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NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: GREENSBOROMarch 30, 2019Lisa BluderHannah StewartMegan GustafsonGreensboro, North Carolina Iowa 79, North Carolina State 61 COACH LISA BLUDER: I'm extremely happy for my team. They have worked so hard. They kept believing. They were positive. It's been a magical year, and we don't want to see it end. Today, they worked so hard out there. Very, very proud of them. We shot the ball well, 24 assists again. That's kind of our game. We shot the ball well from everywhere but I thought our defense was pretty good, as well. Megan today tied the NCAA record for double-doubles in a season with 33, which is impressive. But I want to thank our fans, too. They traveled 913 miles to come watch us play. I know there's a lot watching at home, but 913 miles, that's dedication and we're appreciative of that. Q. Megan, it was fun for us to watch the matchup of the centers. What was it like out there with Cunane? MEGAN GUSTAFSON: It was definitely a really good battle. You know, she's a really great center, and she has got a great career ahead of her. We were both working hard down there. Whenever I saw her along with another teammate doubling it, I was able to hit my guards and they were able to hit after that, so after that I was able to get a little bit open inside and I have to credit my teammates for hitting those shots. Q. For both of you. Can you talk about the benefit and kind of luxury of having such a veteran team and all the seniors in your starting lineup. You looked in sync out there, all of you. Is it as in sync as it looks? MEGAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, it's crucial to have those leaders and veteran players that have been in these kind of situations. We had that postseason run at the Big Ten Championship. And just getting that experience is so important, especially when there's games like this where we're battling for our careers, and it's important to have that calm presence, that experience on the court. HANNAH STEWART: Yeah, we just know each other. You know, we know what each of the guards's strengths are and I think the guards know us really well and we know each other really well. I know where Megan wants the ball on the high-low, and I know even if I don't hit her there, she's going to catch it most of the time. So yeah, I think just having that experience together is a huge advantage. Q. If you do face off against Kalani and Cox, what are your thoughts about that matchup? MEGAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think everyone in the country would look forward to that matchup, especially because they have got a couple of great post players and Hannah have been working extremely hard over the course of our fours year. We're just going to go into it, doesn't matter who we play. We're going to play our hearts out, that's for sure. Q. They cut it to five in the middle of the third quarter; how important was it to get your lead back to double-digits? MEGAN GUSTAFSON: It was really important. They were closing in. They had a little bit of a run, but I think it was Lexi who hit a really big three in the corner and that gave us momentum. You know, we love being able to just share the ball and get a great shot instead of a good shot and that's what we did. You know, honestly we just love playing with each other. We feed off each other's energy and I think that's what kept us going. Q. For both of you. When that run kind of got started for N.C. State they were getting out in transition it seemed like a lot faster and sort of you guys really limited them on that up until that point. Was there an adjustment that you made to stop them or was it just sort of an, all right, everybody get together, we are not putting the effort in, they are getting it leaking out on breaks now. Like how did you guys sort of stop that flow, because it looked like they were on the brink and then you shut it down. MEGAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, so at that point we knew that they were going on a little bit of a run and exactly what you said. We needed to just get back to defensively; they were running on us a little bit and they were kind of doing what we do. So we kind of recognized that and we kind of came together as a team collectively and just thought we need to bring our intensity back and thankfully we were able to do that. HANNAH STEWART: Yeah, when that happens, a lot of times we just come together as a team. We know basketball is a game of runs. We know that, you know, N.C. State is going to try their hardest to fight back just like any team will, and when there was a time-out after that happened, we're like, okay, they had their run and now it's time for us to go back to work again. A lot of their fastbreaks were from our turnovers, so we just tried to cut those down, too. Q. I'll ask you the same question I asked Megan. It was fun for to us watch the matchup of these centers. What was it like from your seat on the bench? COACH LISA BLUDER: Yeah, when you have two post that is good going at each other, you know, it's a battle down there and it's fun to watch. I think we were fortunate we were able to pick up a couple fouls on her and it put her on the bench for a little bit. She played 32 minutes instead of 38 minutes, which is to our benefit. And also, when you pick up those fouls, it makes you a little bit more timid. I think that, you know, Megan said it the best. She's going to be a great player. There's no doubt, she's one of the best coming up in the country as far as posts. Q. Going off that, same question I had, too. If you do, in fact, go forward and it is Kalani and Lauren that you're facing tomorrow, what are your thoughts on that? Does that -- obviously that would be a big story, be really exciting I think for a lot of people. COACH LISA BLUDER: Yeah, it would be exciting. Obviously Baylor is a tremendous team and that's a big part of their game, like it's a big part of our game, so I think it would be a really fun matchup to see. Who knows what's going to happen out there right now, but no matter what it is, I know that Hannah and Megan are going to be stepping up for the challenge. Q. The program's headed back to its first Elite 8 since '93, and this is sort of -- especially making the Sweet 16 a couple of years back, how much are you aware of sort of the fact that you're building something that's kind of returning this program to what it was under Vivian Stringer, and does that play a role or have like a meaning for you that you've taken them back to someplace that they had not been since she left? COACH LISA BLUDER: You know, that's the goal, right, is you always want to take your program as high as you can and make it as good as you can, and this certainly was a step for us. You know, we had not as a coaching staff been to an Elite 8, so it was really important to us, and it was important to our players. We also, I think it's the first team that's ever had 29 wins in a season since that year, as well. At one point in that year, they also went to the Final Four. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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