NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - OLE MISS VS STANFORD

March 18, 2023

Tara VanDerveer

Elena Bosgana

Agnes Emma-Nnopu

Francesca Belibi

Maples Pavilion

Stanford Cardinal

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student athletes.

Q. Fran, just talk about the way that you've been able to comport yourself and kind of handle just the ebbs and flows of the different roles. You have had some games you've not played much, other games you had to really step up and play, like the other night. Talk about the way you've kind of mentally approached things and stayed locked in and been able to just do your job no matter what it is each and every night.

FRANCESCA BELIBI: Yeah, I mean, Tara kind of talks about this team as kind of being an orchestra, and so you never really know when your night is going to be to step up. I think for me personally I've had a lot of great role models and leaders before I've been here at Stanford with Alyssa and Nadia and Anna Wilson. They have really shown me how to kind of be a good teammate and how to be a good leader regardless of what your position is on the court.

So I just try to make sure that in everything I'm doing, I'm staying ready and I'm being the best teammate, the best friend, the best leader I can be, and I think that kind of then allows me to go on the court and just do what I have to do.

Q. Tara talks about the journey from the very beginning. I mean, I've heard it for so many years. Preparing each player to have a role in March, whatever that role might be -- and you kind of touched on that, Fran, just now, but last night, it took something from everybody when you didn't have Cam to kind of pick up the load. What are your thoughts on how she approaches that from way back September, October to March to have everybody ready and even the challenges of getting minutes for everybody when possible?

ELENA BOSGANA: Yeah, like you said, we need to stay ready and we know that every night we don't know who is going to play well, who is not going to play very well. We need to have different people stepping up every night. I feel that we hold each other accountable and we help each other. So, yeah, we stay positive and throughout the year we have tried very hard for this time.

AGNES EMMA-NNOPU: Echoing what Elena said, just the aspect of staying ready. I think that is always -- like, you don't know what's going to happen, so everybody just staying locked in, and I think we practice that. Tara like practices that with us in training sessions. So I think just having that idea of like we're always ready like to hear your name called.

FRANCESCA BELIBI: I think Tara tells us from the very beginning, from the summer, that like we need everybody to get to where we want to go. And it doesn't matter really what your role is, there's -- it's an important role and there's a spot for you on this team in whatever role you're in.

So I think that sometimes like, yeah, we have scout team, we have kind of the bench players, we have the starters, and everyone kind of knows their role. But like we've all been saying, it's also our job to stay ready for whatever might happen. So people were out yesterday, and we just had Agnes, Elena, everyone just kind of stepped up to kind of fill whatever role was needed.

But I think that Tara has really honed in on us from the very beginning that everyone has a role on this team, everyone is important to this team, and it's always about staying ready because you never know when your name's going to be called.

Q. 1998, I believe, one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history probably in any sport when Harvard beat Stanford. Is that -- was that ever -- is that something that you guys think of or talk about as a way to motivate you to stay ready, just knowing that, I mean, this program knows that anything can happen in these first two rounds.

FRANCESCA BELIBI: I think that's always kind of something in the back of your mind. Like, it's the tournament and it's Division I basketball, like, everyone can play basketball. Every team in this tournament has earned their right and their role to be here. So that means that at any given moment anybody could win. So we kind of attack this game and kind of prepare for this game with the utmost respect for Sacred Heart, knowing that anything can happen. So it's up to us to really step on them and jump on 'em to make sure that we don't get upset again.

Q. Thoughts and prayers for Purdue after last night. Agnes, I did want to ask this question for you: Just how much pride do you take representing Australian basketball here in the States. Obviously, Australia is a big basketball country. Just how much pride do you take in being an Aussie out here representing Down Under?

AGNES EMMA-NNOPU: I guess I would say a lot of pride, especially in the PAC 12 tournament, I think there's an Australian probably on every team. Tara and I talk about it. She said that when Alanna Smith used to be here, she would always want to be the better Aussie on the floor. So, yes, there's the pride in wanting to represent the country, but then there's the pride of also wanting to be the better Aussie and like be on the winning team, yeah.

Q. You've been around here for awhile to watch the way Tara works and operates and the way she uplifts others on your team, but just going through the handshake line last night she stops and she talks to the coach for the 16th seed that's trying to make a name for herself and talks to the freshman point guard. She does it all the time. You have the coach on Ole Miss who says I'm the future, I'm the future here going against one of the greats. Do you think Tara kind of rubs off on people everywhere, not just coaches, but just people, the way she handles herself decade after decade?

FRANCESCA BELIBI: Yeah, I mean, Tara is a legend. She's like has the record. She's close to breaking the record across men and women's basketball. So that takes a lot of winning and that takes having had to go through a lot of different decades, a lot of different ebbs and flows within teams, within the world. So I think that she's adapted really well to continue to win in the way that she has.

And I think that kind of her winning mentality and her approach to the game and her approach to women's basketball, women's sports, and really women in general, I think does rub off. So I think that anything she kind of has to say to anyone is held in high esteem. And, yeah, she is one of the greats, if not the greatest, and so watching kind of just how she interacts with other people, how she uplifts other people, and even kind of the way she talks about our opponents, it's always with the utmost respect for them and for the game, and so that's something that we all definitely can take with us.

Q. Tara's always doing the extra thing for people. I mean, it's above and beyond, it seems. She doesn't have to, but that's -- and she's almost 70, still doing it with joy and love.

AGNES EMMA-NNOPU: Just sort of echoing on what Fran said and what you said about Tara high-fiving the freshman point guard, we were all watching film and like she always emphasizes we can't underestimate any opponent. She really spoke highly of the way that the freshman point guard played. So I think she just -- she rubs off on people in the way that she just carries herself and the way that she treats everybody as equal in terms of opponents that we face and everything like that.

ELENA BOSGANA: Yeah, I think that she really likes encouraging others and that's something that she has passed to us too. So I feel that it's incredible and it's very important to do that to other teams too.

Q. Looking ahead, you guys are facing the Rebels tomorrow, Ole Miss. Just kind of thoughts on that matchup, what have you guys seen from them from the Gonzaga game, and what do you think are just some of the keys you guys are going to have to do to advance past tomorrow night?

ELENA BOSGANA: They're a great team. They're very aggressive. So we need to stay focused, and I feel that we have a goal, and we need to play 40 minutes, we need to run, and we're going to be in great shape.

AGNES EMMA-NNOPU: I think saying that, some teams look at us and think, oh, like, the nice girls from Stanford, so I think we've got to go out there with the mentality that we're not going to let people walk into our home, go into our frig, take our drinks, sit on our coach, turn on our TV. We got to like not let them punk us.

Q. Fran, obviously, I'm sure you guys would have loved to have had Cam yesterday, but you were able to get a start in what could be your last weekend here at Maples. Did that maybe mean anything extra to you to kind of get to go out there and start?

FRANCESCA BELIBI: I thought that was really funny. I think my teammates were like a lot more excited than I was, which I love them for that.

I don't know, it was just -- yeah, there's always kind of in the back of all of our heads with the funky four, like this is our last home weekend potentially, and so we just kind of want to go out with some wins, be able to say that we made it to Seattle.

So for me, it really was just about kind of stepping up to the plate and it was very last minute for all of us kind of finding out that Cam wouldn't be there. So it was just a matter of making sure I knew the scout and what to do.

But there was a short second there before the game started where I was like, oh, wow, we are here. But, yeah.

Q. And to have Cam back out there at practice today -- you guys were able to be fine without her yesterday, but how important is she to what you guys do?

FRANCESCA BELIBI: Very, very. Even when I found out, I was like, But Sunday you'll be there? (Laughing.)

But, yeah, it was really great to have Cam out there and get her kind of back in the groove of things because, I mean, she's an All-American. Like, I really think that's enough said.

Q. You made it to the end of week 10, finals next week. How much do you still have on your plate and how do you put that aside and focus on basketball?

FRANCESCA BELIBI: I have two finals on the same day next week, so we're going to get that switched around. But I don't know, like, this is the student-athlete life and we're students first and we kind of signed up for that a little bit. So it's about managing our time and making sure we have time for both, but whatever we're doing and whatever we're in, we're focused on.

Q. Going off of that question, just talk a little bit about your majors, what you guys are studying, and why you picked the major and what you enjoy about what it is that you study here as students.

AGNES EMMA-NNOPU: I'm a human biology major with a concentration in neurobiology and human performance, and hopefully in the future, I'm wanting to become a neurosurgeon. So I think that sort of passion stems from my parents. My father's a doctor and my mother's a nurse, so sort of growing up in like the medical background. And, yeah, I just want to be able to help people. I'm really interested in the brain so, yeah, that's the path forward.

ELENA BOSGANA: I haven't declared yet, but I'm going to do science technology in society. And it's very interdisciplinary. You can do many different things, from communication to biology, everything, really. So I love it. And I like interacting with people, so that will give me this opportunity.

FRANCESCA BELIBI: I'm majoring in human biology with a concentration in human performance, and then I also have a minor in psychology. Kind of like Agnes -- well, I don't want to be a neurosurgeon. That's really deep. But I do want to be a pediatrician. Both my parents are doctors, and my mom is a pediatrician. So the program with human biology is also very interdisciplinary, and we really have a great opportunity to kind of pick our path. So me and Agnes are in a couple classes together now. But, yeah, that's kind of my plan, med school after this.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you, ladies. We'll take questions for coach.

Q. Just kind of kicking things off here, just thoughts on Ole Miss, the matchup with the Rebels, home watching the film, what have you seen and what are some of the keys you guys are going to have to have to advance past tomorrow?

TARA VANDERVEER: I didn't sleep last night. They're really good. They're a very experienced group. Looking through, I didn't see any freshmen even on their roster, in terms of the people that play. They play a very aggressive style. They really took Gonzaga apart yesterday. We are going to have to play very well.

Q. We talked to Cam. She said she's good to go for tomorrow. Just how important is it to have her back, obviously? And did you take anything away from the opportunity to see what your group and your depth looks like without her?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, there's a big difference between a 16 seed in this bracket and an 8, 9 -- or 8 seed. We need Cam. We're really happy that she's back. I thought she practiced very well today. And, you know, you want to have something good out of every opportunity, and I think yesterday it was a great opportunity for Lauren Betts and, you know, Fran got a double double, Kike just getting more experience, and I thought they did very, very well.

Q. Obviously it's going to be a pretty interesting rebounding matchup. They put up some huge numbers. I think it was 26 offensive rebounds yesterday.

TARA VANDERVEER: Alex, that's not interesting.

Q. But with Cam in particular coming back from an illness, is there maybe any caution that you have to use with her minutes-wise to try to maybe ease her back?

TARA VANDERVEER: You know, we'll have to wait and see. I mean, everyone is always day-to-day. So you're hoping that she's feeling great and that she's ready to go. You hope that everyone else is feeling great and ready to go. But you did kind of hit one of the nails on the head. You have to rebound against this team, and our team is going to have to be aggressive. You can't be the nice girls from Stanford.

Q. Talking to Yolett earlier, she said, I'm the future, I'm the coaching future, and looks at you as an example and a pioneer. I know you said something to her the other day when she was scouting, I think it was. Could you kind of take us through that conversation and just your impressions of her teams from afar. They do one community service project a month. I know that that kind of stuff matters to you too, the community, the doing stuff for others.

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, I saw Coach Yo as she was coming on the court and she's done a fabulous job. And kind of a little bit I think similar to me coming to Stanford, she took over a program that was -- and like Dawn Staley -- kind of has taken a program from the out house to the penthouse. Dawn is definitely in the penthouse. Coach Yo is looking to do the same thing.

Things are, I think things are different now with all of the whether it's the portal, the NIL and everything, but I think it's great that she's keeping it real. That whether it's community service things or just coaching -- really coaching is not just giving candy to players. It's making corrections, it's helping them reach their potential. Seems like she's doing a great job. It was fun to just visit with her, even though it was a very short visit. I just kind of welcomed her to Stanford and wanted her to have a -- they had a good game yesterday and just don't want her to have a great game tomorrow.

Q. On the men's side when a team wins a tournament game they get that unit, which is a lot of financial incentives. And I was thinking about this yesterday, because it was your guys' 100th program NCAA tournament win on the women's side, if that system does come to the women's game, like people have been thinking it could in the future, or even the very near future, how much would that change the woman's game here at the college level?

TARA VANDERVEER: You know, I think it's a good idea to do. Do some math and figure out how much we would have made. (Laughing.) That would be fun. But I think that women's basketball is, this year I've just seen a trajectory of crowds and enthusiasm and attention. And thanks to all of you and the hard work that you do telling our story about great players and great teams and great programs.

I think that that, when you attach money to something it attaches importance to it. And so if there are units then that's saying it's important. And that's, I think that, I think it is important. But until we really, when we keep doing the things that we're doing we're not really putting kind of our money where our mouth is.

Q. Spin back a little while or a bit here to the first tournament that you coached a Stanford team. What memories stick out from that?

TARA VANDERVEER: I might need a little help, but what I remember is playing at Montana. Was that our first one? I think so. It was an overtime game. So I think that was maybe -- let's see. Would that have been Jennifer Azzi's -- sophomore year. So if it was her sophomore year, then we went to Texas and got beat by Texas next. And this was before the 3-point line. This was before we had over and back. This was before cell phones and probably even computers. But it was a thrilling game up in Montana. I think Joslyn Tinkle, who was at our game yesterday, her mother played in that game at Montana. And Montana had great support. There were -- it was packed, from what I remember. It was a really exciting game. Then we went to Austin and lost to Texas.

But, you know, it was just -- what also happened was Jennifer and zone I can't, Jennifer Azzi and Sonja Henning drove to the Final Four up in Tacoma, Washington -- I think it was either their sophomore year or their Junior year, to see what the Final Four looked like. And that was how committed they were. They put Stanford women's basketball on the map.

Then the next year we lost to Louisiana Tech, so that would have been in '89. That's when they had Venus Lacy and, again, there was no -- maybe there was a 3-point line that year. But it was just like, how are we ever going to compete, the bodies -- and this is even something that is relevant, the bodies of Mississippi versus Gonzaga just bigger, stronger, quicker. And that's what I saw from -- I'm like, how are we going to do that?

One of my assistants reminded me that we had Val Whiting coming the next year, and Val Whiting became a fantastic player. One of the only, I think, you know, really one of the only prime-time players that won two national championships for us at Stanford. Who I believe should be in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame or even the Naismith Hall of Fame, she's that good. You got a little more than you asked for, but what the heck.

Q. The philosopher Heraclides that you had you never step in the same river twice. And every season is different. You've been at this for a long time. Does it ever feel, does it feel different for you every single season and just what's different with this team and just making adjustments or does it get to a point where you get into a rhythm doing the same thing every year. Just talk about how each season is different in the terms, even though you've done this so many times. If that question makes any kind of sense.

TARA VANDERVEER: Every year is different. It's a completely different puzzle to put together. Not even when you have several of the same players. So this year is so different from last year. With the people we have, with the experiences that we've had this year, it's been, I think very rewarding, but also very challenging season.

Q. Obviously you guys had Senior Night, but typically you guys host some games here in Maples. So for this quartet that you have, the Funky Four, with tomorrow being their last game here, can you kind of talk about what that group has meant to you in their time on campus and all that you guys have gone through?

TARA VANDERVEER: Yeah, we have been roller coaster journey. As a freshmen group we had a great season, but it was stopped by the pandemic. So they never got to play. Haley was hurt that year. We finished second behind Oregon, which could have been a national championship team. I think it was a possible, it was a possible Elite 8, Final Four team. But no tournament. So then the next year we come back and win a national championship. And the only team in history of men's or women's basketball to win by one point in the semi-final and final game. Then last year obviously going to the Final Four, going undefeated in the PAC 12. Just, they're a group of the four of them are very close, they really enjoy playing with each other and they enjoy hanging out with each other. They have been through a lot together, whether it's a pandemic or just some of the challenges of being healthy. But I think they're, they will be, I think they will be life-long friends. What else can you ask for as a coach, if you're coaching people that they really love each other, they play hard for each other, I think it's a great thing.

Q. I want to get your thoughts on Lauren Betts and just the growth that she has shown from when she first stepped on campus to now. Just what's been the biggest key to her growth and development. Because a lot of bigs, as you know, it takes time for them to develop. She's done a great job. What's been the key to her development and progression throughout the year?

TARA VANDERVEER: I think that's a great question. The key to her development has been the people she practices against every day. She plays against All-American Cameron Brink every day. She doesn't always like it. But she plays against Ashton, plays against Fran, Kike. And those are the people that I think they encourage her, but they challenge her. They go at each other. And in a good way. But she understands that. I think that that's, it's a lot easier intellectually to understand that than to really do it. But she could be starting on another basketball team. She could be playing a lot more and maybe even putting up bigger numbers. But a lot of her development is happening in practice. I think she's doing a great job. She came in last night and I thought played really well and we are going to need her to play well tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you.