	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: WACO

March 24, 2019

Lindsay Gottlieb

Waco, Texas

LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Thanks for being here. Appreciate the coverage. We're certainly excited to still be dancing. It's the best time of year. We know it's a huge challenge in front of us playing Baylor. They're the No. 1 overall seed for a reason. The job that Coach Kim has done with this team is remarkable, and it's a big task in front of us. But at the same time, I don't think I'd be doing my job and I don't think we'd be doing our -- playing our role as a basketball team if we didn't believe that we could come in here and win, and our players are locked in and they're focused. We had a good practice, and we'll take our shot against a great, great team tomorrow. We're looking forward to it.

Q. You mentioned them being the No. 1 overall seed and yet you guys match up with them in a lot of ways, sort of favor each other in a lot of ways. Is that exciting for you as a coach, to be so similar to a team that's the No. 1 in the country?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: I think any time you see the match-up in front of you, you watch film and you look for ways to find how you could potentially be successful.

The fact that their size is their dominating characteristic and that we have good size and good interior play is -- we say, okay, let's look at what we can do to be successful. I don't know that anyone looks at a Baylor match-up and gets excited about the match-up because of how good they are, but I think we have a confidence about us because maybe we're more dangerous than our seed in the sense that we have some players, Kristine included, and the rest of size that can match up. But it may come down to perimeter play, if we're able to kind of match up a little bit better inside than some teams do.

Q. You talked a little bit about that inside match-up there, but is it exciting just to see two or three great post players just have a chance to go at each other down near the basket there?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Yeah, I think it's unique. I think there will be a lot of eyes from WNBA coaches on this game, that kind of thing. I think you're looking at a couple first-round draft picks, and I think from a women's basketball excitement standpoint, for sure.

We're looking at it just as Cal versus Baylor and how do we figure out a game plan that gives us a shot to beat a great team. So the opportunity to play in the second round no matter who the match-up would be would be exciting, but obviously your eyes go to Kalani and Kristine, the front court. But like I said, it may come down to the play of everybody else, and we're just looking forward to competing against a great team.

Q. You watched the game last night, obviously, Abilene Christian. Did you see anything in that game that surprised you or stuck out to you?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: I mean, not surprised at all because I watched so much on film, but to see them come in with waves and waves of players that don't get all the attention and all the minutes and yet they're still -- I think that's what's so eye popping. They're just All-American after All-American coming off the bench at every spot. I think also just seeing them in person, the size and the length and how hard they play is really impressive, and they have an incredible team, and it's not just one or two people. Obviously there's a lot of attention around Cox and Kalani, but they can come -- like I said, roll in players off the bench.

Also, the other thing that stands out is what a wonderful atmosphere it is here. The place was crowded for our game. Appreciate good basketball fans, and I think the Baylor fans came out to see a really 8-9 match-up and then obviously it really filled up, I think, how loud it was. I was in here doing some media when the game started and you could hear the crowd. Those are the things that stand out live. Most of the stuff I had seen on film.

Q. You were obviously here two years ago and faced Baylor in the second round there, as well. How different is this year's team for you guys than it was two years ago?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Our team? Yeah. I think we shoot the ball a lot better. I think we've turned ourselves into -- used to be Cal was kind of like maybe athletic players into post play, but the knock was we couldn't shoot it, but now I think we shoot it extremely well and we have for about the last half of the season. That's a difference. And also just our veteran leadership. We were very, very young when we came the last time, and I think that's a huge difference, just players having been here before, having gone through a lot of different experiences in the life of a basketball player.

Q. Yesterday North Carolina sort of threw the first punch and got you guys down by 12, I think, and then I feel like I noticed that there was a lot more communication on the floor with your kids, especially coming from ReceÃ©. Is that something by design? Is that something you needed to get them to do starting at that point?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Yeah, I mean, ReceÃ© is -- she's an elite communicator, an elite leader. She has been since I've known her with the USA Basketball team when she was 16, 17 years old. She's really special in that regard.

I think for our entire team, though, they did throw the first punch, and they're a great scoring team. They came out, we weren't getting any stops. We were having a little trouble scoring, and I think at that point you can't just flip a switch and score 12 straight points. You have to change something that will then ultimately change the flow of the game, and for us it was our demeanor and our communication, and I do think that often starts with ReceÃ© on our team. But I think we really did a nice job of kind of locking in and doing a much better job after that first quarter, and it starts with that communication and leadership, I think.

Q. Kim talked about not letting the unexpected happen, not letting a player maybe beat you that shouldn't beat you, that kind of thing. Is there anybody on Baylor or maybe a part -- you mentioned the perimeter. Is that something like you can't let their perimeter beat you, or what's an unexpected thing against Baylor?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Yeah, you know, you obviously -- in some ways, you want to try and make a team have to beat you with something they're uncomfortable with, right, like you can't let them -- look, they're proven what they do well is 31 wins and one loss, right, you have to try and make them win in a way that they're not completely comfortable. But I would say for them, I always think Melissa Smith is a big X factor for them. Gosh, the kid is so good. Is only coming off the bench because they have two incredible other post players, but I think she's an X factor for them because when she comes in and plays like an All-American, that just puts them at a whole 'nother level, so I think we have to not relax if one of the two starting post players gets a breather. I would say she's a huge X factor for them.

Q. Lauren Cox compared your size with Stanford's, the only team that Baylor has lost to. Do you think playing in the Big 12, how has that helped prepare you for this game?
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB: Yeah, the Pac-12, I think the Pac-12 prepares us as well as we can possibly be prepared. I think that the game plans of coaches like Tara VanDerveer and Scott Rueck and Charlie and UCLA's pressure, we've seen all kinds of different defenses, and I think our players are -- they understand kind of what tournament play feels like before you're in the tournament because that's what every night is like in the Pac-12, so we've seen a lot of different defenses. We can learn from other people's defenses. We can learn what they've done against us and other people, so I do think having seen size and aggression -- no one is Baylor's front court. There's just nobody in the country like them, which is why they are where they are, but I do think we have faced all kinds of defenses against us and we have faced all kinds of teams, and clearly you point to Stanford as having played them three times, has given us a lot of knowledge that a lot of teams don't get.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297