BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 5, 2025

Amber Whiting

Kendra Gillispie

T-Mobile Center

BYU Cougars

Postgame Press Conference

UCF - 81, BYU - 69

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by BYU Head Coach Amber Whiting and Kendra Gillispie. Coach?

AMBER WHITING: UCF is a really good team. They brought it tonight, today. A couple keys of the game was transition in points and offensive rebounds. We need to make sure we took care of that, and I think we did not. I thought some of our players played a really good game. I thought KG brought it tonight. She inserted her will played, and super proud of her.

Q. Amber, the game was close, you went into halftime. What changed that allowed UCF to take advantage and start pulling away?

AMBER WHITING: I think we didn't stay focused on the keys that we needed. They got some easy ones in transition, got a couple of easy ones off offensive rebounds, and then we let Kaitlin get away from us. We needed to lock her down.

Q. Can you explain what Kendra was able to do to give you guys a chance to fight back?

AMBER WHITING: She inserts her will every day in practice. And seeing her bring that out was really nice. For me, when she took that charge, that was awesome. And those are the little plays and the momentum plays we love to see. So, yeah.

Q. Amber, with the season that it has been, what's your general impressions on how everything has gone and how it wraps up at this point?

AMBER WHITING: We lost a heartbreaker at Utah just a couple of days ago, really. We have lost eight games this season by 10 points or less, and we have been right there in a bunch of them. I see the good that we have. I see we need to clean up little things in the end. But turnovers and offensive rebounds have plagued us all season, and so that needs to be better. And we need some growth in the off-season for next year.

Q. Kendra, your team was down 7. You came in and were a difference maker in that quarter?

KENDRA GILLISPIE: I looked at the score. I am a senior as well. So just thinking about the future ahead. But it's March. It's anybody's game. So just trying to insert my will, like Coach said, and play for my team.

Q. Kendra, was there anything about what Kaitlin did that changed the game for you guys? She comes out with 35 points, took over in the second half.

KENDRA GILLISPIE: You just said it, she had 35 points.

Q. Kendra, since this your senior season, can you just take a little bit of time to reflect on basketball? You were at Baylor and then Arkansas State and now at Baylor. What has your career been like for you, and just your reflections on your time as a student-athlete?

KENDRA GILLISPIE: I moved around, here and there, but I feel like this year was probably my best basketball, just trying to play for my teammates, doing the little things, taking charges.

I kinda call it the Dennis Rodman effect: He didn't score much, but he did what he did for his team. This place really has helped me, and it's been a huge adjustment for me.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much.