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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT


March 4, 2020


Terri Williams-Flournoy

Unique Thompson

Daisa Alexander


Nashville, Tennessee

Auburn 77, Vanderbilt 67

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Auburn.

We'll open with a statement from coach, then questions for the student-athletes.

TERRI WILLIAMS-FLOURNOY: I thought my young ladies continued to fight for 40 minutes. We knew it was going to be a tough game. When you play a team three times, it's definitely always going to be a tough game.

We continued even in the first half when we weren't shooting the basketball extremely well, we continued to fight and pick up our defense in the second half, scored out of their turnovers.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Daisa, it looked like you might have been getting a little frustrated early when your shot wasn't falling. What happened later in the game that allowed you to get the confidence?
DAISA ALEXANDER: My teammates, they just kept getting on me, telling that these are shots I could hit in my sleep. They just encouraged me to keep shooting and to start driving.

Q. Unique, it looked like a lot more success started happening in the second half when you started attacking the basket, going right at them, getting to the free-throw line. Was that the game plan coming out of the locker room at halftime?
UNIQUE THOMPSON: Yes, that was a part of the game plan. That was part of the game plan at the beginning, too. In the second half we knew that the shots were going to fall, so we just continued to do so.

Q. Daisa, this is your senior year, so you've done the SEC tournament before. What about playing on the first day, wanting to make sure you keep playing, what is that experience like for you?
DAISA ALEXANDER: It's tough. My sophomore year we played Tennessee. We played our hearts out and we lost at a buzzer-beater at the end. This season is kind of like my sophomore year, I didn't want to go out like that, I wanted to keep playing.

Q. Unique, because Daisa is one of the few senior leaders on your team, what did the team say going into today's game about how important this game was for you guys to really show up?
UNIQUE THOMPSON: We knew it was very important and seeing it didn't go the way we wanted to for Daisa. So we're using the tournament to play for Daisa.

Q. Daisa, they're playing for you. Is that pressure?
DAISA ALEXANDER: No. I love them. I know they have my back regardless.

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thank you.

We'll continue with questions for Coach Flournoy, please.

Q. The game plan was clearly to attack the basket. When you started doing that in the second half, got to the free-throw line and were able to convert some and-one opportunities as well, build that lead in the fourth quarter.
TERRI WILLIAMS-FLOURNOY: We're such a streaky shooting team. If the shots were falling, then we could continue to shoot them. But they weren't falling. We kept emphasizing to let's attack the basket, let's attack the basket, try to get more high-percentage shots, then the shots would fall.

Robyn hit some big threes. Erin also shot the ball well.

Q. For the second straight game, you forced 20-plus turnovers. That's always been an emphasis. At the end of the season, that pressure is starting to pick up for you. What's been the difference?
TERRI WILLIAMS-FLOURNOY: The team has actually started to buy into it. I didn't think early on they really wanted to play defense. I think they didn't want to because they didn't understand what it does for us and who we are. We are a defensive pressing team. That's who we are, that's how we win basketball games. They really had to understand that's what we do.

They didn't want to do it because it's hard work. You got to be in great shape. Pressing for 40 minutes is hard. Nobody wants to deal with it, also.

Q. Arkansas in the second round tomorrow, a team that can obviously score a lot of points. What is going to be key?
TERRI WILLIAMS-FLOURNOY: Totally two different teams. You're playing Vandy today, who was a team that wasn't a great three-point shooting team that we knew could score in the paint. Now you're going to play a team Arkansas tomorrow that that's exactly what they do, is shoot the three. Where we were in tight today, looking forward to expanding that zone out a little bit tomorrow.

Q. In the second half, I think the intent when you went to full court, man-to-man, as opposed to your three-quarter 1-2-2, that was to motivate them to get to moving faster? Great move on your part.
TERRI WILLIAMS-FLOURNOY: Thank you. We did. Sometimes you got to entice them a little bit to play a little bit harder. That's what we did. We just upped the pressure a little bit.

I thought Vandy was very comfortable coming down.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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