NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - GREEN BAY VS MINNESOTA

March 20, 2026

Kayla Karius

Jenna Guyer

Maddy Skorupski

Williams Arena

Green Bay Phoenix

Media Conference

Minnesota 75, Green Bay 58

THE MODERATOR: Coach, go ahead with the opening statement.

KAYLA KARIUS: I'm just incredibly proud of these two seniors sitting next to me and that entire locker room. I'm amazed by how fearless they came out tonight, how they believed that they could win and for three quarters, we were in full control of this game. So I think it took everybody tonight. There was some foul trouble and some really good defense played and still we had to find ways and went on a couple of runs that forced them back on their heels.

I think that whatever happened in the fourth quarter does not reflect the incredible passion that these guys played with tonight and I think they made this entire Green Bay community so proud of them.

Q. From the moment you walked into this building, it was loud. They had a lot of fans, I believe it was 10,000-plus. What was it like to play in that environment and not shy away from anything?

JENNA GUYER: I think for me, it was loud but I think we've had experience with loud games. It was a great atmosphere to play in front of, even if they weren't cheering for us necessarily. It just felt -- I don't know, there were a lot of fans here and we put up a good fight. We did, I guess the best we could for three quarters like Coach said and then they just ran away with it. But it was a really fun crowd to play in front of. I'm just grateful to even have the opportunity.

MADDY SKORUPSKI: I would say the same thing as Jenna. It's a great environment to be in, even if they're against you. I think we have some great fans, too. We had a great fan base show up for us from Green Bay, even with all the snow and everything. Although they were loud, we had our fans too and I think it's just a fun experience to be able to play in that.

Q. Jenna, was it frustrating to not be able to play much in that first half as you guys are trying to establish a lead because of some of those follows?

JENNA GUYER: Yeah, it was frustrating for me personally but it was cool to see, then, people step up when we needed it. That I think I am really proud of. When things weren't going my way, we were still finding a way to get things done on offense and defense.

Q. What do you think happened there in the fourth quarter from your vantage point? You mentioned the first three quarters, you guys won every single one of those quarters. What happened in those last ten minutes?

JENNA GUYER: It's hard to think right now about what happened. I think we just weren't scoring it as well in that first couple of possessions and then they tried to get the ball inside and they were successful at that.

I think then it just got away from us. We did try -- we tried all the actions we had on offense and then we just, I don't know, turned the ball over a couple times and that just, I don't know, that affected us late then.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, you can head back.

Questions for Coach Karius.

Q. Kayla, can you just talk about a player like Jenna that's been in your program and what she's meant to you. I know it's hard to talk about right now, but she's had quite the Green Bay career.

KAYLA KARIUS: Um... (tearfully) I don't know if I can. What can I say? There's a kid that just gave her heart and soul into this program and found a second home in Green Bay, Wisconsin and never left and gave it everything she had and didn't come in as a ready basketball player at the Division I level but worked at it and waited her turn and along the way just became just such a great person and a great leader.

There was no question after the end of last year whose team this was going to be. This is going to be Jenna Guyer's team. That's a load of responsibility as a senior leader for Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball, to carry the program forward and it wasn't always easy and we had a lot of conversations along the way about how challenging that is to get everybody on the same page and to hold them all to a high standard day in and day out and she did it with a smile on her face.

She plays with a lot of joy. Tonight's game doesn't even reflect the type of season she had. This fact, I just think they held her down so much it freed up other people. They just weren't going to let her do what she normally does, so credit to them. But her teammates, they want to be on her team. They don't care what we're playing, what we're doing. She was a glue kid for us all year and for her to end her career here I think was pretty fitting. I can't even really put more into words of what she means to our program but she'll be forever remembered as a leader.

Q. Kayla, what do you hope tonight's performance manges people know about Green Bay women's basketball that maybe they didn't know heading into this game?

KAYLA KARIUS: Yeah, I think -- there's a lot of emotion involved. As a former player myself, I just know how a Green Bay women's basketball player shows up to every game believing she can win. It doesn't matter the stage. Doesn't matter the opponent. I don't care what month it is. I don't care what day it is. I don't care what time we have to play this game, I believe I can win. For eight newcomers to join this team and six returners to mesh together in a very short amount of time and to become what we became, I think tonight's performance shows just that.

They believed that they could win tonight. This was not just we're just happy to be here. We have a tradition of success and of excellence in our program and just arriving at the NCAA Tournament is not enough for us. We want to go make noise. We want to get to the next game. We want to get to the second weekend. It will be forever a goal in our program. I know we fell short tonight and I know it really hurts because of the way the game ended, but it can't take away how incredible this group came together and showcased that tonight.

I think the Green Bay community is well aware of our program and you can tell by the support we had. We can't thank our fans enough. The families that came out. Former hall teammates. Everybody that was wearing green tonight. We heard them, they were loud and supportive and I think back home we know that.

But I think tonight you were able to put our program on a national stage and show the rest of the country how these girls believe in this program and that's what our coaching staff couldn't be more proud of because they did that. They did that for three strong quarters and I think it's -- we want to keep that going forward and we want people who pant to be part of this going forward. To put that on a national stage tonight I think was really special.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.