ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 4, 2026

Tricia Cullop

Ra Shaya Kyle

Amarachi Kimpson

Gas South Arena

Miami Hurricanes

Postgame Press Conference

Miami 83, Stanford 76 (OT)

TRICIA CULLOP: First, we have a lot of respect for Stanford. I was just really proud of our players, because in the fourth quarter they made a nice run at us. They played great defense, I think held us to six points in the fourth quarter.

But we were really resilient to force overtime and to make sure in overtime that we were able to get some quick points and extend the lead so that we were comfortable.

But I don't think you're ever comfortable when you play them. They're a very, very good team. But I'm really proud of the two sitting beside me and really the whole team because their composure was really good.

When you get to tournament play, everybody is good. All the details matter, rebounds matter, stops matter. Really proud of the fact we made 78 percent of our free throws. That was big because you had to do everything you could to extend the lead, and when they were fouling, if we didn't hit them, it would have been a tough game.

Just proud of our composure, proud we finished, and glad we're playing another day.

Q. I wanted to ask you guys about Ra Shaya's effort today. Coach, what stood out the most about her effort just in the paint and then overall game?

TRICIA CULLOP: I think she's averaged a double-double all season, so it's something that we're used to, we expect. She knows we expect this of her. I think she expects it of herself. She's one of the top players in this league, top players in the nation at her position.

What I like about it is she's understanding when double-teams come how to share the ball and where to get the ball so that we can score, somebody else can do something.

She draws a lot of attention. They were doing everything they could to make it difficult for her to score, and I think her composure, her willingness to do whatever it takes, set a good screen, make a pass for somebody else to score.

But when she had her moments, I thought she was dominant. I really love that about the way she plays.

Q. You guys had three players score 20 plus today. That's not something you see every day. Ladies, what were you seeing to get so much balance across the board? And Coach, what you see on a day like that?

AMARACHI KIMPSON: Yeah, I think any given night anybody can go off and we express that in practice, games, so really it was just about sharing the ball. Of course we have such a dominant post inside, so it makes it easy for other things to open up.

RA SHAYA KYLE: To piggyback, I would agree. I also think we have dominant point guards so everything is opened up when we make them play inside out so they've got to guard all over the floor, so I would say we all just had a really good game tonight.

Q. A game of runs where you guys had to come back from long deficits of scoring and then how your mindset was going into the overtime, knowing that you hadn't played your best in the fourth quarter.

RA SHAYA KYLE: We've came back from deficits before. We've been in these positions before. Our mindset was just to keep pushing, play defense, and let's just get stops and try to score on the other end.

AMARACHI KIMPSON: Yeah, just to piggyback off that, I think mental toughness is such a big thing for us, so knowing that we're going to stay together, it really helps for us to come out with a win.

Q. I was going to ask Tricia, I just want to know what happened in the fourth quarter because you guys were leading, I think, by 13 or something going into the fourth quarter, and there was a collapse in the fourth quarter. What changed in the fourth quarter? And what was your message to the team going into the overtime, because the overtime was a complete flipped switch there. What changed?

TRICIA CULLOP: First of all, they switched to a zone in the fourth quarter and trapped a little bit out of it, and I think it got us out of rhythm.

I don't think we passed the ball fast enough. That's something we're going to have to address when we watch film.

I thought we had some looks we didn't hit, but I also thought the ball got really stagnant, and when it's stagnant, it's easy for the defense to really get aggressive.

When we moved the ball better in the overtime I thought we did a much better job, but too many turnovers leading into the end of the fourth quarter against the press, and then also too stagnant in the half court.

My message to them before the overtime was basically this. I'll be honest, I had even told them leading into that last play, if we don't get a good shot, don't shoot a bad shot that they can run out or call a time-out and get a play and score and beat us.

I was okay if we didn't have a good shot to hold it and force overtime. But I'm really, really proud of the fact that in that time-out before that, I just said, hey, guys, this is exactly where we want to be. Let's make sure our mindset is right. Let's play together. Let's share the ball a little bit better.

I thought they did that, and I thought they played with great composure, great togetherness, and the way that we fully expected them to play.

Q. For the players, for both players, you guys were 8 of 9 from the free-throw line in the overtime. How important was that to hit those free throws in those moments and not let Stanford get back in? And what was going through your minds, for each of you, as you were standing at the free-throw line with the game on the line?

AMARACHI KIMPSON: I think in every close game or any game in general, free throws are such a big thing. I think for me, I always tell myself to take my time. Making more free throws means more possessions that they would need to score against us.

RA SHAYA KYLE: Just to piggyback off that, free throws is something we emphasize in practice every single practice. We've lost games because of free throws, so I would just say knock your free throws down. It's easy, it's free. That is the only thing that would be going through my head: Just take your time, hit your free throws.

Q. Coach, just one question. Outside of the outlier at Georgia Tech, you guys have played really well the last month. Are you playing your best basketball right now?

TRICIA CULLOP: I'm glad you said outside of that game because we're trying to forget that game. Georgia Tech played exceptional, and we were really disappointed with ourselves.

But other than that, I did think we were playing really well, kind of peaking at the right time, and we kind of had just put that out of our mind and get back to what was helping us win.

I'm really happy that this team is gelling kind of at the right time because postseason play is a lot of fun. Obviously we face Notre Dame -- played them pretty close until about midway through the third quarter when we were up there.

I think, again, we've got a great opportunity in front of us. They're very, very good. Obviously Player of the Year on their team. But we're looking forward to playing them. We're looking forward to playing another day and giving them our best shot.

Q. For the two players, if you could just touch on the chemistry. You said you guys are gelling at the right time now. How together does this team feel? And especially coming off that Georgia Tech loss, that was a big wide margin there. How were you able to regroup so quickly to play so well today after playing so poorly the other day?

AMARACHI KIMPSON: Yeah, I think coming into the ACC Tournament, it's 0-0 now. We have to forget the last game. We know our next game is our biggest game. So we just have to keep with that mentality and know that we have to stay connected to win.

RA SHAYA KYLE: I would say the same thing as Rachi. 0-0 is basically the start of a new season. It's here. It's win or go home. I think that we just kind of all just are locked in with each other, chemistry on and off the court, and just make sure we know we come here to handle business.