South Carolina Postgame Press Conference (2026 Women's National Championship)

[0:01] I haven't gotten it yet. [0:13] How you doing, y'all? [0:15] I got you two cups up here tonight. [0:17] Good evening and welcome to the NCAA Women's Final Four National Championship Press Conference. [0:28] Joining us on the stage are the South Carolina Gamecocks. [0:33] We'll open questions for Raven, Tessa, and Tanaya at this time. [0:36] Start right here in the front with David. [0:41] To our left, ladies. [0:43] David Cloninger, Post and Courier. [0:45] Raven, just how much was there pressure just, you know, kind of overwhelming y'all? [0:50] And how tough was it to make a shot? [0:55] She didn't score. [0:56] Yeah. [0:57] Scores piece where it's at. [0:58] We can go to our right, Meg, if you can raise your hand. [1:05] Hey, y'all. [1:06] It's Meg Hall with USA Today. [1:07] Raven, this question is for you. [1:09] You've talked about before how much Dawn Staley has meant to you, [1:12] but now that your college career has completed today, [1:15] what's your resounding message that's been left with you from your time with her? [1:19] She means a lot to me. [1:21] We've been through a lot together. [1:23] And, yeah, it hurts that, you know, we couldn't end the way we wanted to end. [1:27] But she'll always be like a mother figure to me. [1:29] I always come to her about every little thing. [1:31] And, yeah, I love her. [1:36] We're going to stay to the right and in the back. [1:39] Hi, ladies. [1:39] Charlene Moore, FI360 News. [1:42] I know this is you. [1:43] Congratulations on the well season. [1:45] I know this is you guys' last times playing. [1:48] What right now is going through your minds as you think about just how this turned out [1:53] and where you guys would like to move on with? [2:00] I mean, obviously, like Raven said, this is not the ending we wanted. [2:05] But we got here. [2:07] No one thought we would, and we did it. [2:10] We're proud of the girls. [2:11] And I wouldn't have asked for a better team. [2:15] Tanaya? [2:17] Yeah. [2:18] Obviously, it didn't go the way we wanted it to go. [2:21] But, you know, we had a good season, and nobody thought we could make it here. [2:25] So I'm just proud of the girls in the locker room [2:28] and the people that believed in that locker room. [2:30] And, yeah. [2:34] Next question. [2:36] We'll go to the front with Jonathan. [2:38] Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer for any player who wishes to answer this. [2:44] I'm sure that you guys spent a lot of time. [2:46] Watching Lauren Betts on film, studying her. [2:50] I know you played her last year, and she's come a long way since the time when you played her last season. [2:54] How was it to have to execute playing against her today with all the ways that she affects the game? [3:05] I mean, I'm sorry. [3:07] I apologize. [3:08] We'll start with Raven. [3:10] She's 6'7". [3:11] I mean, she has improved from last year. [3:14] She's patient. [3:16] She got, I mean, what, four seniors around her. [3:19] She's a senior herself, so experience go a long way. [3:21] But, yeah, she's improved. [3:23] You know, she's been through a lot herself throughout her college career, so, yeah. [3:28] And Tessa? [3:30] Yeah, what Raven said. [3:31] She's a very dominant player. [3:34] She's pretty consistent and effective. [3:37] I mean, that's hard to scout, but we just tried to limit her. [3:42] We'll go back to David. [3:45] Tessa, just looking ahead to next year where you'll be a senior [3:48] and you'll expect to be one of the leaders of the team, [3:50] just how important is it to harness this feeling and express it next year so it doesn't happen again? [3:55] I mean, obviously the look on our faces. [3:59] We don't like this feeling. [4:03] The standard here is to get here. [4:06] I do expect our team to get here next year. [4:09] But, I mean, the girls in the locker room, the younger girls, they don't like that feeling either. [4:15] So, I guess just motivation. [4:17] Take our next question from Howard. [4:19] Howard McDowell, the Nine Sports. [4:21] Congratulations on the season that you had. [4:24] Tania Raven, for each of you, as you head to the WNBA, [4:27] what is the single biggest sport? [4:31] Skill, or thought process, or element of your time with Coach Staley [4:36] that you're going to take into that next level? [4:39] We'll start with Tania and then go to Raven. [4:41] Just patience and, you know, working on efficiency, working on my jump shot. [4:47] She taught me a lot about myself, and she believed in me as a player. [4:52] And I just got to carry that into the league, carry her words into the league with me, [4:55] take everything that I learned here and carry it and elevate my game. [5:03] Habits and leadership ability, just being who I am, honestly, not changing myself, and, yeah. [5:13] Any additional? [5:14] Annie? [5:18] Guys, coming into this one, did it feel like energy was different? [5:23] Did it feel like Friday's game took it out of you? [5:26] And coming into this one, you were on your back foot from the jump? [5:30] We'll start with Tessa. [5:33] I mean, I felt like we were ready. [5:39] We knew we wanted it, but I guess we didn't show it. [5:43] We didn't show it out there as much as we thought we wanted it, if that makes sense. [5:49] I mean, we were prepared, but it just seemed like they were getting, I mean, they out-rebounded us by how much? [5:59] A whole bunch. [6:01] Yeah. [6:02] And we knew that they could rebound, and we still didn't box out or go for the rebounds, [6:07] do the extra plays and stuff like that, but, yeah. [6:18] Next question. [6:23] We do have one on Zoom, so we'll take this question. [6:25] Jennifer, you are now able to unmute your line. [6:32] Hi, Jennifer Portee from Let's Talk Women in Basketball. [6:35] My question is for Tania and Raven. [6:38] What legacy do you feel you left behind for the next generation of game calls? [6:42] And also, what advice would you give the younger players who are stepping into bigger roles next season? [6:47] Raven, we'll start with you. [6:49] Oh, trust the process. [6:50] There's going to be a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but believe in Coach Staley. [6:54] You know, she wants the best for you. [6:56] And, you know, you might not get what you want. [6:58] You might not get what you want in that moment, but if you just believe in the process [7:00] and trust the process, everything will turn out good. [7:04] And Tania? [7:05] Yeah, I would say the same thing. [7:06] Trust in the process and, you know, working on your game constantly [7:09] and getting better on, you know, all your weaknesses and listening, being patient [7:15] and, you know, trying to elevate your game and be a good teammate. [7:23] Any additional? [7:24] Grace, you can go behind you. [7:25] You raise your hand a little bit higher. [7:26] We can get the microphone to you. [7:29] Grace Rainer with The Athletic. [7:30] This is for any of y'all. [7:31] You mentioned Beth. [7:32] It's in the rebounding. [7:33] Anything else they did in particular that just made things super difficult for you guys tonight? [7:37] Start with Raven. [7:39] Oh, yeah. [7:39] Like I said, they have all their starters are seniors or, you know, their experience. [7:43] Experience do go a long way. [7:45] They came out ready to play. [7:47] They, like she said, they out-rebounded us, had second-chance effort, but, yeah, they were ready to play. [7:55] And Tessa? [7:57] I think they did every little thing. [7:59] It comes down to every possession matters, and you've seen that they knew that [8:04] and they did that. [8:05] And Tania? [8:07] Yeah. [8:07] Every 50-50 ball went their way. [8:09] Every rebound, they got second, third, and fourth-chance points. [8:13] We, you know, didn't do the little things. [8:15] We didn't do the intangibles, and that's something that coach talks about a lot. [8:18] And when you're on this stage, you need to have that, and they did. [8:25] We're going to take a question from our left. [8:26] Lindsey? [8:27] Lindsey Gibbs with CBS Sports. [8:28] Raven, coach has talked a lot about your upbeat and positive personality, [8:33] and even now I can still see a smile on your face. [8:36] And your comforting coach, it looks like, a little bit, interacting with her. [8:40] How do you maintain that? [8:42] Where does that come from? [8:45] I'm just a bubbly person, but I'm not smiling. [8:48] I'm actually mad. [8:50] I'm actually mad, but, you know, my personality is making me smile through the pain, [8:56] if that makes sense. [8:58] But, yeah, I'm not satisfied with the outcome that happened today, [9:01] but I'm just smiling through the pain. [9:04] Any additional questions for the ladies on the desk? [9:08] Seeing none, we want to thank you for your time tonight, [9:10] and congratulations on a tremendous season. [9:12] Thank you. [9:13] Happy Easter. [9:14] Happy Easter. [9:14] All right, now, we'll open it up for questions for coach. [9:31] We'll go David, Kareem, Howard, Cameron, and work our way back. [9:37] Dawn, last year I think you said that UConn kind of out-hustled [9:40] or out-talented you, but not out-hustled it. [9:42] Do you feel the same way today? [9:44] Yeah, it kind of felt like the same thing. [9:46] I thought they just came out and disrupted from a defensive standpoint, [9:51] and then they pretty much got what they wanted offensively, [9:54] and then when they did it, they created second-chance opportunities, [9:58] and we just didn't have it today. [10:02] We tried, but we just didn't have it today, [10:05] and they were the better team today, so really congratulations to them. [10:08] I'm glad sometimes you're a part of women's basketball history, [10:12] and it's not favorable to you, [10:15] but you can see if you're going to lose to a team like UCLA, [10:20] you want to lose to a team that just really outworked you, [10:24] out-executed you, made it very difficult for you to perform at a high level, [10:32] and it was a direct. [10:33] It was a reflection of what they did to us. [10:38] Take our next question from Kareem. [10:39] Just a reminder, no filming within the room. [10:43] Hey, Don. [10:43] Kareem Copeland, ESPN. [10:45] Can you kind of sum up a little bit what this weekend was just kind of like for you, [10:50] the highs of Friday, a rough one today, and a little bit of drama in between? [10:56] I mean, it's great. [10:58] We got a chance to play on the last day of college women's basketball, [11:03] a season of a lot of great basketball, [11:06] great talent, great coaching, just great viewership, great. [11:13] I mean, when you're in this position, you don't win all of them. [11:17] There are too many great teams out here, too many great players and coaches [11:21] that decrease your chances of winning national championships. [11:28] The trick is to continue to get here, and the more you get here, [11:32] the more you increase your chances of winning. [11:35] So we got a lot of work cut out for us, [11:38] but I really enjoyed the weekend. [11:40] I enjoy, you know, every challenge that basketball creates. [11:45] I enjoy facing them. [11:46] I enjoy dealing, I mean, playing the hand that I'm dealt, [11:50] and this weekend includes that. [11:54] I'm going to stay to our left with Howard. [11:56] Howard Meddell, the nine sports. [11:57] Don, congrats on the season that you had. [11:59] Just a similar question to what I asked Taniya and Raven. [12:03] How do you see them as WNBA players, [12:07] and maybe make the case for them ahead of next week? [12:10] Yeah, I think they are well-rounded individuals. [12:13] From a basketball standpoint, they are great humans. [12:16] So you want somebody in your franchise that, you know, [12:20] you know that's going to come to work every day on time, early, [12:26] come in early, stay late, and then everything in between. [12:30] They're great teammates. [12:33] They're people that you want to play with. [12:36] One, they're winners. [12:38] Two, they just had a lot. [12:41] A lot of basketball experience. [12:43] And I just think that they're ready. [12:47] They've created pro habits. [12:49] So a lot of what, you know, [12:51] someone that's unprepared for a WNBA training camp, [12:55] they'll be prepared for it. [12:56] Maybe the terminology will be a little bit different. [12:59] But when it gets down to basketball, [13:01] they can be coached by anybody. [13:04] Cameron, next. [13:08] Cameron T with The Athletic. [13:09] Don, just Cameron T with The Athletic. [13:13] Don, I'm curious, that first quarter, [13:15] like, there were good looks that you guys were taking [13:17] that just weren't dropping. [13:18] How hard is it? [13:19] Like, it seemed like, obviously, the first semifinal, [13:21] you guys were able to kind of get going in that second half, [13:23] but it just seemed like you just couldn't get into rhythm [13:25] after that first quarter. [13:26] How hard is it to kind of dig out of that [13:28] when you got good looks, but they're just not dropping? [13:30] It's really hard. [13:31] I mean, you know, I thought the first quarter, first half, [13:38] we had a lot of people taking shots that, you know, [13:41] aren't normal for us. [13:42] So we didn't do a good job of getting the people that probably [13:45] were supposed to get some better looks, the ball. [13:50] But I think UCLA had a lot to do with it. [13:52] I'm not going to say that they didn't. [13:55] They really did. [13:57] I don't think we had to play perfect basketball, [14:00] but we had to play better basketball. [14:02] We had to, you know, make shots. [14:04] We had to create offense for our defense. [14:07] We had to be better defensively [14:09] and actually pushing them off their spots. [14:12] I think they got to where they needed to go, [14:14] and we just didn't apply. [14:15] We didn't apply enough pressure for us to make an impact [14:18] on the offensive side of the ball [14:23] because you can have a good defensive possession, [14:26] but give up an offensive rebound, that's just really deflating. [14:30] Take our next question from Jonathan. [14:33] Thanks, Jonathan Tannevold, the Philadelphia Inquirer. [14:35] Dawn, I know that the sting of a loss [14:38] is still present in the short term, [14:40] but Corey Close was speaking up here yesterday [14:43] after you were here, and she spoke about [14:44] how you had invested in her as a coach. [14:48] And... [14:49] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] Mm-hmm. [14:50] You said quite exactly the student beating the teacher, [14:53] but to know that somebody who you invested in [14:56] has now had that success, even though it came at your expense, [14:58] what does that mean for you in the game? [15:01] Look, I'm always happy for people who've worked hard, [15:03] you know, in this game, [15:05] who are really quality people. [15:07] I want good things to happen for them, [15:09] and Corey is one of those people [15:10] who really works at making our game better, [15:14] not just UCLA, but our entire game. [15:18] She's always speaking out and uplifting. [15:20] um our game in so many areas that that it's a you know it's hard to continue to do that while [15:29] maintaining the job that you have to do every day but she finds the time so you know although we [15:35] didn't win um i could swallow it because we lost to a really good human being and a good team that [15:42] that represent women's basketball well i'm going to stay to our right coach don annie constable [15:49] front office sports when you say the team didn't have it today is that a mental aspect and what [15:54] challenge do you kind of face in the game and in attempting to to pull them out of that state [16:00] well i mean i mean i mean we scored how many points 51 points right i think we could score about [16:08] 70 on any given day um you could tell shorts were shot i thought we didn't do a really good job at [16:17] um making extra passes [16:20] like the [16:21] things [16:21] things [16:21] that we were doing probably worked for other teams um but other teams didn't have a six seven so you [16:27] gotta you gotta navigate a little bit differently like you can't go in there think you're gonna [16:31] score over her or through her so sometimes you gotta go in there and draw and kick and maybe [16:37] draw and kick another time so we we actually wanted to do that but we we took the first shot [16:44] available and sometimes that shot um didn't go a lot of times that shot didn't go in and we weren't [16:50] creating extra possession [16:52] for offensive rebounding something that we we do a lot so the things that we you know build our our [16:58] success on weren't happening for us tonight and and ucla made us pay for it take our next question [17:07] from the back hi coach charlotte moore fi 360 news uh again congratulations on another great season [17:14] uh want to see how did you feel about was the game difference on a team that has never won a [17:20] championship versus your team that has uh most of the time um you know we've had a lot of good games [17:23] um you know we've had a lot of good games um you know we've had a lot of good games um you know we've had a lot of good games [17:24] um you know we've had a lot of good games multiple championships do you think that [17:25] multiple championships do you think that [17:25] multiple championships do you think that played a role and my second question is [17:27] played a role and my second question is [17:27] played a role and my second question is i know you said that everything else [17:29] i know you said that everything else [17:29] i know you said that everything else would be addressed but was there any [17:31] would be addressed but was there any [17:31] would be addressed but was there any impact of that distraction coming into [17:33] impact of that distraction coming into [17:34] impact of that distraction coming into this uh day did you feel that with your [17:36] this uh day did you feel that with your [17:36] this uh day did you feel that with your team or with yourself [17:37] team or with yourself [17:37] team or with yourself um one i mean ucla is a quality team [17:42] um one i mean ucla is a quality team [17:42] um one i mean ucla is a quality team with [17:43] with [17:43] very experienced players who got a taste of you know being in the final four last year [17:50] and you make adjustments you know you you use that experience as a [17:54] learning lesson and you come back sharper and you you put yourself you know you increase your [18:00] chances of of of winning and from last year to this year um they were they played they played [18:08] determined last year but they played more determined this year because they you know [18:12] they were so close and they've had the experience to do that and they took advantage of it um as far [18:18] as distractions no i don't i mean there weren't there weren't any distractions that caused us to [18:24] lose this basketball game our next two will go bill and then jeff hey don again congratulations [18:32] uh bill rodent with uh espn's landscape just curious uh both you and corey uh no matter what [18:38] the situation you always talk about the game growing the game no matter what is always growing [18:43] the game so i'm wondering now [18:46] what's the next mountain to climb uh for for the game as you look forward i mean [18:53] obviously there are you know talks of you know transfer portal um just getting a [19:02] hold of you know the free agency part of of our game um you know i'd like to see uh [19:11] we got units now we'd like to just see us increase those um because that's where the value is the [19:19] value of our sport is is going to be how much we can pour back into our budgets how much we can [19:25] actually um be looked at as a sport that is revenue producing so we're going to always be [19:31] challenged with trying to make that better i mean it's it's a start but it's not a start in which [19:38] you know ads at the end of the day aren't going to look at you know what we're spending and what [19:45] we're doing you know in a in a sport that isn't bringing in enough revenue take our next question [19:53] on the center coach chef metcalf sports 360 az uh for hawkins to have 21 10 and 5 how impactful [20:02] was that on what happened here yeah hard matchup hard matchup you know i mean you come in the game [20:08] you know exactly what she's going to do and she does it and that means hard she's relentless [20:16] he's a relentless rebounder she's a relentless just championship type behavior and intangibles [20:23] that's needed in order for you to win [20:25] and if you don't play prioritize her on the court she's going to make you pay and she did that for [20:31] us against us we'll go to our right hey don chapel fowler at the state uh no it's early but can you [20:39] just look ahead to next year's roster and where you might look to add in the portal if at all to [20:43] next year's team yeah i mean obviously we gotta we gotta add some guard plays definitely some some [20:49] lead guard play and just some more some some more athleticism um in the guard department so i think [20:58] you know our front line is is pretty good especially the ones that are coming back from [21:03] injury and coming back into our and our you know to our team so we got to add some guard play [21:08] go shift back to our left with lindsay lindsay gives the cbs sports six straight final four [21:17] third straight national championship game um one two of those um two three and five years you know [21:26] that level of success do you feel like you've reached the point where you know over your [21:32] con they always say well the pressure is if you don't win a national championship this season [21:36] people feel like this season is a failure do you feel like south carolina has kind of [21:41] reached that point and what does that pressure feel like well well we feel the pressure anytime [21:49] we lose a basketball game um i mean everyone everyone goes crazy when we lose one basketball [21:56] game like um it's hard out here it really is hard in our sport um so i mean we we do feel [22:05] the pressure you know we we're used to winning and we're used to winning at a pretty high clip [22:10] um how long you sustain that you know we don't know we're just gonna we're gonna we just try to [22:17] wake up you know every day and just be better than we were the day before um you know to get [22:23] here is hard and to win here is harder right so um we just have to keep getting here and just [22:31] you know make it make adjustments um when we don't win so obviously we got we got [22:37] to figure out how we how we smack today we got to figure out how we how we smack back and put [22:42] ourselves in the position where we're hoisting the trophy at the end of the day let's shift to [22:48] our right maddie hi don um maddie kenny with the new york post right here um in sports we talk a [22:54] lot about like instant or delayed gratification and for corey close it took her 15 years to [22:59] finally have this opportunity to lift the trophy and you know what that's like i mean [23:04] to see the way that she has continued to invest specifically in her program [23:08] and build it up and stay committed to the grind and stuff just what can you say about her character [23:13] i mean that that's what you want like you you don't want to be given anything you want to work [23:19] for i mean 15 years is a long time that you've dedicated uh to young people and and to our game [23:26] and the game finally paid her back it's it's it's you know when when i think it took me 17 [23:35] years to win a national championship and the times that i we got close in 15 [23:40] you know someone would send me a text message and it was um what's delayed is not denied and that's [23:48] you know that's the case you know with with corey but it's super gratifying like i know the feeling [23:54] um in their locker room i know you know you're you're just full um because you you've reached [24:00] the mountain top and you've done it the right way and when it's when it's like that is is [24:05] incredibly gratifying take our next question to the right as well he's chantal paul no cap space [24:12] is to keep getting back to this point to increase your odds of being able to win a championship [24:17] um you've brought a number of different teams with different makeups from like the freshies to [24:20] don's daycare what do you feel like the makeup of this team is and what can you build on as you try [24:25] and fill those voids next year to get back to this point um i mean it's um it's probably [24:32] you know raymond was the last of the core group of players that [24:35] had been together that that actually had taken our program you know to the to the very top [24:44] um i just i just think we just need players who are are committed to um team committed to getting [24:52] better as individuals creating pro habits so so um so when they are challenged to perform at [25:02] a high level you know it won't be something that you know they they wrestle with it is a norm like [25:11] i think we um i think we do a great job of just keeping things in perspective for [25:16] our players creating you know spaces in which you can you can handle the truth [25:21] right and also creating spaces in which you know there's open communication um what's good what's [25:28] not good like we have those type of conversations i need we need players that are able to can handle [25:34] those situations um because that's what it takes to get to this point and win any additional [25:40] questions in the room for coach kareem well got to follow up on this um there are reports that [25:50] gino did reach out to you since we talked about that um i think that's a really important thing [25:53] to talk to you last can you share um how when and um anything of that nature that you can share [25:59] about the conversation yeah that's that's that's a gino question right it really is a gino question [26:05] i haven't heard from gino so i have not that's not i haven't i mean i got 800 text messages so [26:12] i don't know if you text or not but that's not like i don't want it like it's ucla's day right [26:18] and let's keep it ucla then winning the national championship you know again i will address all of [26:24] that at another time it's not this weekend like we're not going to damper ucla's day with it we [26:31] talk about south carolina's losing we talk about you know uh ucla winning the national championship [26:38] and what's what's great about our game today coach we're going to take our final two questions [26:44] from the back so we'll go with all your first hey coach it's i am dean for the 94.50 so as you as a [26:51] south carolina game counselor look to bring in saniya hall for next year how excited are you to [26:56] have her into this program saniya hall oh actually never mind i apologize for a little bit but [27:04] as you look there's something coming over the trend i mean under the transfer portal i mean like [27:09] i thought it was like university south carolina but it was actually oh i got a little mixed up but [27:14] actually for clarification as you now reflect on on this type of season what is it one of what you [27:20] would describe this year especially with how you navigated through the absence of chloe kids as well [27:27] you want me to be honest um we i said this before but don't take it like [27:36] you know literally when we knew we didn't we weren't going to have chloe kids we really [27:41] consider her dead right we don't bring it up she can't help us you know so she's she's not a part [27:49] of uh our team in a way of preparation and being on the floor and she she was in other areas where [27:57] you know she would talk to the players and help them out but but when it comes to [28:01] just game prep we just didn't bring her name up once we knew she wasn't able to play take our [28:09] last question from the back as well hey coach staley christina walker from christina girl hoops [28:14] tv despite the loss tonight this is not tonight this afternoon excuse me when you consider your [28:19] journey throughout this season what's one takeaway that you'll take from now going into next season [28:26] um i mean losing in the national championship game the way we lost i guess that will be the thing [28:34] that drives us you need something to drive you um throughout the really hard times and the [28:41] challenging times and also the good times because although things can go you know well your way [28:48] you know there's always things that you can work on there's always you know this situation that's [28:53] that's lurking like it's always lurking it's always in the back of my mind anytime we lose [28:58] when we um we have an opportunity to win a national championship you just try to get better [29:04] you know find the lessons within um with within this game and try to try to get better coaches [29:13] always want to thank you for your time this evening and congratulations again on tremendous [29:16] season thank you there's a jerry brewer in here jerry brewer huh great writer tell him that