NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS COLORADO

March 18, 2023

JR Payne

Frida Formann

Jaylyn Sherrod

Cameron Indoor Stadium

Colorado Buffaloes

Media Conference

Colorado, 82 - Middle Tennessee St., 60.

THE MODERATOR: Good evening, joining us from Colorado tonight, head coach, JR Payne, and student-athletes, Frida Formann and Jaylyn Sherrod. We will start with a short opening statement from coach Payne, and then questions for the athletes, and release them back to their teammates in the locker room.

JR PAYNE: I will start by saying how proud I am of our team for playing great basketball, against a really good, tough, gritty team. We talked earlier about the fact that, at this point of the season, it doesn't matter what your seed is, it doesn't matter what color uniform you are wearing, every single team is tough. The team that will come out on top this time of the year is the team that does them better. I thought we did a great job. Our upperclassmen did a really great job refocusing us all week on who we are, what we are about, and what success looks like for this ball club. I think it was on full display for probably close to 40 minutes tonight. So, really proud of the team today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes, please.

Q. Frida, you guys, these are the most three-pointers you hit in 11 years, 13 threes. You are not a big free throw shooting team. How did that come about, firing and hitting like you were? You personally, and the team in general?

FRIDA FORMANN: I think it was the way they played us. We just found our shooters wide open. Even though it wasn't something we have done before, if that is what they are giving us, we were good at taking advantage of it today. As Jaylyn said, people said it was a shooter's gym, maybe that is just it.

Q. With that, I will ask Jaylyn this. When Tay hits two threes in a row, you know you guys are going to be on. It was a pretty sluggish game, to come out. Then she hits two in a row. Did that maybe loosen the team up a bit?

JAYLYN SHERROD: Yes. I think, feeding off what Frida said, relating it to Tay, I think we all came out with a just sense of confidence. A sense of confidence in being about to shoot the three. We don't really shoot the threes outside of Frida and Jada. I think we work on it every day. Everybody on the team is working on their game. That is something that we came in with confidence. I think everybody played with a level of confidence today that resembles the work we put in up to this point.

Q. For Jaylyn. I know you are focused on the tournament. You are in the middle of it. You have a game coming up in two days. Have you given any thought to what you might be doing with the fifth year, Covid year, as a possibility?

JAYLYN SHERROD: No, I haven't decided yet.

Q. This is for both of you guys. Both of you felt the disappointment of losing to Creighton in the first round last year. Describe your emotions now, a year later, exactly to the date.

THE MODERATOR: Jaylyn first, then Frida, please.

JAYLYN SHERROD: I think it gave another chip to put on our shoulders. We are a team that feeds off of that. I told the team before the game, you have an opportunity to earn more respect tonight. There are a lot of people who still have a question mark against Colorado. It was an opportunity for us to answer questions that people may have about our team, and people may not know about our team. That was just my mentality, what I told the team before the game.

FRIDA FORMANN: Yes, same as Jaylyn said. When you have been here before and lost, never take that opportunity for granted. We just came in here really focused and ready to play.

Q. It may be the same answer, Jaylyn, on Sunday, you were not happy you got a six seed, you were hoping for something better. Many experts were saying this was the upset, Middle Tennessee. Did you guys hear all that? Did it fuel you?

JAYLYN SHERROD: I can't speak on the team, I keep a mental note of just like being an underdog. That is who I am. That is what I have always been. That is what I bring to the team, the energy and fire from being the underdog. I want to give as much to the team in that aspect. Everybody may not feed off of that. I bring energy to the team. That was my job for the week.

Q. Frida, the first tournament win for CU in 20 years, how good does it feel to finally get the team over the next step?

FRIDA FORMANN: It feels great. I want to do this for my teammates and my coaches. We worked so hard to get here. And I am glad we are back on this stage, finally.

Q. You guys focused on rebounding throughout the season. 43-29 tonight. Talk about your effort on the glass and getting extra possessions.

JAYLYN SHERROD: That was a real focal point of the game plan. We knew Middle Tennessee crashed the boards really hard. They are good at crashing the glass. We wanted to take away what they do well.

Q. What made you and your teammates think this was a good shooting environment? You mentioned that before.

THE MODERATOR: Jaylyn, you want to answer that?

JAYLYN SHERROD: I didn't know what a shooter's gym was, because I am not a shooter. They told me what it was. They said it had good lighting, it was small, depth perception. Once they told me that, I was like, okay. Let it fly. I think everybody else took that on, too.

THE MODERATOR: As the shooter, Frida, do you want to answer that question?

FRIDA FORMANN: Yeah, I didn't know either. When people said it, I said, that makes sense. Once someone said it, it boosts your confidence more. Well, it is a shooter's gym, this is where I should shoot. Yes.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the student athletes?

JR PAYNE: I think Jaylyn's exact words were, if it is shooter's gym, I am going to let it fly.

JAYLYN SHERROD: Why not?

THE MODERATOR: Girls, you are free to go back to the locker room. Congratulations. You are welcome to stay if you want, to keep her company. We will open it up for questions for coach Payne.

Q. Same question as the players, first time out of the first round in 20 years, what's it feel like?

JR PAYNE: It feels incredible. This entire year has been incredible, though. I said in postgame press conferences, I freaking love my team. I absolutely love them. They work hard, they are selfless, they celebrate each other. Every opportunity that I have to get to be with these guys and then to win a game, it is a blessing. An absolute blessing. I am super excited. When I left the hotel, I was looking around thinking, man, I hope I am happy when I get back here. I definitely will be. So, excited.

Q. You played a lot of good games this year, that is why you are here. To play like this in this environment, had you seen your team be this dominant for 40 minutes this year?

JR PAYNE: I thought one of the best games we played was at Marquette before Christmas. A full 40 minute game. We were great on the glass, we shot well, defended, and we were locked in to game plan for this week. I think having several days to prepare for a new opponent. We have a smart, academic team. They take the scouting reports seriously. After a day or two, they understood their opponent. Then we kind of flipped it back to us again. We know who they are. This is who we need to be. Continued to build on our strengths. Today was the best shoot-around we had all year. Our energy, our focus, I think it is right where it needs to be at this time of year.

Q. With Middle Tennessee, two of their keys were three-point shooting and they shoot a ton of free throws. They shot seven free throws tonight, and obviously, didn't hit their threes. How key it was to keep them off the line and also, get a hand in their face at the arc?

JR PAYNE: Both important, with rebounding, as Jaylyn said, they are really good on the offensive glass. We really talked about keeping them off the free throw line. Move your feet. Keep your nose on the ball, cut them off with your chest, don't reach, no silly fouls, things like that. Again, I think our team absolutely executed the game plan.

Q. With the three-point shooting, was that something you guys knew coming in was going to be open or just evolved during the game and let it roll?

JR PAYNE: We will go with what they said. It is a shooter's gym, we let it fly. In all seriousness, they are one of the best defensive teams in the country. We tried to downplay it a little bit for our team. You don't want them overthinking. They are very stingy. Open looks are hard to come by against Middle Tennessee. Maybe sort of the selfless nature of our group, like nobody cares who gets the shine or who gets to shoot the shot. The fact that we can make the extra pass, share the ball, and play inside out, helped to open up some of those looks.

Q. Typically, you don't show too much emotion on the bench. Kindyll hits the buzzer beater. You are out there ten feet on the court. Talk about what that moment was, and the excitement really around this whole moment as a program.

JR PAYNE: I think you hit the nail on the head. Overall excitement. We are just so happy with how we are playing, who we are, what we are about. So, even to Kindyll, that shot is not just a shot. Kindyll is someone who worked extremely hard. How many did she hit, two? Even to take six threes for Kindyll is a big deal. We are always telling her to shoot the ball. Shoot the ball. For her to step up with confidence. It was a beautiful play. We penetrated, kicked back, and made the extra pass. For her to shoot that with confidence, I thought it was huge for her and for us.

Q. A lot of times to win games like this you need role players to step up. Talk about Tameiya and Bri, who were both huge tonight.

JR PAYNE: I think we have tremendous depth. Tameiya said before the game, don't worry, I will get eight rebounds tonight. She was locked in. I think she ended with six. I thought Tameiya's ability to score the ball, shoot with confidence, look to attack people's feet, I thought she did a great job with that. And Bri McLeod was phenomenal. I talked to her before the game, and I said, here are a couple of things you can do, I don't think anybody else on the team can do for us tonight. If you do this, it will help us win this ball game. She did. She was aggressive, she rebounded, kept her poise under pressure, things like that. Tremendous effort from both of them.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for JR Payne?

JR PAYNE: Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.