March 29, 2010

Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

[4] BAYLOR (27-9) 51, [2] DUKE (30-6) 48
FEDEX FORUM • MEMPHIS, TENN.
MARCH 29, 2010

You had no problem crying after the win. What were you thinking?
"It was surreal. That's exactly what I thought; being down 10 with however minutes to go. The last timeout, at the three or four minute mark, I don't remember when it was, we had just lost a big offensive rebound, and they had 30 more seconds on the shot clock. I told those two freshmen, (Kimetria) Hayden and Jordan (Madden),"You remember that offensive rebound because it might come back and get you; better not forget it." Dang, if the one kid doesn't come back and doesn't make the dang play of the game on the press. It is what you get with freshmen; the good and the bad.

The thing I get to do is coach kids that believe in what we do and allow me to get on them, challenge them and they never quit playing. You never saw a Baylor kid quit playing today. Morghan Medlock is a senior and I am sure what was going through her mind; she is thinking I am sitting over here on the bench and this could be my last game. She never questioned. She cheered and understood I was going with a smaller line up.

I can't explain it to you, unless you guys have played in a Final Four and won a national championship. There is no greater feeling in sports than doing that. You have to realize that a kid like Brittney Griner has never cut a net down in her life. This is the first net that this kid has cut down. The others have cut down Big 12 championship nets, but for kids like Griner and Mariah Chandler. The reason those kids lifted me up to cut the net down is because that is what they said to me when they signed at Baylor. They said, "We are going to lift you up to cut that net down", and they didn't forget that.

I am happy for the team obviously, the coaches, but I am most happy for Baylor University."

What things did you do well that reversed Duke's offensive rebounding and second chance points?
"I thought what got us back in the game were a couple of things. I thought when the game was over I would come in here and say what beat us was the foul line because they made a few more than we did and the offensive rebounding. Now that we have won the game, the two things that won the game were our press and their press. Their press allowed our quickness to get by them and score transition buckets, and it allowed us to cut that lead."

Talk about the decision to change to a smaller line up.
"We needed offense, and I didn't think that we were getting offense from (Melissa Jones) at the three and Morghan Medlock at the four. I went with some fast and quick athletes because they have been pressing all year. If they are going to keep pressing, let's attack the press and get some transition buckets to cut the lead. I realized we were going to give up some offensive boards, but we were giving up those offensive boards with the five that had been playing the most minutes all year.

I don't want to say it was a gamble; it was a strategy. They were bigger, they were stronger and crashing the boards. They are more mature and older than we were, so I went with a little bit of athleticism and quickness to see if we could quickly cut into the lead."

Talk about playing in the Final Four three hours from campus.
"You guys saw where our men's team played didn't you, and it was the second most attended regional I was told. I imagine you are going to see a lot of Baylor fans in San Antonio, Texas. Baylor appreciates winning, and we have great fans. I am sure that the people with the NCAA love that this could sell more tickets than if Duke had gone because of the distance more than anything else.

Talk about cutting the lead to two and Duke stretching it back out to seven or eight.
"We were pressing out of desperation because we kept fouling them and putting them at the foul line. We would hold them one time with a great defensive stop, I think it was (Jordan) Madden, going over a screen, and we fouled them with the shot clock winding down and that's two points. (Kimetria) Hayden let the kid get the offensive board, and that's another 30 seconds added. Those two kids allowed four points at the end of the half from fouling on the perimeter. As frustrated as I get at those two kids, those two kids helped you win the dang ball game today."

Talk about when you got this group together for the first practice. Did you think this would be a Final Four team?
"I remember what I said as if it was yesterday. It was in individual workouts, and after that day, I picked up the phone and called (Assistant) Coach (Leon) Barmore and said there is some serious talent in this program right now. I don't know how far we can get them in this short period of time, but it is going to happen for these kids. I wasn't even talking about (Brittney) Griner, but when we get them all on the same page and they learn how to guard people, we are going to enjoy coaching them.

The unfortunate thing that happened which is also fortunate is Melissa Jones' injury. You wouldn't have nine losses had Melissa Jones not suffered that injury. The silver lining is you wouldn't have had (Kimetria) Hayden and Jordan (Madden) on the floor today because I would have been scared to play them because Melissa Jones would have been playing all year."

Can you walk us through the in-bounds steal with 2:15 left in the game?
"We were down obviously, and we needed to put some pressure on them defensively and try to get a steal. (Kimetria) Hayden comes up with a huge steal and was able to get her hands on the ball and put us right back into the ball game."

Can you talk about the closing stretch? At one point you were down 10 at the midpoint of the second half.
"The thing about this team (Baylor) is that they never give up. At any given time, nobody was just down because they thought the game was over. We believed (that we would be able to come back). The coaching staff was keeping us where we needed to be. We never were down. We were just so excited about the moment. We knew if we kept it close, that we could still pull it out."

(Kimetria) Hayden got the steal, but how key was it making sure you got the ball in the hoop?
When I got the ball I didn't know where I was at the time, and I looked up and I was right by the basket. I think it was kind of just being in the right place at the right time. She (Kimetria Hayden) made the steal and made the play what it was."

For the longest time it seemed like you couldn't make an outside shot. Can you talk about how you finally able to break Duke's defense down?
"Coach (Kim Mulkey) just said it. She was talking about how transition gave us opportunities to score. I think our bench just produced amazingly for us. Jordan Madden and (Kimetria) Hayden just attacked the basket. When they got in there and open things up, someone else has to help. The bench came out for us tonight."

Can you talk about the defense in the second half and about going to the smaller lineup?
"We needed some steals and needed to score some points in transition so we went to a smaller lineup to do that. They (Duke) had kind of an advantage with their overall team height. We felt as if we got the ball, we would be able to run on them. Fortunately we have some very quick offensive players on our team, and they were able to get some buckets for us."

Brittney, can you talk about the shot that gave you all the lead?
"I knew I had to get the ball in the basket. I just tried to get as close to the rim as I could."

There was a long stretch in the second half where you didn't take a shot. Could you take us through the ebb and flow of how this game went for you in terms of being involved and what you produced?
"They doubled me (defensively) like every other team. They were doing it I guess really well during the little stretch in the second half where they limited my touches. I just have to work hard and trust my guards to get it down to me. I just have to do my part (once the guards get me the ball)."

On the shot that put you ahead, was the plan to get the ball to you (on the play)?
"I knew we needed that bucket, so I did everything I did to get position and have her (the Duke defender) play behind me."

You (Brittney Griner) managed to get the tournament record for blocked shots in a tournament with at least one game to go. To be the all-time blocked shots leader in a tournament, is that a nice mark to have?
"I think it would be kind of funny to be 6-8 and not have any blocks at all. You just see the shot and try to throw it out of bounds."

Being the All-Region MVP, did you see yourself at the beginning of the season being to be the MVP of a region?
"I didn't. I'm really hard on my performance. I didn't think I would get it."

Baylor Senior Forward Morghan Medlock

Morghan (Medlock) you are a senior on the team? Talk about being able to go to the Final Four? It looked like you were just sitting over on the bench and just taking it all in.
"I'm actually so excited right now that it has caused me to become sick to my stomach. I'm trying not to puke. I have Sprite in my cup. I don't even drink soda. I just wanted to sit over there (on the bench) and watch these kids celebrate because they came through in the clutch. It just seemed like nothing was going our way with the fouls being called. I just had to sit and watch. I couldn't be that excited at the time. It is just a great feeling right now."

What was it like to cut that net down?
"It was one of the greatest feelings I have ever felt in my life. I couldn't believe it. I was just in a state of shock. I was excited, and I wanted to cry, but I told myself I didn't want to cry because I was too happy. It just felt great."