|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 8, 2014Cait CraftMartina EllerbeKevin McGuffINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA IOWA - 77 THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from coach and then take questions from the student‑athletes. COACH KEVIN MCGUFF: It was a really hard fought game. I think both teams played well, and I'm really proud of our players for the effort they put forth today and through this whole tournament. We had several opportunities in the second half where we could have went away, but we kept fighting and we gave ourselves a chance at the end. And a couple things didn't go our way and but very, very proud of this group, especially our seniors. Any time you take over a job, the thing you wish for most is you inherit great kids. And we have some wonderful young women in this program and it was a real pleasure to coach them this year. THE MODERATOR: Take questions for the student‑athletes, please. Q. Martina, the last shot you got, can you talk us through the play.  Were you the first option? Did it just go to you, did you think you had it in there? MARTINA ELLERBE: The original play broke down a little bit. And Ameryst drove the ball and then coach said if you get it, shoot it. And I got it and I shot it. I wanted it to go in, of course. (Laughter.) Q. For both of you, have you guys you really shot the three well in the first two rounds and it wasn't really there as much in this game, but did they defend you differently or talk about the three being off the third game the third day. CAIT CRAFT: I think that they knew that we had a lot of 3‑point shooters, so they extended their zone and they left the middle a little bit more open. But shots aren't going to fall every day, so it's not an excuse, you just have to find a way to adjust to that. MARTINA ELLERBE: I would say that we adjusted pretty well and I think we stayed very aggressive. But to our credit I think that we put ourselves in a good position at the end of the game, so, but things just didn't really go our way. Q. In those last several minutes, Martina, you're a senior, Darryce is a senior and you each made hugh plays to get back tight in the game. But the emotions of those last few minutes, did you think you were going to get over the hump and just how was it to play in a game like that? MARTINA ELLERBE: Of course we always think that we're going to go over the hump. I think that just, as a competitor, you never think that you're going to lose, you always want to win. I think that everyone on the team thought that we were going to win. We kept fighting. So I would never say that we didn't think we were going to win. Q. Darryce was really big down the stretch, made a lot of plays. It was great to see her really kind of impose her will at times in the game. MARTINA ELLERBE: Yeah, I'm so proud of her. We both have come such a long way and at the end it was like really gutsy. Q. Cait, I asked the Iowa players this as well, but have you ever played in a game where there were two charging calls that were over turned and turned into like a 3‑point play? CAIT CRAFT: I don't think I have. Iowa knew that we were going to take it to the basket and we knew we were. It was a matter of beating each other to the spot. The charge at the end, I was fortunate enough to be there and see that my teammate needed my help. But I don't think I've ever been in a game where it's been overturned like that, no. But the officials are going to do what they're going to do. And I think the officials did a good job of taking their time and figuring out what they were going to call. THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll take questions for coach. Q. Is this tournament something that really to build on for next year and for years to come the way these kids kind of responded? COACH KEVIN MCGUFF: I think so. What I think we can take away from that is I think we took significant steps in just consistently playing hard and imposing our will on the game. Also, I think you saw a little more glimpses of how we want to be from a style standpoint. We were very aggressive, we were up‑tempo, and those are all things that, the direction that we want to move towards and the type of kids that we're recruiting. Q. Did you think that they played with a lot of confidence all three days? COACH KEVIN MCGUFF: Yeah, that was the key. We came out, we were confident, we were ready, we were focused, we were excited to play, we were excited for each other and I think that certainly had a significant impact on our play. Q. Coach Bluder said that she played a defense that she had never played kind of before to keep Ameryst out of the lane. But how much did the fourth foul hurt her offense over the last several minutes? COACH KEVIN MCGUFF: Yeah, it did hurt for sure. When she picked up her fourth foul I think she was a little more hesitant trying to get to the basket. And one of the things, I think overall today, although we shot 51 percent, we weren't as good at being aggressive to generate open shots. Like yesterday we made every shot, but they were all open too. And they were open because our execution and aggressive play was great. We didn't have as much of that today. So we got good shots, but we got better shots the first two games than we got today. Q. Is that because it was the third game in three days? COACH KEVIN MCGUFF: Yeah, with what we're trying to do from a style standpoint and as aggressively as we want them to play and got them to play, it certainly caught up to us a little bit. But to Iowa's credit they were playing the same thing, third game in three days and they really battled through it. So yeah, both teams played really, really hard. They made a couple more plays at the end and that was the difference. Q. Was there any sense even before you left that you would be seeing this kind of performance from them or is it impossible to predict? COACH KEVIN MCGUFF: It's hard to predict, but we just wanted to do the best that we could to prepare in a manner that would get us ready for Northwestern. And we did that. And then coming into the Penn State game we wanted to make sure that we took our best shot at them. And we did that. And then today we wanted to be focused and prepared and we were and we just kind of came up a little bit short. Q. Talk about playing with confidence, is that almost kind of the secret, is that a really important thing that can be hard to really get a team to do as you go forward? COACH KEVIN MCGUFF: It is. Part of, one of the things we battled this year a little bit is with Martina, Cait, even Darryce to some degree, Amy, although they were upperclassmen, they're almost like freshmen, because they never really had a role before. And so like people who have never had to consistently do that, we were a little up and down. And so if they had a bad game, it could lead to two or three in a row, because they had never really experienced that. And so, but I think that here at the end you kind of saw us put it together a little bit more, where everybody played with a sense of confidence and it really worked for us. It's disappointing to lose this game, because we had a real chance. But it was a great game and both teams played really hard. Q. What did you want for the last play? COACH KEVIN MCGUFF: Well, we had, the first thing we were looking at it is in action to get Darryce the ball around the basket. She had really come alive down the stretch and was playing hard, getting great position, finishing. So that was the first thing. I actually think she was open, but it's something that Cait was a little bit ‑‑ you know, rightfully so, trying to make sure we didn't turn it over. I think she could have thrown it, but. And then we had like an action after that, kind of that offense we run and we got a great look. And I'm glad that we got a chance at a three and a chance to win the game and did a great job of drawing two. And they were probably smart stopping her, because she was on her way trying to get to the rim and they stopped her. And she threw a great pass to Martina and she stepped into it and had a wide open look and it didn't go in. And I think the thing you hope for most as a coach is that you get a chance. We got a chance, but it didn't go in. THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you. COACH KEVIN MCGUFF: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|