WOMEN'S BASKETBALL INVITATION TOURNAMENT: COLUMBIA VS BYU

April 1, 2026

Megan Griffith

Susie Rafiu

Mia Broom

Riley Weiss

Charles Koch Arena

Columbia Lions

Final Postgame Press Conference

Columbia 79, BYU 64

MEGAN GRIFFITH: First of all, I'd just like to thank the entire city of Wichita for being so welcoming. This was a first class experience, from our bus driver Paul to everybody that was at the Hilton Garden Inn that was hosting us, the WBIT staff, the Wichita State Athletic Department.

I mean, everybody here was fantastic. This was truly a first class experience and a championship experience, so thank you everybody for making this possible.

I'm just really tremendously proud of our players, especially these three to my left in Perry page, our two seniors, Perri and Susie just completely made up their minds when we lost in the Ivy League semifinal tournament game, and I think the two of theirs leadership we could not be here without them and to turn the page and embark on a new mission, I couldn't say enough about who the two of them have become.

I'm excited for you to hear from them. But extremely grateful for this opportunity and really, really proud of our program.

Q. For all three of you, the opportunity to play in the WBIT, everybody wants to play in the NCAA Tournament, I imagine you've had your share of doing that at Columbia, but what's it say to be in the WBIT and go out and win it and prove something.

SUSIE RAFIU: Yeah, like Coach G said, after the Ivy League Tournament we knew that we'd made our bed and this was what was next for us.

Again on that day we had our minds set up and had a goal in mind to win the WBIT and we went out and did that. Yeah, we attacked what was in front of us next, so I am very proud of this team.

MIA BROOM: Yeah, Perri said in her postgame interview that we're going to come out here and win the WBIT, and I think that was clear from the St. Johns game.

RILEY WEISS: Yeah, going off what these two said, obviously all the teams in the WBIT are very talented. We know that. They are all team that think they should have made the NCAA Tournament or were really close. We obviously knew not to take anyone lightly and we were able to turn the page really quickly when we obviously did not make the NCAA Tournament.

So just really proud of this group for turning that page and obviously dominating in the WBIT.

Q. In Wichita you guys played against a Big Ten team and a Big 12 team coming from the Ivy League. What does that say about Ivy League basketball to compete against two of the biggest conferences in college basketball?

SUSIE RAFIU: Yeah, I mean, especially the last few years, even last year having three teams go into the tournament and, again, coming out and showing out in this tournament. Princeton going to the NCAA Tournament again, it just shows the Ivy League is up there and can play with these Power Four teams, so yeah.

MIA BROOM: I agree completely with Suse.

RILEY WEISS: I agree with both you guys. I think Suse pretty much covered it. The Ivy League has a lot of great talent and a lot of high level basketball, high level IQs. I think that is something special about our league. So yeah, it's nice that we get to show that in the postseason and still playing April 1st and bring home a championship.

Q. About how well you played defensively and how you seemingly took them out of their game through those first three quarters and also if you could follow up with that fourth quarter, they came at you in a rush.

SUSIE RAFIU: Yeah, defensively again that just shows prep and planning. Our coaches do a great job watching film. It was a quick turnaround, too, from Monday's game, which was close between BYU and Kansas. So, again, just watching the game in person. We also stayed for the first half getting to know them too.

So just a lot of prep, scout, walk-through, film and everything to get us as ready as possible and then go out there and execute because we know what we need to do and what will work for us.

So yeah.

MIA BROOM: Having Perri Page on your team makes everything a whole lot easier for the rest of us, so we just follow her lead.

RILEY WEISS: Yeah, I agree with both the guys. And then to the point on the fourth quarter, yeah, I mean, it wasn't perfect. Obviously we knew they were going to come out and do something different because they had to. That's what a team needs to do when they're down.

I think it got us a little bit in the start, but I think we responded well and were able to still keep our lead. And yeah, it's not perfect, but we still came away with the win, so that's all that matters really.

Q. Riley, when BYU went on that run, how did you stay together, and what does staying together look like for you guys?

RILEY WEISS: Yeah, so I think a big thing for us this year, the entire year has been keeping a blue head, so having our bench repeat that to us, coaching staff repeat that really settles us, keeps us calm, and it reminds us to be where our feet are, take a breath, and like we know how to break a press. It's just bodies. It's just bodies.

So sticking to our principles and executing what Coach G is telling us to do and just remaining calm.

Q. Mia, throughout the WBIT you've really stepped up. What does it mean to you individually to step into the bigger role that you've had and help lead the team to this title and just what have you learned about yourself during this run?

MIA BROOM: I think I just got a lot of confidence from my players, especially Maria and Fliss, helping me throughout the entire tournament. Riley, Perri, Suse, Hilke, just instilled confidence in me. I learned I'm a tough player. I also need to learn how to take care of the ball a little bit better.

RILEY WEISS: You played great.

Q. You went down in the turnovers today from Monday, so going in the right direction.

MIA BROOM: Thank you guys!

Q. Susie, what's one thing you're going to remember for a really long time from that celebration on the court after the buzzer went off?

SUSIE RAFIU: Good question. I mean, I think just it going off and then finding Perri, like me and Perri found each other really quickly, so just like finding her really special through. Just like all we been through, we been together all four of our years, so that was really special.

She's led our team to this point as well, so just be able to share the moment with Perri was definitely a highlight for sure.

MIA BROOM: A moment that stood out to me was Suse is very locked in all the time so when I finally saw a little smile break out on her face I knew we were good.

RILEY WEISS: I agree with Mia too. When I saw a smile from Suse, but also when I heard the opposing coach say, no more fouling, I knew we had the game. Obviously still locked in, but we all let out a little smile and I was just happy we pulled that one out.

Q. Starting off with Susie, I just wanted to ask how it feels to walk off the court one last time as a champion. Also I think this was your 100th career win, so two pretty big milestones.

SUSIE RAFIU: Okay, wow. I heard that but I wasn't sure after. Good to know.

Coach G said it and we all know, only two teams in America end their season on a win, so to be one of them is amazing for sure. Just cap off a career at Columbia is amazing, too, and it just goes to show through the last four or five years the steps the program has taken, so I'm really happy to be a part of it.

Q. For Mia, obviously a really incredible tournament run for you. Feels like you found a different gear in the postseason. I was wondering what it was that switched for you and how you want to carry that into next season?

MIA BROOM: Just confidence. I want to carry that into next season for sure.

Q. Riley, you managed to put up 20 points in every single game during the tournament, like a really consistent tournament run. I was wondering how it felt for you to put up those really consistent big scoring numbers and help the team to this win?

RILEY WEISS: I mean, yeah, it's known that that's my role on this team, among other things, but I know that's my role, and then my teammates obviously finding the ball and I think we did a really great job in this tournament run of have been distributed scoring so that took a lot of pressure off me and let me get some more easy baskets with Suse and Mia and P and Hill too, all them scoring and putting up some numbers.

Yeah, I think that really allowed me to score in this tournament.

Q. Coach, your program is one of the rare ones that has competed in a championship game in the WNIT and the WBIT. Can you compare the pros and cons of the differences between the two tournaments?

MEGAN GRIFFITH: Yeah, thankfully the NCAA decided to create the WBIT experience. I would just say the WNIT Triple Crown does a great job with it, but the whole experience of having to bid to play and then host, we got to play in a championship game at Kansas in front of 12,000 Kansas fans, so it wasn't really a neutral site tournament at that point, and we felt like we got out bid honestly from the experience and how many people they were able to draw and make it an experience there.

I think this just gives another first-class championship neutral site tournament feel, and that was really it. Other than that, it was such a fun journey, too. I wouldn't have taken back anything that happened in that tournament. It was very different from how you travel to where you stay. You were planning all the logistics for yourself, whereas here a lot of that was taken care of by the great WBIT staff and NCAA family.

I think, again, just a fantastic way to play in front of a great stadium, in front of neutral site fans and BYU and us both drew well, so overall just a great experience.

Q. Pretty incredible way to end the season. Feels like it's been a real roller coaster. I remember in the early days of the season it felt like the team was struggling to find its identity whereas now you're winning games with four players over 10 points, Perri one behind. How does it feel to you not just to win the championship but to win it in this way?

MEGAN GRIFFITH: Gosh, I don't know if I've been able to process this all yet. It's like we've just been going. I would just say that the best teams that I've coached, and I would say any coach would agree with me are player led, coach fed, player led.

I feel like when we finally made that shift consistently that was a huge credit to Perri and Susie, I knew it was their team, and when it's their team, they're the ones on the court executing. We have the game plan, we have the strategy, but when they're taking that over and making it their own and making adjustments in real time, that's when you know you have a real team.

That's the thing I been most proud of this program, but that's all credit to Perri and Susie.

Q. On that point about Perri and Susie, pretty great way for them to finish their last game. I was wondering if you had a few words about them this season and their careers as Lions?

MEGAN GRIFFITH: Yeah, this season in particular, I can't say enough about just how they both stepped up in a major way. Starting with Susie, Susie is such a hard critic on herself. These are such high achieving student-athletes, and for Susie to let go and honestly -- I think she played the best basketball at the end of her career, which that's what you hope for a player is that they get to leave as a champion, having left everything on the floor, no regrets. I really felt like she was able to get to that point here.

Perri, talk about a hell of a basketball player, we took an amazing athlete that was a good basketball player and she transformed into an amazing basketball player at the end of her career that is unguardable and can literally guard anybody 1 through 5 in the country.

I can't say enough about just the choice she made to be great, and I think that's something that's very rare these days is players knowing that it's their choice, and I thought Perri absolutely took advantage of that this season and was just dynamic in every single way.

I've said this before and I've coached a lot of great players, Abbey Hsu, Kaitlyn Davis, Kitty Henderson, CC Collins, Perri has been by far the most fun to coach as a senior. I would say that because Perri brought into the process, trusted me fully, no moment was too big. She showed up in every single moment and that's what you hope for a player is that they can play their best basketball as a Columbia Lion.

I can't say enough about her leadership.

Q. How are you going to celebrate this?

MEGAN GRIFFITH: We're going to Paint Wichita Red, I think? Isn't that what we're going to do? I think we're painting Columbia blue. We're going to have fun. That's all I know. I want to celebrate with our team, I want to celebrate with my staff. I have the hardest working staff in the country. Our administration, I just want us all to enjoy this because it's so rare that you get to celebrate on a win and win a championship in a great city. I just want us all to be together.

Q. What was kind of the response you saw from your team as BYU made that run? What was the vibe in those time-outs and just how did you see them weather the storm?

MEGAN GRIFFITH: Intense. The vibe was intense. That's the thing is we coach our team, specifically me, we coach them hard all the time in practice. I think they're tremendous at handling pressure, and I think this tournament, especially in the last two games when there were teams that made a push, I thought our team really held it together, and that's a lot of acceptance of what's happening in the moment so that you can execute.

Like Nasi Simmons, for instance, they had a couple costly turnovers and she missed some free throws. She made the ones that mattered, and she made the plays that mattered, and she made the lay-ups that mattered. To see a player like that blossom right before your eyes, that's all you can ask for because I think she's going to be fantastic next year and finish two years here as one of the best players that will wear the jersey, especially as a defender.

Mia Broom, same thing. I can't say enough about these young players that you saw literally grow up in front of your eyes. Riley Weiss as a floor leader and a floor general. These are things that we've been talking about and, hey, these are the steps we need to take. I think the acceptance piece of where we were, what's happening in the moment -- and credit to great players. Delaney made some amazing plays. She had eight steals, 24 points on the night when she had a pretty slow first half.

Big-time players make big plays. I thought they did that to make that run, but we also, I thought, collectively handled it well.

Q. On that point, you had some lineups in the first half that we haven't seen all season or that we've seen like two minutes of all season. What made you have faith in those groups to get it done?

MEGAN GRIFFITH: Every day they're proving that, right? This is what this tournament has been about is it's strength in numbers. We always say 1 through 14, right? How many people on our team -- it's not how Riley plays or Perri plays, but it's how Marta plays our it's how Blau plays or Eirny or Vasiliki; it's everybody rowing in the same direction on the same boat with the same vision.

That's the one thing that I knew -- they were ready. It was like, all right, we're going to call your number today, Marta, we're going to need you in this game, and she just answered the call.

They all practice and work so hard for this. I would say there's nobody on our team that's not carrying their own weight. We talk a lot about that. We talk about culture, and I think we have the best culture in the nation, and every single one of those players is testament to that, and that's what you got to see tonight. We needed them. When Mia and Perri got in foul trouble, we needed them to step up, and they were ready for that moment.

Q. After the loss in the Ivy League Tournament, you were second-guessing your decision to be more patient, take things a little slower than you had in previous years. Just curious, do you want to revise that a little bit? Does that feel different now that you've cut down a net here?

MEGAN GRIFFITH: You've got two big laughs from my wife and my mom right there. I would say it's hard. It's hard to say, right, because I think every team needs to come into their own at their own time, and in that moment, of course, it's heartache; you're gutted not being in the NCAA Tournament, knowing it was right in front of you. You were in control of your destiny winning your fourth championship.

Those two weeks were the hardest weeks, I would say, probably in my coaching career from the standpoint of how do you manage the feelings, the emotions and process that with a program that just cares so much about what it's doing.

But I would say our players, again, to step up and be the leaders that they were allowed me, allowed us to move on and know that it was the right decision, the way we handled the season.

Of course you want it to click sooner. I think every coach wants it to click sooner, but this was the process we needed to go through. This was the journey we needed to go on.

Q. How does it feel to be hoisted in the air by Perri Page after winning a championship?

MEGAN GRIFFITH: It was great. I would do it again. It was fantastic.