Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff talks about the big third quarter for the Buckeyes and want to expect from Mackenzie Holmes and the Indiana Hoosiers Sun
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00:00 Well, what did you tell the halftime coach for that third quarter?
00:04 I probably shouldn't say that here.
00:07 But we just had a spirited conversation at halftime just about our mental energy.
00:12 I thought our physical energy was fine, but we weren't really locked in mentally.
00:16 They did a great job coming out of the locker room and imposing our role in the second half.
00:20 And is that kind of a byproduct of playing teams that are kind of lower in standings over the last few weeks
00:25 after playing Iowa and then Indiana's coming up Sunday?
00:28 Yeah, it could be, but I just think if you kind of turn it on, turn it off,
00:33 it's hard to have it there for 40 minutes when you need it.
00:36 So that's what I'm really kind of pushing them to not, like trying to figure out,
00:40 well, we're playing this team so we're going to put this amount of mental energy into it.
00:44 You can't really do that. If you're going to be the team, you're capable of being.
00:47 And in the second half, it looked like against Sarah Williams, trying to stop her right as she gets the ball
00:52 instead of trying to stop her when she's trying to take a shot. Was that calculated?
00:55 Yeah, we just talked about some adjustments we made on her and just crowded her a little bit more.
01:00 And I also thought, too, just the pace and the press just kind of took her out of it a little bit.
01:04 They weren't just walking it up and throwing it in there.
01:07 Different player, different team, but how good of a prep is that going to be for McKenzie coming out Sunday?
01:11 Yeah, it was good that we had to play a great post player tonight because we're going to play,
01:15 obviously, against McKenzie on Sunday, who's one of the best in the country.
01:19 When you guys are struggling on the boards like you did tonight,
01:21 how important was that sharp shooting in the second quarter?
01:24 Yeah, no doubt. I mean, we came out at halftime.
01:27 I thought we really moved the ball, made the extra pass, and it led to a lot of really open shots.
01:32 And can you talk about what matchup you felt worked best on Williams?
01:34 I saw you were working all three of the forwards in.
01:38 You know, I just think in general, the second half, we were much better against her for a lot of reasons.
01:44 One, we helped the post players more by crowding her.
01:48 We didn't do a very good job and just let her play one-on-one in the first half.
01:51 And so I think we committed to a team effort in the second half, and we had much better results.
01:57 And Eboni, she's had high points and low points this season.
02:00 Can you just talk about her performance tonight?
02:01 She was great. I mean, she came off the bench and gave us excellent minutes.
02:04 Her energy was good, 11 points, seven rebounds in 18 minutes.
02:08 She was very efficient as well, so really good minutes for her.
02:11 What did you like in this matchup for her compared to other?
02:13 I know you've limited her minutes kind of in other matchups.
02:16 Yeah, you know, we just thought a little more speed and quickness on Williams I thought would be helpful.
02:23 And she does a good job. I knew they'd play a lot of zone.
02:26 She can kind of step out and space the floor a little bit, especially along the baseline.
02:30 Kevin, you mentioned the press helped you guys a lot in the second half.
02:33 It seemed like you guys turned it up a notch other than early in the first quarter.
02:37 Was that intentional or was that just kind of them filling the energy in the end?
02:40 Yeah, no. It was-- I think we kind of fed off-- we got some baskets and that kind of energized us.
02:45 But we talked a lot at halftime about just way more pressure on the ball and some things like that.
02:51 How much does this help this team when you're talking about early on maybe the intensity of the press isn't exactly--
02:58 you're not trapping in corners as much as you want, and then you're able to just turn it off.
03:01 How much does that help?
03:02 Yeah, it helps a lot. I think it's like-- can be hard to play against because you're kind of like--
03:06 you feel like on offense you've gotten comfortable with what you're doing.
03:09 All of a sudden the intensity gets turned up and it's a little bit more difficult.
03:13 With MSU, she said that confidence has just been kind of the biggest thing for her over these last few games.
03:18 She's started getting a few more shots.
03:20 What have you seen from her in terms of preparation for being able to come into these games and hit shots in those big moments?
03:25 Yeah, she's been practicing really well.
03:27 It's hard because you sit on the bench for the first ten minutes of the game.
03:30 You come in and we expect you to make shots.
03:32 It's not the easiest thing in the world, and if you miss one you put pressure on yourself.
03:35 But I think she's playing with more confidence and it's showing out there.
03:41 Kevin, they're opening up the arena, the whole thing again, first Sunday.
03:44 How exciting is it to do that again?
03:46 Yeah, it's great. Like I said, the VF has got a great team.
03:49 I'm really appreciative of the community coming out and supporting us in a big game like that.
03:52 It should be an incredible environment.
03:54 These last few matchups, Cody has done more than just score points.
03:57 She's been able to really dominate on the boards when you've been struggling with other players.
04:02 Can you just talk about her well-roundedness game and not just her ability to score?
04:06 Yeah, no, she's really locked in on rebounding right now, which is awesome because we need it.
04:10 Her effort on the boards is terrific.
04:12 I think even tonight she got her hands on three or four balls and just couldn't grab them.
04:16 We need that because sometimes that can be an issue for us.
04:20 Her playing as hard as she is on the boards is great.
04:22 I know you said you wouldn't tell us, but you said at halftime,
04:24 but did you expect to get all the bench players into this matchup?
04:28 I wasn't sure. I expected to play better in the second half, which we did.
04:31 I was happy that we got to play a lot of people and didn't have to play Jacy Boulding and all that type of stuff.
04:36 You came with Taylor Theory, no points in the first half, and then comes out and scores a lot earlier in the second half.
04:43 How important is it not only in this game to get her going, but coming up ahead of Indiana, getting her ready?
04:48 Yeah, no, we need all hands on deck for Sunday, so to have her have that second half is really good.
04:52 Hopefully she'll get some confidence and be ready for Sunday.