NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - PRINCETON VS INDIANA

March 21, 2022

Teri Moren

Grace Berger

Mackenzie Holmes

Indiana Hoosiers

Postgame Media Conference

Indiana 56, Princeton 55

TERI MOREN: Well, first of all, hats off to a great Princeton team. They had a great year. They're a great team. They're well-coached, and they were terrific today. They really well.

We had just enough, just enough to get the win tonight.

They were great defensively. I don't think that these guys, any of us felt like we were getting anything easy over there on the sideline, especially I thought it picked up their defense in the second half.

As I said to our guys, if I told you that they got 20 more shots than we did and we still won the game, would you believe that, and they said, yeah, I would, or we would. And then we turned the ball over a little bit too much than we like. But again, give Princeton credit.

Really happy for our group. I want to say, shout-out to Hoosier Nation. Thanks to Scott Dolson and Mattie White and everybody that was responsible for making sure there were a lot of people in the stands. I do think this: I think tonight was our crowd willing us to this win. They're going to share as much in it as we are, and so we are really, really grateful that we had our fans tonight inside the hall.

You know, it wasn't pretty for us, but these guys have been through a lot throughout the season. They're a veteran team. They're an experienced team. If there's time on the clock, we always give ourselves a chance to win games, and I thought our experience, our maturity and the fact that we have vets out there on the floor tonight really showed up in a big way.

Q. For both Mackenzie and Grace, that was quite the scene at the end of the game. Can you guys take us through that scene and that moment after the game from your eyes?

MACKENZIE HOLMES: I wanted them to know how much we appreciate them being there and showing up tonight, and I thought -- I went up to Coach Moren and I'm like, Can we go thank them? She's like, yeah. And then I ran over there, and I was like, screw it, I'm going to go run up and I'm going to go high-five them and make them feel like they're part of this victory because they are. We couldn't have done this without them, and I want them to keep showing up for us. I know this is our last game in the hall, but the next season we want the stands packed with students. They really showed up tonight, and I'm super thankful for that.

Q. Grace, can you just go through what you saw on the play where you hit the lay-up to go ahead?

GRACE BERGER: Yeah, Coach Rhet drew up a great play to get a smaller player switched off of me, so then I was just focused on getting my head down and getting to the rim as quickly as I could. Nicki set it up perfectly for me, got me going downhill, and then I got to the rim, so Coach Rhet, credit to him for drawing up a great play.

Q. When you guys were trying to defend against Princeton there the last play down in front of the student section, I'm sure everything was crazy loud, right before Ali's steal there, what was it like trying to figure out what your defensive play was going to be? What was the goal and how did you work through the environment?

GRACE BERGER: I mean, I think we were up by two at that point, so the main thing in our minds was just not give up a three. I know they have a lot of really good three-point shooters on their team, so that was the main thing. Nicki was out there pressuring the ball, so we were confident that she would set her defense, and she did just that, forced her to rush a little bit, and then Mac and Aleks stepped over and helped and made it really hard for her to make a play. It was just team defense, and we were confident in our defense going into that play.

Q. You had a double-digit lead in the third quarter and then Princeton was locked in on defense all day, but especially in the third quarter held you guys to six points. What are you telling each other on the court as they start to come back in the game, and I guess how did you put yourselves back together and make the plays you needed to?

MACKENZIE HOLMES: Yeah, I think we were coming out of a media time-out, and I'm like, they made their run, it's time for our run. I think that we knew they were going to make a run; they're a really good team. So it was just a matter of kind of just not freaking out, and like Coach Moren said, we're a veteran team so we've been in these positions before, honestly, whether it's in practice playing against our black squad or whether it's in a game, and we've been in these situations. So I think we were ready and didn't panic when they started to make a little bit of a run.

Q. I was driving down here on Saturday talking to an IU alum and he's got three young girls, and he said, hey, my young girls are watching the IU women. What do you say to these young girls out there that aspire to be you and want to be you?

GRACE BERGER: I think first of all, that's really touching. Anytime we see little girls -- whenever we have fans, it means a lot, but those little girls I think just hit us a little bit different because we were all those little girls, it doesn't feel like that long ago looking up -- I know how much they look up to us and how much we mean to them.

I mean, just trying to be a good role model for them, obviously. We all got here not by talent but just by working hard and believing in ourselves, and I think they can do the same thing, just seeing us and trying to be us and working hard, and they can achieve it, as well.

Q. Grace, your ball handling skills were really impressive today. I don't know if you could hear but every time you did an around-the-back dribble the crowd would just erupt. I'm curious how much you work on your ball handling skills in the off-season.

GRACE BERGER: Well, my ball handling skills weren't as good today as they usually are, but I mean, that's been -- growing up I was told that if I could handle the ball there was always a spot for me on the team by my dad.

Just 10 minutes a day every single day growing up, that's what I did, and I still do it. I have the same routine that I had when I was seven years that I do before the game now, so just consistent work at it. It's kind of effortless for me now.

Q. Grace, getting this win and being able to advance now to the Sweet 16 again, can you kind of put into words what that feeling is like and being able to get the win for your teammates that are graduating and moving on.

GRACE BERGER: It's unbelievable. I mean, playing for IU means everything for me, and I remember four years ago we were just struggling to even get in the tournament, and then we got that win and it was huge for us. So now to see us get to the Sweet 16 two years in a row, it's just really special, and it's something that never gets old, and I just hope that we can keep going for our seniors.

Q. Mackenzie, just in terms of for you to battle through this kind of season, adversity, what does it mean for you personally to get to this level again and help this team get to the Sweet 16?

MACKENZIE HOLMES: Anytime I get to step on the court with these girls is a major blessing, and I'll never take that for granted. Especially after getting hurt, it made me put into perspective how much playing means to me, and not only playing but just playing with these girls in specific. I love them all so much, so just every time I step on the floor I'm super grateful, and like I said before, I'll do whatever it takes.

Q. For either of you guys, Ali Patberg's last home game, and to have her have a scene like that in her last home game, what has she meant to you guys over the years you've been with her and what was it like to see her have that moment in her last time here?

GRACE BERGER: There's nobody that deserves it more than Ali Patberg obviously because of the player she is and what she's done for this program. On the court that kind of speaks for itself. But the person she is off the court, we talk about it all the time, but it really is true, just how she's taken every single one of us under her wing and allowed us to have individual success. She's put the team over herself a hundred percent of the time and sacrificed for others on the team to shine, as well. She's just a complete team player. She does everything she can to win.

We want to work really hard for her, our leader, and give her as many wins as we can.

Q. Aleksa was the one who hit the key free throws to kind of seal the game. What were you telling her as she's heading to the line there, and how clutch was that moment?

MACKENZIE HOLMES: Yeah, Aleksa and I shoot free throws on that specific rim every single day during practice, so when we break up to shoot free throws, that's Leks and I's hoop, so I was like, Leks, you've got to make this. This is our hoop; you've got to make these. I had no doubt that she was going to step up and knock those two free throws down.

Q. Mackenzie, I know that Grace's competitiveness has been talked about before. Are there any memories that stick out in your mind from practice that kind of speak to her competitiveness?

MACKENZIE HOLMES: I mean, Grace is competitive in everything that we do, whether it's conditioning in the summer or -- I mean, in the summertime what sticks out to me is when we're playing two-on-two against our assistant coaches during workouts. We get super competitive during that I would say. It gets a little chippy.

But yeah, I mean, Grace is just an all-around competitor, and she's a winner, too. To be able to play alongside her is great, and to get another chance to do that is also really special.

Q. Grace, you talked about this a little bit, but the defense that Princeton threw at you tonight, looked like they were really trying to limit your opportunities to get the ball in scoring position. How frustrating was that, and what adjustments did you look to make, your teammates look to make as the game progressed?

GRACE BERGER: I think first of all, for all of us, we've played in what I think is the best conference in the country, so we've seen pretty much everything. Mac has seen everything, I've seen everything, and all of us have seen everything.

Certainly I heard they were a really good defensive team, but I think once I got in that first half, I kind of really realized for myself how good they were, how aggressive they were, how long they were. Credit to them, they definitely made everything hard for me.

But like I said, I have really good teammates, so that kind of makes my life a little easy.

Q. Teri, I wanted to ask you the same question on that final scene, from your eyes being almost tackled by Ali Patberg at the scorer's table, hoisted up in the air, what was that moment like for you?

TERI MOREN: You know, I was thinking about Ali and all the seniors, Leks, Grace Wagner, Nicki, on my way home from shootaround today. When I think about Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill, when we won the NIT, how cool is it that your last game that you play in the hall you win, and it's something extra special, right, so you win the NIT and then obviously today with those four seniors we're making another trip to the Sweet 16.

But Ali, I think Grace said it the best, she's been everything for our program. She's our leader, off the court, on the court, and she's a terrific competitor. She is a great human being. She pours into her teammates, and she makes everyone around her better.

I think that's including her staff, too. She wants to be a coach, so she's curious always. She's willing to watch extra film. She wants to be in the gym.

So I think this is a profession that suits her quite well at some point when she's done playing.

I will say this: Nobody is more excited for Ali Patberg than her teammates are and her staff.

Q. Was the call you made on that last play for exactly what happened, and why did you decide to go to Grace?

TERI MOREN: Well, because she's Grace, right? You know, we had been trying to get she and Mac in the two-man game, especially in the second half, and again, credit Princeton. They just made it so incredibly hard on us. They have great length. They're very aggressive.

She credited -- so how we divide up our staff, Coach Box oversees us defensively and then Rhet has any special situations, and so that was a special situation. He always checks in, is this who we want the ball -- in Grace's hands. We always just kind of laugh and say, well, of course we want her to go make the play for us. And she did.

It was a big-time -- but you guys have all been around sports. Big-time players make big-time plays. That's exactly what G did today for us.

Q. When you have so many players who have invested so much of their lives into a sport and don't want it to end, how powerful is that when you get into a position where you have to win or it's going to end?

TERI MOREN: Right. Well, it is both powerful and stressful because you as a coach don't want it to end, either, right. Although we've not been a team that's ever talked about -- well, we have, but we think it's a privilege to have the pressure that we have.

You rely and you trust on your vets and your experience, and you just try to will them to the finish line. Our job over there as coaches down the stretch was just to keep giving them good juice and telling them that this was our game to go win, but we had to figure out how to go make plays both offensively and defensively, and some of it was not inside of our offense, it was on broken plays.

But I thought, like I said, we did just enough to get us there, get us to the finish line. But I don't think any of us want -- because they're such a special group, and I've been so blessed to have them the last two years, back-to-back seasons. We've been together a lot. We kind of like each other, so we want to keep this thing going as long as we can.

Q. When you first started recruiting Grace and watching her play, was there a moment you realized she was a really special player? And I guess what kind of first stood out to you?

TERI MOREN: Well, I think Hailey asked it, talked about her ball handling. She comes -- Sacred Heart is a tremendous high school down in Louisville, and Donna does a great job. She's won multiple state championships. So just going and recruiting her and watching her in a practice, the thing that jumps off is just how exceptional she is with her ball handling and the ball in her hands.

I mean, I remember sitting there thinking, she's dribbles the ball way better than any guy that I have right now on my roster.

Again, credit her. She's a worker, and she's in the gym constantly trying to get better.

The one thing, area that she knows that she has to continue to work on is her consistency outside the arc, but I'll tell you what, the other two levels she has at getting to the rim and her pull-up jumper is something really special.

Q. I know how much you pride yourself on defense. You have to get one last defensive stop at the end of the game. Take us through that out of the time-out. Are you telling them, no threes?

TERI MOREN: Yeah, no threes, keep your man in front, level them off. At that point, Nicki, you don't have to be stab-and-miss, just 10 toes to 10 toes.

Then the last thing was just we've got to rebound. I mean, there was a possession there, maybe back-to-back possessions, but there was one possession that they had to have had three to four offensive rebounds back-to-back-to-back, which are back breakers. Yeah, that was the last message that we sent to them. It has to be a hard two and contested, but then we have to get the rebound.

Q. Was it better to have a close game even though it's not great to have a nail biter like that when it's going to be close the rest of the tournament probably playing top teams? Does it help to have a nail biter like this to prepare you when you play a UConn or play someone like that?

TERI MOREN: No, not at all. No. Are you crazy? I want that game the other day. I liked that one, right? (Laughter).

We've been in a lot of close games, and as I said, if there's time on the clock, we're always going to give ourselves a chance.

But again, give credit to Princeton because they are terrific. They gave us everything we wanted and more, and we made just enough plays under the minute mark or two-minute mark to win the game today, and we're really, really fortunate.

Q. Last year this team was able to go on a run all the way to the Elite 8 and they weren't able to do it in front of the fans, but this year when the Sweet 16 announcement came over the PA system and the fans just roared, everyone is on their feet, the entire team, staff, players is in the center of the court, what does that moment mean for the players, the staff and all the fans in the arena and all fans watching on television?

TERI MOREN: Well, it's obviously terrific because it's just another goal that we had set out. We wanted to make another deep run in the tournament.

But it's hard. It's so hard to win. I think there was probably excitement. I think there was more relief on our end as a coaching staff because we didn't feel like we played our best basketball, but we made enough plays.

But to be able to go to back to back Sweet 16s is special. If you talk to that group in the locker room right now, the job is not done. We want to go deeper than just a Sweet 16.

Q. Your team has battled adversity all season through Mac's injury, the COVID pause and the packed schedule at the end of the season that kind of hurt you guys at the end. How much does going through all of that help you in a game like this where Princeton comes back and really puts the pressure on you?

TERI MOREN: Well, I think it paid big dividends. As I said to them at the beginning before they went out, we talked just about the toughness, the fight that we've had all season because we've been through a lot of different moments and times of some adversity.

I do think this: I think it has made us stronger. We've always been connected, but we're more connected than ever. Our chemistry has always been off the charts.

But again, there's just a toughness about this group, and we knew that it was going to be a fight tonight, but we wanted to make sure that we brought the fight to Princeton and we dictated how the game was going to be played.

By God, we had to go all the way down to the end with them, but at the end of the fourth quarter, it's the fight that won the game. They've showed that throughout.

I don't know that anybody was surprised by that, but I'm really, really proud of just how they've handled themselves throughout this entire season, because it's been really impressive.

Q. On the play with Grace there out of the time-out, it seemed like there was a play earlier, a couple minutes earlier where Grace was driving and had the shot blocked. Was there any adjustment that you guys looked to make the second time around to free her up a little bit more?

TERI MOREN: I think what we were trying to do, and she said it, we were trying to -- we run that little action for her usually after a free throw, and really we were trying to get the switch and get a smaller player to guard Berger knowing that she could get downhill.

The one thing about Grace, the reason we put the ball in her hands so often is because she elevates, and she usually is our best at getting a shot off.

Nicki was to come off to a little ghost action, and it was just set up for Grace to get the switch that we wanted and go down the rail, and she spun back and got all the way to the rim. If you ask Grace, she thought she got fouled, she should have been at the free-throw line. But nonetheless, it was set up perfect.

She's been in those scenarios before where she's had to make big plays. At Purdue she had to come up with, going down the stretch there, some real big shots that she hit.

Like I said, Grace does what Grace does.