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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 23, 2015

Bobbie Kelsey

Madison, Wisconsin

THE MODERATOR: The Women's Basketball Head Coach Bobbie Kelsey is here, and we will have opening comments and take some questions.

COACH KELSEY: We took a hit last night. We played a great Dayton team that went to, I belive, the Elite Eight last year. They have a lot of pieces back, and we did not play our best game. Our turnovers, again, were our nemesis, and we got two or three people with the majority of the turnovers, so we're going to fix that. We're going to get that addressed, and we look forward to going to San Diego for Thanksgiving. I'll take questions if you have any.

Q. What is the source of the turnover issue and how do you go about fixing that?
COACH KELSEY: It's hard because you don't have a deep bench, so it's hard to sit those down who maybe need to get their attention that way. Like I said, the previous game, the Drake game was two people with half the turnovers, so it's not the whole team. Traveling, rushing, picking up your dribble and not knowing what to do with it, not having a plan. This last game we had three people with half the turnovers, so it's just really frustrating for me, because you're trying to figure out what will help them, but in those moments in the game I can't go out there and say, okay, keep your left foot down, you know, you just have to do it.

It's seniors that are doing it, it's not freshmen, it's not sophomores, so they have to look at that and really address it as something -- this is something we have to really concentrate on. If I had the answer, Dennis, I would tell you, but we're going to find it, and we're going to get it fixed.

Q. I know you would like to give up fewer points as soon as possible. This is a work in progress what you're doing defensively, isn't it?
COACH CHRYST: It is, it is a work in progress, but I don't like to have excuses as reasons. We did a great job on their key player, Dean, from last night; she only hit 8 points. We took some things away that we really wanted to focus on, but when you are turning the basketball over, you're not helping your defense, you're actually hurting it. They weren't all live ball turnovers, those are the ones where they happen kind of at the top, and you are just chasing somebody, but they scored off of them. They're a very efficient team, very well coached. I have a lot of respect for Coach Jabir, over there, and what he's done in his time at Dayton, and we need to try to duplicate some of the things we see them doing.

You know, if you left them open, they were going to hit that shot. We had our open looks. I think Tessa did a nice job, Cayla coming off -- I mean, we had some sparks. We had some young ones that really did a good job. I thought Chelle Marble came in and gave us some solid minutes. We just need everyone playing well at the same time, and we need our upper classmen to lead, not just with talk but with action. That means not turning the basketball over, leading the young ones, and being the seniors that we know they can be.

Q. One of the things you didn't seem to have to worry about or wouldn't think that you would worry about is Nicole, who has been as good of a shooter as there is around --
COACH KELSEY: Sure.

Q. -- and she has had three bad games in a row. Is there a thread to that?
COACH KELSEY: You know what? I'm not sure. I'm going to have a conversation with her. You try to let shooters kinda -- she has always worked it. That's why she is at the point that she is now, but it's just one of those things where she is really in a slump. Some of it is because she is pressing a little bit, because she knows that's what the team needs, and that's her role for us, is to score, but I think she is pressing trying to get the three when she has pull-ups.

And sometimes you just gotta get a little closer and then work your way back out and not take contested three's. You know, they were right on her, of course she is not going to be open. So some of it is they're paying a lot of attention to her, and when she is coming off the screens, they're not just going to just let her catch the ball and shoot it.

And some of it is she doesn't have the threats that she had last year. Jacki was a threat, Brown could hit the three. Those players aren't there anymore, so that consistency is gone, and they don't have to worry about two of them, two more people necessarily. Cayla's shot is coming along, Tessa will hit a -- but it's not like that consistent, oh, we gotta get her, too, kind of defensively mentality. Some of that is she is getting locked up a little bit more, and they're not letting her get that shot off, but Nicole, she is finding ways to get it off. She only had four attempts last night; she needs to get more. If Kayla can get 15, you can find a couple more, you know, you just have to be hungry for the ball and go get it. There's ways to get it, all boards, transition, you know, so I think once we point those things out to her, she will be fine.

Q. Taking it you're leaving Wednesday. What are the Thanksgiving plans in San Diego?
COACH KELSEY: Well we always try to have a dinner together, and the parents are certainly encouraged to come and say what we're thankful for. We play the games. The football, the basketballs, the volleyballs, but at the end of the day, they're human beings. They're young people. They have families and lives and we try to focus on what we're grateful for. No one likes to lose, we don't like it, obviously no one likes it, but that's not life and death. It's not -- I've been a career person, not playing basketball, for 20 years. They're going to be in their lives longer than they're going to be basketball players, but we do want to perform well and do what we're supposed to do, so we want to go out there and have a good showing and win our games. We want to win two games out there, and we're very capable of doing that when we play the right way.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Coach? Thanks, Bobbie.

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