NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - PRINCETON VS NC STATE

March 17, 2023

Carla Berube

Grace Stone

Julia Cunningham

Jon M. Huntsman Center

Princeton Tigers

Media Conference

Princeton - 64, NC State - 63

THE MODERATOR: Welcome everybody to the Princeton postgame press conference. Congratulations on the win. We will begin with a statement from the head coach, Carla Berube. Followed by questions for the players. Once the players are dismissed, questions for the head coach will follow. We will start with the opening statement.

CARLA BERUBE: Wow. Yes, just so thrilled with that win. I mean, that is what it is about at this time is getting wins. No matter how it happened. What it looked like. I am just so proud and yes.

Please, so many words to describe my team. The plays that they made. We certainly didn't play a great 40 minutes of basketball. But we made the plays we needed to down the stretch. The defense came up big. Then made really big shots when we needed to. Certainly, NC State was really tough, they are long, athletic, defend well, they are tough, they rebound well. Again, it feels a bit like our Ivy League Championship win. We had to grind it out and get gritty and just make the plays, made the shots. And we are advancing. That is what it is about. Yes, just so happy for the tigers.

THE MODERATOR: We will open up questions to the players.

Q. Grace, I will start with you, but Julia, weigh in on this as well.

Grace, on the last play when you hit the three. Walk me through that. What was running throughout your head? Julia, what was running through your head during that play as well?

GRACE STONE: We practice end of game situations. We have been in tight games all year. That is a play we practiced over, and over that is a shot I have taken in a game before. I think my teammates, they have all the confidence in the world in me. I knew, If I missed the shot, they would get the offensive rebound. It is really hard not to shoot with confidence when you have teammates like mine. Yes, I think before the play, I knew what shot we had to get. When it happened, I blacked out. Then afterwards, just a bunch of hugs. So, yes.

JULIA CUNNINGHAM: We are in the we are in the huddle. We are like, guys, we only need a two. We only need a two. Hammer screen for Grace. Hit the three. Same exact moment as Columbia. We have a lot of faith in her. I think running that play, we have a lot of options. That one ended up being a great one.

Q. There were two stretches in the second half, one were you had 12 shots in a row, another one, 1 of 13. How do you keep your confidence up? They are up by 8, with a few minutes left, how did you keep your confidence up for that stretch run?

GRACE STONE: Listen, we have been through it in the past. We have gone through stretches where we struggled to score. We know that our defense will keep us in games. I think throughout that entire period, we were missing shots we normally make, they were good shots, we wanted to keep getting them. We knew we could get shots on the other end. NC State made a great run. They pushed us. We were tired at the end of the game. The idea is to just keep shooting. Again, like I said, we have confidence in one another to make shots. I have confidence in Kaitlyn Chen to score when we need her. Julia, anybody, all the way to Ellie and Maddie. I know we can get shots when we need to.

Keep shooting, keep executing.

Q. What did you do on defense to keep them scoreless for the last five, six minutes?

JULIA CUNNINGHAM: Yeah, I mean, defense travels, that is our motto. That is what we are going to fall back on for the rest of the tournament. I think at some point, you get to the end of the game, we just looked at each other, all right, they can't score anymore. This is our time. This is what we practiced all year long for. These moments. 30 seconds of defense. We just looked at each other, locked in. We knew their scout really well, and what they were looking to at the end of the game and we just executed really well.

Q. Congratulations. Grace, I want to flash you back real fast to the game against Rhode Island where you hit Princeton's first buzzer beater in 20 years. Now, all the way to this moment I guess for you, what has this season meant and how have you persevered through everything?

GRACE STONE: Yeah, listen, in end of game plays, we have a lot of different options. That is because we have a lot of really good scorers on our team. It makes it hard to defend at the end of the game. I think that any of the scenarios, where it has come down to a basket, i think it is about being aggressive, and taking what the defense is giving you. For us, we are all clutch in those moments. To be able to pull out really gritty wins, and help my team to the record that we have obviously, is such an honor for me. To be able to have a season with my besties is just the best thing ever.

JULIA CUNNINGHAM: She is clutch.

Q. It has been a historic week for Princeton basketball. Did you guys draw inspiration from the men's rally yesterday?

JULIA CUNNINGHAM: Yes, absolutely. We were watching in the locker room right before practice. Watching them, all the coverage they are getting from the media, so well deserved. We looked at each other, we are next, now it is our turn. It is special. A special week to be a tiger.

THE MODERATOR: Any other questions for the student athletes?

Q. One more, about Madison. She had a rough game at the beginning. Obviously, had the two really big plays. What does it mean for two seniors see her take on those big moments as a first year?

GRACE STONE: Listen, she is a freshman and coming in as a starting role. She has had to learn and adapt, take our criticism, our teaching. She has done so and more. She is normally a scorer for us. She has done everything else in this game. That is what we needed. That stop at the end was the biggest stop of the game. We needed her to do that. That is how you know we are locked in 1 through 16. She is a testament to putting your head down and grinding as a freshman, and you see results.

JULIA CUNNINGHAM: Absolutely, I think from her, that is huge. That builds her confidence. It builds our confidence in that group, that we will get a stop at the end of the game. You are only as strong as our weakest link. I think we know we will have each other's help and have each other's backs. She came up huge in the last minute.

THE MODERATOR: Players, you are done. Next up, questions.

Q. Hi, Carla, congrats. About the play with Grace. You obviously have a lot of options for who you can go in situations like that. You seem to come back to Grace a lot for last second plays. What about her makes you want to put the ball in her hands at the end of games?

CARLA BERUBE: She has ice in her veins, that look in her eyes. She will make a play. Hit the shot. NC State did a good job hounding Kaitlyn so much, she wasn't getting any looks. It was really hard for her. You know, that is Grace's time. Maddie, yes, she had that steal at the end. That was her screen. A hammer screen we set for Grace. That was a play we had run in our Columbia game at home. Executed it well then. Let's do it again. Yes, this is for three, Maddie could have slipped. If Kaitlyn felt good with the ball, maybe she could have gone one-on-one. I think Grace's teammates have so much confidence in her that she is going to make that shot. So, yes, just you know, executed it really well. I am really proud of them.

Q. Tell me what you saw on the last, after the basket by Grace. What did you see on the defensive stop?

CARLA BERUBE: We were trying to -- we had seen that run before. Had an idea if James came off an Iverson cut, she would catch and rip going left, that is her dominant hand. Yes, we told Maddie, be head's up to that, definitely cut that off. She did, got her hand on the ball. That was the play.

Then, I think everybody dove on the ball at that point. Yes. Big stops. That was the end. There were big stops before that, too. We were trying to foul at one point, to get them on the line. We had only two team fouls, and came up with a big steal. That was huge. That set up the play for Grace. That is just my team. They love defense, they love getting stops, they love doing it together. And always helping each other out. We got enough to win the game.

Q. What happened after the game? You look like you are a bit drenched?

CARLA BERUBE: It was a water party for sure. So much fun in the locker room. They worked so hard. It is so much fun for them to douse me with water. If that is how they want to celebrate, I am all for it. They are so happy. We are looking forward to, yes, this Sunday. We have a big task ahead of us with Utah. We will enjoy this for a little bit. Then it is back to work.

Q. I am curious about the post match up that Ellie was dealing with for the majority of that game. How you worked around it, and eventually managed to slow things down in the last five minutes. What was working in the last five minutes that maybe wasn't working prior to?

CARLA BERUBE: She just kept working. I think she got caught on the high side a couple of times. She said there was like some pushing in there. It was just using her quickness, getting around. That is what she has. She is certainly not going to be out muscling their posts, they are so strong and so good inside. They finish really well. She had help from her teammates, digging in. Doubling. She kept her hand straight up. We didn't want to foul in the end. She is just really scrappy and had some jump balls, blocks, and some steals. It is just Ellie being Ellie. Same thing on Sunday. Really strong post play again we will see. We have a lot of faith in her, and her teammates help her out a lot in there.

Q. You said it was a tough night for Kaitlyn. She ended up with 22 points and a handful of everything else. What does it mean that she can go out there, even if she is having a rough shooting night, still be so productive?

CARLA BERUBE: That is Kaitlyn. The ball is in her hands a lot. She is making plays. That three that she hit. Great kick-out for the three. She is just a play maker. Ice in her veins, too. No moment is too big. She never hangs her head. She is always positive. You see she plays with a lot of joy. Yes, made some big plays as well. Yes, that is our point guard. Really proud of her for just sticking with it tonight.

Q. Carla, I wanted to ask you about the last member of the big three in the scoring column. Julia, 14 points, 8 rebounds, against three turnovers. It seemed to me like a very mature performance. What do you think you got from her? How important was she in pulling this out?

CARLA BERUBE: I mean, she had a couple of big threes in the first half. Really smart with the ball. Made some great passes. I think she defended well, too. It is always an all-around game that Julia gives us. She is that calming presence out there too. That great senior leadership we get from her night in and night out. She had a little bit of foul trouble. I was a little worried. We need her on the court. She played disciplined and made great plays for her teammates.

Q. Seemed like you guys took about a million charges tonight. Which I know is kind of your MO, but felt especially high tonight. How much do you think those disrupted NC State's rhythm or gave you guys momentum or something along those lines?

CARLA BERUBE: Those fire us up. Those are momentum changers. We needed to do that. They are fast, big and strong. We needed to especially with the post, we needed to slide our feet, get good position and take those charges. You know, something that we talked about it, and both Grace and Ellie love to take charges. They love to put their body on the line. They did a great job. Those were huge for us.

Q. Congratulations, Carla, can you hear me now.

CARLA BERUBE: Yes.

Q. Last year you missed by a point, do you feel this year's group is ready to get over that hump?

CARLA BERUBE: Yes, we will get back to work, my staff and I tonight, the team tomorrow. Yes, like I said. Utah is a really great team. They have had an unbelievable season in the PAC-12. They have got great, skilled players and shooters, and yes, they put up a lot of points. Our defense needs to be really, really solid. And yes, I mean, I feel good. I always feel great coming to the game with my team. I am going to feel like that on Sunday. I am sure it will be a great crowd here. It was tonight for their game. Some stuck around for ours. Looking forward to the challenge, and yes, excited for that game. And hopefully, yes, we make it to the sweet 16. It has been something we talked about. We have been talking about one more. At the beginning of the year. Because we lost by a point, one basket. Yes, we are going to give it our all on Sunday. We can't wait to play again.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.