Speaker 1: Perfect timing here and Spokane. He always Natalie ats hired,
Speaker 1: Chris Daley has joined us courtside as we are headed
Speaker 1: to another Final four. Never ever ever gets old. What
Speaker 1: a performance by your team tonight?
Speaker 2: No, it was awesome. We had to make it a
Speaker 2: little interesting. I preferred when we were up nineteen, but
Speaker 2: that's what this game is about. You know, you kind
Speaker 2: of have those ebbs and flows, and but we you know,
Speaker 2: we made the plays we needed to play down the stretch.
Speaker 1: Caitlyn Chen was immense tonight. She came up in some
Speaker 1: big spots. I mean, I know Asy had a lot
Speaker 1: of struggles early in the ballgame. Caitlyn picked up the
Speaker 1: slack and then gave you six points in the fourth
Speaker 1: quarter when you need him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Kaitlyn has been great for us all year. It's
Speaker 2: I'm just really happy for I'm just happy for all
Speaker 2: the kids. You know, it's been it's a long it's
Speaker 2: a long process. It's a lot of work. It starts,
Speaker 2: you know, it really starts back last June when they
Speaker 2: come back to summer school and start the process all
Speaker 2: over again. So it's been a long it's a long
Speaker 2: haul and not easy for you know, someone like Caitlyn
Speaker 2: who comes in just for one year to be able
Speaker 2: to find her niche and be able to figure out
Speaker 2: how we do things and and to help us win.
Speaker 2: And she's done that.
Speaker 1: Sarah gave you a career. I our season, I best
Speaker 1: seventeen rebounds, it was plus eleven on the glass. But
Speaker 1: it seemed like a lot of times you hung around
Speaker 1: in there. I mean, you made it tough, but they
Speaker 1: made it tough. Funny. They're big, and that's a that's
Speaker 1: a challenge you're gonna have Friday night.
Speaker 2: Well I was gonna say it, only they only get bigger.
Speaker 2: I know, you know, Lauren beths is six seven. So
Speaker 2: but we'll figure that out. As eligibility left. I we'd
Speaker 2: love to have Cara back. Yeah, you know, it's it's
Speaker 2: definitely a challenge. And we went with our small lineup
Speaker 2: quite a bit and we were able to Our defense
Speaker 2: was really good in the first half. I thought in
Speaker 2: the second half we fouled a little bit too much
Speaker 2: and started just doing things that were not smart. We
Speaker 2: got away from the game plan a little bit. We
Speaker 2: were having, you know, trying to help off some people
Speaker 2: and and just we just make some good decisions at
Speaker 2: certain times, but when we had to come up with
Speaker 2: big rebounds we did. We handled their pressure, we made
Speaker 2: pre throws, you know, so those are the important things.
Speaker 1: It was good to see Sarah to get off to
Speaker 1: a good start tonight. That really set the tone.
Speaker 2: Well, the biggest thing when we played them back in December,
Speaker 2: we as a group did not get off to a
Speaker 2: good start. So it was kind of like we were.
Speaker 2: We didn't attack them the way we needed to in
Speaker 2: order to beat them. And I know we lost by
Speaker 2: two and we came back, but we were down by eighteen,
Speaker 2: and you know, it takes a lot to come back
Speaker 2: against a team like them. So I was glad we
Speaker 2: started out with that kind of intensity and just you know,
Speaker 2: what can you say. I'm just happy for the players.
Speaker 2: And now we have an eight hour I guess it's
Speaker 2: an eight Well it's five, but then the three hour
Speaker 2: time different. So we'll leave tomorrow morning. I think get
Speaker 2: to Tampa around six.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you start, you start the fourth up five. It
Speaker 1: was good to see Asy finally get one to fall through.
Speaker 1: I mean, she hit some couple of clutch threes in
Speaker 1: that fourth quarter, but at least it settled you down
Speaker 1: and you started plus ten in the fourth quarter, and
Speaker 1: then you started get a little disney because it was tough. Crazy.
Speaker 2: Well, let me tell you. I thought of Diana when
Speaker 2: we played against Notre Dame in the semi final and
Speaker 2: she went over eleven. Yeah, and we lost. But I
Speaker 2: was like, oh, maybe if she gets still eleven, then
Speaker 2: she's gonna knock one in and this is going to
Speaker 2: be okay. But I didn't think it got to eleven.
Speaker 1: It was over eight.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but you know, she I don't know every time.
Speaker 2: I think every time she shoots that, I think it's
Speaker 2: going in. And finally it did, and I think that,
Speaker 2: you know, she smiled. Everybody felt a little bit of relief.
Speaker 2: Mm hmm.
Speaker 1: I would be remiss not to mention Aubrey Griffin's name.
Speaker 1: She played eight in the fourth quarter in big She
Speaker 1: gave me some big minutes.
Speaker 2: She did, Yes, she did, and that and you know
Speaker 2: that's what you always tell you preach it as a coach.
Speaker 2: You don't know when your number is going to be called,
Speaker 2: but you always have to be ready. And she was
Speaker 2: ready and gave us those eight minutes without this her rebounding. Really,
Speaker 2: you know, maybe it's a different game.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's gonna be a big temperature shift. It's supposed
Speaker 1: to be in the nineties here in Tampa. Yes it is, Yes,
Speaker 1: it is. So I hope you brought some cool weather
Speaker 1: or warm weather clothes with you.
Speaker 2: I might have to get on line and order some stuff.
Speaker 2: I packed very poorly for this entire trips.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so, did I see? DEBI and I are flying
Speaker 1: home tomorrow. I gotta grab a couple of chords too,
Speaker 1: because we're not on the floor for the Final four
Speaker 1: that I do know. So, but they are going to
Speaker 1: have like an interview area like right at the end
Speaker 1: of the course that we've played in. We've played him
Speaker 1: before every time the Final four has been in Tampa,
Speaker 1: we've been there. Oh wow, there, we're one for two there,
Speaker 1: so we gotta we gotta go two for three.
Speaker 2: Now, No, isn't it one for three? One for three?
Speaker 2: Let's see, there are two other times.
Speaker 1: Fifteen we won.
Speaker 2: N there were two others in the nineteen we lost,
Speaker 2: and there was another one night we lost. I think
Speaker 2: because I remember the hotels are far away, like when
Speaker 2: Megan meg Garler was on the team, then I think
Speaker 2: we lost. I don't know. You have to check. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I'm not the stats I just remember.
Speaker 1: But look, I know it's been almost a decade since
Speaker 1: the last Natty, but you've been the sixteen of the
Speaker 1: last seventeen final fours. This team always puts themselves in
Speaker 1: a position to succeed. Now, the game has grown, no question,
Speaker 1: and that's a big part of it. But just to
Speaker 1: be of the last four every year for the last
Speaker 1: almost twenty years is astounding.
Speaker 2: You have to put yourself in that position in order
Speaker 2: to have a chance to win the national championship. There's
Speaker 2: a lot over three hundred and some odd schools at
Speaker 2: our home, so it's not easy. When you get there
Speaker 2: and you don't win, it's obviously you always feel like
Speaker 2: it's a missed opportunity. But if you don't get the opportunity,
Speaker 2: you never have the chance to win it. So we're
Speaker 2: happy that we're there and we're going to give it
Speaker 2: our best shot to win. Saturday, oh, no, Friday.
Speaker 1: Friday, and we're the late game, and of course were
Speaker 1: the late game Friday.
Speaker 2: Of course, so well, you know we'll be ready, we'll
Speaker 2: be ready.
Speaker 1: Yep, we'll give them back, all right, Chris, thank you
Speaker 1: as always appreciate it.