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

March 17, 2023

Aaron Johnston

Myah Selland

Paige Meyer

Cassell Coliseum

South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Media Conference

South Dakota State 62, USC 57

AARON JOHNSTON: Well, it was an exhausting game for sure. You know, I'm sure for both teams. Both teams were I thought really good defensively and I know sometimes those games don't get up and down. There wasn't a lot of just continuous offense and sometimes that can kind of change the game. But both teams I thought were really good defensively. After the first couple minutes, I thought we really settled in and honestly played well against a good team.

So proud of the fact that we were able to hang on there and win. We actually made quite a few plays. I know we had some that didn't go our way late but we made quite a few plays and had to get a lot of positive things done to get that.

So excited we get a chance to play again. Excited for these Jackrabbits up here. They worked pretty hard for it.

Q. Myah, you went off there in the fourth quarter and into overtime. Did you make a conscious decision to try and take things into your own hands or did the game come to you in those moments?

MYAH SELLAND: A.J. put me in a lot of positions. We have a lot of sets that we had practice all season and he put me in a lot of positions where I just felt comfortable and saw a few shots go in. So that's kind of just let the game kind of come from there but we all made really big plays throughout the game.

Q. What was it like for the other players on the team to see Myah get shot like that and kind of feed her and watch her lead you guys to a victory?

PAIGE MEYER: For sure it's a lot of fun when anyone on the team gets going, especially Myah. Then that energy feeds off on all of us.

Q. What was the mindset going into overtime? You had the game in control, they hit the big three-pointer. What was the mindset as you look at those extra five minutes?

MYAH SELLAND: We just talked a lot about staying together. We were going to make plays together and do things as a group and so we had five more minutes to compete and play and earn another game, so I thought we did a really good job of just staying together.

Q. You guys fell behind 12-2. What kind of change there, was it just a matter of settling down a little bit?

MYAH SELLAND: I think so. I think we had a few good looks early that just didn't fall. So we knew that if we stayed in it and stayed confident, we would get shots to fall. I thought we did a good job just staying in the game and slowly chipped away at that.

Q. Normally you score a bunch of points but it was a low-scoring game. How much confidence do you gain looking ahead to Virginia Tech by winning a game like this?

MYAH SELLAND: We really had to rely on our defense tonight and obviously we got the job done there. Defense will be important for us again on Sunday, and so yeah, I think that's something that we can take away from this and feel good about.

Q. We've talked about how we've been waiting for this game for Myah, have her take over, how exciting was it to see her take over down the stretch there?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, Myah was the difference for us in the game in a variety of ways, especially her scoring, especially late. She made a lot of tough plays and put them in foul trouble with some big-time plays for us. She got some rebounds and she was that calming presence because there were times we were rattled for sure. We had probably had some unforced turnovers and some forced turnovers.

But Myah was that calming presence that I think we have all had a chance to see her be. Our team did a great job. We really obviously went to her a lot, late in that game, particularly in overtime and she responded like you would hope somebody that has that kind of talent and ability would respond.

So she was the difference in the game, no doubt about it.

Q. Coach, do you feel like South Carolina's physicality in December and ORU's press last week prepared you for this matchup, and how so?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, I think so. Whether it's South Carolina or Louisville or Mississippi State or any of those teams that we played, I think we went back and really drew on some of those things.

Early on in the game, I thought offensively we played well. They blocked a lot of shots and we didn't finish well at the rim. We didn't do a great job of just getting set, trying to just use shot fakes, things like that.

But after we settled in, Paige was really good. She was hard to guard for a lot of that game. And those are things that we've done a lot throughout the year.

But I think understanding just their length and their athleticism, probably to being a little bit of time for us to settle into it. But our defense was exceptional. When we were not good offensively our defense really carried us I thought and kept us in that game.

I think just the game pressure. I talked about it the other day. It's just tough, finishing plays at the end of those games. Some I thought we did really well, and some I'm sure we'd love to have back. But overall we made a lot more positive plays than things that didn't go our way.

So all of those games we've had throughout the year I think have helped us be ready for this moment.

Q. What was your defensive game plan coming into this one?

AARON JOHNSTON: I think we do a really good job of understanding matchup, who we want to help off of, where we want shots to come from, who we don't want taking shots. We mixed up how we handle ball screens in this game compared to what we have done really traditionally throughout the year based on what we thought we could do.

We really wanted to try play and play one-on-one on the post with them, which we did, and I thought helped off the right people most of the time. We thought rebounding was going to be a big, big factor. I felt like from my perspective, we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, but I also felt like we got some big offensive rebounds when we needed them.

So we felt like defensively, we've played against those styles before and had a good idea what we wanted to get done and I think that carried over in the stats and into the game. But our team just does a great job of understanding matchups, where we want the ball to go, how we are going to help and I think, you know, I really saw that from my perspective.

Q. Facing a shot blocker like Rayah, blocked seven shots tonight, a force in the paint, does that change what you're trying to do offensively when you are facing a shot blocker like that?

AARON JOHNSTON: I think so. In that first half we really relied on a lot of ball screens. Paige was really good getting to the basket and we had other players, too, and probably some of those early blocked shots made us maybe hesitant to do some of the things we did late.

Then Myah really got on a roll and we just went inside. That was something we didn't do probably as much of early in the game, feeling like we just might not be what we want there. But I'm glad we kind of got to it. I wish we would have gotten to Myah a little bit sooner, even at the end of regulation. That's more on me than on them.

But yeah, I think Myah really proved that no matter who she is playing, she's an awfully good player down there.

Q. Kallie Theisen came in and gave you great minutes again. How do you feel your team matched their toughness tonight?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, I think Kallie's probably one of the most underrated, under, you know, appreciated players in our league. I just do. What Kallie does for us is so important. It allows us to defend certain ways. It allows us to stay out on some shooters. We don't have to help as much when she's in there.

Kallie's just an incredible presence for us. Another one of those calming people, too, that always seems like she's in the moment and doesn't get rattled when things happen. She had some de defensive plays down the stretch in this game, even in overtime when we had a little bit of our push, Kallie was a big part of the stops that we got that gave us some separation there. Kallie was phenomenal in this game.

And like I said, Myah has such a particular game, but you know, Kallie sometimes gets, like I said, under -- maybe undervalued, not so much from us, but I think on the outside, just because she doesn't score a ton of points all the time. But she was as important for us defensively as Myah was for us offensively.

Q. You'll play in front of a sold-out crowd in Castle Coliseum tomorrow. Is there you anything to prepare for an environment like that?

AARON JOHNSTON: Yeah, we don't go in there and crank up the music and practice or anything like that. We've been in a lot of different atmospheres.

I think tomorrow is going to be a phenomenal atmosphere, watching the first game today and seeing the crowd and how involved they were, and that's exciting. That's where we want to be. I think that's where every team wants to be. It's certainly nice when they are on your side, and we get that a lot back home and having to battle that kind of pressure is going to test us for sure. But that's exactly where you want to be.

I have great respect when you see the fan support and the interest in women's basketball. We've played in a bunch of NCAA Tournaments, and we have played in, unfortunately, too many empty gyms in some of these early round games.

I'm guessing it's not going to be empty on Sunday. I'm guessing there's going to be people there and that's exciting, and it's going to be a challenge but it's going to be exciting.

Q. With that matchup on Sunday, what are your first thoughts of Virginia Tech and how your team matches up with the Hokies? Seems like both teams are very good on the offensive end?

AARON JOHNSTON: Watching them, I just I feel like in some ways things that I like about our team, I certainly like about their team. I think there's a real clear plan of what they are trying to get done. They are score on the inside and they can score on the perimeter.

Defensively they are playing at a high level. They just have a really about idea of where they want to help off of, where they want to try and take some things away, and then there's a lot of what I like about our team, in them, when I watch them play.

So very deserving I think of a No. 1 seed when I watch them. That's going to be a big test for us for sure. But we're looking forward to it.

Q. Looked like you had the Game 1 in regulation and some goofy circumstances there at the end and could have lost momentum with USC hitting the big three-pointer and some questionable calls. What did you talk about in the huddle or leading into overtime to not let that happen and reassert that momentum a little bit?

AARON JOHNSTON: I think, for sure, I think towards the end of regulation, even at the end of overtime, I'll look back and there were things I needed to do to get us in better spots, too, and we need to handle things we can't control. I think what's that we did a great job of, really staying present and in the moment. And that's where I think that calmness of particularly Myah in that situation, Kallie, Tori, they have got a lot experience, and Haleigh and Paige are out there for the first time; and you can see in that moment in the NCAA Tournament, I'm talking about, and you can see those three upper-class players talking to those young sophomores and reminding: Here is what we are in; here is where we are on defense; here is what we are doing if they score, here is what they are doing if they miss.

Just a lot of poise I thought from our leaders for sure and that was huge. I thought, I forget the exact time but even late in the game when we had some separation, they came back and made a run; and we lost the lead and had to get the lead back and felt like we had it won. And now it's a tie game.

And then go into overtime and really play well in overtime just says a lot about the resiliency of our team and the ability to let go and move on to be in the present. That's fun as a coach. It's just great to see that part of it rewarded.

Q. You guys have the No. 1 seed now. How excited do you feel like your team is to play the No. 1 seed and be in the underdog role because you have not had that at all this season?

AARON JOHNSTON: They are going to be excited to get to bed tonight. These late games are tough. You have a lot of energy it's going to be hard to wind down. Tomorrow I think they will move on and be ready for the next opportunity.

If there's a word you've heard from our team a lot this year, they have used that word, make the most out of this opportunity; what's from us and what can we do with this chance that we have, and I think they will approach that game the same way.

Playing against a great team, a No. 1 seed at their place, it's a challenge but it's also an opportunity, and we have to look at it that way and try to get a good plan together and get ready to go.