BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 7, 2024

Shauna Green

Kendall Bostic

Genesis Bryant

Target Center

Illinois Fighting Illini

Postgame Press Conference

Maryland - 75, Illinois - 65

THE MODERATOR: The Illinois press conference will start with an opening statement from Coach Green.

SHAUNA GREEN: Obviously came out a great start. Loved our start, 24-10. Executed on both ends of the floor, did a great job in terms of game plan and execution of that.

Then obviously we knew Maryland's really good, so they're going to make a run. But then I thought the difference maker was obviously they had 24 points off of turnovers and the rebounds. We held them to zero O-boards in the third, and then there was seven in the fourth when it was still a possession or two game.

Give Maryland credit. They executed. They made plays when they had to. We were still right in there. We just didn't make plays when it came down to it and gave up too many offensive rebounds. In order to win big games this time of the year, you can't do that on the boards.

Q. Kendall, this one's for you. It looked like you got hit in the eye late in the game. I just want to know, are you okay?

KENDALL BOSTIC: Yeah, I'm good. I got scratched right across the face. I'm good, though. Thank you.

Q. It seemed like the fans behind the bench were pretty loud, even as the game kind of ebbed and flowed. I know the fan support this year has kind of been a big talking point. How would you assess their support today and just throughout the season as well?

KENDALL BOSTIC: We definitely appreciated it. It's cool to have a lot of people come up to this game, especially since it's in Minnesota, and just having the band, the cheerleaders, all of them come up. We had a little walk-out this morning, so it was pretty cool.

We appreciate their support through the ups and the downs. It was nice to have a good solid fan base here today.

Q. For both of you, Shay and Gretchen kind of provided big minutes today. How would you assess their growth and evolution as they've kind of adapted to those roles throughout the season?

GENESIS BRYANT: Just a feel for the game. They're both young. Shay is a sophomore. Gretchen, of course, is a freshman. They just learn the game as they go, but the more minutes you get, the more you get comfortable, and I feel like they get really comfortable.

Q. Genesis, it looked like there were a few times where you were really able to get to the basket successfully. What were you seeing from them defensively that made you get more aggressive at points in the game?

GENESIS BRYANT: Just being aggressive. I feel like on screens they were switching aggressive. So really just one-on-one I'm trying to get to the basket, and I feel like I was very successful.

THE MODERATOR: Genesis, Kendall, you can head back to the locker room.

Q. Coach Green, two things. What can you take away from this game that you can build on for next season? And two, we talked earlier before the season about Adalia and her progression. Can you just assess how she did up through this season.

SHAUNA GREEN: We can take a lot away from this. Obviously we've learned a lot this year, and a lot of times we've learned from some adversity. I think just the consistency piece. You know, Maryland, what I've always loved about Brenda's teams are their toughness and their physicality and just that grit they have to them. You've got to have that. You've got to have that for 40 minutes.

You especially need it in March, and I thought at times we just have to be more consistent with that. There's times they just drove us down, and we've got to have more resistance.

So just the consistency piece is the number one thing that we've got to continue to improve on throughout games and obviously game to game.

Adalia, she's had some really great moments for us this year, and today really wasn't her day, unfortunately for us and for her. But there was a lot of games where she made major impacts. When we started playing better, a big reason was because of her and her energy and the tenacity that she brings on both ends of the floor.

I think it hurt her a little bit. She sat with the foul trouble and couldn't kind of get a feel going in. Had some good looks, just didn't finish them. She's a major key for us, and she's helped us so much in so many different areas. It just wasn't her day today.

But there's no doubt she's a major impact and player on this team, and going forward we're really going to need her.

Q. You set the fifth best single season attendance mark at the State Farm Center. Today just to see the fan support and throughout the season, what has this support meant to you as you continue to try and turn the program around?

SHAUNA GREEN: Obviously I wasn't there before, but I've heard it was really bad, and there wasn't a lot of people at the games. So I think that now we're creating some buzz and some momentum and people enjoy watching this team play.

Obviously last year we had some really good turnouts and then this year. I thought Nebraska was a great turnout and a great sign for that, and hopefully people continue to come, because if we want to continue to try to make -- be in the top half of the Big Ten consistently, you need your fan support. You need a home-court advantage. They were that against Nebraska and really helped us get that win.

So I want to continue to grow it, and hopefully we can continue to have those numbers climb every year.

Q. Just wondering, you guys limited Brown-Turner and Sellers to some of their worst performances of the season, but the margin players, the role players -- Alexander, Kubek stepped up -- how surprised were you or how much of an impact do you think that had that kind of the secondary and third options were almost the difference, I would say?

SHAUNA GREEN: Yeah, obviously they don't play many players. We don't play many players. So we knew their main guys who you have to take care of. But there's no way we're -- in our scout, in our prep, we're saying do not let Alexander get an open three. I mean, there's no -- that was not in our game plan to give her those open threes.

So those were some mishaps and not executing the game plan. She got a couple open when we were right there and too much space, and she's a really good shooter. Give her credit, she was 3-for-7. In that first half when we were up, if they got those three or four threes, where we could have maybe potentially -- even if they were twos, our lead is more than two points at half.

That stretch there when we started letting them get hot from three, we did a better job in the second half of that, but that was a really key point.

Then same thing, we knew that Allie can come in and hit shots. How we were supposed to guard her was run her off the line and don't let her -- make her put the ball on the floor. Obviously we didn't execute that on a lot of those pick-and-pops, and she got free, and she hit two threes. That changes the game.

I thought we did really, you're right, a pretty good job on Jakia and even Sellers. Faith didn't -- she only had five. McDaniel had a really good game, but some of their guys that don't normally score as much scored.

Q. With there still being the prospect of playing in the postseason, what do you focus on in the next week-plus given the unknown of what there is out there?

SHAUNA GREEN: That's something that I've got to watch and think this through. We've got to really just take a look in the mirror at all of us, and like what do we really want out of this postseason if we have the opportunity to play in it?

Do we want to go and try to, if it's the WBIT or whatever, make a run at that? What's our mindset? So I think right now we need a couple days to just reflect and to watch and to see, and then we'll address that as we move forward.

Q. In the first quarter especially, it looked like Camille was really dominant and you were going to her early in the post and early and often. Obviously Kendall had a double double. What did you see change from them that altered, made you go more perimeter based in the second half?

SHAUNA GREEN: It was nothing. We were running the same stuff, same thing, running stuff to try to get the ball inside. They do a really good job of trying to front the post and take the post away, and then they bring in with the help side.

So when you're not hitting threes, they're able to collapse in even more. So I thought it was more an adjustment they made of doing a better job defensively because we were trying to run the same stuff and get the ball inside to K.B. and Hobby, and there's a couple times our guards didn't get the ball into them as well, and I told them that.

Really the game plan didn't change in terms of that. I think Maryland made an adjustment in terms of how they were defending us.