NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - JAMES MADISON VS OHIO STATE

March 17, 2023

Kevin McGuff

Taylor Mikesell

Cotie McMahon

Value City Arena

Ohio State Buckeyes

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions right now.

Q. Taylor, your ninth NCAA Tournament game about to happen tomorrow. Cotie, your first. Thoughts from each of you maybe, Taylor, on what you have learned and how you prepare, and, Cotie, what you expect.

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Yeah, just, first and foremost, just blessed to be here more than anything and never taking for granted the opportunity to play in March. It's the most exciting time of year.

I think just knowing that what we've done all summer had led us to this point. Trusting who we've become and how we've grown together and showing that on the court.

COTIE McMAHON: Yeah, like she said, obviously we're very blessed. For me to come in my first year and be in the NCAA Tournament I feel like is great.

Carla told us the other day all these teams are good. They obviously wouldn't be in this tournament if they weren't, so I'm expecting a lot out of each team we play, and I'm excited. It's going to be good competition, and yeah.

Q. Can both of you talk about being able to play this game, not just in your home arena, but in your home state and being able to have that support behind you?

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Yeah, it means a lot. Last year we made the tournament, which was great, but we had to take a trip down to LSU and had an unfavorable crowd for both games. So it's pretty cool just to have our home fans here with us and then just be able to be in our home state, get to practice in our arena. There's a familiarity with it, and it's pretty comforting.

Q. For both of you, you've had a few days now to kind of take stock of James Madison. What would have been your take-aways from watching them on film?

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Yeah, they're a really talented team. I actually had played them twice when I was at Maryland prior, and they've always been good, well-coached team. They play really hard. They have some good guards, and they have a really good pace to their play. So it will be a good game, and we'll be ready.

COTIE McMAHON: Yeah, kind of like what she said. Their team is really good. All of them are very versatile, so it will be a good matchup.

Q. I know how much you focus on just the next game and the day-to-day. Does it get harder to do that at this time of year when you start to think about the potential of making a run?

COTIE McMAHON: For me no, because I kind of just take it day-by-day to be honest. You can only focus on what's in the present, so, I mean, I don't think it's challenging at all.

The games will come. Just got to be patient and work for them, so...

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Yeah, I think I would agree with Cotie. You really have to take it one day at a time because you can't take for granted walking into this facility and having practice or playing one game because it could really be your last. So I think that that adds a little bit extra to it and just focusing on what's at hand.

Q. Cotie, you talked a couple of weeks ago about not having been super confident when you started your freshman year and growing throughout the year. How much do you feel like you've grown this year and where you are now?

COTIE McMAHON: I feel like I've grown a lot (laughter). Yeah, at the beginning of the season I wasn't very confident. I was very passive, I would say, as well. I feel like I'm still obviously passive, but I feel like I kind of have more confidence in myself to be able to score and stuff like that. I feel like my confidence is pretty good right now (laughter).

Q. A couple of weeks ago from the Iowa game you've been able to go back and watch film from it. What have you seen from that film, and what do you take from that into the tournament this weekend?

COTIE McMAHON: Kind of just playing together as a team. Like, this is our last chance to be with everyone on the team, so we can't really take for granted what we have in that moment. Everything else will take care of itself as long as we stay together and have each other's back.

TAYLOR MIKESELL: I would agree with that. Then just after watching the film, kind of breaking down each half, kind of the polar opposite halves.

We actually beat them in the second half, so obviously learning from the first half and then just using kind of the information from the second half as, like, a growing point. We know that we're capable of playing with anyone, but we have to show up and play like we did in the Indiana game, like we did games like that or you see the other side of it.

But that was definitely a growing experience and something that we've learned from and been able to grow from these last few weeks, so I think we'll be ready to play tomorrow.

Q. Taylor, this is for you. Cotie just mentioned how confident she is right now. What's it been like to see her growth and when she got here, what was it, last spring until now, and where do you feel like she's grown the most?

TAYLOR MIKESELL: It's been awesome to see her grow as a person as well as a player. You can just see how confident she is on the court, but also just her voice. It's kind of rare to see a freshman come in and be so vocal and just be to willing to want to do the work and to want to come in and work every single day and get better.

I mean, it's kind of crazy to think that she's only a freshman. She's going to be sitting up here three years from now, and you're going to be asking her all the questions about where she was three years ago.

So I'm excited to come back three years from now and see where she's at, but March is -- we're still young in the month of March, and I think she has a lot to prove this month.

COTIE McMAHON: Thanks, Taylor.

Q. For both of you. Having Jacy back in the Big Ten Tournament, what did it that provide your team in terms of a boost having her presence back, as well as the on-the-court aspect of having her back?

COTIE McMAHON: I feel like she makes all of us better. Obviously, you know, without her we all make each other better as well, but Jacy just adds that extra little push, especially with her game.

She can create for others, but also create for herself. She gives us a lot of opportunities as well as herself, so I feel like having her back was amazing.

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Yeah, I think we missed more so than anything her leadership and just her experience on the court. Her game speaks for itself and all her accolades, but we really missed having her as far as a leader and just her experience.

Q. (Off microphone).

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Yeah, it's not -- like I said, when we lost Madison and even Jacy, it's not somebody that you can -- not one person can step into that role. It's kind of everybody trying to piece things together. I think we did as good of a job as we could have, but until you have them back, it's kind of hard to fully fill their role. That's a testament to the person they are and to the players that they are.

Q. Taylor, it seemed like about a year ago Taylor Thierry really blossomed this time of the year. Down in Baton Rouge she played well two games and then on into the regional. What have you seen in her game that has allowed her to take the next step and her consistency, whether it's somebody playing out of the wing or on the guard or driving to the rim?

TAYLOR MIKESELL: She's been incredible, and you can see it even back last year in the tournament. She kind of started to grow into herself, but you could see this summertime just how much more confident she's been getting and just how versatile she is.

She can probably play the point guard if you wanted her to. Like, she's incredibly versatile and just is going to do anything possible that's going to help us win. One day you could look up at the scoreboard, and she has 20 points and you would be, like, Where did that come from? It's all offensive rebounds or just doing the little things.

It's a testament to the person she is and just how much she wants us to win. I think it's incredible to see how far she's grown just being a sophomore.

THE MODERATOR: Taylor, I'm going to go ahead and ask you one. This is Ohio State's 27th NCAA Tournament year, so 27 years we've made the NCAA Tournament, but tomorrow will be the first time we've ever played a game it in Valley City Arena, the Schottenstein Center. All indications are we are going to have a really good crowd for the game. Talk about what a great crowd in this arena does for the team.

TAYLOR MIKESELL: That's a really cool stat. I didn't know that was a thing, but that's really cool.

I would say even this year alone going off of the crowds we've had, it's been incredible. Like, we never sold out the lower bowl before. I mean, I have never been a part of that, which has been really cool.

I think our, quote, unquote, worst crowd was maybe 5,000, which is incredible for women'S basketball. I think the growth that we've had, the support we've had has been incredible, and I'm excited to see the crowd tomorrow.

Q. Cotie, this is for you. Taylor mentioned it's kind of crazy to think that you're still a freshman. You got here last spring. Do you still feel like a freshman?

COTIE McMAHON: Yeah (laughter). Yeah, I still feel like a freshman, but, I mean, I don't really know. I don't really know. I don't really think about that, to be honest.

But, yeah, I feel like a freshman as far as, you know, all these old heads on the team. I'm definitely if not the youngest, probably the second youngest.

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Yeah.

COTIE McMAHON: Yeah.

Q. How much do you feel like getting here then helped prepare you and acclimate you faster to the culture and what you wanted to do on the court?

COTIE McMAHON: Yeah, I feel like getting here early and not being able to play I really got to really sit and understand the game of college basketball and understand how Coach McGuff wants his program to look like and how he coaches it to be.

So I really got to understand and kind of get to know really how he wants his system to work and kind of just adjusting to that without, like, jumping right on to the court. I really had to process it and really sit and watch, so I feel like that helped me a lot, you know, being able to play later in the season.

THE MODERATOR: Cotie, did you travel to Baton Rouge last year?

COTIE McMAHON: No, no, we weren't traveling.

THE MODERATOR: Cotie, Taylor, thank you very much. Some opening comments from Coach.

KEVIN McGUFF: Just excited to have the opportunity to play at home. Our fans have been fantastic this season, and so to be able to be in front of them again is really special.

You know, we have great respect for James Madison. They're a team that's used to being in the tournament, so I know they're going to show up prepared. They have an elite player in Kiki Jefferson, who is going to be a real challenge for us.

Q. What else have you seen tactically from JMU after being able to watch?

KEVIN McGUFF: They also have good post players. They've got some balance in what they do. They play a lot of man, but they'll also switch their defenses, maybe throw in a little press in there to slow us down.

So I think our ability to kind of recognize what they're doing and stay organized and execute accordingly will be really important.

Q. Then also, just the minutes for Jacy Sheldon, expect to see the same as the tournament, or is she at a place where you think you can increase those?

KEVIN McGUFF: Yeah, she'll play more. As she's -- we've just had more time. I think she's feeling more comfortable. So I don't know that we have an exact minute, but it will be more of an impact than it was in Minneapolis.

Q. Last one from me. We saw published that Jacy was coming back next year. Is she coming back?

KEVIN McGUFF: I think she's had discussions with -- she and I have always said, hey, let's get to the end of the year and decide that, but she's had other conversations with other people. I don't bother her with it, so we'll have certainly a final conversation when we're done playing.

Q. We talked a lot about last year's togetherness, toughness, chemistry on the team in retrospect, and that kind of blossomed in Baton Rouge. But what do you think you know about this team that maybe you didn't know in October as the year has gone on, and you've overcome some stuff to get to this point?

KEVIN McGUFF: Yeah, you know, we had such a great start and then kind of hit some adversity with injuries and so forth. You know, when we took some losses, I think it shook our confidence too. I think down the stretch we've played better and kind of got our mojo back a little bit.

This team has got a certain amount of grit to them. You know, we've been in some tough situations, but we always keep fighting and figure out a way to come back and give ourselves a chance to win. I like the determination, the togetherness, and just kind of the cohesion of this group.

Q. Finally, such a great win against Indiana coming from 24 down and then a tough final against Iowa. Was there something between those two games to be learned? Maybe not.

KEVIN McGUFF: Don't get down that much (laughter). I would really prefer we not have to come back like that would be better.

Not really. I mean, I just think that one of the things just in general we just played a three-day stretch Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, three of the top 12, 14, 15 teams in the country. So I'm hopeful that just our experience in the Big Ten this year with it being as good as it is will pay dividends here heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Q. Kevin, you said on Sunday it might be a long week for them waiting to play on Saturday. How has this we'll week been and what have you seen?

KEVIN McGUFF: It was good. We started out the week really just focused on ourselves trying to create the best version of ourselves that we can here heading into the tournament. As the week has gone on, we've mixed a lot more preparation for James Madison.

We took a day off in the middle there. So, you know, once again kind of working ourselves, getting ready for James Madison, a combination of those two. But it's just always a long stretch between when you get done playing in the Big Ten especially to when you play your first tournament game.

Q. To someone like Cotie, who is entering her first NCAA Tournament, what has your advice been? What has the veterans' advice on the team been to her entering this?

KEVIN McGUFF: You know, I could give Cotie a bunch of advice, but she's going to go out there and play the way she's going to play, which is really, really, really hard and as fast as she can up the court.

That's the great thing about her is she's got such a joy for the game, and she loves to play, and she loves to compete, and she plays so hard. So just my advice to her will be just continue to do the things that you have done to put yourselves and help put this team in this position.

Q. Last year you go into a hostile environment at LSU. What is the relief in being able to not have to deal with any of that this year and being able to play at home?

KEVIN McGUFF: It was. It was a great environment down there, but very hostile for sure. Like I said, I think we'll have a great environment here with our home fans, and so we're excited about that, and hopefully they can give us a boost.

Q. Coach, Cotie mentioned how important her getting here early last year was for her. I'm curious what you saw in her then that made you think that she could be the talent she is now, or has she impressed you even more than you thought?

KEVIN McGUFF: The one thing you never really know until they get on campus is how hard they're going to work, and from day one she's worked incredibly hard.

You see her play, and some people play hard in the games, but it's another thing -- the reason why she's made the progress she's made is how hard she practices. She really competes and plays hard every single day in practice, and that's sort of rare for a freshman.

It's usually a big adjustment, but for her, her intensity and her competitive character was evident from day one. I think that's why she's gotten so much better.

Q. And she talked about the growth and especially in her confidence from when she first got here to now. Where do you feel like you've seen her grow the most?

KEVIN McGUFF: I think she's a little more -- you know, in the beginning she was kind of mowing people down around the basket. She's a little more under control and a little more measured, and her vision is a little better about where she's going.

I think that she had a really good start last -- that semester when she was here. One other thing I think that was really important, she played USA Basketball and had a great experience with the U18 team and was really -- and that's important because, like here, you come from high school where you're the star, but now you're playing with Jacy Sheldon and Taylor Mikesell and other great players, Tyler Thierry, all these guys. Well, in USA Basketball you do the same thing.

So I think the way she kind of worked her way into that team with USA Basketball impacted them in a variety of ways. It was really, really helpful as well.