UCF head coach Sytia Messer talks with media following TCU's 66-60 win over UCF.
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00:00 - To Tia Messer here, she would like to go ahead
00:02 and open the floor up for questions.
00:06 - Yes, sir.
00:06 - Coach, I know that this was an important game for TCU
00:09 after last week's events, but from your perspective,
00:12 just from afar, what have you seen from TCU
00:15 on the court tonight and then after
00:17 what they've overcome last week?
00:19 - My perspective, number one, I want all student athletes
00:23 to be healthy, and my heart goes out
00:25 to each of the student athletes, unfortunately,
00:28 that face injuries here, so I wish them well,
00:32 and a speedy recovery, especially Jayden Owens,
00:36 our coach during Baylor, and so I've known her
00:39 since high school, I did a home visit with her,
00:41 and as soon as it happened, I sent a group text
00:44 to my staff saying, "Prayers out for Jayden."
00:47 So my prayers go to each student athlete.
00:51 - So Tia, how far is it comparing for a team like that,
00:54 when they've got so many of their players out there?
00:55 - You look familiar.
00:57 - From Baylor, you said?
00:58 - I knew it, I knew it.
00:59 (laughing)
01:01 I was like, I know you, I'm sorry, finish the question.
01:04 - Just how difficult is it to prepare for a team
01:06 with so many of their best players out,
01:08 but not knowing what to expect?
01:09 - It was real difficult, okay, 'cause we're researching
01:12 and trying to figure out who's playing,
01:14 who's not, who they added, and those kind of things,
01:17 so it was difficult to prepare for that.
01:20 You know, that's just as much an advantage as anything,
01:23 sometimes, is when you don't know who to prepare for,
01:27 and I think that kind of initiated
01:30 some of the slow start we had.
01:32 We were adjusting and we're reminding our players,
01:35 okay, this is what she does, what she doesn't do,
01:38 here's the walk-ons, different type of things,
01:40 so it took us a while to get adjusted,
01:43 but I thought once we got settled,
01:45 you saw the UCF team default.
01:48 - Did you sense a sense of overconfidence?
01:52 Sometimes when a team has a bunch of injuries
01:54 to a bunch of key players, you can come out
01:56 and think it's an "easy win."
01:58 Did you sense that from your team to start?
02:00 - Not at all.
02:01 There's nothing in the Big 12 easy,
02:03 so that was never in our mind,
02:06 and when you're on the road,
02:07 you're down 10 points automatically,
02:09 so we never overlooked them.
02:12 - Kaitlin and Maya both had really good shooting nights
02:15 for you tonight.
02:16 What were they doing well offensively?
02:18 - Say that last part, I'm sorry.
02:19 - Kaitlin and Maya both had good shooting nights.
02:21 What were they doing well offensively for you tonight?
02:23 - For us? - Yes.
02:24 - Offensively? - Yes, ma'am.
02:26 - Kaitlin is a pro.
02:29 I've been fortunate, as you've been at Baylor,
02:31 I've coached some of the best student athletes
02:33 that ever played women's basketball,
02:36 and Kaitlin is a pro.
02:37 She takes the team and she put us on her back,
02:41 and there at the end, we wasn't able to connect.
02:45 I thought she did a good job on defense,
02:48 and we could've went in for a layup,
02:50 and unfortunately, it is what it is.
02:53 We wasn't able to advance,
02:55 and that's a questionable situation,
02:59 because I thought that Kaitlin had a clean steal
03:01 and went in, and she was, in my opinion, foul,
03:05 but you gotta steal a blade.
03:07 There's no excuses.
03:08 We should've had a better start,
03:10 and that wouldn't have happened.
03:11 - It's like you said, it's difficult in the Big 12.
03:13 Your team's had some close losses.
03:14 What do you say, is your team learning?
03:17 - Oh, we've grown up.
03:18 This has been, y'all think everything is bigger in Texas?
03:22 Listen, this team has grown up so much.
03:25 This swing in Texas, you think about Baylor, three points,
03:29 and then tonight, on the road,
03:31 if we play like that the rest of the year, watch out for us.
03:35 I'm very proud of my young ladies,
03:37 and it's tough right now, keeping the morale,
03:40 but that's what we're built for,
03:43 and we always tell our team, it's not how you start,
03:45 it's how you finish, and so that's what we're working
03:49 every day to get better.
03:51 - You've seen your fair share of games here at Schollmeyer
03:54 coming from Baylor.
03:55 What'd you think of the atmosphere here tonight?
03:56 - I thought it was a great atmosphere.
03:58 I really did.
03:59 There was, it was a great crowd to play in front of.
04:03 I thought that everybody was loud,
04:05 and it was a good, good atmosphere.
04:07 Great for the Big 12, and great for women's basketball.
04:10 Great atmosphere.
04:11 - All right, perfect, thank you.
04:15 - Thank you guys, have a great night.