NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - PORTLAND VS KANSAS STATE

March 21, 2024

Emme Shearer

Kennedy Dickie

Bramlage Coliseum

Portland Pilots

Media Conference

Q. The expectation is this place is going to be close to sold out if not they are going to be rooting for purple but not your purple. What is your expectation of that and as an aside, what's the largest crowd you've played in front of this year?

KENNEDY DICKIE: I'm actually not sure what the largest crowd we played in front of was this year. Probably against Gonzaga at their place or the WCC final.

But we are obviously expected to be the underdog in this and there's going to be a bunch of fans and it's going to be a great environment to be in.

So I think just kind of absorbing all of that and taking in the moment and whether or not they are cheering for us, it's just fun to play in front of that many people and I think it will just be a really great experience for us.

EMME SHEARER: I think like Ken did he said, Gonzaga we played two years in a row. It's been sold out, like 9,000 people. I may be wrong so don't quote me. But yeah even like she said, the WCC Tournament, I think in the final, Gonzaga had all of the men's fans as well. We have a little section that does their job, and they bring a lot of energy.

But like Kennedy said, when you're on the court, you're just worried about what's on the court. I honestly can't hear half the time. Half the time I can't even hear my coaches sometimes. It's just a fun environment to play in. Obviously you would rather they be cheering for you about you I think everyone in purple is going to be a big plus.

Q. On the court, you guys have similar styles, big guards, and a 6-6 post player. Just talk about being prepared for that.

EMME SHEARER: Yeah, I think we have obviously watched a lot of film on them this week, great team. It is kind of hard obviously just to watch film on a team. You get experience by playing them.

But I think having played Oklahoma last year in the first round, another Big 12 team, that gives us a little bit of experience on the physical and pace of play. The physicality last year was a big step up for us.

I think Lucy's has got her work cut out for her, but we all believe that she has the ability to give her best shot and do what she can. And the coaches have given us a great scout and great kind of keys to the game that we need to make sure we take care of to give ourselves the best shot.

KENNEDY DICKIE: Yeah, I would agree. Our coaches have kind of given us all the tools to be prepared for the game and like she said, Lucy does have her work cut out for her.

But we play team defense. And I think with our zone, we can really do some things to mess them up and hopefully we can just compete well with them.

Q. Both Gonzaga and K-State are 4 seeds. You just beat Gonzaga in a one-point game. What did it take to win a game like that? What went well? What put you over the hump?

KENNEDY DICKIE: I think, you know, as we both kind of talked about, our coaches prepare us really well for these games.

And especially during the WCC tournament, I feel like as a team collectively we are really locked into, you know, our defense and our keys to the game and just executing on offense.

I think obviously Kansas State is a really great team, and I think for us to beat them, we need everything to come together and I think we have been preparing for it, and it can definitely happen.

EMME SHEARER: Like she said, we have a little bit of the we have nothing to lose mentality. The Gonzaga game, we lost by 52 the weeks before, so no one was probably betting on us outside of our locker room to come through with that one.

I think we don't really have anything to lose. Going to go out there and give it like our best shot and at the end of the day, we know we are capable of competing and making a competitive game with this team. We are just going to try our best to execute what we've been told to do.