NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - BAYLOR VS HAWAII

March 18, 2022

Laura Beeman

Amy Atwell

Kallin Spiller

Hawaii Warriors

Media Conference

Baylor 89, Hawaii 49

LAURA BEEMAN: First off, want to congratulate Baylor. That's an incredible team. Smith is an amazing player. She's got some great, great players around her. It's going to be fun to see how far they go in this tournament.

Non-basketball related, I just want to thank the NCAA for the quality that they are showing this year on the women's side. It's been amazing the attention these young women have received. So thank you for treating these young women with just a great amount of respect.

As far as today's game, I thought we played well in the first half. I thought we played pretty equal with some silly turnovers and some missed shots. I think we really saw what kind of team Baylor can be in the third period. They kind of took it to us and we could not hit a shot, other than Amy over there.

Proud of this team, the way they represented our state and our university. I could not have asked for a better representation and effort and wonderful attitude. I'm a very, very, very proud head coach today of this group and what they've done.

After you lose a game, the sadness isn't necessarily because of the loss. You have disappointment. It's because you don't get to coach the same team again. This will be the last time this team plays with one another, and that's the hard part in coaching and in losing or finishing your season this way.

Absolutely no regrets, and have thoroughly enjoyed this group and what we've done. I coach for an amazing, amazing university, have amazing support from our administration, our president, and the entire state. Super proud to coach for you guys. These kids are really, really proud to play for the state and just thank you for all the aloha today and throughout this entire tournament.

Q. Amy, despite the outcome, what does it mean to finish your career on this stage and to put together a 29-point, 13 dashboard performance in your final game?

AMY ATWELL: Yeah, definitely means a lot, and it's something I'm definitely going to remember. Obviously the outcome wasn't what we wanted, but this season has kind of been a fairy-tale in itself. It's been everything that I could have asked for. Wasn't the outcome we wanted, but we can hang our heads high on the way we've played this whole year.

Q. Coach talked about it heading into this game that forget about the score, X's and O's, she just wanted this team to represent Hawaii the way Hawaii would want it to be represented, with fight. Do you feel content that you did that tonight?

AMY ATWELL: For the most part, yeah. We had a lot of slippage in our third quarter and that's always going to happen against a great Baylor team. They outplayed us in that third quarter for sure, but I think we can hang our heads high on the way we played for four quarters, and everything we've done to get here.

I know we have a lot of proud people back home.

KALLIN SPILLER: I would definitely agree. I think we all have a lot of pride in the state of Hawaii. Obviously we would have loved to win, we would have loved to go further, but this is the first step for this program getting back to the tournament. We talked about in the locker room maybe getting a 14 seed, a 13 seed next year. So I think the pride is in taking those strides to bring our program up, bringing more recruits in. Hawaii basketball is on the rise, and I think this is the first step.

Q. You guys mentioned the third quarter. What exactly did Baylor do to go up by that much?

KALLIN SPILLER: You know, I think a lot of it was in transition. They definitely ran us a little bit and got back to what they were really good at. We were able to take them out of that, I think, better in the first and second quarter. They definitely jumped on us and I think used their athleticism and height rebounding to their advantage in that third quarter.

Q. Amy, I'm sure you guys watched a lot of film of NaLyssa Smith and the things she's done this season. Third quarter she had 17 points. Was it the same thing you've been seeing on film or was it just her moment kind of thing?

AMY ATWELL: Yeah, she's a hell of a player. All week we were watching clips on her, it was like, we're not going to stop her. She's going to get hers, she's a great player and there's a reason she's at where she's at. We did a great job in the first half holding her and it was almost a matter of time, and we kind of lost the intensity a little bit in the third quarter, but she's a great player and she's always going to get there.

Q. Amy, what, if anything, did Baylor do defensively on you after that 20-point first half?

AMY ATWELL: They definitely tightened up a little bit. I think they switched who was guarding me. I had some of their smaller quicker guards guarding me in the second half, and definitely took away my shot more and had more pressure on me. So there's other things I could have done, but yeah.

Q. Amy, obviously you're leaving, but Kallin, you may or may not stay, who knows. What do you feel like this run did for the program going forward and some of these younger players, and can you speak on what you feel like these younger players have learned from you guys?

AMY ATWELL: I'm not coming back next year, obviously, but this kind of starts the foundation. First time back in the tournament in six years, and that was kind of always my goal of what I'm going to leave behind. Yes, we wanted to reach this tournament this year. But it's for the next four years, it's for every girl that's returning for the next year and this experience and building off of that.

They have an unimaginable ceiling next year, and I'm excited to see what they do and where they go. It's just about laying that foundation.

KALLIN SPILLER: I agree. I think especially with Amy's leadership as our only departing senior, she's done so much for this program. I personally have learned so much from her, and I think she's really inspired the team to get in the gym in the off-season, work hard, improve our physicality, get in the weight room, do so many intangible things that Amy has really brought to the program.

So I think it's not only us older upperclassmen learning from the underclassmen, I've really learned a lot from the underclassmen, as well. I think like she said, our ceiling is really unimaginable for next year, and I'm really excited to see what we're going to be doing.

Q. Amy, if you can remark on your career as a Rainbow Wahine, what has it meant to you to don the jersey and go through your favorite moments?

AMY ATWELL: Six years is a long time to recap on. Just overwhelming pride and joy to represent a whole state and be fortunate enough to wear Hawaii across my chest for six years. Every year I've understood more and more what it really means, and I've had my ups and downs, but overall I've loved every second of my six years and everybody I've met across the time. I kind of made a joke, I'm still in my uniform because I'm not taking it off. Like, you're not getting this back.

But yeah, it's been one hell of a ride, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Q. Talk about that first half. To see those first two shots fall, did you feel it coming out of the locker room that this could be one of those nights?

AMY ATWELL: Yeah, I kind of came out with the mindset of I'm going to go out swinging. This could have potentially and was my last game, so I wasn't going to go out not shooting the ball, which is what I've been known for throughout my career. It was just that mindset coming in. I was like, I'm not going to not shoot the ball if this is going to be the last time I step on the court in a Hawaii jersey.

Q. I was just wondering what your thought was at halftime when you guys were within nine points and then after that, did Baylor come out defending you differently? I think they threw some different players at you.

AMY ATWELL: Yeah, definitely. It was kind of reiterating the same stuff at halftime. We had a pretty good first half and that alone showed that we could stay with one of the top teams in the country when you play Hawaii basketball. We knew they were going to come out in the third quarter and try and extend that lead and punch us and we unfortunately weren't up to the task. We knew they were going to turn up their intensity. There's a reason they're a No. 2 seed. It was just on us whether we could handle that or not.

Q. Amy, just looking back, what has the state of Hawaii meant to you in these last six years?

AMY ATWELL: It's meant a lot. To be able to represent a whole state is just a completely different feeling and something you don't really understand until you get the privilege to do it. I was fortunate enough to get recruited here and I'm so thankful that I made the decision to come to Hawaii and stick it out.

The people back home are one of the biggest reasons we're here. And all our fans and supporters is one of the biggest reasons this program has been so successful this year and will continue to be successful, because we have a whole state behind us, and I think it's the best part about it.

Q. If you could just talk about Amy's impact on this program and at this time now knowing that there's no more basketball at UH for her.

LAURA BEEMAN: I don't think that's hit me yet. I don't know when that will hit me. She's been a part of six of my 10 years, so that's a very long, wonderful relationship, and I have had the privilege of seeing Amy grow from kind of a green-behind-the-ears immature little freshman coming in out of shape. Honestly cried for the first two weeks she was at Hawaii because she was so homesick. Told her, told her parents she's going to be okay. I promise you. There's great things ahead. I did not realize they would be this great but there would be great things ahead for her.

I think Amy has not just left her name behind where it's like, oh, yeah, we know Amy Atwell, she was one of the greats. I think if I can throw a title on it, it's almost like a legacy. I have actually had young girls in the state of Hawaii come to me and say, what number is Amy? That's what I want to be on my travel ball, and which one is Amy? I want her autograph.

I think over time there are now a bunch of young girls that have been able to watch her grow over six years that can say, I want to be her. Not just a Rainbow Wahine, I want to be her. I think that's what Amy has left, overcoming injury, and just the emotional maturity that I have seen in her and everyone has seen in her.

She's a humble, intelligent, well-spoken, just a good kid. So I think that there are a lot of things that she has left, not only just the ability to shoot the ball, but there are a lot of additional things that are so -- just far more important that she has attached her name to.

Q. You talked about Amy playing at the next level. What kind of statement do you think she made tonight putting together the performance she did against a team like Baylor?

LAURA BEEMAN: If she doesn't already have a phone call, I'll be shocked. She should get a look because when you think about it, if Amy has -- say Amy has a post player like NaLyssa Smith around her, how do you come off Amy to go guard her? So Amy is a game plan.

If you put four additional players around that young lady that have their own skill set, Amy puts the ball in the hole.

I think she's going to get some looks. I told her in the locker room, and I've told her this before, wherever her opening game is in the world, if I can fly, I'll be there and watch her play her first pro game. I hope it's in the United States.

Q. Just to go back to the game, you mentioned that third quarter. How frustrating was it when they were hitting shots and was there any way to stop them? What did you see?

LAURA BEEMAN: I thought the first half we played pretty well. We told the girls coming out at halftime, they're going to up their intensity, you're going to get the best Baylor this third period. And that's when Smith kind of took the game over. A lot of it was our errors. We were turning the ball over. We weren't matching up correctly in transition defense partially because of their speed, partially because all of a sudden we kind of lost our assignments. We shot the ball terribly other than Amy. We needed to hit some shots to slow them down to make it a little bit more tight for them, and we just weren't able to do that.

That third period is indicative of what Baylor can do all the time, and I think as they progress in the tournament you're going to see that for four quarters because that's what it takes to advance once you get into the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8.

Was it frustrating? Yes. I don't want to say I expected it. But I knew there was going to be a time where all of a sudden certain players were going to do things for them that we just weren't going to be able to stop, and could we score with them, and it had to be more than Amy. That was our concern coming out of halftime was we had to find people other than Amy or they were going to have a pretty good gap that we're not going to be able to close.

Q. With this run that you guys have had, how well do you feel like this sets you up for the future, and what do you feel like the younger players on this team have learned from this run?

LAURA BEEMAN: You know, I hope that they will reflect on what it took to get to this moment. We had to win ballgames to get here. Other people were waiting for us to lose in order to be here.

They understand what it means to take control of your own destiny, to win big games. I think that's part of it to get here.

I think what they have learned beyond getting here is what does it take to get here and when. And we had some great conversation after the game today. I've got to get in the gym, I've got to get in the weight room, I've got to get more shots up. I've got to go harder, I wasn't used to that pace, that speed.

They talked about doing better in preseason so we can get a higher seed. Coming in 15, 16, you don't set yourself up for a lot of positive results unless someone plays really bad and you play out of your minds.

We have to do a better job in the preseason. So to hear them processing not just the frustration of the third period but this is what we now need to do was very encouraging. Sustainability now becomes the issue. It's easy to say you're going to do something, it's much more difficult to sustain.

So it's bottling that feeling and kind of dousing them with it when we have those days where they don't want to work and they don't want to stay focused. Do you remember that third period and seeing if we can get them to get their minds back to this moment.

We lose Amy, which is a huge, huge piece, but we bring everybody else back, and we have some good recruits coming in, so the future is bright. There has to be action behind that desire.

Q. How big a factor was Jordan Lewis and her ability to get into the paint and to the basket?

LAURA BEEMAN: Their speed is -- we don't see that in the Big West. Their speed is unmatched. We see avenues and gaps that we think we've closed off, and they have the strength and the speed and the skill set to still get to the basket, and that makes it more difficult to continue to guard their post play. Speed is a factor. Her speed is off the charts. She's another person that's going pro, no doubt about it.

And then their ability just to knock down wide-open shots. We missed wide-open shots, they hit wide-open shots. When you have players that know when to step up, know how to stay in their role, know when to get the ball into their big gun but then they're ready when their number is called, yeah, I thought that Jordan was amazing, along with a couple other shooters, they did a nice job.

I thought Bickle was really key for them, also. You can't play off her, you can't fall asleep on her. She's a physical player. I thought she did a great job when she got the ball of making the right decisions and hitting shots, as well.