March 29, 2025 • 23 mins
Coach Auriemma, Paige Bueckers, Kaitlyn Chen & Ashlynn Shade meet the media Saturday in Spokane
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We uh pleased to have the Yukon representatives with us.
We will follow normal protocol and take a question or
in an opening statement from coach ori Ema, and then
we'll open it up to questions for student athletes.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Coach Oh, yeah, yeah. It was a really interesting game
the way it played out. We went from it felt
like we couldn't get anything to go our way in
(00:36):
that first half. And I think the harder we tried
to make a shot, and less shots we made. But
for the most part, you know, it might not have
looked like it, but I thought, I thought what made
the what made it worth more than it looked like,
was that we played defense well enough that a team
(00:58):
that's getting eighty five or so every night, you know,
they had to work really hard for the thirty six
that they got in the first half. And and we thought,
if we can get the same quality shots in the
second half that we got in the first half, that
it would it would start to go our way. And
(01:18):
and everybody had, you know, their moment, and obviously, you know,
Paige was, you know, spectacular. That was as good a
game as I've seen her play the whole time she's
been here. At the most important time, and you know,
when you're a senior and you've been around as long
as she has, this is what this is what you're
(01:41):
here to do. This is why you came here. So
pretty we're pretty excited about playing Monday night.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Really all right, we'll take questions for student athletes. A
reminder to raise your hand and we'll get the microphone
to you. If you can identify yourself by name and outlet,
and if you please direct your question to a specific
student athlete, that'd be very helpful.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Questions Schaefer Murray, Washington Sports Network Page, Career night, you know,
looking for that championship. Just talk about what's going through
your head six for eight from the three point land
when things are just dropping like that.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Honestly, we just wanted to keep our season going as
long as possible. We all love playing together, we love
playing here. We we just love this program and everything
it means. So we wanted to keep going as long
as possible. And we knew we were getting good shots
in the first half. Stuff wasn't dropping, so we just
wanted to stay consistent in the looks that we were
getting and how we were getting them. So just trying
(02:47):
to stay aggressive. Read what the game it is calling
for and just trying to do what it takes a win.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Well, Austin gets with a cage q TV here and
Spokane Page. Not only a career high for you, but
a record for most points scored by a Yukon player
in the NCAA tournament. When you think of how decorated
this program is and so many legends that have come
(03:16):
through to be able to even find new ground to break,
what is that? How does that strike you?
Speaker 6 (03:23):
It's an honor.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
I'm extremely blessed, extremely grateful that i can't get to
play at Yukon and be in these conversations with like
the greatest of all time.
Speaker 6 (03:31):
But people see the points, but.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Like a large just an attribution to Sarah Janna Ice.
The way they were screening for me, getting Me Open,
Getting Me looks like everybody sees the points, but nobody
sees the screen set the passes that were found to me.
So it's I guess an individual point total, but it's
really a team.
Speaker 7 (03:54):
Effort eating lasty hoops HQ Page. It looked like coach
got after you a little bit there in the I
think it was the second quarter, and then I'm guessing
probably a halftime as well. I know you guys have
such a back and forth that you can kind of
(04:16):
say anything to each other, But what were those interactions
like and did it help you kind of come out
hot in the second half.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Yeah, just an everyday interaction between coach and Page, him
getting on me, him holding me accountable. I did have
some mental lapses and some mental mistakes that I can't
have at this point of the season, So just obviously
taking them but not letting them affect me in a
negative way, affected me in a positive way to not
make those mental mistakes again and turn it up a notch.
Speaker 6 (04:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (04:52):
Maddie Kenny with the New York Post, Ashlyn, I was
just curious, like you've seen Paige and this killer instinct before,
but to see it, what happened in the second half
and how much does that just set the tone for
all of you guys, And what is it like when
she does get hot like that As a teammate.
Speaker 9 (05:08):
I think we're never really surprised when she gets on
heaters like that. I think every shot paid shoots is
going in, so I mean that helps to play out
there with her, But when they are falling like that,
it's super fun to be a part of, and she
really just brings like the energy and really motivates us
to want to get the ball back, get a stop
on defense, make big plays.
Speaker 10 (05:36):
Bella Munson for the next I guess for Ashland and
Paige in particular, Oklahoma are not particularly experienced in the tournament.
You guys were here last year and have been here
a lot before. Just what sort of role do you
think your experience in the tournament specifically played in this
game and can help you moving forward?
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Okay, I think experience is a huge thing, especially in
a game of runs.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
Never get too high, never get too low.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
In the first half, they had a pretty, I mean
a great first half, and we didn't make a lot
of shots, but we dug down defensively, stuck to our defense,
and I think that's what we want to just hang
our hat on, is defense winning games and depending how
many shots we make or not that dictating how much
we went by, but just staying composed, weathering the runs,
(06:27):
staying together, staying connected as a team, and making sure
that we know it's a forty minute game, not a
twenty minute game, not a thirty nine minute game, All
forty minutes.
Speaker 11 (06:43):
Nancy m or USA Today Sports page said that you
want this season to keep going, that you that you
didn't want this to be the last game. How much
more conscious are you of that? You know now that
you've said that, Yeah, you are going to the draft
knowing that the next game you guys loses, you last
in a Yukon uniform.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
I mean, everybody at this point of the season is
trying to keep winning, to win a national title and
keep their season going as long as possible. So everybody
has the same goal, whether your season's ending or your
career is ending. You want to just take it one
game at a time, one practice at a time, one
possession at a time, and just focus on that and
maximizing that and not getting too caught up in the future.
(07:24):
But you do know in the back of your mind
that every possession counts and it'll be my last season
here at Yukon, So obviously you know that, but you
try to just stay in the present.
Speaker 12 (07:37):
Hey, Paige Chantle Jennings with the athletic I know coach
has talked a lot about trying to get you to
sort of have that more of an attack first aggressive mentality.
In the third quarter interview, he asked, Holly wrote to
talk to you about taking over the game and the fourth,
which you obviously did. I'm just curious, is that, like,
how do you establish that mentality? Is it just like
self talk? Is it something you do before the game
(07:58):
throughout the game to sort of remind yourself of how
to have that mentality?
Speaker 6 (08:03):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (08:04):
No, I think it's just reading the game, seeing what
the defense is doing, and just trying to remain aggressive
look for my shot. Looking for my shot helps other
people get open, but more just a mentality of taking
what the game is giving inshowing to me.
Speaker 6 (08:20):
So yeah, probably not.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Two more questions.
Speaker 13 (08:25):
Alexa, philipoot ESPN Caitlin, How would you describe what the
locker over here on the left? How would you describe
what the locker room was that halftime? You guys had
played your best pastball then, what allowed you to, especially
on the defensive end, What was like the approach to
make sure you came out and really set the tone
on that end moving forward?
Speaker 14 (08:43):
Yeah? I mean I thought our defense was solid in
the first half, we just weren't hitting open shots. So
we just focus on continue to get those open shots,
focus on executing our offense, and we knew that we
had twenty minutes guaranteed left to play, so just giving
it are all and just going out there and playing
each possession and focusing on winning each possession.
Speaker 15 (09:06):
Yeah, Sydney Burger KXI TV. Here in Spokane, Page, obviously
you've been here before for hoop Fest. You guys won
that in your high school years, and then coming here today,
I'm curious about the environment that you remember from hoop
Fest and then what you thought of the environment here
(09:28):
in the Spokane Arena today. Just so loud here for
your entire team every time a shot was made.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
Definitely a great environment. You feel like this is a
basketball city coming here. I think it was in high
school for the three and three tournament. It was outside,
but again a great turnout, a great environment, a great
atmosphere as the same it was today. I thought the
crowd was fantastic, the atmosphere was great. You could hear
stuff from both sides, So yeah, it was a great experience.
Speaker 16 (09:54):
One last question, Liam Bradford with the Argonaut at the
University of Idaho. Page kind of let out a big vocal,
you know, come on there with going into the under
five there in the fourth quarter. Was there anything. With
the struggles at the offense face in the first half,
(10:14):
that kind of motivated you to be a little bit,
you know, extra, trying to ice that game in the
second half there.
Speaker 6 (10:20):
Just trying to bring the energy.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
It's easy to get down and not be as energized
when the shots aren't falling, but we want to be
energized on defense and continue to keep the pressure up,
keep the NYE, keep getting on passing lanes and that'll
lead to open looks for offense and get an out
in transition. So once shots start following, you feel, I
mean naturally just an energy boost and then just trying
(10:44):
to channel that throughout the rest of the game.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
All right, Well, thank the student athletes and let them go,
and when they've left this stage, we'll turn it over
to questions for coach.
Speaker 17 (10:57):
Jim Allen Spokesman interview and Spokane coach. You guys had
only two turnovers in that second half, forced about a
dozen or so. What went into that execution wise and
just desire defensively?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
I think for the better part of the last couple
of months we've done a really really good job of
taking care of the ball, and I think there's there
was just one game maybe in the last two months
where I thought we.
Speaker 18 (11:33):
We didn't handle the ball really well.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
And and our defense is before seeing a lot of turnovers.
So we really didn't do anything different today than we've
been doing. We we knew we had to be really active.
Speaker 18 (11:53):
I thought our guards were really.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Instrumental and keeping the ball out of the post as
much as we did. You know, we're not We're not big,
so to speak. One of our best lineups is a
smaller lineup, and so we take advantage of that by
you know, trying to play defensively where our main goal
(12:18):
is to force turnovers, and if we can win that
turnover battle. You know, I think they had like eighteen
I think, no, twenty three, and we had ten. That's
an extra thirteen shots that we're going to get that
they're not going to get.
Speaker 18 (12:34):
So we put a big emphasis on that.
Speaker 7 (12:46):
Eaden Lassi hoops HQ. You said that this is the
best you've seen page play. You know, obviously she doesn't
have to do anything else to cement her legacy at Yukon,
But what impresses you the most about the way she
just continues to find new ways to step up and
elevate this team.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Did I really say that that's the best I've seen
her play? That came out of my mouth. What, that's
the most I've seen her shoot? And she was really
bad defensively, So we can't just let her off the
hook that easily. We still got to hopefully a couple
more games to go before she gets canonized. We see
(13:25):
this every day practice, right every day at practice, there's.
Speaker 18 (13:30):
Long stretches of exactly what you saw today.
Speaker 17 (13:34):
And.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Little by little it's dawned on her. I think that
there is no next year, There is no you know,
I can get this anytime I want you, You're gonna
have to get it now or it won't be available anymore.
So what she does is is not a surprise to
(13:59):
anybody on our team. Today was unusual for her because
she doesn't necessarily like to shoot the ball as much
as she did today, But circumstances were perfect because of
how Oklahoma was playing. But in the big picture, yeah,
(14:23):
I said this last week. I think Pages is held
to a different standard than a lot of other kids.
You know, I think you see this a lot in sports,
whether it's pro or college, where one person becomes the narrative.
(14:43):
You know, I saw one thing today. It was in
Page versus Oklahoma, or Oklahoma versus Page and Yukon, you know,
so it's almost like, you know, the Trojan Warrior. We're
going to send out Achilles, They're going to send out Hector,
and we're going to see who wins, you know, and
it doesn't work that way, but you know, Page can
(15:05):
do things during the course of a game that most
people can't do. But she's certainly not going to win
tonight's game or Monday's game by herself. And if we lose,
it's not good because she lost it. So we've been
talking about that a lot these last couple of weeks
to just kind of put her at ease at because
the outside pressure just.
Speaker 18 (15:25):
Keeps growing and growing and growing.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And then with this performance, people are going to expect
fifty on Monday, so you know, my job is to
kind of.
Speaker 18 (15:34):
Alleviate that pressure.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
You're surprised to hear that, huh.
Speaker 13 (15:45):
Alexa philipoot Espn On that note, when you were talking
about some other players that really stepped up, what did
you see from I guess Ashlan and Caitlin KK, especially
on defensive anything combined, they had a bunch of steals
Kate or Ashland with a lot of hustle plays. How
did they help you guys get across the finish line.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yeah, it's supposed to be like that, right, It's supposed
to be a collaboration. And some people can do big
things and can do a lot of things. And you know,
that's Page's role on this team to do big things,
and we have other players that their role.
Speaker 18 (16:25):
Is to do.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Smaller things, and if they all do their small things
really really well, we add them up to the big
things that Page is going to do and we end
up with a with a great win. I see a
lot of teams when somebody gets forty, they lose. That
team loses. So I like the fact that we did
(16:48):
get contributions, you know, from Ash and KK, Kaitlin, a,
z Ice, Jenna, everybody that plays contributed something. And I
think the confidence that they have in Page knowing then
(17:08):
when she gets like that, they just kind of have.
Speaker 18 (17:11):
To do their part and everything will take care of itself.
That's probably the biggest.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Difference from this year to last year. We have more
people that can help, and tonight they did.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
We have time for two more questions.
Speaker 12 (17:32):
Chantle Jennings with the athletic. I'm gonna cheat nask two,
but hopefully someone else can still ask one. I was
just curious when Page came out, sat down on the bench,
she turned and said something to Era. I was wondering
if you recalled what she said. And then the second
part is she said that mentality is just sort of
taking what the game gave her. But I'm sure there's
a coaching element to how challenging is it to coach
that kind of mentality into a player where it might
not necessarily come natural.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah, one of the coaches said Page needs a breather.
It was like two minutes and something left on the clock,
and there was a huge ovation for her when she
came out, And I asked her whether she came out
so she could get a huge ovation, and she said no,
(18:18):
I was tired. I didn't believe it. I didn't believe it.
So that's what we were talking about. Second, Coaching really
really good players is really rewarding, and it's invigorating and
you have to be on top of your game all
the time because they challenge you in.
Speaker 18 (18:37):
Every way always every day.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Every day is a challenge, and I've certainly lived through
a lot of those challenges in my career. I've been
fortunate enough, and they all struggle, I think at times
with they either want to do too much to be
able to say that everything depends on me, and because
(19:01):
everybody tells them it depends on you. They then want
to play forty minutes and they want to get forty
points every night, or they're kind of almost embarrassed by
all the attention and so.
Speaker 18 (19:12):
Try to push it off a little.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Bit and not do too much because they don't want
to be seen as, Oh, she wants to prove she's Paigebeckers,
you know. So there's a you know, a balance there
that they have to try to strike. And what I
always tell and this goes all the way back to
you know, d back in the day, you just need
to be where your team needs you to be that night,
(19:36):
whatever that is.
Speaker 18 (19:38):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
So my conversation with Paige, I didn't say much in
the locker room other than I just commented on all
the buckets that Oklahoma got because she screwed up. So
at halftime when we were out there, we just talked
about once your defensive mentality comes back, because you're one
(19:59):
of the best defense players on our team. Once that
mentality comes back, then you can start going about winning
our winning the game for Uce. So I think she
was looked like she said, she was mentally making some
mistakes defensively and it was carrying over.
Speaker 18 (20:13):
So I was basically it. She's full of it. She goes.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I didn't take that in a negative way, big baby.
I wasn't being negative. She's trying to help her. That's
what you get. No good deed goes unpunished. She has
to be right all the time.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Last question.
Speaker 12 (20:35):
Xenon Thornton, Washington Sports Network coach.
Speaker 17 (20:38):
Besides Page's defense, what was the message to the team
in the locker room headed into the late.
Speaker 18 (20:44):
Eight after the game? You mean, uh, very.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Very much about uh how difficult Monday Night's game is
for every team that's playing in that game, whether it's
the two teams playing here Monday night or the teams
that are playing in another region. You know, you've worked three
(21:17):
hundred and sixty five days almost whatever it is since
you were last here, and you're knocking on the door
there to get to the final four. The one thing
that's the holy grail that every kid wants right to
have an opportunity to play in the final four, and
when you know you're one step, you just one step.
You know, sometimes you just analogy. You know, more people
(21:39):
die at the top of Everest because there's one last
step you have to take, and that's when it gets them.
If it's going to get them. You put so much
pressure on yourself you you can almost feel that you're shaking.
You know, you want to win so bad, and you
step out of character and you don't play your normal game.
Speaker 18 (21:56):
It's happened to us a bunch of times.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
So briefly talked about it's going to be a really
hard game Monday night, hard game for us, hard game
for whoever wins this game, and hopefully the experience that
we've gained over the years some of our players.
Speaker 18 (22:15):
Maybe makes a difference. Maybe not.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
I don't know, but you know when we got here,
Before we got here, you know, the unfortunate thing that
happened with Juju leading up to this thing, it was
all Page versus Juju. That's kind of disrespectful to the
other teams, you know, So we certainly have never made
it about that. It wouldn't surprise me if Southern Cow
wins the National Championship and shows it with the character
(22:39):
that those kids have, so we wanted to make sure
we keep the focus on I don't care who we're playing,
this game is a bitch, and don't talk about the
final four. Thank you, coach, thank you, Thanks everybody,
We uh pleased to have the Yukon representatives with us.
We will follow normal protocol and take a question or
in an opening statement from coach ori Ema, and then
we'll open it up to questions for student athletes.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Coach Oh, yeah, yeah. It was a really interesting game
the way it played out. We went from it felt
like we couldn't get anything to go our way in
(00:36):
that first half. And I think the harder we tried
to make a shot, and less shots we made. But
for the most part, you know, it might not have
looked like it, but I thought, I thought what made
the what made it worth more than it looked like,
was that we played defense well enough that a team
(00:58):
that's getting eighty five or so every night, you know,
they had to work really hard for the thirty six
that they got in the first half. And and we thought,
if we can get the same quality shots in the
second half that we got in the first half, that
it would it would start to go our way. And
(01:18):
and everybody had, you know, their moment, and obviously, you know,
Paige was, you know, spectacular. That was as good a
game as I've seen her play the whole time she's
been here. At the most important time, and you know,
when you're a senior and you've been around as long
as she has, this is what this is what you're
(01:41):
here to do. This is why you came here. So
pretty we're pretty excited about playing Monday night.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Really all right, we'll take questions for student athletes. A
reminder to raise your hand and we'll get the microphone
to you. If you can identify yourself by name and outlet,
and if you please direct your question to a specific
student athlete, that'd be very helpful.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Questions Schaefer Murray, Washington Sports Network Page, Career night, you know,
looking for that championship. Just talk about what's going through
your head six for eight from the three point land
when things are just dropping like that.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Honestly, we just wanted to keep our season going as
long as possible. We all love playing together, we love
playing here. We we just love this program and everything
it means. So we wanted to keep going as long
as possible. And we knew we were getting good shots
in the first half. Stuff wasn't dropping, so we just
wanted to stay consistent in the looks that we were
getting and how we were getting them. So just trying
(02:47):
to stay aggressive. Read what the game it is calling
for and just trying to do what it takes a win.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Well, Austin gets with a cage q TV here and
Spokane Page. Not only a career high for you, but
a record for most points scored by a Yukon player
in the NCAA tournament. When you think of how decorated
this program is and so many legends that have come
(03:16):
through to be able to even find new ground to break,
what is that? How does that strike you?
Speaker 6 (03:23):
It's an honor.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
I'm extremely blessed, extremely grateful that i can't get to
play at Yukon and be in these conversations with like
the greatest of all time.
Speaker 6 (03:31):
But people see the points, but.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Like a large just an attribution to Sarah Janna Ice.
The way they were screening for me, getting Me Open,
Getting Me looks like everybody sees the points, but nobody
sees the screen set the passes that were found to me.
So it's I guess an individual point total, but it's
really a team.
Speaker 7 (03:54):
Effort eating lasty hoops HQ Page. It looked like coach
got after you a little bit there in the I
think it was the second quarter, and then I'm guessing
probably a halftime as well. I know you guys have
such a back and forth that you can kind of
(04:16):
say anything to each other, But what were those interactions
like and did it help you kind of come out
hot in the second half.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Yeah, just an everyday interaction between coach and Page, him
getting on me, him holding me accountable. I did have
some mental lapses and some mental mistakes that I can't
have at this point of the season, So just obviously
taking them but not letting them affect me in a
negative way, affected me in a positive way to not
make those mental mistakes again and turn it up a notch.
Speaker 6 (04:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (04:52):
Maddie Kenny with the New York Post, Ashlyn, I was
just curious, like you've seen Paige and this killer instinct before,
but to see it, what happened in the second half
and how much does that just set the tone for
all of you guys, And what is it like when
she does get hot like that As a teammate.
Speaker 9 (05:08):
I think we're never really surprised when she gets on
heaters like that. I think every shot paid shoots is
going in, so I mean that helps to play out
there with her, But when they are falling like that,
it's super fun to be a part of, and she
really just brings like the energy and really motivates us
to want to get the ball back, get a stop
on defense, make big plays.
Speaker 10 (05:36):
Bella Munson for the next I guess for Ashland and
Paige in particular, Oklahoma are not particularly experienced in the tournament.
You guys were here last year and have been here
a lot before. Just what sort of role do you
think your experience in the tournament specifically played in this
game and can help you moving forward?
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Okay, I think experience is a huge thing, especially in
a game of runs.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
Never get too high, never get too low.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
In the first half, they had a pretty, I mean
a great first half, and we didn't make a lot
of shots, but we dug down defensively, stuck to our defense,
and I think that's what we want to just hang
our hat on, is defense winning games and depending how
many shots we make or not that dictating how much
we went by, but just staying composed, weathering the runs,
(06:27):
staying together, staying connected as a team, and making sure
that we know it's a forty minute game, not a
twenty minute game, not a thirty nine minute game, All
forty minutes.
Speaker 11 (06:43):
Nancy m or USA Today Sports page said that you
want this season to keep going, that you that you
didn't want this to be the last game. How much
more conscious are you of that? You know now that
you've said that, Yeah, you are going to the draft
knowing that the next game you guys loses, you last
in a Yukon uniform.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
I mean, everybody at this point of the season is
trying to keep winning, to win a national title and
keep their season going as long as possible. So everybody
has the same goal, whether your season's ending or your
career is ending. You want to just take it one
game at a time, one practice at a time, one
possession at a time, and just focus on that and
maximizing that and not getting too caught up in the future.
(07:24):
But you do know in the back of your mind
that every possession counts and it'll be my last season
here at Yukon, So obviously you know that, but you
try to just stay in the present.
Speaker 12 (07:37):
Hey, Paige Chantle Jennings with the athletic I know coach
has talked a lot about trying to get you to
sort of have that more of an attack first aggressive mentality.
In the third quarter interview, he asked, Holly wrote to
talk to you about taking over the game and the fourth,
which you obviously did. I'm just curious, is that, like,
how do you establish that mentality? Is it just like
self talk? Is it something you do before the game
(07:58):
throughout the game to sort of remind yourself of how
to have that mentality?
Speaker 6 (08:03):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (08:04):
No, I think it's just reading the game, seeing what
the defense is doing, and just trying to remain aggressive
look for my shot. Looking for my shot helps other
people get open, but more just a mentality of taking
what the game is giving inshowing to me.
Speaker 6 (08:20):
So yeah, probably not.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Two more questions.
Speaker 13 (08:25):
Alexa, philipoot ESPN Caitlin, How would you describe what the
locker over here on the left? How would you describe
what the locker room was that halftime? You guys had
played your best pastball then, what allowed you to, especially
on the defensive end, What was like the approach to
make sure you came out and really set the tone
on that end moving forward?
Speaker 14 (08:43):
Yeah? I mean I thought our defense was solid in
the first half, we just weren't hitting open shots. So
we just focus on continue to get those open shots,
focus on executing our offense, and we knew that we
had twenty minutes guaranteed left to play, so just giving
it are all and just going out there and playing
each possession and focusing on winning each possession.
Speaker 15 (09:06):
Yeah, Sydney Burger KXI TV. Here in Spokane, Page, obviously
you've been here before for hoop Fest. You guys won
that in your high school years, and then coming here today,
I'm curious about the environment that you remember from hoop
Fest and then what you thought of the environment here
(09:28):
in the Spokane Arena today. Just so loud here for
your entire team every time a shot was made.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
Definitely a great environment. You feel like this is a
basketball city coming here. I think it was in high
school for the three and three tournament. It was outside,
but again a great turnout, a great environment, a great
atmosphere as the same it was today. I thought the
crowd was fantastic, the atmosphere was great. You could hear
stuff from both sides, So yeah, it was a great experience.
Speaker 16 (09:54):
One last question, Liam Bradford with the Argonaut at the
University of Idaho. Page kind of let out a big vocal,
you know, come on there with going into the under
five there in the fourth quarter. Was there anything. With
the struggles at the offense face in the first half,
(10:14):
that kind of motivated you to be a little bit,
you know, extra, trying to ice that game in the
second half there.
Speaker 6 (10:20):
Just trying to bring the energy.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
It's easy to get down and not be as energized
when the shots aren't falling, but we want to be
energized on defense and continue to keep the pressure up,
keep the NYE, keep getting on passing lanes and that'll
lead to open looks for offense and get an out
in transition. So once shots start following, you feel, I
mean naturally just an energy boost and then just trying
(10:44):
to channel that throughout the rest of the game.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
All right, Well, thank the student athletes and let them go,
and when they've left this stage, we'll turn it over
to questions for coach.
Speaker 17 (10:57):
Jim Allen Spokesman interview and Spokane coach. You guys had
only two turnovers in that second half, forced about a
dozen or so. What went into that execution wise and
just desire defensively?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
I think for the better part of the last couple
of months we've done a really really good job of
taking care of the ball, and I think there's there
was just one game maybe in the last two months
where I thought we.
Speaker 18 (11:33):
We didn't handle the ball really well.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
And and our defense is before seeing a lot of turnovers.
So we really didn't do anything different today than we've
been doing. We we knew we had to be really active.
Speaker 18 (11:53):
I thought our guards were really.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Instrumental and keeping the ball out of the post as
much as we did. You know, we're not We're not big,
so to speak. One of our best lineups is a
smaller lineup, and so we take advantage of that by
you know, trying to play defensively where our main goal
(12:18):
is to force turnovers, and if we can win that
turnover battle. You know, I think they had like eighteen
I think, no, twenty three, and we had ten. That's
an extra thirteen shots that we're going to get that
they're not going to get.
Speaker 18 (12:34):
So we put a big emphasis on that.
Speaker 7 (12:46):
Eaden Lassi hoops HQ. You said that this is the
best you've seen page play. You know, obviously she doesn't
have to do anything else to cement her legacy at Yukon,
But what impresses you the most about the way she
just continues to find new ways to step up and
elevate this team.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Did I really say that that's the best I've seen
her play? That came out of my mouth. What, that's
the most I've seen her shoot? And she was really
bad defensively, So we can't just let her off the
hook that easily. We still got to hopefully a couple
more games to go before she gets canonized. We see
(13:25):
this every day practice, right every day at practice, there's.
Speaker 18 (13:30):
Long stretches of exactly what you saw today.
Speaker 17 (13:34):
And.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Little by little it's dawned on her. I think that
there is no next year, There is no you know,
I can get this anytime I want you, You're gonna
have to get it now or it won't be available anymore.
So what she does is is not a surprise to
(13:59):
anybody on our team. Today was unusual for her because
she doesn't necessarily like to shoot the ball as much
as she did today, But circumstances were perfect because of
how Oklahoma was playing. But in the big picture, yeah,
(14:23):
I said this last week. I think Pages is held
to a different standard than a lot of other kids.
You know, I think you see this a lot in sports,
whether it's pro or college, where one person becomes the narrative.
(14:43):
You know, I saw one thing today. It was in
Page versus Oklahoma, or Oklahoma versus Page and Yukon, you know,
so it's almost like, you know, the Trojan Warrior. We're
going to send out Achilles, They're going to send out Hector,
and we're going to see who wins, you know, and
it doesn't work that way, but you know, Page can
(15:05):
do things during the course of a game that most
people can't do. But she's certainly not going to win
tonight's game or Monday's game by herself. And if we lose,
it's not good because she lost it. So we've been
talking about that a lot these last couple of weeks
to just kind of put her at ease at because
the outside pressure just.
Speaker 18 (15:25):
Keeps growing and growing and growing.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And then with this performance, people are going to expect
fifty on Monday, so you know, my job is to
kind of.
Speaker 18 (15:34):
Alleviate that pressure.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
You're surprised to hear that, huh.
Speaker 13 (15:45):
Alexa philipoot Espn On that note, when you were talking
about some other players that really stepped up, what did
you see from I guess Ashlan and Caitlin KK, especially
on defensive anything combined, they had a bunch of steals
Kate or Ashland with a lot of hustle plays. How
did they help you guys get across the finish line.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yeah, it's supposed to be like that, right, It's supposed
to be a collaboration. And some people can do big
things and can do a lot of things. And you know,
that's Page's role on this team to do big things,
and we have other players that their role.
Speaker 18 (16:25):
Is to do.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Smaller things, and if they all do their small things
really really well, we add them up to the big
things that Page is going to do and we end
up with a with a great win. I see a
lot of teams when somebody gets forty, they lose. That
team loses. So I like the fact that we did
(16:48):
get contributions, you know, from Ash and KK, Kaitlin, a,
z Ice, Jenna, everybody that plays contributed something. And I
think the confidence that they have in Page knowing then
(17:08):
when she gets like that, they just kind of have.
Speaker 18 (17:11):
To do their part and everything will take care of itself.
That's probably the biggest.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Difference from this year to last year. We have more
people that can help, and tonight they did.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
We have time for two more questions.
Speaker 12 (17:32):
Chantle Jennings with the athletic. I'm gonna cheat nask two,
but hopefully someone else can still ask one. I was
just curious when Page came out, sat down on the bench,
she turned and said something to Era. I was wondering
if you recalled what she said. And then the second
part is she said that mentality is just sort of
taking what the game gave her. But I'm sure there's
a coaching element to how challenging is it to coach
that kind of mentality into a player where it might
not necessarily come natural.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah, one of the coaches said Page needs a breather.
It was like two minutes and something left on the clock,
and there was a huge ovation for her when she
came out, And I asked her whether she came out
so she could get a huge ovation, and she said no,
(18:18):
I was tired. I didn't believe it. I didn't believe it.
So that's what we were talking about. Second, Coaching really
really good players is really rewarding, and it's invigorating and
you have to be on top of your game all
the time because they challenge you in.
Speaker 18 (18:37):
Every way always every day.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Every day is a challenge, and I've certainly lived through
a lot of those challenges in my career. I've been
fortunate enough, and they all struggle, I think at times
with they either want to do too much to be
able to say that everything depends on me, and because
(19:01):
everybody tells them it depends on you. They then want
to play forty minutes and they want to get forty
points every night, or they're kind of almost embarrassed by
all the attention and so.
Speaker 18 (19:12):
Try to push it off a little.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Bit and not do too much because they don't want
to be seen as, Oh, she wants to prove she's Paigebeckers,
you know. So there's a you know, a balance there
that they have to try to strike. And what I
always tell and this goes all the way back to
you know, d back in the day, you just need
to be where your team needs you to be that night,
(19:36):
whatever that is.
Speaker 18 (19:38):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
So my conversation with Paige, I didn't say much in
the locker room other than I just commented on all
the buckets that Oklahoma got because she screwed up. So
at halftime when we were out there, we just talked
about once your defensive mentality comes back, because you're one
(19:59):
of the best defense players on our team. Once that
mentality comes back, then you can start going about winning
our winning the game for Uce. So I think she
was looked like she said, she was mentally making some
mistakes defensively and it was carrying over.
Speaker 18 (20:13):
So I was basically it. She's full of it. She goes.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I didn't take that in a negative way, big baby.
I wasn't being negative. She's trying to help her. That's
what you get. No good deed goes unpunished. She has
to be right all the time.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Last question.
Speaker 12 (20:35):
Xenon Thornton, Washington Sports Network coach.
Speaker 17 (20:38):
Besides Page's defense, what was the message to the team
in the locker room headed into the late.
Speaker 18 (20:44):
Eight after the game? You mean, uh, very.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Very much about uh how difficult Monday Night's game is
for every team that's playing in that game, whether it's
the two teams playing here Monday night or the teams
that are playing in another region. You know, you've worked three
(21:17):
hundred and sixty five days almost whatever it is since
you were last here, and you're knocking on the door
there to get to the final four. The one thing
that's the holy grail that every kid wants right to
have an opportunity to play in the final four, and
when you know you're one step, you just one step.
You know, sometimes you just analogy. You know, more people
(21:39):
die at the top of Everest because there's one last
step you have to take, and that's when it gets them.
If it's going to get them. You put so much
pressure on yourself you you can almost feel that you're shaking.
You know, you want to win so bad, and you
step out of character and you don't play your normal game.
Speaker 18 (21:56):
It's happened to us a bunch of times.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
So briefly talked about it's going to be a really
hard game Monday night, hard game for us, hard game
for whoever wins this game, and hopefully the experience that
we've gained over the years some of our players.
Speaker 18 (22:15):
Maybe makes a difference. Maybe not.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
I don't know, but you know when we got here,
Before we got here, you know, the unfortunate thing that
happened with Juju leading up to this thing, it was
all Page versus Juju. That's kind of disrespectful to the
other teams, you know, So we certainly have never made
it about that. It wouldn't surprise me if Southern Cow
wins the National Championship and shows it with the character
(22:39):
that those kids have, so we wanted to make sure
we keep the focus on I don't care who we're playing,
this game is a bitch, and don't talk about the
final four. Thank you, coach, thank you, Thanks everybody,
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