WOMEN'S BASKETBALL INVITATION TOURNAMENT: COLUMBIA VS BYU

April 1, 2026

Lee Cummard

Olivia Hamlin

Delaney Gibb

Charles Koch Arena

BYU Cougars

Final Postgame Press Conference

Columbia 79, BYU 64

LEE CUMMARD: Tremendous effort by Columbia today. I think coming into this, you could see how tough they were, how physical they were, how hard they played. I think for about the first 32 minutes of the game, they were the harder playing, tougher team.

They showed some of their ways and experience in this moment. I believe they lost in this tournament for the NIT a couple years ago, but they showed some of that postseason experience where we got a little erratic and did some things when it didn't go right early, then we turned into a little bit of just out of character for us. At least the way that we've been playing.

It's credit to them. They were dialed in. I'm just so proud of the fight that our team put forth. There was no going away. It would have been really easy to go away. We were down 26 or 27, I can't remember which one -- 27 -- and they just kept coming.

That's how they've been all year. It's going to sting a little bit, but it's also going to fuel and also such a great experience for us to learn from and grow from.

Hats off to them. They did a great job today.

Q. Delaney and Olivia, obviously a lot of emotions after playing for a championship tonight, knowing that the year is over, but you had won nine of ten to set this opportunity up. How would you kind of describe the emotions that you're feeling at this moment?

DELANEY GIBB: Yeah, I mean, it's never easy to lose, especially when a championship is on the line. For me, I'm feeling a lot of gratitude, especially towards this team. I think our last 10 games are a representation of just the people and the group of people that this team is and how genuine the relationships are, how much we love and care about each other on and off the court.

I'm just so grateful to be part of such a culture and such a group of girls that truly just love each other and connect and get along. It's really fun to play basketball with a group of people that you just really enjoy being around.

OLIVIA HAMLIN: I mean, I'm just thankful to even be here with this group. I don't think you guys really understand how special this group is with the coaching staff and all the girls because we just bond so well. I'm just really thankful to be here with these great people.

Q. Delaney, Columbia, especially in that first half, maybe even the first three quarters, was really able to speed you guys up. What were they doing in particular that was making you guys get a little bit out of rhythm there until about the fourth quarter?

DELANEY GIBB: I think they just did a really great job of being tough, gritty and physical. They did a great job of just playing good straight-up defense and communicating well.

It's tough; I feel like we were out of rhythm, and it's hard to try and get back into rhythm once you're a little bit shaken up.

Q. Olivia, there's some transition opportunities for you guys, shots at the hoop I'm sure you guys would like back, especially in that first half. Especially with those kind of bouncing off, how did that set the tone early on in this game?

OLIVIA HAMLIN: I mean, for us, we just missed shots at first, but we just continued to forget about it and just keep shooting with confidence. I think that's what we did well the fourth quarter is we started hitting shots and started playing aggressively, and I think that's what kind of kept us in the game, just kind of forget and just move on and keep shooting.

Q. Delaney, just want to go back to what Liv talked about that fourth quarter. You guys had been down by 20 points at that point, but you see that fight. You go on a 13-0 run, you get it down to nine there going into the final minute. How encouraging was it to be able to see that fight from the team at that moment?

DELANEY GIBB: Yeah, I think it's just a credit to our team as a whole and the girls that we have in this program. I know that every single girl out there has my back, and at the same time, I want to have theirs.

Really, we just talked about leaving everything on the court, and I feel like that's what we did in that fourth quarter. Forget about everything that's going on and just every single play, play the best that we can and play the hardest that we can.

Q. You finished Coach Cummard's first season with 26 wins, a program record for a first-year coach. What has this season been able to do to help establish the culture that you're hoping to build?

DELANEY GIBB: Yeah, it's super exciting, and it's motivating going into next season, I think. Coach Cummard has done a great job of inspiring us and holding us to excellence and just caring about us as individuals. You want to pour into a coach when you know that they genuinely have a relationship with you.

It's super fun. I just can't explain enough how fun this group has been, and with the coaching staff, just such great relationships, and it's so fun to play basketball with a group of people that you care about.

OLIVIA HAMLIN: I think this team wouldn't be who they are without these coaches and how much they love us. I think that's really what helped us do really good this season is just the love with these coaches and that they had for us and just all the bonds we have.

Q. Speaking of the chemistry that you guys have built as a team, what are your expectations going into next season?

DELANEY GIBB: Yeah, I personally -- I'm a big dreamer, so I have a lot of expectations. I think with this group being so young, it's super exciting, and it's super fun to see.

Obviously we're going to really miss our seniors. They were the foundation of our team, and they were the leaders of this group.

Obviously there's going to have to be some gaps being filled just in that aspect. But it's super exciting to have such a young group of girls because there is so much potential and there's so much growth that can happen.

So going into the postseason and this off-season, it's super exciting, and it's motivating because every single girl wants to be their best and wants to improve for the rest of the group.

OLIVIA HAMLIN: Yeah, I think this is great for us, especially the young ones, especially me. I think this is a good opportunity to improve and just learn from playing against these really good teams. And it kind of fuels us, like now we know what it's going to be like for next season and now we understand these teams are tough and D-1 teams are really good, so I think it fuels us that we can play with them and just build off from that.

Q. I asked this to Delaney, as well, but when you look at Columbia and the way they were able to disrupt you guys, particularly in the first half, what were they doing particularly well to be able to kind of make things difficult?

LEE CUMMARD: You know, I think that they were sound defensively. They're physical. They're tough. They did disrupt a little.

I think that there were a little bit of -- just the emotion of the game that factored in, especially early. It caused us to be a little out of rhythm, shooting shots, finishing at the rim. That had a lot to do with Columbia. But I could feel it from them a little bit pregame, and I think early on just the moment for the first time really you could see there was a little of angst in it, and it's something that I think they'll really take away from this experience.

It felt different preparing for this game compared to preparing for the last four in this tournament. You could just tell there was a difference. I felt it. I know they felt it. It just took us a little bit longer than normal to just kind of settle into a game. They're experienced. They've been deep in this tournament or they've won some games in the postseason before, and I think that showed clearly.

Some of it was the way they were guarding. We only had eight assists. Some of it was -- that's uncharacteristic of us, but some of it was how they were playing us. They weren't letting those kick-out threes -- they were just saying, hey, we're going to play one-on-one and try to stop you.

But I think early on, just the game kind of got to us a little bit, and I think that's one huge thing that they can take away from this, those that are going to continue playing.

Q. I think they ended up taking 20 more free throws than you guys tonight, and this isn't any commentary on officiating or anything like that, but when you add in the shooting struggles, just being a little bit antsy, getting behind early, how much bigger of a hill does that make it to climb?

LEE CUMMARD: Yeah, it's tough. I think we had it to 17 in the third quarter, and we turned it over, we had a lay-up but we turned it over, and then we fouled. I think they got six free throws to end the third quarter, and that pushed it to 23. So six, we got it down to nine, we could have been single digits a lot further.

But it's true credit to them. They stepped up and made them. They out-rebounded us tonight. They made more threes. They won, and they took it. That's a team that you have to go out and beat. They're not going to beat themselves. They're very well-coached and know exactly what they're supposed to do, and they beat us today.

We didn't play great. We had some uncharacteristic things early, but they beat us. It's a tremendous job by their staff how they had them focused and ready, and it's going to be a great learning experience for us.

Q. Just taking kind of an overall look at the postseason for you, you win a couple of games at the Big 12 tournament and then you come here and you win four straight to get to the championship game. What can you take away from this postseason run.

LEE CUMMARD: Look, you can practice all you want, you can't simulate a game rep. It's just completely different. Every game had different things that will be so vital for some of these young players going forward. The ending of the Kansas game and how we executed or didn't execute some of our side out-of-bounds stuff. It may have been the way that we screened or it may have been the way that we passed or didn't pass, and then in this game how we started and the motion of a championship game.

There's just so many good reps in the Big 12 tournament on that stage and then in this tournament on this stage and learning how to get knocked down on your rear end, thinking you're going to the NCAA Tournament, and having to pick yourself up and show everybody that it still matters, because it does.

I think it's really telling for this group, too, we got down big, and nobody faltered. They just kept playing hard for each other. Whether they're playing next year or they're going into the professional world, you get in these moments, you get a chance to go capture something special, you've got to go grab it. It's not going to fall in your lap.

Q. When you look at the season as a whole and the things that you're able to accomplish, how can it help set up the culture that you're looking to establish here, especially considering how many young players made big contributions this year?

LEE CUMMARD: Yeah, I think we've done a fantastic job. The staff has done a great job. But we've got a special locker room. If you spent time with these athletes, these players, you'll know why some of the results happened the way they did. They're high-character young women that carry themselves, and there's many instances in what we put on them as far as expectations where they've risen to the occasion. That's not just on the basketball court. Some of the things that we are trying to expect from them, how they carry themselves, how they talk and act in public. They're just a great group. They're special.

I don't know what the future is going to come and this new landscape. I think we have a pretty good group, and most all of them -- we want you all back, right? I don't know what's going to happen. The portal opens on Monday, and I see things every day that just kind of make me scratch my head, like that team just advanced in the NCAA Tournament.

We love our group. We were all in. Really pleased with the growth of them as people. Really pleased with how we hit some adversity and the group just got closer. I do think it speaks more so to, yeah, we're trying to establish that, but they're just great human beings that want to see everybody succeed.

Q. It was kind of a hard night with shots not falling, especially in the first half. How do you adjust as a coach when shots are being taken but they're just not falling?

LEE CUMMARD: Yeah, I thought early we got some shots that were good shots, and they didn't go. I think some of it had to do with Columbia but also some of the angst of the game, and then that turned into us -- we've been preaching aggressiveness the whole tournament, like hey, we're not taking punches, we're going to throw punches, and let that thing fly.

When we didn't hit the ones that we liked early, then we got a little bit more sped up and a little bit more out of character for us on that end, and Columbia just kept coming. They just kept coming and getting on the glass and then playing tough defense and making us take a tough or quick shot and then kept coming offensively and then another offensive rebound or a foul, get to the foul line. It just kind of -- it was good, then we got a little erratic and showed some of our inexperience in these type games, and then got down deep and we showed our character and our fight.

Q. Coach, on the Columbia side, Broom and Weiss combined for 43 of their points. What gave you the most trouble trying to defend those two?

LEE CUMMARD: They're just two really experienced, heady guards that have played at a high level against different teams. Really impressed with 24 and how she just scores kind of in a quiet way. You watch it on film, and it's quiet, and then come out here and you look up and I think she had 18 in the first half, something like that, or 16, and it's like, dang, we knew she could score, but dang.

Then Broom was just solid. They were a completely different team in the first half when she went out with three. You could tell Coach really trusts the ball in those two players' hands. Then they've got some great people surrounding them that let them be who they are. They were fantastic tonight, and Broom just kind of stepped to the line and just buried everything, just kind of buried us in that run.

But just two great, really poised and composed lead guards at this level.