NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - COLORADO VS IOWA

March 30, 2024

Quay Miller

JR Payne

Jaylyn Sherrod

Times Union Center

Colorado Buffaloes

Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference

Iowa 89, Colorado 68

JR PAYNE: I would just like to start by saying how unbelievably proud of our team that I am for the season that we had and for the women that they are and for the leaders that they are and the way that they contribute not only to our basketball program but to our community, and honestly every single person that they come into contact with. They're incredible young women. I'm so proud to be their coach, proud of everything that they've accomplished on and off the court.

As I told them, it was an incredible season that was not defined by this one game. Really proud of the season that we had and excited to see what some of these seniors are going to do and excited for where our program is headed.

Q. For both of you, this is probably never a good feeling, no matter what round it is, but to have it come here and be your last game and to have it be such a dominating effort by Iowa, how tough was that to deal with all those different things?

JAYLYN SHERROD: I mean, yeah, it is tough. You never want to go out like that.

But there was some things that we can all look back at it now and say there was some things we could have done better. But at the end of the day, I'm proud of this team, proud of how we came out. No quit whatsoever in this ballclub. There's always things to be critical of after a loss, but it is what it is.

Q. Jaylyn, trying to defend Caitlin Clark, now that you've gone through it, game speed and everything, what stands out to you about the difficulty in defending her?

JAYLYN SHERROD: I mean, she can shoot it from anywhere on the floor. It's kind of just like pick your poison almost. But she had 29, so that's two less than her average.

QUAY MILLER: Man, we locked her up. (Laughter).

Q. Jaylyn, while she had 29, she also had 15 assists. How much harder does it make when she's getting her teammates involved like she was tonight?

JAYLYN SHERROD: Yeah, that's the part that I would say is the hard piece is that she got everybody else involved. It just speaks to the type of player she is. She's unselfish and she got everybody else going. I think they had four players in double figures -- five. That's just tough when everybody else is hitting, too.

Q. For Quay, they got some other players involved very early in this game, kind of set the tone for them. How much more difficult does that make it when they've got everybody rolling like that?

QUAY MILLER: Yeah, like Jaylyn said it's just difficult when you have a player like Caitlin facilitating and getting hers. You've got to take away one or the other.

Q. The coach said that this game shouldn't define your season, so I'll let you two have the floor. If you could share one of the most memorable moments of your season, whether it be on the basketball court or off the basketball court.

QUAY MILLER: Most memorable? I don't know because I have a bad memory. But as I just go back and think about the season, I don't know, like I enjoyed all of our moments just because now that it's over, it's like damn, I want to go back to that moment or even that argument or that disconnect.

I just enjoy playing for CU.

JAYLYN SHERROD: For me, I think it'll be the moment that my teammates called me up to the standard and tell me to realize that my energy impacts them no matter what. It really helped me be a leader and really understand that I have to always have to kind of adjust and be in the right head space because my teammates need me at all times.

Q. As you have now played your last college game, your thoughts on, obviously you wanted to get further than this, but the fact that you helped this team get back to Sweet 16s two years in a row. Have you had any time to reflect on how awesome the last two years have been?

JAYLYN SHERROD: I think for me, realizing that I came here and they took a chance on me and I took a chance on them really means a lot. Being told your whole life you're too small, you can't play on this level, you're not good enough, and just coming out here -- at the end of the day, yeah, we lost, but nobody can take away these past five years for me. Nobody can take away what I've done, what this team has done.

It sucks at the end of the day, but nobody can take this away from me, regardless of the criticism you get after this game or throughout the season. I just think that -- yeah.

Q. How tough is Caitlin to scheme for because she's such a good scorer and such a good passer that you pick your poison, which one you want to focus on more?

JR PAYNE: Yeah, you hit the nail on the head and Jaylyn said it, too. It's one thing to guard a great scorer, it's another thing to guard the leading assist getter in America, as well. That's what I think makes her so deadly is not just the scoring, which in and of itself is pretty incredible, but it's the ability to -- if you can stunt that or stilt that a little bit, she's going to find the person that's open.

Q. Jaylyn mentioned just what these five years have meant to her, and I'm curious if you could say what they've meant to you and how she's transformed the program in her time here both on and off the court.

JR PAYNE: See, I was up here to hold their hand while they were crying and then they left me.

Yeah, there really are no words to describe the impact that Jaylyn, Quay, Maddie, Charlotte, Sophie, all of our seniors have had on this program. The coolest thing about it, I was saying to Jay and Quay, is just a lot of people talk about family in their programs, and sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't, but these guys are family forever.

In 20 years when they're going through something, we'll be the first ones that they call for support. When I'm going through something 10 years from now, they'll be the first ones that I call. That relationship is what makes what we do so special. The basketball is just the fun part.

But the things that we have last forever, and no, I have no words to describe exactly what that means.

Q. You start the season with a great win over LSU, end it with a loss to Iowa. Obviously you'd rather be playing on Iowa, but will you take some interest on Monday, the matchup of the National Championship game --

JR PAYNE: Oh, sure, I think everybody that loves the game of basketball will be tuned into that matchup. I think it'll be a great game, two of the best teams in the country. Excited that we got a chance to play both this year because I also think we're one of the best teams in the country.

So yeah, we'll be tuned in. We won't necessarily care who wins, but we'll be excited for a great game.

Q. I know that game didn't obviously go the way you wanted it to, but could you reflect on what it means to be playing your last game in the Pac-12 and what that conference has meant to you over the years?

JR PAYNE: Yeah, the Pac-12 has been everything to a lot of us. It's had the moniker of conference of champions for many years, and I think it's the perfect name for such a great conference where there have been so many champions in so many sports.

We're really sad that it's over. I know Oregon State will keep carrying the torch for hopefully another couple rounds. We'll be cheering for them all the way.

But yeah, really sad that it's over. But proud of everything that we've accomplished as a conference and proud to have been a member for so long. We'll be excited to dive into the Big 12 pretty soon.

Q. Maybe the NC State game was the only one that you guys were out of. Did it feel helpless as a coach today when they're down 20, 25?

JR PAYNE: Yeah, helpless might be the right word, only because we were trying so many different things and nothing really seemed to stem the tide.

But as we all saw, our team is built on toughness and grit, never quit, never stop. We competed the whole night. But yeah, they were just better than us today. I think we're a really great team. I think we could have won. We believed that we would win the game. But they were better than us today.