BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 7, 2024

Marisa Moseley

Serah Williams

Brooke Schramek

Target Center

Wisconsin Badgers

Postgame Press Conference

Penn State - 80, Wisconsin - 56

THE MODERATOR: Wisconsin press conference will start with opening statement from Coach Moseley. Go ahead.

MARISA MOSELEY: First of all, I just want to give credit to Penn State on a really well played game on their part.

Also, this has been a growing year for our program. I think for us to be able to clinch the 10 seed, that was something we were looking to try to be able to be a little bit higher, obviously, but I have to give kudos to the young lady to my right, Serah Williams. Obviously this year had an incredible year.

And I said to somebody in the media at some point, you don't have that without teammates who put you in the position to be successful like that, but she put in a ton of work and has continued to grow. Kudos to her.

Also, just really grateful for the senior class that we had and all the time and dedication and the trust that they put in me for the last three years that we've been together.

Q. They really kept you in check early on. Didn't create a ton of turnovers out of it, I don't feel like, but just trying to kind of fight through that constant pressure early on. What was so difficult about them keeping you in check the entire like first half really?

SERAH WILLIAMS: I mean, I don't know. I can't -- from what I feel, I don't know what the court view is, but they were very physical. Every possession, I think there was about one or two extra people behind me. Every time I would try to go get a rebound, there's someone in front of me, there's someone behind me. It just made it very hard for me to play the game I play.

That was the goal, right? Good job to Penn State.

Q. Serah, I'm sure it isn't at the forefront of your mind right now, but setting the Big Ten record for consecutive double-doubles is an impressive feat. Beyond the points and rebounds, what are you looking to most improve on heading into next season?

SERAH WILLIAMS: Definitely my passing. I kind of want to play like a mix of Jokic and Anthony Davis. So just being able to move the ball around the court is the next step for me.

Q. Brooke, they shot really well to start. What was it like trying to kind of combat that and kind of work against that early current? I think they got up like four, and it really didn't shrink beyond that. What was going through your guys' heads trying to combat that and find your kind of groove offensively?

BROOKE SCHRAMEK: Yeah, I think right from the start they just came out -- they were hitting their shots, and we on the transition defensive side, we weren't rotating as well. Our communication was a little bit off. If a team sees another team struggling on the transition defensive side, they're going to attack that, and that's what they did.

We had a few runs here and there, but we just couldn't stop their runs. We couldn't match that. We kept trying to fight back, but they were knocking down everything. They were pushing the ball really well and finding us where we were messing up on our transition rotations.

Q. Brooke, as one of the few seniors on the roster, what advice do you have for Serah and Ronnie Porter, who will be assuming veteran status next season?

BROOKE SCHRAMEK: I tell them all the time, have fun every single day. This goes by so fast. It's crazy to me that I'm already a senior. I was talking to Halle and Nat, we started in the dorms together, and look at us now. It goes by really, really fast. Take advantage of every single day you have.

Go to the gym if you can. I always tell my team, hang out with your teammates, even if it's the smallest little thing. Go do what you can with your teammates because one day you're not going to be part of a team anymore, and you're not going to have it.

On the basketball side, just give it everything you've got every single day because it's over in the blink of an eye. It's crazy to me that I'm already done.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Serah, Brooke. You can head back to the locker room.

Q. Coach, what more can be done in their improvement next year for both Serah and Ronnie?

MARISA MOSELEY: I think Serah spoke to it. Obviously the type of scorer and impact player that she is offensively, like being able to pass out of doubles or have more patience when the ball comes in, basically baiting people in and being more of a playmaker out of those, I think is the next step.

Even though she got Defensive Player of the Year, which is an incredible accomplishment, I do think there's even more on that side for her. And she's really worked on her perimeter game. But I think her being able to knock down threes consistently or pick and pop a little bit more so she's not necessarily relegated to the lane, and if it is a really physical game, being able to move around a little bit more.

For Ronnie, I think Ronnie gave us her very, very best this year, consistently becoming a better three-point shooter is going to be something that she will work on, I know for sure. Then decision-making as far as kind of being that floor general and running our team.

Q. Marisa, just got behind the eight ball early, didn't really -- I think you guys had only a dozen turnovers.

MARISA MOSELEY: 13, baker's dozen.

Q. Just what didn't click offensively in your mind, just trying to kind of create something? Was it just kind of against that tide of momentum? Just when you need a bucket and it just doesn't fall, it just kind of mounts and mounts?

MARISA MOSELEY: I felt like we were just a bit rushed and disjointed, like we weren't really kind of playing all five people together on the court today. This wasn't the first game that Serah's been doubled. All year that's happened. I think that people were trying to potentially step up, but it felt like at times we probably played a little bit too much one-on-one or one-on-two.

Being able to move the ball side to side, and like you said, getting behind the eight ball when you're trying to fight from behind. It's a lot easier to play freer when you're up 10, 12 points.

So I think that's really kind of what ended up biting us today.

Q. Brooke mentioned it a little bit, but there are multiple occasions where the defense looked confused, and it resulted in an open Penn State look. What would you have liked to have seen done better by the team on the defensive end?

MARISA MOSELEY: It felt like we really weren't communicating very well. Especially in transition. Like we knew last game that they were able to get open threes in transition. So I think we covered that when they would leak out on the wings. But then in the paint, if our guard was back, which usually your guard's the first to head back, they'd get stuck on a big guy or big guys would come in. There just wasn't that communication that was necessary to play a team like Penn State, who does have a lot of different weapons and were aggressive attacking the rim.

So I think we needed to have much better communication. Then also just being a little bit -- having a little bit more toughness there to battle, if it was a mismatch.

Q. Marisa, I asked Coquese this yesterday as well. Black girls and Black boys got a chance to see two Black women coaching on the sideline in a big tournament like this. How important is it for them to see you and her in these kind of roles?

MARISA MOSELEY: I think there needs to be obviously role models, and as a young person watching, even they're not just young Black men and women, but kids in general, I think in order to see that it's possible to have people of all different walks doing this, then for she and I to have the opportunity to coach at this level and be a role model or potentially inspire a next generation of coaches or leaders, I think it's incredibly important.

Q. You have improved your win total each of the first three years you've been in Madison from 8 to 11 to 13. When you look back on this season in a few days, what will you be most proud of?

MARISA MOSELEY: I think probably the thing that I would be most proud of is that despite how this ended, the steps that we're taking and the way that we're trying to build this and the way that we're trying to help each of the young women on the team become a better version of themselves, that to me is really why you should be doing this.

The wins are -- I love to win, but I can't just be focused on that. So I think just the improvement of them and the challenges that we went through together and the growth that all of us, myself included, had this year.