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

March 16, 2023

Sam Purcell

Asianae Johnson

Kourtney Weber

Debreasha Powe

Purcell Pavilion

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: It's time to get started. I would like to welcome Mississippi State student-athletes Debreasha Powe, Kourtney Weber, and Asianae Johnson to the podium. We can get started with questions from our audience.

Q. For any of you girls, just day after the big win from yesterday, what's the feeling like in the locker room heading into tomorrow's game against Creighton?

KOURTNEY WEBER: Obviously we're very excited just getting our first win, especially for Coach Sam as a first-year head coach. We're just excited to keep going day by day. We're ready to get ready for our next opponent.

Q. Debreasha, is there any advantage in terms of -- obviously all the teams have been practicing here, but having a game already under your belt and having a win already under your belt up heading into Creighton who's coming into this a little bit cold? Is there any advantage to that?

DEBREASHA POWE: I would say yes, there is. We're here now. We're warmed up for sure. So I do think it's an advantage.

Q. For any of you, what parts of yesterday's win do you think could translate into tomorrow's game and possibly even beyond that into Sunday if you were to get there?

ASIANAE JOHNSON: Defensive rebounding. Definitely I feel like, especially in the third quarter, we came back after the first half, the third quarter really took that lead -- like when we took that lead, it was kind of over after that. We outrebounded them as well.

Q. Kourtney, just for you guys having a dominant post player like Jessika, just how, I guess, big is that in terms of what other people around her can do for the offense?

KOURTNEY WEBER: It's very big. I think Jess makes the game a lot easier for the rest of us. She draws in a lot of defensive presence, and she's very good at kicking the ball out to open people.

So just having her being dominant makes it a lot easier for everyone else.

Q. I'm wondering, having just won last night, obviously you haven't practiced yet, but you're only going to have a short period of time to prepare for your next opponent. How do you get in that mindset knowing you kept your season alive last night and now you're going into a brand new team?

DEBREASHA POWE: I would just say coming in, resetting, refocusing, making sure we stay locked in, focusing on the little things, and just keeping each other accountable as we start practice today.

Q. With Ahlana not having a great game yesterday, obviously going scoreless, I'm curious what other ways do you see her, especially in that third quarter, affect the game in other ways when she's not able to score?

KOURTNEY WEBER: Ahlana does a lot more than score. Her defensive presence kind of shifted the game. She was part of that first crew in the third quarter that really opened up the game for us. She also does a great job distributing the ball and being a leader out there.

So she can do a lot of things other than scoring for us.

THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome head coach for Mississippi State Sam Purcell to the podium.

Q. Is it possible to walk us through those first couple hours after last night's win, just what you did when you got back to the hotel and all that?

SAM PURCELL: First, I want to dance with somebody, if you saw the video. We're excited.

The biggest thing you want as a coach is to have your players having fun because, again, I think you've got to reflect back on the year. I've talked about this. It was a team that we put on paper that our coaching staff knew we had something special.

You've got to love the media. You know I love each one of you, but sometimes we use it for motivation. It came out, first four out, Charlie Creme, you're not in. Then you go through the year. We never received one AP Top 20 vote, not mentioned. This is a team that nobody talks about.

Then we get to the end, you're the first four out, you're not going to make it. It just kept going and kept going. But you know what the best part was, those young women in that locker room, they believed in each other. That's all you can ask for.

Then you came out today, and I joked on the side, I've got a new talk to me nice list that I would like to mention today. All right? Because I like to have fun. Charlie Creme is my guy and I've mentioned, talk to me nice, Charlie, as we try to get in that dance. I've actually reached out to him. He was great. He had fun with it.

Then I read today we've got some new people that are not believing in the Bulldogs. We've got Candace Parker who did not put us in the bracket. President Biden did not put us in. A'ja Wilson, and Barack Obama. Now, Barack, I know you're from Illinois, but you're a girl dad. So I'm asking for your vote in the future.

Again, we're having a ball with all this. We're having a ball with people not believing in us, but again, it comes down to those young women in that locker room believing in each other.

To answer your question, when we won that game, it was just a great moment that we could enjoy together.

Q. From last night's win, what kind of things do you feel can translate into tomorrow's game against Creighton, and then what kind of adjustments after rewatching or looking over the stats?

SAM PURCELL: How much time we got? Listen, Coach Flanery is an unbelievable coach. Here's the match-up with this game. I thought it was two cool storylines. The first one was us opening up women's basketball, two new coaches at their programs.

I thought it was a great game for women's basketball to open up on a national stage playing their hearts out. Unfortunately, only one team could win that game.

This storyline is Creighton's got that DNA. They've got that sauce. They've got that special group who have made that Elite Eight run, who were young and they all returned. They know how to play each other. They're the kind of team, if you did a poll as a coach and said, hey, I'm going to give you ten questions that you're going to write down and fill this answer out about your teammate, they're probably going 9 for 10. They know each other that well.

I've talked to our people and media over this year, they're like why did you play bad this game? Why did we perform this way? It's because it's hard. We're new. We're learning each other. We are learning where they love the ball. We're learning what make us click and also what makes us mad. And we're trying to create that DNA really quick.

So we're going to really need it to be on point for all four quarters if we want a chance against this team.

Q. Kind of building off that, how do you prepare for such an experienced team on such short notice, especially coming off of a high like last night?

SAM PURCELL: I think, first and foremost, I've got to continue that high. I don't want to put too much on them sometimes. I mentioned this earlier in the year when we went on that little stretch, it was on me. I was over coaching this team.

I've got great players who are enjoying basketball, and sometimes if you have those two ingredients, don't mess that up. Don't overthink it. Let these young women go out and do what they do best. They'll figure it out.

We've played enough games, and we play in one of the toughest conferences in the country, I promise, you whatever's thrown at them, it's not the first time they've seen it.

Today's got to be short and sweet. We exerted a lot of energy because, again, credit to Illinois, they made us work for everything. I've got some tired bodies. So we've got to be smart about how we go through today's shootaround. This is more of a mental scout, which is scary because what they do on film is like the Golden State Warriors of men's basketball.

Again, I can't say enough great things about how they play the game. They pass, they cut, they play together as a team. Most importantly, again, they have DNA where they make passes that they know where they're going to be in tough moments. So we've just got to go out and find a way like we've done all year.

Q. From a coach's perspective, I'm curious if you believe there's any advantage to coming into a game like this with a win already under your belt in the NCAA Tournament compared to Creighton, who's coming in cold into the tournament?

SAM PURCELL: 100 percent because you know where I'm going to reference this one at was the SEC tournament we just played in. We played Texas A&M, they played Vandy the day before, we're sitting there watching, and we come out and we get beat. So I think it is good.

Also, a shout out again to Purcell Pavilion, maybe a little luck if the Purcells can go our way through here, and this beautiful campus at Notre Dame, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really mean it. Me and my wife have gone to church and touchdown Jesus every time we walk by.

We're enjoying everything this brings and embracing this cool community that loves women's basketball. And again I want to give a shout out to the Notre Dame fans. Obviously your team will be playing on the same day as ours, but I would love for you to stick around.

If you're trying to decide what team to cheer for, this is Sam Purcell, the head coach of Mississippi State, asking for your attendance and your cheers, and I do approve this message.

Q. You've known and coached Ahlana for a while. I'm just curious, in the past, how have you seen her respond to games where maybe she's had an off night or even scoreless like she was yesterday?

SAM PURCELL: It's funny because I heard somebody else ask me that. I don't think she had an off night last night, she just got in foul trouble. Again, what makes a special team and a special person is how you respond when adversity hits.

She got two tough ones in a game that she was dying to play in. This is her last ride. When you get in that situation, any young woman from 18 to 22, your first mindset is, oh, no, that's minutes I could be playing in my last game. But instead of that mindset, she was like, oh, no, I'm going to pass the baton, and the next person who checks in for me, don't drop the ball. Keep this thing going because we're going to win this game

Her spirit and energy was as good as anything that can be in a box score.

Q. Without giving away any aspects of your game plan, the one advantage you have is size over them. What are some ways you really hope to see your team take advantage of that?

SAM PURCELL: Again, you've got to be willing to stay -- it's not so much size. They do a great job of passing, cutting, moving without the ball. All five people can shoot it. Their center can bring it up and run sets. It's truly something very unique, and again it's a credit to them. Again, I keep referencing that DNA.

So for me, it's going to be the eye test. I've got to see my team talking. I've got to see my team giving multiple efforts, but most importantly, they're going to make big time shots. They have some of the quickest releases. They cut without the ball.

So you've got to be willing to understand that, when they make a big play, that you salute that because you've got to tip the hat because they're really good, and we understand that coming into the game, but at the same time, can you give your next best effort when we come back to the floor so it doesn't happen again.