NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - HOWARD VS SOUTH CAROLINA

March 18, 2022

Ty Grace

Iyanna Warren

Krislyn Marsh

Howard Bison

Media Conference

South Carolina 79, Howard 21

TY GRACE: First I want to congratulate the University of South Carolina and Coach Staley and the team. They did a phenomenal job. I want to say thank you to everyone that supported us in the time we were here and before we even got here, and just say I'm really proud of my team.

Hoped for a different outcome, but obviously they did a great job and now we move on. We made history and we move on now.

Q. I guess what was the message in the locker room? And maybe -- yeah, what was the message in the locker room?

KRISLYN MARSH: Yeah, it was just happiness. Like we made it this far. We're really proud of each other. We made history, and we plan on doing it again next year, being here next year.

This is amazing being here, what we could put on your our school. We made history. Again I have to say it because we made history.

But it was okay. We were just really excited. It's okay.

IYANNA WARREN: Like we said it was an opportunity of a lifetime that not many people, not many teams are able to experience because not many people get to come out and play South Carolina on their own home court.

Like Kris said, we were just happy and excited, grateful for the opportunity, no matter the outcome.

Q. Just defensively throughout, you guys, especially in the first quarter, were not giving them easy looks and giving up a whole bunch of easy baskets. What are you able to take from what you did on the court into next season?

IYANNA WARREN: Like we said before, our coaches, they give us the game plan, and today we truly locked in on it defensively because we know they're a much bigger team.

Out coaches told us to pack the paint. What did we do that first quarter? We did our best to pack that paint and make them beat us from the outside.

So that was the plan, and we really honed in on it.

KRISLYN MARSH: Exactly that. Just forced to execute, and I think we did exactly that. Ewe stuck to it. We did a really good job rotation-wise, and just like Iyanna said, we stuck to it and got it done.

Q. Both of you have talked a lot about the experience this week. What's the biggest takeaway from all of it, just putting a bow on three or four days here before you head back?

KRISLYN MARSH: I would say that we can do it. Like anyone can do it, anyone can make it here. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to here, get those baskets, get those shots, shot opportunities on the biggest stage in NCAA.

It was just amazing. Great opportunity.

IYANNA WARREN: You just want to leave no regret. Like when you go out there, just give everything you got every single time, because you never know when that ball goes up it might be the last time for your season.

Just every give everything you have every single time and just embrace the moment. Don't be scared. Just embrace it all.

Q. You know, can you talk about just how your experience and the MEAC tournament as a whole, what does that say about the conference, and what do you expect from the conference next season?

IYANNA WARREN: Coach Ty just said it. She said we set the standard, and there is no lowering it at this point. It's only from here. When we get back to MEAC play, conference play, we got to keep this same level of intensity, same mindset, and we plan to be back here next year.

KRISLYN MARSH: Definitely going to have Xs on our baks next year, but that is just going to make the MEAC conference even more competitive, which just works in our favor.

We are perfectly capable of being here again next year and we're going to be ready for it.

Q. I know it was not the outcome you wanted, but when you take some time to reflect on what this group accomplished, what will you be most proud of?

IYANNA WARREN: Our fight and our grit, because even from the beginning of the season we have been though so much and fought through so much. Out fight and our grip. We've never laid down for anybody and for anyone, and that showed tonight and it just showed as we been playing throughout the season. We just keep going. We push through everything.

KRISLYN MARSH: Yeah, always compete, always compete, and I'm so proud of us for making this far.

Q. My question is for Iyanna. Being from the area, does that make this extra special for you? The result today of course wasn't what you were looking for, but history, making that next step hopefully for the future, does it make it more special being from the area?

IYANNA WARREN: It does. You know, coming from the DMV and then being able to stay home and go to school in DC is always special just to put on for the city.

It's a dream come true. I've always been a little 5'3" from Accokeek, Maryland, so to be on a stage like this, to put on for my city, it's just a great opportunity.

But all glory be to God, because I wouldn't be here without him, so I'm blessed.

Q. You had a moment with Dawn Staley there in the handshake line. Looked like she was talking to you for a few minutes. Can you take us inside that moment?

TY GRACE: It was just a moment to say hello, just check in, and, you know, tell each other we loved each other and good luck.

Q. Coach, your players talked about how they were able to execute the game plan. Just being able to see them go out and do that against the No. 1 team, what's the next step? Now they're coachable and taking the direction, so what do you need to see to get them to the next level?

TY GRACE: Well, they've all been coachable, always been able to execute game plans. This isn't the first team we played that we tried to scout and tried to take something away.

Like I told you early in the week, that was just something as we prepare we always get ready for, and they did exactly what we ask.

Obviously there were some disadvantages in the paint with the rebounding, but we did a good job. The next step is that we continue to get better and grow from it. Obviously we're going to continue to try to put a standard on our defense and work on our offense, but they did a good job tonight making sure we tried to lock in on what we were trying to take away from South Carolina.

Q. As a whole right now seems like there is a big or more awareness put on HBCUs right now. What does that mean to you to be on this trend of getting that out there and letting people being more aware?

TY GRACE: I mean, I wouldn't like to call it a trend because we've always been the best. We've always been black excellence, so I don't see it as a trend. I just see it as just the opportunity to keep showing people that we're one of the best and we can do it at the highest level.

So I'm glad to be a part of that. I didn't make it, but there will be people after me that are going to continue to do what we did here today.

It's all I can say is we're here and we're going to continue to be here.

Q. You got an opportunity to see a lot of your players in this game. What did you see particularly from your younger players in terms how they handled this moment?

TY GRACE: You know, they're going to compete and fight. They're going to have a will to be on the floor. I wanted to give them that opportunity to be in that type of spotlight so they can see what it feels like, looks like, so when the opportunity comes again they'll definitely be ready.

Obviously they're young. It was the first time. So to be able to step out on the floor and be in front of the bright lights, I think this opportunity will definitely prepare them for the next one. When we get here again, it'll be a different result.

Q. Same question I asked the two players. What's your biggest takeaway from the whole four days here, the experience playing two games on this floor?

TY GRACE: You know, first, I just want to say that I'm just thankful that I had an opportunity to lead this group of young women. It's been a long time since I been at Howard, came into Howard in 2015, and this has always been the plan, what we saw for the vision of the program.

So to be here and see your vision come to life has been amazing. I couldn't ask for it with a different group of people, with a different staff. I'm just very proud, very proud of these student-athletes, and I'm very proud to represent Howard University.

Q. Coach, how big was the win on Wednesday? Do you take that as being a sign that this program is on the way up?

TY GRACE: Absolutely. It was a huge win. It was an NCAA, first time we made history, so I take it for what it was. I'm proud once again.

I think that a lot of people can look at this a different way, but we're going to look at it as it is. We won an NCAA game, which nobody in the history of Howard has done. For that, you can't take that away, not from the loss today or anything else, and we're going to ride that wave.

Q. I know everybody in the DMV is very proud and enjoyed the ride with you. Similar question I asked of the players. When you reflect back, Coach, so many emotions, different layers to your season. What are you most proud of this group of women?

TY GRACE: There was a lot of things that transpired through the season that obviously people don't see. The injuries, the chemistry, the losses, the locker room. Like there is a lot of things during the season.

One thing about my team, no matter what was going on, they stay resilient. We took a lot of Ls, and it's just not on the court.

So when you're not able to see those things from the outside looking in, you just never know. You just see the product we put on the floor, and the product we put on the floor was you saw a group of young women that might fight, that claw, that never give up. They're a second-half team.

So I'm just proud of that. That's what I look back on. They were a resilient group. The season could definitely have went a different direction, like I said, if you know the things that happen behind the scenes.

But they didn't. They never quit. They finally decided that they were going to play for each other and they were going to play for what was on their jersey, and I couldn't ask for anything else from them.

I'm just extremely proud.

Q. Coach, we're all cheering for you.

TY GRACE: Thank you.

Q. Talk to me about the emotions you're feeling and drill down a little bit more about that HBCU, black excellence you spoke about earlier, please?

TY GRACE: Honestly I wasn't sure how I was going to feel, loss, win. I feel calm right now to be kind of honest. I feel calm because I know what we did here. I know what we accomplished to get here.

So I feel calm. I'm still -- I feel proud. I can't keep repeating it enough. These student-athletes have just done some things that I'm amazed by and I'm just happy about.

To represent HBCUs, they have done it at their best. They're going to continue to do it at their best. When people decide about coming to a university, I hope they look at Howard and any other HBCU as the one to attend because you know you can win on that level, you can win here, you can win at an HBCU.

It doesn't matter. Hopefully people realize that and they will know that we compete just as well as anybody else in the country.