NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - NORTH CAROLINA VS OHIO STATE

March 20, 2023

Kevin McGuff

Eboni Walker

Jacy Sheldon

Value City Arena

Ohio State Buckeyes

Media Conference

Ohio State - 71, North Carolina - 69

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from Coach.

KEVIN MCGUFF: Yeah, sure. Incredible basketball game. I think both teams played extremely hard. Credit North Carolina with an incredible season. They have a very talented group, and Courtney's done a great job building that program.

So this is a great win for us because it puts us in the Sweet 16, but also just have I so much respect for North Carolina. So we beat a great opponent today.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you. We'll take questions, please.

Q. Drawing up that last play, was that the game plan was get it into Jacy's hands?

KEVIN MCGUFF: Yeah, the plan was to get it in Jacy's hands, for sure. It didn't go exactly the way we wanted it. It got a little fouled up on our timing, and they guarded it well, they guarded the initial action really well. Eboni made a great decision not passing the initial one to Jacy because she really wasn't open. Then we swung the ball back around and got it back in her hands. You know, I told 'em in the locker room, sometimes it's about X's and O's and sometimes it's about having the best player on the court.

Q. Jacy, I know you're going to get it. Do you want to go ahead and comment on the play, then?

JACY SHELDON: Yeah, I think like Coach said, Eboni did a great job kind of -- like he said, it didn't go as planned, and she made a great play there and that's what led to that bucket. So I think keeping our composure in that situation was huge, keeping possession of the ball, and that was all Eboni.

Q. Jacy, to have the year that you had, does that make this moment that much more special?

JACY SHELDON: Yeah, it's always special to win. I think winning's always our top priority, especially in March, I mean, it's hard to win. It's awesome. Winning is fun and we got a group of competitors, so it's extra special for us.

Q. Eboni, for you, when Jacy gets the ball in her hands at the end of the game, how much confidence does that give you that she's going to be able to make a play?

EBONI WALKER: Oh, a hundred percent confidence. Jacy does this day-in and day-out. So we practice a lot of the tough situations so that we're prepared for moments like this when games come. Regardless, if she would have missed it, I would have been there to help her. At the end of the day, we do a great job of having each other's backs and whatever it took to win we was going to do it.

Q. The entire second half of the season you were talking about, we're holding off on bringing Jacy back for the stretch run to have her available for that run there. Is this the big moment you had in mind when you're thinking we're saving her for this?

KEVIN MCGUFF: Yeah, of course. Obviously, she's such a great player and we would want her in every game for as many minutes as possible. But just due to an unfortunate injury we didn't have that.

But I think Jacy and the trainer worked really, really hard to get back and to have a chance to impact us like she's doing down the stretch. I think some good decisions were made from the medical staff and from Jacy and their collaboration to kind of get it right the time that we brought her back, and then kind of -- the Big Ten tournament was awesome to have her there, and then we've just been able to build up her minutes. So awesome to have her back.

Q. Eboni, the performance you had today, is this what you had in mind for yourself when you made the decision to transfer to Ohio State?

EBONI WALKER: Yeah, in a sense, but at the end of the day, it's just playing for the people that I'm surrounded with. They support me in so many different ways other than basketball. Just thinking that I transferred this many times and they took a chance on me, just from that, I knew that I had to give them my very best.

So day-in and day-out I just want to do whatever I can to help my team and help the program and support our fans in a way.

Q. I've been up here a couple times to check you guys out. Straight grind-out game here, came down to the last minute, a lot of emotions, but I see you make that customary walk over to do your radio interview. How did that feel today? And Jacy, how did it feel to come out on top at home in a crazy season of sorts for you guys?

KEVIN MCGUFF: Yeah, it was really exciting at the end. I think that it kind of speaks to -- it was a great walk across the court because we had another incredible crowd. I thought the crowd was, once again, really impactful, especially for a four o'clock tip, for everybody to find a way to get here. So that was really cool to have the crowd there supporting us like they did.

JACY SHELDON: Yeah, I think that it was really special, like he said, being at our home court one more time this year and in March makes it even that much more special. I think sometimes in March, specifically, you got to find a way to win, and that's what we did today and we did it together.

Q. Senior leadership, I know that's big. You have a lot of key seniors, including two right here. You guys kind of had to step up late in the game. Was that kind of an automatic thing or is it more, like you said, just calling plays and stuff like that?

KEVIN MCGUFF: We certainly like the ball in Jacy's hands as much as possible down the stretch and even if it's not a shot for her, she's going to facilitate and make everybody around her better. I'm really proud of Eboni. We've all in the program watched her in practice, in flashes, in games of what she did today, and this was her best game and biggest moment when we needed it the most.

So really happy for her and proud of her because I've been telling her all year -- for a long time, like, You're capable of really impacting us at a high level, and she was awesome tonight.

Q. Eboni, two weeks ago was the point where you started really maybe going hard in practice. Like, what happened two weeks ago? What have you been doing the last couple weeks to prepare you for this week?

EBONI WALKER: I've just been trying to my best to get better every day, but at the end of the day, too, we're in March Madness, the NCAA tournament, and it's win or go home. I think one of our coaches made a comment in the locker room before we started games, like, this is never going to be the same team again, and that just speaks a lot. When you think back to your high school days, that last game, when -- you never know when it's going to be your last game or this may be our last year. So I want to do whatever I can for the people that won't be here next year. I want to make this season special because we have a special team.

Q. We talked about comebacks over the last few weeks and today you guys had, pretty much the whole game were ahead, but had to fend off North Carolina trying to get ahead. How much do you learn about your team in a game like this where you're able to hold them off at the end?

KEVIN MCGUFF: Yeah, we had a chance I thought to really pull away and put the game out of reach, but we got really sloppy with the basketball. We had 21 turnovers today, which is really high for us. Now credit North Carolina's defense, they have got good athletes, quick hands and they do a lot of great stuff. But I was really proud down the stretch. Nobody panicked, we kept executing and digging in to try to get stops. But there was a sense of determination that we were going to find a way to come away with a win.

Q. Was anyone spooked, because you guys had the lead the whole game until two minutes and change, did anyone look at the scoreboard at that point?

JACY SHELDON: No, I think we did a great job in that moment keeping our composure and staying focused on winning. I think, whether we like it or not, we've been down a couple times this year and had to fight back and we've done it. So we've been there before, so we're familiar with that feeling. I think at that moment we just all come together and remained confident and keep the eyes on winning and that's what we did.

KEVIN MCGUFF: I also think that it's a reflection of the leadership in the, probably as importantly the chemistry. Because I think coming down the stretch when mistakes are made, if you don't have a cohesive group there's a lot of finger pointing. But we don't have that. Our kids stay together and I think that gives us the resolve to be able to come away with some of these close wins.

Q. Crazy atmosphere in here. How did that help you guys and how does it feel to get a win in front of the home crowd?

KEVIN MCGUFF: All season our fans have been awesome. We had an incredible crowd the other night against James Madison and then today to have a 4 o'clock tip and to have as many people show up as we did just really speaks to this community and how they support women's athletic, specifically women's basketball. I think people are really taking to this team because of how hard we play. Just the character that you can see of the young women in our program. People are really getting behind us and it's really cool.

Q. Teams always talk about this time of year wanting to play your best basketball in March. With the physical nature of these last couple games do you feel you're also playing your most physical basketball at this point and peaking there?

KEVIN MCGUFF: We're playing really, really hard. We're playing with a lot of passion and a lot of energy and a lot of physicality. I still think we can play better. It's hard to change your team this time of year. I don't think you're going to make significant changes. But I think we can have a week ahead to where we address some things just to be the best version of ourselves when we show up in Seattle.

Q. You guys could potentially have UConn in the next round. Obviously that team has had so much success in March, what are your early thoughts on that in terms of matchup?

KEVIN MCGUFF: If it ends up being them they have obviously got an incredible program and a history of winning at the highest level. And I've watched them some this year and they have had a season sort of like ours, in that injuries have really impacted them. They have had the highest of highs and they have also had a few lows, mostly because of they just haven't had the same team throughout the year. But fortunately for them they're getting way more healthy here down the stretch. So I think if it ends up being them we'll see the best UConn team that they have had this season.

Q. Jacy, obviously your former teammate over there. What would that be like to potentially play against her?

JACY SHELDON: Yeah, that would be really cool. If it ends up being them, that's awesome. They're a really great team, really great program. But we're excited. They got a good group and so do we, so we're up for the challenge. So we're really excited.

THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you.