Washington - 79, Minnesota - 65
THE MODERATOR: We'll start our first press conference of the day with the Washington Huskies with Coach Tina Langley and student-athletes Hannah Stines and Elle Ladine. At this time, we would turn it over to Coach. We would like you to make an opening statement, and then we'll open it up for questions for the student-athletes.
TINA LANGLEY: First of all, I just can't -- I don't even know where to begin to say how much I love this team, how much we believe in each other, we believe in these young women and the character that they show every day. It's a blessing to be their coach, to be a part of their daily lives.
So proud of them. I'm excited for them. They've been working incredibly hard. We're excited for what's ahead.
Q. For either of you, where Minnesota are at in the standings and how many teams are projected to make the NCAA Tournament, this game felt like it had big implications. How much did you feel that, or how much did it motivate you heading into this one?
TINA LANGLEY: I honestly believe this team has become very process driven. We prepared for this game the way we prepared for every other game. It was a quick turnaround, get on a plane, unpack, do a practice, go to a game. We've kind of been in that rhythm for a while.
I thought they were very normal and just prepared that way. That's what we want to be this time of the year.
Q. Elle, last week, exactly one week ago, you played the same team, and you had a big 26-point performance and great efficiency. What did that game do for your confidence coming into today knowing that you're going to play the same team?
ELLE LADINE: Coach just really hit on it, but I feel like preparing the same way as I prepared last time gave me confidence in this game and doing the same thing like we always do.
Q. Elle, this is a hard place to shoot. Reggie Miller used to even say that in the day when he was back here, no background. You came out and shot the ball really well in the first half of the game.
ELLE LADINE: Thank you.
Q. What did you attribute that to?
ELLE LADINE: Oh, my gosh, just great passes. When you start off just making open shots, you kind of get a little feel for it. My teammates finding me, setting great screens, so I was able to shoot my open pull-up, and that helped me get a really good feel.
TINA LANGLEY: You guys need to give Hannah a hard one.
HANNAH STINES: That's okay.
Q. Tina, your team shot the ball really well all year long. You did it again today. What do you attribute that to? And when you came into here, Washington all year long shot the ball well. What do you think was the main reason for that today? You had some turnover issues, but still you shot the ball well.
TINA LANGLEY: I think it was probably the day after our season finished that our team was back in the gym. I don't know if they took a day off. We asked them to, but they were back in the gym. They love to play the game.
They're excited for what we're building at Washington, and I just think they own that and that responsibility. They're an incredibly talented and connected group of young women and just work. They're excited to work. So I attribute that to the work they put in.
Q. The Big Ten is obviously really, really deep this year, and one of the toughest leagues in the country. How would you describe Big Ten play this year and just how deep it really is?
TINA LANGLEY: Really hard to describe, to be honest. Every night you're going out and playing like you're in the NCAA Tournament. Every team is going to give you a great game and a great atmosphere with tremendous fan bases and great venues and terrific cities. What a great experience it was for us to come into a new conference and see. It's historic.
There's so many tremendous, just historic teams and places to play. But really excited for the competition level the most.
Q. You went up big early on in the first, and by the second quarter they were able to bring it back and the deficit was only two at the half. What type of thing do you talk about at halftime to kind of squish their momentum and come out strong?
TINA LANGLEY: This is tournament play, and tournament play is going to feel like this when great teams play. Minnesota is a great team, incredibly well coached. They've had a tremendous season, so you know you're going to be in a battle for 40 minutes.
I think that's what we talked about even before the game began is that this won't be over at any point in the game until the buzzer sounds. I thought our young women went into the locker room knowing that, not surprised by it, and just ready to hear what we need to do next.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports