Texas 64, Maryland 61
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Chloe Bibby.
Q. Chloe, if you come back next year. Basically you should be the same team. This could happen again. This stings, but do you kind of try to turn this towards next year and think we're the same next year, we can do this again?
CHLOE BIBBY: Yeah, I mean, I'm so proud of these girls. They came out all season and fought. I think our inexperience did show tonight. This is the first time that they've had the big lights on them for a lot of our team. I think that's great exposure. You need that, you need those moments. Really proud of how they fought tonight.
I think this will fuel us going forward. Now they've got that under their belt, had the first NCAA tournament, so they had a little bit of a taste of it. I think we're going to want to go further. As I said, really proud of them.
Q. You will keep fighting till the end. Was there a moment late where you started to feel it was over, you weren't going to be able to come back?
CHLOE BIBBY: No. I mean, I have full confidence in my team. I mean, sometimes it's March. That's just how the ballgame goes. They made some good free throws at the end. Kudos to Texas. They played a really great game tonight.
We just weren't able to finish it out. But, I mean, there was no point. I've always got my team. Every night I've got my team, so no.
Q. What does it mean to you that you're going out on this note where you were still playing unselfishly, playing the game, the team game, that 11 strong game you've been talking about all season?
CHLOE BIBBY: Yeah, that's the Maryland style of basketball. We've talked about it all season, That unselfish play. I mean, as I said, it didn't go our way tonight, but super proud of these girls. That's just something that we can continue to build on.
I mean, we don't play how we did all season -- I don't know -- didn't come out the way we did. These things happen. Texas did, they played really great. This is not going to stop us. We're going to come back hungrier next year.
Q. After the other two losses you had this season, you came back with some of the strongest basketball you've been playing. How will this sitting over the next few months do for you in a positive way?
CHLOE BIBBY: Yeah, I mean, it's going to hurt definitely. We got to go home, reflect, think on this time, but use it as fuel to get better. I mean, I think we got out-rebounded tonight. It was just those little things.
But we had the moment. We've been under the spotlight now. As Coach Frese said, we just have to use this experience that we got and move forward.
Q. You talked about it's March. Was there still some level of surprise after how you have been playing and rolling late in the season into this tournament? Was there some level of surprise as to how the game went, the result, in your eyes?
CHLOE BIBBY: I mean, I know Coach Schaefer, I knew how he was going to come out. He was going to have a game plan for us. I mean, I wasn't really surprised. I was really proud of how we came out, how we fought. We really did, we fought till the very end. Just so proud of them, to fight through that adversity.
We didn't have our best offensive game tonight. I think that shows. We didn't rebound the ball well. But just, again, so proud of how we came out and we fought.
Q. What did you take from what Coach said, obviously a couple minutes since everything happened, but what the players may have been saying amongst themselves after the loss?
CHLOE BIBBY: We know we're better than that. We're just going to use this to fuel us. We weren't happy with how we played tonight. I think everyone can agree on that. But, yeah, these things happen. We just have to move forward with it.
I think, yeah, this is great momentum that we can use because it's such a young team. We still have a lot to learn. Yeah, just use that as fuel.
Q. On a night like this one where you have an abnormal shooting night, how much of that is it's one game, and how much of it is they did something particularly on defense?
CHLOE BIBBY: I mean, we knew they were going to come out and play some tough, hard defense. We didn't have a good shooting night. But we need to find other ways to score. That happens some nights. We have to find a way to win.
I think we didn't do that by turning the ball over, not getting those rebounds. So we kind of just went away from our play there. We missed a couple boxouts, O boards and things like that. As I said, kudos to them. They played a great defensive game.
I mean, it happens. But every day I take my team and their offensive game over anyone else.
Q. When you say they played a fantastic defensive game, can you go into more detail on what specifically they were doing?
CHLOE BIBBY: They were blowing up screens, a lot of talk. Honestly I thought our defense was really good, too. I thought we played some really good sequences of 30 seconds of great defense. We just couldn't execute on the other end.
As I said, I'll take my girls every day of the week, twice on Sundays. It just happens. Sometimes you miss those three-pointers, easy layups. I thought we missed a lot of bunnies tonight. Uncharacteristic turnovers.
But, I mean, they're learning things. We're all still little babies I think. We're going to take from this and learn from it. But, yeah, I take my team every day of the week.
Q. You've been in this situation before where your season is cut short in the tournament. How does doing it with this team differ for you after all you've been through this season and how much you all love each other on and off the court?
CHLOE BIBBY: Yeah, I mean, this is a tough one. I think our chemistry on and off the court is so great, so we're hurting for one another right now. As much as it hurts individually, I'm hurting for all my sisters back in that locker room.
This is tough, but we're going to bounce back from this. We're going to use this as motivation, yeah.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
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