It is kind of contrasting styles between the two teams. Is that something where you guys want to get out and run and control the tempo?

PAITON BURCKHARD: It will definitely be important for us to take advantage of situations like that but to also not get sped up. They are really good defensively so that can happen a lot where you get going fast or you think you might have an open shot but really just sticking together and not making it a one-on-one battle and just playing team basketball will be important for us.

Q. As the two seniors that have been with the program all the way through, and South Dakota girls, by the way, which I think is pretty cool. How exciting is this for you to both finish your careers on this grand stage?

MYAH SELLAND: It's exciting. I think it's been awhile since we've felt like this and coming into a tournament with this much excitement. We have talked a lot this season a lot of just how we wanted to leave the program, and so we are excited and we are definitely going to make the most of it?

PAITON BURCKHARD: Yeah, it's super exciting just playing on a platform like this and representing South Dakota and South Dakota State like this is a super awesome experience, and we are here to make the most of it.

Q. A lot of people were speculating you might be an 11-seed or 10-seed or something like that, and you end up getting a 9; and then at this morning's press conference listening to USC's players talk, they clearly have a lot of respect for you guys. They are well-aware of your guys' accomplishments. Do you like that that you have learned that level of respect or would you like to fly almost under the radar and doing the who-the-heck-is-South-Dakota-State sort of thing

PAITON BURCKHARD: I think it says a lot about just how much work we've put in as a program to get where we are to earn that respect from the media, other teams and to be able to receive that No. 9 seed.

So yeah, it kind of is fun being the underdog, playing that role sometimes but also especially being in the program for as long as Myah and I have, just earning that respect and seeing where it started and where it is to today is a pretty awesome feeling.

MYAH SELLAND: Just echo what Paiton said, it says a lot about where the program, how far we've come. I think we are proud of that. At the end of the day, we just have to win the next game from us, so seed don't really matter so much at this point.

Q. Virginia Tech's coach, Coach Brooks today, spoke about when they were in the WNIT Final a couple years ago and now they are a 1-seed, are you guys drawing on that WNIT experience from last year, playing so many postseason games against teams all over the country, even a Pac-12 school in UCLA?

MYAH SELLAND: Absolutely we got six more games and six games that mattered and were postseason games. We have a lot of experience coming back off of that run. We kind of take that and can learn on those situations even though it was last year. Postseason basketball is just a little different. We got six more games of that.

Yeah, we definitely are kind of using that.

PAITON BURCKHARD: I agree with what Myah said. Postseason basketball is postseason basketball. A lot of things can happen and we gained a lot of experience and we brought back a lot of girls who gained a lot of experience from our WNIT run.

Q. You have two freshmen that have done unbelievable things for you so far this year. How much better is this team now than the team that won the WNIT?

PAITON BURCKHARD: We've touched on this all year when being asked questions. We have a great group of girls, consistent group of girls, a lot of young players that we are confident in that can make a lot of good plays for us, and I just think that's something that we can really use as a weapon on our team. We just have a lot of good girls who can come out and it can be their night any night.

Q. You've beat people at Louisville and Kansas State this year. Do you feel like the non-conference schedule you played is good preparation for the NCAAs?

MYAH SELLAND: Yeah, that's something we prided ourselves is on our non-conference schedule. We like to be challenged early in the year. I thought this year was no different and it really prepares us for these kind of opportunities.

Q. What is it about this year's team? Why is it this team got to the NCAAs?

PAITON BURCKHARD: I think we just had a really good non-conference season. Like Myah said, we made our mark in the conference tournament. We played some really consistent, good basketball. That's why we're here today.

Q. In those 23 years, and especially in the time since you went D1 you've been to some pretty cool places with your team all over the country and played. What's it like it be to in a brand new team and with this year's team playing a brand new team?

AARON JOHNSTON: I believe so far in the time we've spent here, it's been great. Following Virginia Tech's program from a distance, you can see they have really taken off here and it's fun to be in a place that's really supporting women's basketball at such a high level.

So even though we are not playing them here immediately, it's fun to be in a place where you can really kind of feel that people are paying attention, and like I said, value the sport of women's basketball. So that will be exciting for us.

We love playing against great competition and our first game against USC is going to be that. We played them a long time ago in our transition to Division I but we just haven't had that recent history. So really, an unfamiliar team. We get a chance know each other on film as much as we can, but until you get out on the floor and feel what the style of ply is like it's hard to know how that's going to go.

Our team is energy and love playing they love playing in the postseason and the NCAA Tournament is obviously the goal and to be back at that level again is really exciting for everybody.

Q. When you have an 8-9 seed playing, that's the tightest matchup you can possibly have and sounds like they have a great deal of respect for the way you guys play. I guess it's a mutual thing even though you don't know that much about each other?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, for sure. They have really kind of elevated their program in the last couple of years and that's been fun to watch, too. USC has a really storied tradition of women's basketball and what they mean to the national landscape in women's basketball, and now you can see them trending back in that direction with the current team and the young people they will have joining their team in the future.

They are doing a great job, and they are very deserving of where they are at right now, too. Yeah, I think you'll see hopefully an evenly-matched game tomorrow.

Q. You talked since the end of last season of how beneficial that WNIT title run could be, and you didn't mean for just this kind of tournament. You meant from a big picture standpoint. But just for this tournament, this event, the NCAA Tournament, how do you think what your team went through last year can be beneficial?

AARON JOHNSTON: I think playing in that tournament you get a couple of things. One, you have to play under high-pressure, high-stress situations that really mean your season is going to go on or it's going to end. You have to be able to make plays at the right time. We started off that tournament with some wins, some comfortable wins, but as you get further and further, those are not comfortable wins. We had to come-from-behind in some of those games. We had to make plays late in some of those games. We had to execute on offense and defense. So with that level of pressure, you can really draw on that now as you go into this tournament.

I think the other piece is just the level of competition. Having to do that against teams that would be similar to play in southern California, that kind of athleticism, that kind of strength and still proving that you can be successful in our plan against that level of competition is really important, too.

The other part of it is it's just really hard, but it's just a great reminder how much fun and how much joy this can bring. You know, we are playing in the Tournament. We want to do our very best, but that was a lot of fun competing for that championship last year. This is going to be fun and difficult competing in this tournament as well.

But it just reminds you how much fun it is to be in a postseason event with a lot on the line and trying to see if you can play your best basketball.

Q. For the Tech fans that will be coming for the first game tomorrow, do you feel like it would be worth their while to stick around? Will this be a fun matchup with you and USC the second game?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, I really believe it should be. USC is having a fantastic year. People are going to see kind of two different styles. Both teams defend really well but do it differently. Both teams are efficient on offense but do it differently.

So you're going to see contrasting styles that hopefully will make for a really exciting game. Sometimes when you get that, whatever style seems to win out on that particular day has the advantage.

Yeah, I think you are going to see two teams who are playing really good basketball. Both teams have been in that top kind of 30 in terms of rankings for quite a bit of the year. Both teams have beaten some really good teams in their non-conference schedules and conference schedules. So yeah, it be should a fun game and I certainly hope people do stick around.

Q. You're averaging, like, 79 points per game. What makes this Jackrabbits offense so prolific?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, offensively for us, our recipe has opinion balance. I think you can see some talented individual players out there but we have a lot of balance. We don't rely on any one or two people to go out there and score a lot of points. We move the ball really well. Our passing and I think our vision in finding open shooters has been really important for us.

So it's a fun style I think for people to watch. And we have balance with inside-outside. We don't rely on threes and we don't rely on any post game but we have a little of that sprinkled into what we do.

We are really efficient. We don't turn the ball over a lot, and I think that will be really important in the game tomorrow. USC's pressure is going to be something that we are going to have to handle and hopefully turn into some offense for us. But you're going to see a team that really has fun playing together, shares the ball, really efficient, can score in a variety of different ways.

Q. With the contrasting styles, do you think that benefits your team or does it kind of make it tougher for you guys?

AARON JOHNSTON: I think the contrasting styles are going to benefit whoever executes better. If USC can get us maybe sped up and uncomfortable in our halfcourt offense and turn us over, they have the ability to block a lot of shots, challenge us at the rim. If their style is winning out, it's going to be hard for us. On the flipside, if we can get them moving more or get them chasing on the perimeter, that's going to play in our hands.

When you play a team that is different, I just think whatever style starts to win out usually dictates who is going to win that game. It will be important for us to get into a good rhythm and be really clear with what we are trying to get done and handle some of the pressure that they will put on us, because we are a team that does play better when we are comfortable, as most teams do. But in this particular game, that will be really important.

Q. What's been the focus for you this week now that you know that you're facing off against USC to try to score against their top defense?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, I think we have kind of gone back and drawn on some of the games we would have played even in November and December, whether you play a South Carolina or Mississippi State or Kansas State or UCLA or those kind of teams, Louisville. Some of those games we won; some of those games we didn't. But all of those games, we can go back and say what worked for us against that level of defense, and we'll try and be really focused on those things in the game.

But then I think the other thing we have to do is defend really well, too. I think we have always been really an underrated defensive team. We are going to have to do a good job of handling a lot of individual matchups. They have got some players that can really score and make plays. And how we help and recover and just try and keep them contained, I think will be really important.

But yeah, I think we'll draw on a lot of the games that we've played throughout the year and some of them are really similar in terms of style of play, and we had some success there, so we've got to try and build on that.

Q. How comfortable is it for you to have three seniors that have been with you before, and does that give you an edge?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, I think Myah, Paiton and Dru have been good as good of leaders as we could hope to have throughout the year. They have been steady and consistent and they have played at a really high level. They are incredibly poised on the floor. Having those three has been an amazing asset all year and I would hope and imagine it would carry over into the tournament.

But particularly in those pressure moments in a game because there's always those moments where you have to come back from being a couple baskets down or where you have to be able to handle and run and maintain it. There's always mows pressure moments and in those moments that's why your leaders really shine and really give you a chance just to calm everybody do you know and keep everybody in the right place mentally.

I think those three have done that very, very well throughout the year. You know, you can see it from my perspective, on the court, during play, but I also see it in the locker rooms. I see it in time-outs. You just see it in those really big moments, and real lean on those three every game we play going forward for sure.

Q. I assume it's your goal to get to this tournament every year, but do you guys set a goal to win a first-round game or get to the Sweet 16, stuff like that?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, I guess we've never really looked at it that way. Sometimes players have talked about it over the years. I know back in 2019, I know that group tucked a lot about trying to get to the Sweet 16, having been close. But as a team I guess we never really talk about those things.

We certainly talk about playing in the postseason, and that's a goal. We talk about advancing in the postseason, and that's a goal. But I think this group understands that we want to go out and play our best basketball every night and see how far that can take us, and I really value that, I think, approach as a coach but certainly players can add in some of their own goals as they go, too, and certainly they have a chance to pursue those.