NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL 3 SEMIFINAL - OHIO STATE VS UCONN

March 24, 2023

Geno Auriemma

Lou Lopez Senechal

Dorka Juhasz

Climate Pledge Arena

UConn Huskies

Sweet 16 Pregame Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good morning. We'll get started with UConn. We'll start with an opening statement from Coach.

GENO AURIEMMA: Thank you. Obviously, by the time you get to this point there's an anxiousness to play. You've been kind of waiting all year for this opportunity and everybody knows what's at stake and certainly everybody knows that the teams that are here are all capable of winning and going to the Final Four.

So it's the most exciting part of the year up to this point. We're fortunate to be here, given everything that's transpired over the course of the last five months. Not crazy about our matchup, you know. They're a unique team that poses unique problems, so we've got our hands full tomorrow, but I know our players are looking forward to it.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take some questions.

Q. You did mention the other day that when you watched Ohio State, you knew that they would be here because they did present some challenges. What are those unique challenges that they present to you?

GENO AURIEMMA: They play a little different than most teams in the sense that they do a couple things exceptionally well. They get out in transition as fast and as aggressively as any team that I've seen. Defensively they create a lot of chaotic situations for you if you're not prepared to handle it.

So those two things in and of itself -- you know, you might play a team that presses, which certainly we have, or you might play a team that is exceptionally good in transition. But they do both and they've got their whole team now. They were missing a couple kids early in the season when they went through a little bit of a lull, but they seem to be fully healthy and they have got great leaders, great role players.

I think Kevin has done a remarkable job with them. There's a lot that they do that you have to prepare for offensively and defensively.

Q. You guys played Ohio State, I think it was 2019 at their place. Does this team that Kevin has now, is there any similarities to that team or how have you seen his program even evolve since then to the point where they were 19-0 and have had a really good year?

GENO AURIEMMA: I asked Dorka that today -- or yesterday. I said, Dorka, how many players are left over from that team? That was before COVID. Obviously, we're a different team. I don't think anybody on our team played in that game -- or played a lot, I should say. I don't remember. Could have, but I don't remember. And I remember some of their players played. And then they have had some people transfer in.

But they were more built around Kelsey Williams. I think that team was really, really hard to play for different reasons. They played us really, really close. I know that. We got a couple big, big buckets from Christyn Williams down in the end. Yeah, I tried to look for some similarities and some clues, but there aren't many. There aren't many.

So there's not much for them to build on from us and there's not much for us to build on from them, other than at one time they were playing like they were the best team in the country at some point, and I don't think anybody's surprised that they're here.

Q. Can you expand upon how special this is to be here with what you guys have gone through this whole season, obviously, with injuries and illnesses and your own personal issues. And the second part is just are you a fan of the super regional format here of eight teams being in one spot instead of four in four spots?

GENO AURIEMMA: Yeah, a lot's going on this year. Put that on top of what happened last year and it seems like it's a two-year ordeal that we've had. If you said to anybody in the country, you know, you have the National Player of the Year as a freshman and she's going to miss half the season her sophomore year and the entire season her junior year, it's a lot, and then compound that with how many other injuries we had this year.

And yet to still be here and still be in a position to do more, it's a testament to the coaching staff that I have, the support people that we have, Janelle, our trainer, and Hudy, our strength and conditioning coach, and Jamelle and Morgan and CD, everybody. It took a lot out of a lot of people this season. So for us to be here is really, really, really something special that we're going to try to enjoy as much as we can.

The super regional thing, I think the jury's still out on that. I know Seattle's a great place to be. I've been here enough times to know. It's a terrific place to be. This arena might be as nice an arena as there is in the entire tournament.

But I think the logistics maybe make it a little tougher with how much time you can get on the court, how much -- but that's just -- you know, that's just NCAA stuff. The biggest games of the year for your team you have the least amount of time on the game court, and you have the least amount of time for practice, and you spend all your time either in this environment right here, talking with you people, or with the ESPN people or with the radio people, and by the end of today and tomorrow, we will have spent more time with the media than we will have with the team on the court to get ready for the biggest games of the year. And this is nothing compared to the Final Four.

So having the eight teams, I think causes some issues for the host trying to balance all that out. I'm hoping that it works, I'm hoping it doesn't, because I also think they're called regionals for a reason, and there's four regions in this country and you would like to have one in each region.

We'll see. I was hoping that this was, like, a one-year tryout. Hey, let's try this for a year and let's see if it happens, and if it's great, let's keep doing it, and if it's not, let's go back. Instead, I think it's a three -- three-year deal. So now if it doesn't work, we're stuck with it. And if it works, then great. Then great.

Me, I'm just disappointed that, you know, there's eight teams here in Seattle and one of 'em's from west of the Mississippi River. So I hope there's a lot of women's basketball fans here in Seattle because I don't know how many fans of the teams that are here are actually here. I hope they are. But it's a lot to ask of those people.

Q. A quick question about Aaliyah Edwards. I think she shot over 80 percent in both games in the tournament so far, and I believe it was a career high in the first game of 28 points. Just wondering if you could talk about her progression and what that just means for her to put up numbers like that come tournament time.

GENO AURIEMMA: We try to put Aaliyah in as many situations as possible to do what she does best. I think her commitment now to run the floor harder, get on the offensive boards harder, attack off the dribble better, she's a terrific free throw shooter, she's creating possessions off her defense. So there's a lot that Aaliyah has added to her game and that's why she's been able to do what she's been able to do, not just in these two games, but pretty much throughout the whole season.

Q. Back when you didn't even have enough players to play a game, after that moment, was there a practice, a game, a point where you said, okay, I think we could make a late-season run?

GENO AURIEMMA: No. No. (Smiling.) Because it was, like, hey, you know, you're getting another one of those. All right. So right after practice, hey, that was really good. How did we do? Good. But this one can't practice for the next two days.

And it just kept repeating itself, repeating itself, until -- it wasn't until we felt like when Azzi said, I'm going to play. I'm going to be ready for the Big East tournament. When she said that, I started to feel pretty good.

And when Caroline said -- which was I want to say maybe down at Georgetown. I forget where we were. But Caroline said, I'm good to go. I'm going to be okay. So me hearing those two things made me think, okay, if those two things do come true, we have a chance. How much of a chance? I don't know. I don't know. Just in case, I kept asking Paige, if you're going to be ready. I still kept getting no on that answer.

But we got two out of three ain't bad, right? Isn't that what Meat Loaf said, two out of three ain't bad? You young people don't know what I'm talking about. (Laughing.) You got it.

Q. Following up on one of the first questions, you mentioned all the adversity that you dealt with this year. I was wondering if there was someone in the background, maybe not a player or a coach, that you feel like has really stood out or played an instrumental role in you getting here and what that person maybe did that sticks out in your mind?

GENO AURIEMMA: Well, I would say within the actual scope of where we live, you know, so our entire practice facility, and if you include in that our medical staff. I would say that our medical staff probably were the unsung heros in all of this because, as you can imagine, it wasn't three kids going in and having the exact same thing and it was cookie cutter, you know, solutions. It was something different all the time, ranging from Carol being a magnet for elbows, no matter where they're coming from, and the wear and tear and -- I think they're in the background all the time, and then they have got to do their job. So we've got to rehab them, we got to get them stronger. So, like I said, Andrea Hudy and Janelle Francisco and our team doctors, Dr. Hall, Dr. Coyner, Dr. Arciero, and Dr. Alessi. We have all these people involved, Dr. Maass, who comes in, you know, and straightens 'em out, sometimes successfully. Nobody sees those people. And they have to deal with today's issues, Well can I get a second opinion? Yeah, you can get five opinions. They're all going to come back exactly the same. And parents, Why are you doing that? Why does this have to happen?

So there's a lot that goes on that those people have to deal with that we don't even have any idea. And as coaches -- I've always had the philosophy, my only conversations with doctors or trainers, athletic trainers has always been, tell me how long they're out. And if they say, four to six weeks. Well, for the next four weeks I pretend like they don't exist. So I'm not in there every week going, Why aren't they ready yet, why aren't they ready yet, why aren't they ready yet. They don't tell me how to coach my team and I don't tell them how to do their job. They're the best in the country at what they do and I trust them implicitly. So do our players. And without them, we finally, you know, there's nutritionists now. We have access to these kids, you know, I think if the average person had access to everything these kids have access to, I think you would be able to cut disease down by 50 percent in America. Their vitamins that they take, the food that they eat, who is looking after them, the tests that they have. These players wear more equipment on their body when they practice. This monitor in the back that monitors this. This force plate that monitors how high they're going up. This wrap around their ankle that monitors how much time they're spending on their right side versus left side. We have more data than NASA. I think that in the end we have as much information as you could possibly get to put these kids in the best position possible. A year like this, we needed every single piece of that.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you very much. Good luck tomorrow. We'll have UConn student-athletes in here momentarily.

(Pause.)

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with questions for the UConn student-athletes.

Q. Obviously your team has been through a lot of adversity this year. So what did you learn about each other? And then also, we see, like, one side of Geno. What did you guys kind of learn about him throughout this process?

DORKA JUHÁSZ: Yeah, I mean, I think just when you have so much adversity, talking about injuries, losses, and illness, there's a lot of emotional things that you have to be able to deal with off the court, and then obviously perform on the court. I think for us, it was just a matter of finding out that we can rely on each other a lot, that no matter what lineup we're going to have the next game -- because a lot of times it was uncertain. We didn't know who was going to play, what lineups are we going to have, like, that we know that we could trust each other, that we're still going to find a way to win. I think that was huge for us.

Just always kind of having that hope that one day we're going to have a full healthy team and everything is going to work itself out. I think that's what we did throughout the whole season, just always finding a way to win and just make sure that we are always there to pick each other up. Some games we had some guys that had struggled a little bit, so we learned how to use other people that can step up and how to win a game with that.

Then also at the end of the day we finally are at the point when we have the 10 healthy players and I think it's just -- we're finally at that moment where we're just like, wow, we can now just play our basketball and just with our full team. So it's been a lot of ups and downs, but I think it made us stronger and more together.

LOU LOPEZ SÉNÉCHAL: Yeah, I think that also having to rely on each other and -- not just on the court, but off the court, even where we're not doing basketball, being there for each other and sometimes getting our minds off basketball to not -- because we know that it was a lot sometimes on the court and it was not always easy. I think that we are just there for each other all the time and that's definitely something that I felt right away, even coming in the summer, a group that I didn't know I knew right away that everyone was there for each other.

Q. Dorka, what were your emotions coming into a game where you're playing your old team? You said you left on very good terms. So are you nervous? Are you anxious? Are you excited?

DORKA JUHÁSZ: I would say I'm excited. I think it's just -- you know, I remember just seeing, first of all, like, the bracket coming out and, like, Ohio State popped up and everybody was like, ooh, like, there's a possibility playing Ohio State.

I think for me it's just excitement. As you said, there's no negative feelings about that. I still have a lot of friends and I always have a lot of respect for my old coaching staff and everybody that helped me there because at the end of the day, I wouldn't be here without them.

I think just coming to the United States and spending my first year there, like, I was very grateful and I'll forever cherish all the moments and friendships that I made there. But at the end of the day, I think it's also just a game as any other games for me. It's definitely a little bit more excitement, but it's still just a basketball game that is a very important game all of us. It's a win-or-lose game. So that's how I'm preparing.

But hopefully after the game we can have some time to connect with my old teammates and people that I know there. So, yeah.

Q. There's a special connection in Seattle with the Huskies having some former greats having called this arena home. I heard a few wows and oh, my goshs, as you were walking into practice. How does it feel now that you're coming off the court, playing in Seattle, playing on this court, and now having come out of your practice?

LOU LOPEZ SÉNÉCHAL: I think it's really fun. For a lot of us, it's our first time coming to Seattle. It is for me. Knowing that there are a lot of alums here and are supporting us and players like Sue Bird that played all their career here, I think it's really just -- it's just really cool how basketball can bring you to so many cool experiences and moments like this.

Playing here in the Sweet 16, it's just something that a lot of us want as a basketball player and we're just feeling really lucky to be here.

DORKA JUHÁSZ: I would just add, like, this facility is beautiful. Having a WNBA have this amazing facility it's just such a blessing. Just going into the locker rooms, everything is so new, the gym is beautiful. So it's going to be fun to play here.

LOU LOPEZ SÉNÉCHAL: Definitely.

Q. Dorka, when you think about the reasons why you wanted to come to UConn in the first place and what that journey's been like since you transferred and what you wanted to get out of the experience and how far you've come through personal adversity of your own, like with the injuries, what kind of comes to mind when you think about just that whole journey for you?

DORKA JUHÁSZ: Yeah, I mean, definitely being in the Sweet 16 was one of them, why I chose to come here. Also, obviously, playing and competing for a National Championship, just being in the situation to put myself out there to help a team. I think that's definitely like the number one reason.

But all of that, I think just my growth as a player and a person has been tremendous. Last year, I would just think back, it was just kind of like a learning year for me, just a lot of ups and downs, a lot of injuries and things that I had to come through, but still learning a lot from, obviously, Coach, my seniors, the players. Obviously, this year just the whole different role that I have, just more dominant, obviously having more minutes, just a lot more pressure put on me in games.

I think just kind of having that last year definitely helped me to get there. Just obviously learning from Liv as a senior post player, just kind of learning the way definitely helped.

But obviously very blessed to have these two years, and I'm so grateful how everything happened and, obviously, Coach having me and just putting a lot of trust in me. Being in this situation to play a Sweet 16, it's just everything I've dreamed of and just having amazing teammates. I think just overall like this experience has been great. As I said, part of it is just being at Ohio State. That's just my whole journey. When I think of my journey, it's not just UConn, but that three years, I think, was obviously essential and necessary to just be the player I am today. I'm very thankful for, obviously, Ohio State and UConn as well.

Q. Coach Geno talked about how he was not thrilled about the matchup against Ohio State mainly because of when the press is working how well it can be. What have you both seen from that press and kind of playing against it?

LOU LOPEZ SÉNÉCHAL: Yeah, I think we worked a lot on it this week. Obviously, Dorka knew about it and I think throughout the whole year, we've seen -- if we were watching some games, we know that it was their main thing. So I think that we're going to be prepared for it. Even in practice, we would play against the practice players. They would choose the most -- the bigger ones, the more athletic ones, to make it harder for us. I think it prepared us. And we know that if we find ways to break it, that's when we can go and have easy baskets, go in transition. So that's the main thing for us is to keep our composure and not to rush anything throughout the press.

Once we break it, that's when we can have even the shooters in the perimeter and then also the bigs running and getting easy buckets.

Q. You two are transfer portal success stories and the portal's blown up in the last five years with hundreds, if not thousands, of kids trying to transfer. What would you say to them? You've both had great careers since you transferred. What advice would you give someone who is looking to transfer? Is it finding the right school or taking your time? What would you tell someone who is looking to transfer right now and getting to the same success you guys have had?

DORKA JUHÁSZ: Yeah, I would just say, you know, obviously, before you transfer, just think about why you want to transfer, what you're looking for obviously in a school. I think for me it was definitely like I had a very, very, very strong reason what I want to get out of the transfer portal, because if you think about it, there's a lot of people getting in there and just not being able to find a school because there's just so many kids in there.

So you got to be very specific what you need and why you're transferring in. Obviously, just for me, it was basketball, so I definitely -- that was my focus, that I want to go somewhere where I can be challenged more, obviously. And I think it's definitely you have to find the right fit for you. There's always going to be priorities and nothing is perfect. As they say, like, the grass is not greener on the other side all the time. So you really -- I think you just have to make sure that you have everything right and you find the school that is going to actually be a great fit for you personally, obviously, educationally, and also on the court.

LOU LOPEZ SÉNÉCHAL: Yeah, I would add that, you know, trying to find the balance between not rushing the process and also not taking too much time. I been through it last year and I know that it's very important, like Dorka said, to know where you're going, what your goals are, what you want to achieve. But at the same time you don't want to rush anything. But if you take sometimes too much time things can happen when you don't expect it. So that's, I think you just need to find the balance between those two things.

Q. You came from Fairfield, which did not have the rich history that UConn has. When you came to UConn were you thinking, okay, I'm going to step in and do what I did this year, or were you thinking, okay, maybe I can fill as a role to help this team get where it can go?

LOU LOPEZ SÉNÉCHAL: No, I've always said that I would be ready to embrace any role. I wasn't expecting to have the same role that I had for four years. I knew that I was coming to a team with a lot of talent, a lot of talented players. So it was a mix of both believing in myself, knowing that I could play at that level, but also trying to transition between a school like Fairfield and a school like UConn where the expectations are much higher. But I think that having the trust from everyone around me, my teammates, the coaches really helped me to go through this season. Even, you know, if it's not always easy to transition from two schools. But I think that it gave me the confidence to be the player that I am right now for sure.

Q. Dorka, last Ohio State question, I know you've been busy over the last two years, but what have you seen change about Ohio State in those two years since you left?

DORKA JUHÁSZ: Yeah, I think obviously the press, I think that my time there I don't think we pressed as much as they did. It became their identity. I think just, especially if they're going with a smaller lineup, going with four guards or just a smaller lineup, then that's when they really can get into that press. And it gets a lot of easy buckets for them. So I think it works really well for them.

But also, you know, having amazing guard play. Jacy Sheldon and Taylor Mikesell is just a duo that's very deadly from anywhere on the court just making threes, making plays for each other. I think that just became their identity to try to do a lot of dribble drives and moving quickly on the offense and it works really well for them.

I mean, I followed a lot of games this season for them. Obviously I still watch my friends play and always cheer for them, obviously except this game. But I'm happy for them. They had a tremendous season so far. I think the way they started and just the way they're coming off, obviously this tournament has been awesome for them. So I'm excited to play a different style of basketball. I think that's the fun part of tournaments, you play so many different teams from different conferences. Everybody has different identities. I think we haven't really faced much of a pressing team, a fully very aggressive press throughout this season that much. So it's going to be exciting to see how we handle that and get through and break that press. But as Lou said, I think we're greatly prepared, our coaches do an amazing job of scouting and all of that. So it's exciting. That's why you play basketball, that's why you come to a tournament, to be challenged in different ways and try to -- but our game plan is definitely going to be playing our game and not being rushed by them. So, but it's exciting.

Q. Your coach also brought up their press and how difficult it is. How do you guys go about kind of trying to replicate that and prepare for it in practice and is that a challenging thing to do?

LOU LOPEZ SÉNÉCHAL: I think that it's going to be important for us to, when we face a team that presses a lot to also press them, not necessarily make it that easy. I think that we have a lot of players on the team that are able to get steals, get in the passing lanes and trying to be very aggressive on the defensive side to like stop their offense and not make them go on transition.

THE MODERATOR: All right, we are out of time. Both of you thank you very much, and best of luck tomorrow.