NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - DRAKE VS LOUISVILLE

March 18, 2023

Allison Pohlman

Grace Berg

Maggie Bair

Moody Center

Drake Bulldogs

Media Conference

Louisville 83, Drake 81.

ALLISON POHLMAN: Yeah, I would just like to say, you know, thank you to Austin. We have had a phenomenal first-class experience here at the NCAA Tournament and as far as the game goes, really, really proud of the 12 women opponent our team. I do agree with Barb here, I think it was a hard-fought, I thought we were very, very competitive.

I thought we stayed very composed as the game went on and in these situations, details, details, they matter. A couple more layups here and there, one more offensive rebound, one more defensive rebound, a couple more free throws, those sorts of situations, in the tournament, he everybody you play is very, very talented. We did come up a little bit short but I'm proud to say that I love Drake University and I love the women that are in our locker room.

Q. Grace how did they make it tougher in the third quarter? Seemed like in the first half you had a lay-up line on back door plays. What did they do to adjust?

GRACE BERG: I think on defense, they tried to deny reversals and made it hard for us to get those. Just getting the flow of our offense. They were a really well-coached team, good players, and yeah, we just came up a little bit short. But proud of us.

Q. Maggie, that had to be tough for you finishing up like this. Have you thought yet about whether you're coming back so you could get another year?

MAGGIE BAIR: Yeah, sorry, I'm a crier.

But yeah, I don't know. Very disappointed in myself but really, really proud of my teammates. I think it shows the kind of system that we run that any five people on the court are going to be scoring. We have a lot of threats. I will not be coming back next year but that's just a choice that has nothing to do with anybody or anything at Drake. I just think I'm ready for a new chapter. But I wouldn't trade any part of my four years here, and no other group of people I'd rather be a part of.

Q. What did they do, because you guys, seemed like it was pretty easy early on and they were kind of frustrated with your offense. Did they make some major change or something in that third quarter when they slowed you down?

GRACE BERG: I think they are just a very physical, aggressive team. Maybe a couple times we didn't go and make our passes. But just reflecting on our game, I think we still played a great 40 minutes. Again, came up, we want a couple possessions back but I wouldn't trade anything this, for the world. I would do this ten out of ten times.

Q. You said you were proud of how they played against a higher seed. What changed in that second half that they just seemed to --

ALLISON POHLMAN: Sure. I think it's interesting, and again, perception, you know, is reality. I actually think it was more the first half. In all honesty, we had 14 turnovers in the first half, so I think their pressure is just getting used to, again, style of play and what they were doing. They were trapping us. They were pressing us, things of that nature. So I would actually say the 14 turnovers in the first half was more of a game changer for our squad. We only had five turnovers in the second half.

So the third quarter, yeah, they beat us by two and they ran a baseline play to get a 15-footer. So in our defense, in our matchup, those are the types of shots that we typically give up.

So I wouldn't necessarily say it was anything changing in the second half. I do think, you know, a little bit in the second half, we probably shot the three just a little bit more than the layups you're alluding to that we got as far as the back cuts and curls and things of that nature.

I do think they were able to settle in probably just a little bit and think more paint in the -- in the first half -- or, I'm sorry, more exterior in the first half and then a little bit more coverage in the paint because we really did. We were able to cut and to get a few wide open looks, which then, again, the wide-open threes that we were able to get and take advantage of, you know, we did shoot the ball pretty well from three. I would take that any day, 47 percent from three on 8 from 17.

Yeah, so hopefully that sums up or answers your question.

Q. A lot happened in the last few minutes of that game. Could you specifically talk about the play out of the second time-out that they got the basket, Van Lith breaking to the basket and got wide open, what happened there? And then also, at the end did you think they would foul with three seconds to go, you had to prepare for both, and what did you think they might do?

ALLISON POHLMAN: To answer your first question, it was not our thought process the second time-out for her to cut to the basket and for them to score and us foul her. No, that was not our plan by any means.

The first time we got her cutting high, away from the basket, the second time, she just shook us loose. I mean, clearly you've got a young lady who, what, scored nine or seven in the first half and 19 in the second half.

Did she rise to the occasion? I think so. However she was challenged at halftime. They might want to do that to start the game maybe on Monday.

But as far as your second question, was it a school of thought? No, it really wasn't. We were running a baseline out. But honestly, you know, to miss the second one, I thought Anna did a nice job of really stepping up. I was really proud of her to hit the first shot. She missed it really well. We just didn't come up with it. No, it was not something that we had thought about going into it. So again, hopefully that answers your question.