NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - GEORGIA VS FLORIDA STATE

March 17, 2023

Katie Abrahamson-Henderson

Diamond Battles

Jordan Isaacs

Carver-Hawkeye Arena

Georgia Bulldogs

Media Conference

Georgia 66, Florida State

Q. What was going through your heads in that 12-0 run? Seems like that was finally when things were clicking and to start the fourth quarter.

DIAMOND BATTLES: Just playing defense. Once we start playing defense and we start getting stops that's how basically our offense starts going. So we locked in and the people on the floor that thought was on the floor, was telling everybody, let's get transitions, let's push and let's play our basketball and that's how we went on the 12-0 run.

JORDAN ISAACS: Piggybacking off her, getting stops and being intense and not wanting to go home and being relentless to not want to go home.

Q. What makes your defense so good? Because you've played the zone. What makes it work for you guys?

DIAMOND BATTLES: Try not to give all our secrets.

JORDAN ISAACS: Literally.

DIAMOND BATTLES: Ball pressure. I think most teams struggle with the pressure because it is a zone and we pressure the ball really well. We offset their offense and what they try to do in their offense, so I think that's the biggest key that makes our defense elite, I want to say our defense is elite.

JORDAN ISAACS: I would definitely agree, ball pressure and then just communication. I think we all have to be on the same page and communicating through all of that really helps us stay, like, connected. I'm just going to say connected.

Q. In the first quarter, it looked like you were getting good looks and they weren't falling and progressively as the game went on shots started to fall. What do you think the key was down the stretch for the offense to execute better?

DIAMOND BATTLES: It's a lot of games where shot don't fall in the first half or either second half but just staying the course and just playing our basketball. We can't, you know, worry about our shots not falling of we have to worry about getting shots.

When our shots wasn't falling we keyed on getting stops ask doing the little things to get our offense going. Once we started getting stops and our energy got higher and the momentum started flowing, then we started hitting our shots and the confidence just raised.

JORDAN ISAACS: Yeah, that's what we said in the locker room. Like let our defense get our offense going. Get stops, get tips, get steals and do what we have got to do so that we can see the ball go through the hole.

Q. In your opinion, what was going right there in that 12-0 run where you finally distanced yourself?

KATIE ABRAHAMSON-HENDERSON: Yeah, they were getting tips. They were getting tips. I mean, they were pressuring the ball harder. I thought Jordan did a phenomenal job on both ends this game. She was our unsung hero tonight. She was getting tips when they were catching it at the high post. She was pressuring really hard. Like the guards, I thought 'Lish got some tips. Diamond got some loose balls. I think it was Diamond, 'Lish, Audrey Jo and I want to say Javyn was in. I don't know who was in, but it was just our ball pressure and just being really savvy and getting some tips and getting loose balls and getting them going in transition.

Q. Obviously still more games to play but for yourself and the program how big to get a tournament win in your first season and maybe validate what you're building at Georgia?

KATIE ABRAHAMSON-HENDERSON: I don't know, just said it. You know, honestly I'm just proud of the buy-in from our group because the year -- because at the beginning, I was talking about, we're going to be good, we're going to be good.

We're going to be good but it took everybody a while to blend and pour into each other and get used to playing with each other. That was really hard and be selfless because other people wanted to be the star and this person wanted to be the star. Our star is the defense, not the offense.

Getting this win, I just heard -- they are a great team. They were a Top-25 in the country all year long. So I mean, we just came just really focused, and I think our upperclassmen leadership was really effective for us tonight.

Q. Sunday, playing again, what are you going to go carry from this game?

KATIE ABRAHAMSON-HENDERSON: Obviously it's the NCAA Tournament, and everybody was really nervous knocking down shots. I think our nerves will be gone then. Just continue to be us and play us and not get off track at all. So just defensively, just being smart how we play. I haven't watched either of the other teams yet, so I'm just going to kind of enjoy this one.

Like Jo said, we have to play with each other and play hard together.

Q. The shooting really got cold at points in this game. Is there something Florida State was doing or just a matter of shots not going in?

KATIE ABRAHAMSON-HENDERSON: I think both. I think both. I think they do a good job. They are a really good defensive team. You know, Diamond wasn't allowed to just catch-and-shoot. Everything she had to get was going to the basket, drawing fouls, doing those things of things. I think she hit one three. That was a big three she hit, too. Audrey really came out and got us going, hit a couple three and broke it loose. 'Lish is a really good shooter. She wasn't able to like just catch-and-shoot because their defense is really good.

So we just tried to draw fouls, get to the basket and see if we can get some free throws in; and then we started getting free throws in the second half and then there's shots. You know, when you go to the free throw line, you start getting -- it's kind of like form shooting, and then, we started to hit some shots.