THE MODERATOR: We'll open the floor for questions.
Q. All three of you have NCAA Tournament experience. How valuable is that going into this tournament, even though you all haven't played together, that you all have already been to March Madness?
MARTA SUAREZ: I'll go first. I think it's important, especially in the fact that the people coming from last year, like Dono, she's been there. She's been there with this coaching staff. She knows what it takes. They had a great run.
And then Olivia has been very successful during her career. So just having that experience all together and bringing it to the team, to this new team, I think it matters. And I think it's a big part of the tournament. That's why mature teams and experienced teams usually are the most successful.
DONOVYN HUNTER: Yeah, I think it's a great opportunity, again, just to have another opportunity to play in March. I think it's cool. I mean, this is their last year. So for me, I have another year under my belt coming up. So I think it's a cool opportunity to be able to just sell out and play for all the seniors that are on the team.
Last year, it's kind of similar process where there was a lot of older girls on the team. So it was a fun moment to be able to just sell out for all the older girls.
So for me, March this year is kind of just to sell out, do what I can for the team, and it's a cool thing to be able to be alongside them for their last ride.
OLIVIA MILES: Yeah, echo everything they said. I think experience wins games, especially down the stretch. When you get into some adversity, maturity always helps you to get over that hump.
So just grateful to be able to have experienced what I did in the NCAA Tournament and bring it to this team.
Q. As Marta said, you're the only one up there that's been with this team in the tournament, and you and Taylor are the only ones that played last year and this year. Can you talk about what you've seen with Mark Campbell and this group that won 42 games in a row at home, with three different, distinct groups, and how that's continued to go on in your time here?
DONOVYN HUNTER: Yeah, I think he's done a great job. Especially it's not as easy as he makes it look to bring in so many new people each year and place it and make sure that it works.
So being able to play last year, make it to March and then continue that this year. I think he's just done a great job putting together pieces of a puzzle and making sure that we all fit together, making sure that the culture is right, that our consistency as a team is put together well.
So testament to him for being able to do it multiple years in a row. And then just grateful and proud of the girls to be able to come in from new teams and different experiences and different cultures for so many years and be able to come and place it together.
Q. This is for Olivia. You guys have kind of gotten into the rhythm in the Big 12 play of preparing and knowing what it takes. How much fun is it to prepare for a team that you haven't seen before, and what have you seen on film?
OLIVIA MILES: Yeah, well, first, it's a lot of fun getting to play any sort of game, and especially in this high-stakes environment where it's literally win or go home. And for Marta and I, it's win or pack your bags from TC forever. So there's a lot on the line. And it's a very special moment because it puts so much more meaning to the game and meaning to the university as a whole.
And as far as what we've seen on film, very scrappy, feisty team. Very, honestly, similar personnel to West Virginia in the sense that they like to play defense and they like to be in passing lanes and be very aggressive. Luckily we've played West Virginia three times now, so hopefully we're prepared.
But just excited to play a different team out of conference. We've been in the Big 12 fight for three months, so it will be cool to play another league or another team and experience new personnel and stuff like that.
Q. Olivia, what's the reset been like for you guys? I know the goal was obviously to win the Big 12, your season, win the Big 12 Tournament and move on. What's the reset been, and how do you get yourselves back on track for March Madness?
OLIVIA MILES: There's learning lessons in both wins and losses. We would have loved to have that win there in K City. But it taught us a lot more than maybe it would have if we won the game.
So we're trying to be positive through it. Obviously a tough loss, but I truly feel like it helped us to be humble and reset us and, like you said, go back to the drawing board and really take some time off for our mental.
And then get back in the film room and get back on the practice court and work out the kinks before we actually start real important basketball that, like I said, has implications that could end our entire season.
So, yeah, just grateful for every game we get to play. Obviously, like I said, we would have loved to win that game, but I truly think that will help us in the long run during this tournament.
Q. Marta, Mark talked earlier about you guys need to play your best basketball going into March. Now that you guys are at March Madness, do you feel like the seniors are playing your best basketball this time of season?
MARTA SUAREZ: Oh, yeah, we're going to completely fine. This team, first of all, we are aware of the talent that we have. We've known that for a long time. And we put in the work. We're also aware talent is not going to win the games. And like we mentioned earlier, we have a lot of experienced players, and we have a lot of very competitive players that show up at the right moments.
We have a very tight group. We care for each other. We care about each other. We play with each other. We're very excited to just enjoy our last few weeks together regardless.
So, yeah, we're -- I think we're confident and we're aware of the moment, and we're just excited. And anything that's happened before, like everybody says, it's March, it's 0-0. You don't get no extra points for winning nothing, you don't get no extra points for no awards, for no losses, for no nothing. You just go out there and win. That's where I'm very confident in this team. In the one-on-one, there's a winner, there's a loser. We're going to take that win.
Q. Playing in front of the home crowd, of course, how much does that actually change what happens on the floor?
OLIVIA MILES: It's everything.
DONOVYN HUNTER: It literally is everything. I think from the energy standpoint, the crowd noise, just it's hard to describe. You just have to be out there. To, you know, build relationships with fans in the crowd too, it becomes like a personal thing of just knowing that there's people in the stands that have your back. You're able to gain momentum in the game. If you're down or you're kind of in a rut as a team and you're kind of on a bad stretch, you know you have the crowd behind you.
So there's a lot of different factors that go into it, but it's definitely a huge advantage when you're at home.
MARTA SUAREZ: Yeah, it's a sixth player. I think the community has showed up in such a way for us this year. And then the fact that all of us as individuals are going to have family and friends there, encouraging, it's just -- I don't know, my mind goes back to that Senior Night game. It was so joyful, such a celebration of a season. So just excited and grateful to give them two more games at home.
THE MODERATOR: Any other questions?
Q. Olivia, Donovyn talked earlier about how the pieces kind of came together. How did the pieces come together for this team, and when did you sense that they were going to come together?
OLIVIA MILES: What did you say?
DONOVYN HUNTER: I just said that he put together pieces of a puzzle and built a program.
OLIVIA MILES: Right. I feel like we've had the pieces together. It was just like, yeah, for a while -- I just think we're just constantly getting better, and our ceiling is so high that it looks like we're not there maybe.
DONOVYN HUNTER: Right.
OLIVIA MILES: But to us it feels like we're 1 percent each day. And I feel like it's been a gradual, I guess, adding pieces to the puzzle. You know like at Christmas when you have the big puzzle and you come back to it every now and then you add a few more.
But, no, I think MC is very diligent in how he wants us to play and the chemistry and the reeds. So as we learn that system, we feel more comfortable with each other. And then we all learn the reads, and then eventually we all learn where each other likes to score the ball and what's most effective. So I think that's coming together at the right time.
Q. It seems like you guys kind of knew it was coming together (off microphone) very beginning.
OLIVIA MILES: Yeah, that was my point. I feel like we've been together. I think it's showing itself in different ways. But as far as from my perspective, I've been, like, connected with these girls from day one. And it's only grown.
And to you guys it may feel like something different, but to us it feels like a tight-knit, close community, and we support each other on and off the court.
MARTA SUAREZ: The summer was so fun.
OLIVIA MILES: Yeah, the summer was fun. We've only grown.
THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Thank you, guys.
We are joined by TCU head coach Mark Campbell. Whenever you're ready, if you want to give an opening statement about being in this year's tournament.
MARK CAMPBELL: We are really excited to be a part of the NCAA Tournament, and this group has worked incredibly hard since June, with one of our goals to be in position to host. It just -- it's an incredible advantage on the women's side.
And so thankful that the Committee selected us and our team put together a résumé and a body of work over these last 34 games that was worthy.
And so we're really excited. And I'll tell you what, that feeling every year when your name gets called, you're like a little kid. It never gets old.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Congratulations on a wonderful season. What do you think is so magical about playing in this arena and having perhaps the opportunity to have those four NCAA Tournament games in Fort Worth?
MARK CAMPBELL: We created one of the best home-court advantages in college basketball. The community has been incredible. And we literally started at ground zero three years ago where there was maybe 500 fans in our very first home game.
And so it's been neat to watch the evolution of the program and evolution of the fans and the community.
Hopefully, a year ago we had one of the best environments I've ever coached in. We played Louisville to go to the Sweet 16. Hopefully the community will come out and support us in a similar way.
And then we've just put together really good teams the last two years out of the portal. And obviously it takes great talent and great players to string together 42 straight wins. And so I think it's a combination of our players and talent, and then the community and the student body creating just an amazing environment here at the Scholl.
Q. When you look back at kind of how you got to this point with ten newcomers, is there a certain person or thing with the players specifically that you can look at and say this is what was the driving force and bringing this new group together?
MARK CAMPBELL: Man. Great question. That's the million-dollar question in college athletics is to get just the turnover that happens organically with the portal, to get a new group to buy in. And there's so many pieces that impact that. Most importantly it's the front end of who you select and the personalities and trying to get the locker room right and the leadership piece right.
And then you guys, it's a long process. You got to go through some hard times and navigate that. You have to go -- have great wins to galvanize the group.
But it's the combination of all those things and navigating it, figuring out the identity of this group. Not once have we compared this group to last year's team. Last year's group was its own identity and on its own journey.
And then I think we have ten players on this year's roster that had never played a game for TCU. And the two big returners, Dono and Taylor Bigby, have done a tremendous job with their leadership. And then you had Maddie, who's, you know, struggled with the injury bug, but she's provided great leadership.
But I think that's -- to be a lead in college athletics and to have sustainability, you have to be able to rebuild each year. And that's talent, and that's also your culture. And I think we've done a really good job of that.
Q. You've talked a lot throughout the season about the team needing to play its best basketball going into March. Do you feel this team is playing its best basketball, and why do you feel that way if you do?
MARK CAMPBELL: Great question. I do. The tail end of the season, I think we won eight straight and earned our way to the championship game of the Big 12. And that night and that game got outplayed by West Virginia, who's playing really good. Ended up being a top 16 seed, and they deserve that.
But that was also a healthy reset. We were rolling for a while, and it stings when you lose a game like that. And for young people, it's just a really good reminder you're heading into March Madness; that we're only guaranteed 40 minutes.
This week in practice, every jersey, front and back, had the number 40 on it. And that's a reminder that the only thing we're promised right now is 40 more minutes of basketball. And we've got to be locked in and earn the right to play another game.
And so we -- I'm -- we're in a really good spot as a group. And we got an old team. A year ago we were one of the oldest teams in the country, and this year we're one of the oldest teams in the country. So these players understand what's at stake. They understand March. And they have big goals and things that they want to accomplish.
Q. You mentioned Taylor and Donovyn a minute ago. Talk about -- I know there's a couple other players that were here, but they're the only team that played last year's team and this year's team. Talk about the cohesiveness they did help bring with so many newcomers and their impact that they might have had in bringing those guys in.
MARK CAMPBELL: Taylor and Dono make this whole thing work. You have to have a humble spirit. You have to allow a whole new crop of talent to come into a program that you've been at, that you've won at an elite level. And Taylor and Dono have opened all the newcomers with open arms.
And so that's a unique dynamic of getting your culture, getting your locker room right, being really intentional with the kids that you add.
And so without Taylor and Dono and Maddie and Aaliyah, Nat, that group that we have that are returners, they -- they're really special people and are incredible leaders in their own way.
And then on the court, we have not changed what we've done. Last year's group and this year's group are two completely different mixture of players and talent, personalities. But what we've done hasn't changed. Three years into this rebuild, I think we've made more threes than anybody in the country at the Power Four level. We play four out with our center. We pick and roll you to death.
And so Dono and Bigby have been tremendous in their roles. They are kind of the backbone, I would say, of our program, those two kids. And then they've allowed Marta and Olivia to come in and do what they do.
So it's -- you guys, it's -- there's just so many moving parts. It's incredible that this group has been able to do it again and to win back-to-back, you know, Big 12 titles. But those two are kind of our unsung heroes.
Q. Talked to Chavie [phonetic] a couple weeks ago, and he was saying if you want to be a point guard, come to TCU. Hailey last year, Olivia this year. Walk me through that. Boil it down. Why is this place kind of a place for point guards to thrive?
MARK CAMPBELL: Yeah, Chavie. And I wouldn't even call it point guards. We call it play-makers. We try to identify elite play-makers. And we have had -- actually, four out of my five years as a head coach our lead guard has been Player of the Year. And so it started with Lianna Tillman and Kahlaijah Dean at Sac State and now Olivia Miles and Hailey Van Lith.
So really you're trying to find dynamic play-making guards. And then we space the court with our shooting, allows them to live in the paint and get to the rim.
And then the pick and roll is -- it's a gift to be able to play in it and manipulate it. Hailey did it more as a scorer and learned to be an elite passer facilitator out of it. Olivia is a world-class passer with her vision and has gained confidence in her scoring and being able to do that.
And so it's intentional. The way we build our system is around that player. The usage that we give those players in the half-court offense and the freedom to make plays for us.
And then the journey of a season. At the end of day, there's only -- it's why the NBA and WNBA run so much pick and roll action. There's about four coverages. You can hedge it, you can switch it, you can ice it, you can trap it.
And over the course of the season, these elite players, as they get rep after rep in practice and rep after rep in the game, they've seen every coverage. And then it's just allowing their talents to go hoop.
And so, yeah, I think we're -- and then our player development and our shooting that we do in practice. I just think our whole package for play-making guards, that we do it as well as anybody in the country.
Q. What stood out to you about UC San Diego so far from what you've seen?
MARK CAMPBELL: A lot. They've won a lot of games. They're league champions. They have a great culture and environment. Coach VanDerveer is tremendous at what they do.
We're very similar. They play four guards. They have a really good center, two kids that can really shoot it, two athletic kids that get in the paint and cause issues. But they spread you out. But it's a pick and roll-based system.
And then very familiar with a lot of the players on their roster. We recruited a lot of them when we were in California at Sac State. And so now they're just grown up. They're juniors and seniors. We got to see them when they were high school kids.
But they have a really good ball club. So they have our full attention. In March you have to defend the three-point line. That's kind of the great equalizer. If you guys watched that my Miami Ohio game last night, in March you got to defend the three and control guards.
They have two kids that can really, really shoot it. So we've got to make sure we control them and limit their opportunities.
But it's a good ball club. They've won a lot of games for a reason.
Q. Olivia talked about returning to college this year to continue her development. You've been watching her since high school. She's put up career numbers this year, so we can all see it. Where have you seen her develop her game the most over the last season?
MARK CAMPBELL: Yeah, great question. On the court, her confidence in her scoring and shooting ability. I mean, the Baylor game is an extreme example. But for a kid to take 20 threes and to not flinch is not normal.
But I think she knows she has the green light and the freedom and the belief of her teammates and trust of the coaches to be able to go out and be Olivia. I think Olivia is the best play-making guard in the country. And like you said, she's having career numbers.
And then off the court, just her leadership and growth. We go as Olivia goes. And there's a lot of pressure that comes with that. I mean, our whole system is based on her and her ability to be a play-maker for us.
And so she doesn't get a night off. She's got to bring it every single game. And she's done that. And there's just been a neat evolution of watching her own that and accept it and thrive in it.
And so I'm excited for March for her. Just at this point now, it's she could run and do our stuff with her eyes closed. And so it's time for our team to go play some good basketball. It's time for Olivia, you know, in the spotlight of March to go show the country what she can do.
Q. You've talked about this, the 42-game home winning streak has been done with three distinctly different groups. When you look at that -- I know you're not in reflection mode right now, but just how impressive to you is that? I mean, it's impressive to others that look back at it. But to be able to do that with the group like we talked about, from the Under Frogs to now, what does it mean to do it with three different groups?
MARK CAMPBELL: It's maybe one of the things I'm most proud of. The winning a league title, two of them, is just -- just winning one is really hard. But the other thing is the 42-game winning streak that has -- each team has contributed to, I absolutely love it.
And I think it shows that we're able to win with the hand that we're dealt and to figure out each group and what their gifts are collectively and how to maximize them. But the Under Frogs story is so unique and amazing, and I love that they played a part in the winning streak.
But to do it, you guys, 42 games, if you told me that three years ago that you'd have the longest home winning streak in college basketball, men or women, I probably wouldn't believe you.
And so it's just a testament to, again, our fan base, each group and each team being willing to buy in to what we're trying to do here. And it's the players. They've gone out there and done it. And they're -- they've taken great pride.
The funny thing is we don't really talk about it. It's not something we harp on. It's not something we bring up. But they just have great pride in it.
But we're more focused on get the game plan locked in and do what we got to do for this specific game. We never look ahead and we take it one at a time, and it's added up to 42.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.
MARK CAMPBELL: Hey, thank you, guys. Excited to see everybody. Enjoy the weekend.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports