SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 4, 2026

Kellie Harper

Jordana Reisma

Abbey Schreacke

Bon Secours Wellness Arena

Missouri Tigers

Postgame Press Conference

Alabama-65, Missouri-48

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with Missouri, Coach Kellie Harper and Jordana Reisma and Abbey Schreacke. Coach, we'll take opening comments.

KELLIE HARPER: There may not be anybody here. Listen, I'm proud of our team, and I'm proud of how hard we played. Obviously I'm disappointed that we came up short, but Alabama is a really good basketball team, and they did what they needed to do. We didn't -- honestly, we didn't make enough shots. They made a run there when Austin got hot from the three and pulled away from us.

I thought we battled. I thought we hung in there. Like I said, I'm just really proud of our team and our effort.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Either athletes, after the season, how do you go back to the locker room and reflect on what happened this season? How do you turn a page, flip the page from your season?

ABBEY SCHREACKE: Yeah, looking from where we started in the beginning of this year, I think we can safely say we've improved from the start, and that's something we can have pride in. We're really looking forward and hoping we can continue this season and have a postseason.

THE MODERATOR: Jordana, can you talk about what was working for the team when you made that big comeback especially in the third quarter?

JORDANA REISMA: I just think we were executing offensively. We got looks that we were looking for. We were going after them, and yeah, we were just hitting shots in that third quarter.

THE MODERATOR: She was 7 of 8, by the way. Thank you very much. Questions for Coach. Coach, do you want to talk about what was working well in that third quarter?

KELLIE HARPER: Yeah, I thought Alabama went on a stretch where they turned the ball over a few times, and we converted offensively. They missed some shots during that quarter, and we were able to get those boards. So the stops gave us a spark, and we were able to score a little bit in that third quarter.

Q. Coach, with Jordana's performance today, can you just talk about her resilience this year and what she's meant to this team and just the one year she's had?

KELLIE HARPER: Yeah, you know, she's been so solid for our team. Man, she's been so tough. She's battling injuries, very limited practice. But she wants to play. She influences the game. She helps her teammates be better by being on the court.

I'm just really proud of who she is as a person and who she is as a basketball player.

Q. SEC is considered one of the toughest conferences in college basketball, and it's hard to take a win in this conference, any single opponent that you face. When you reflect back on your season, what is something that is positive that you want to take away from?

KELLIE HARPER: I think for our team battling adversity, continuing to show up every day. I've been proud of our team for that. It's not easy to go through the gauntlet that we go through. I know we had -- to end the season, we played three straight top-10 teams, and then you play another ranked opponent here as your fourth in a row. That is a tough stretch. We got a lot of kids in that locker room that are really excited about the potential of postseason play.

I'm proud of them for showing up and allowing us to coach them every day.

Q. You have Grace, Abbey, and then I know Hannah and Averi are hurt, but how has their leadership being in the SEC the last three years kind of helped newcomers come in and show them SEC play?

KELLIE HARPER: Yeah, I think if we go all the way back to the spring and the summer and we had five players that were on the team previously that continued to stay with us, and they really bought into our vision, and they were so welcoming to our new players, to their new teammates. We told them we were going to bring in really good people, and we did that. I think the chemistry has been good throughout the season.

But you start with good people, that's going to happen. Our returners did a really great job of welcoming not just their new teammates, but our staff as well. I'm very grateful to them for that.