Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
20-12,9-9Big 12
Washington State
19-11,11-6Pac-12
K-State Rallies to Knock off Washington State, 50-40, in NCAA Tournament
Mar 19, 2022 | Women's Basketball
The Wildcats will play the winner of the N.C. State/Longwood on Monday
Lee, a 2022 All-American by a bevy of organizations, paced the Wildcats with 20 points, including a 10-of-12 effort from the free throw line, 15 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. With her double-double on Saturday, Lee set the school record for double-doubles in a single season with 20. She is the sixth player in the history of the Big 12 with 20 or more double-doubles in a season.
With her 20 points, Lee became the second player in K-State women's basketball history to score 700 or more points in a single-season, joining Brittany Chambers and her school record of 778 points in the 2012-13 season.
Lee's 15 rebounds tied the school record for rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game, matching the total hauled in by Tammie Romstad on March 13, 1982, against Stephen F. Austin.
Defensively in the second half, K-State (20-12) limited Washington State (19-11) to a 20.7 percent (6-of-29) effort from the field including a 2-of-18 fourth quarter (.111) and an 0-of-13 performance from the 3-point line in the second half.
In total, the 40 points surrendered by K-State on Saturday set the school record for fewest points allowed in an NCAA Tournament game, surpassing the previous low of 44 by Drexel on March 21, 2009.
The Wildcats trailed by as many as nine in the first half and were down seven at halftime, 24-17. Washington State rebuilt its advantage to nine, 28-19, following a layup from Krystal Leger-Walker with 9:01 to play in the third quarter. The Wildcats answered with a 10-0 run over a four-minute stretch to pull in front, 29-28, with 4:56 left.
Freshman Brylee Glenn started the rally with a pair of free throws with 8:28 left. Serena Sundell followed with a pull-up 3-pointer. Glenn then added a corner 3-pointer in front of the K-State bench to bring the Wildcats within one, 28-27. Glenn then added two more free throws to push her over double figures for the game with 5:27 left in the third frame.
Glenn, a 2022 Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection, ended her first NCAA Tournament game with 14 points, her 10th game in double figures.
After the Cougars tied the score at 29, Lee hauled in an offensive rebound and finished the putback to reach double figures in scoring for the 31st time in 32 games this season and give the Wildcats a 31-29 lead with 4:04 to play in the third.
With her double-double, Lee is the eighth K-State women's basketball player to record a double-double in an NCAA Tournament game. She is the first Wildcat since Chambers in 2011 to register a double-double in their NCAA Tournament debut and the second K-State player to register a 20-point, 15 rebound double-double since Romstad in the 1982 NCAA Tournament.
Another Lee putback with 44 seconds left in the third quarter pushed K-State into a tie at 33 and was followed by two free throws from Rebekah Dallinger with 18 seconds remaining to give the Wildcats a 35-33 lead entering the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, Kansas State pushed in front by eight, 43-35, as the Wildcats used an 8-2 run to open the final stanza. Lee opened the scoring with a layup and, following a defensive stop, Cymone Goodrich added a layup with 9:13 to play. Lee closed the run with two free throws and a jumper with 6:35 left.
Washington State would close to within four, 43-39, with 4:53 to play, but the K-State defense held the Cougars without a made field goal for the final 4:52 of game action and made just one free throw during that stretch.
Sundell moved the advantage back to six, 45-39, with a layup with just over four minutes remaining. The Wildcats would then ice the game at the foul line, as Glenn and Lee were a combined 5-of-6 from the line over the final three and a half minutes.
With its win on Saturday, K-State (20-12) secured the 26th 20-win season in program history and the third in the Jeff Mittie era.
The win was the 599th of Mittie's 30-year coaching career. During his eight seasons in Manhattan, Mittie has collected 145 wins, which ranks third in program history for total victories.
K-State awaits its opponent for Monday's second round of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. The Wildcats will face either one-seed NC State or 16-seed Longwood. A game time and network will be determined late Saturday or Sunday.
WHAT THEY SAID
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
Opening Statement
"Well, I will say, I think they were two really good defensive teams. I think we each had something to do with the struggles early in this game. And I think both teams really were sound in that area. I was proud of our group, obviously when we got a lot of players struggling, we just kind of stayed the course. We struggled getting the ball to Lee, she struggled finishing early in this game. But we kept our focus I think decently in those areas. And when shots weren't falling -- that's been a majority of our team when shots weren't falling we dug deep today. I think that's something that this team has learned not to tie their defense to their offense. And I think we're moving on because of that. We obviously don't win this game because we're sharp offensively. We just enough plays. But defensively I liked what I saw. And you know, we're moving on because of it."
Q. Coach, I guess kind of the same question I asked Ayoka. What worked in the second half that didn't in the first?
COACH MITTIE: Well, we tried to get a different line-up out there in terms of they weren't guarding Ebert, they weren't gaurding Macke. They didn't guard Cymone, and so trying to put a better shooting line up out there where they had to stretch a little and give us a little bigger windows out there. So Dallinger got looks. Dallinger didn't shoot the ball well, but they know she's capable of knocking some three's down. And so I think stretching them a little bit. The other adjustment we tried to make is a little more middle of the floor with our entries. And then with the players they weren't guarding -- Goodrich had a really good stretch at the end of the 3rd start of the 4th because she shrunk the floor down herself getting closer to Lee. So she was able to make some plays there. It wasn't a great offensive game. I think what we talked about at halftime is there are windows in there. You have to show a little more discipline. You have to show a little more poise and be more decisive. I thought we were indecisive in the first half.
Q. The defense was also much better from you guys in the second half. I think you didn't allow them to make a field goal in the last five minutes of the game. Did defense come easier once you got the lead?
COACH MITTIE: I think confidence. I think both ends. I thought -- what Brylee alluded to was the rhythm defensively -- I thought we had a good feel for where they were trying to get their three's. I thought our switch outs were good, I thought our communication was good, I thought we were mixing things up enough to keep them off balance. You know, as a coach you can mix things up. If your players aren't on point with communication, if they are not locked into the action, all the stuff that you can draw on a white board doesn't matter. Our players really just continued to grow in their confidence. I thought, you know, one of the things that we wanted to do was -- Brylee alluded to running off the three-point line --I thought we made them shot fake and step aside on some plays. We were committed to guarding the three. And you know, they got the first three and we have a saying that there's a difference between pressure and posing. First three they got you guys could have got a great picture of us doing this. After that we were flying and we were making them bounce the ball. So our players really played well in that area.
Q. Just also the same question I asked Ayoka for you, I think this was her first NCAA tournament victory if I'm correct. So what is it about her personality? Does she get high?
COACH MITTIE: She does, but her coach played her 38: 53, so I think she's a little tired. So I didn't give her a lot of rest. Forgive her for resting during the press conference. It's the only time she gets to rest. One of the things that's great about her is that there's not anybody in the locker room bouncing around hugging everybody more than she is. And I think that -- but she really is the best balance of she has a mean streak between the lines, and then what you see here is just she's pretty chill and pretty relaxed outside of it. I know that she wanted to play well, and I know that she wanted this victory as they all did. And she was preparing. You go to our preparation last night, she was preparing all the way until 10 o'clock last night to get ready to play well today. So we didn't necessarily play well today, but we're moving on, and we're 1 of 32 that's going to be doing it.
Q. They got in foul trouble with their posts, and how helpful was that? They kind of went smaller the rest of the way. How beneficial was that in getting the ball into Lee?
COACH MITTIE: Yeah, I think it was helpful. You know, obviously it forced us to do some things differently at the defensive end. I do think there were bigger windows to get her the basketball in the second half. There's no doubt the free-throw line became a factor for us in the second half. We were very intentionally were driving it hard at them, we were very intentionally trying to get every opportunity we could. I thought our group did a good job when we did get in the bonus with staying with attacking the rim and forcing those calls.
Q. You guys most likely will get North Carolina state on Monday, playing them already, how does that change your guy's preparation as far as scouting them for Monday?
COACH MITTIE: Well, if we get North Carolina State that was a lifetime ago in basketball terms. I mean, I think it was our fourth game of the year, maybe fifth game of the year. You have some familiarity because you have seen them live in terms of personnel. But in terms of what they are doing now, where they have evolved to, I haven't seen them play much. I will dive into that as soon as I'm done with you fine folks, and dive into that as quickly as I can. Yeah, as you know, Tim, that was I think a Friday in the preseason NIT. So we were a young basketball team. I thought we came in and competed well, boy we sure couldn't stop them. Defensively we could not stop them. It was actually a good message to our group going back to Manhattan back then because we needed to improve, and we need to do it quickly. I'll be curious to see more North Carolina State going forward, if that's who we get on Monday. The odds are pretty good, but they still got a game to play.
Q. Coach, you mentioned Dallinger a little bit earlier. She didn't light up the stat sheet or at least she didn't score super well. How important was her willingness to drive the lane and draw fouls?
COACH MITTIE: Her plus minus is +11 on the day. So her value wasn't showing. I think her value showed in what I mentioned earlier in that I think they felt like they needed to guard her more, so there was bigger windows. I also thought she moved the ball fairly well. And while it doesn't show with a ton of assists, some hockey assists, spacing of the floor, and then defensively I thought she really played well, she took a big charge in that second half. So I thought she had a very good game and did some things that don't show up on the stat sheet.
Ayoka Lee, K-State Junior Center
Q. Ayoka, in the first half it seemed like their emphasize was trying to deny you the ball -- even catching it in the post. What changed for you in the second half and how were you able to get free?
AYOKA LEE: I think that was definitely just a struggle in the first half. I think things opened up more just as we continued to play together. I think like Coach said, this was kind of a grind through it game. But we kept working hard I think is what helped us, and like the guards continuing to work and move I think was the biggest thing in us moving the ball.
Q. Similar question for Ayoka. Did you sense that you were able to kind of get them fatigued as the game wore on? Did you sense maybe some tired legs from Washington State out there later in the game?
AYOKA LEE: I didn't really think about that. I think coming out of half, I think it was -- like we knew we were still in it. We knew it was anyone's game. And like we have been in so many different game situations this year. I don't think there was any question of whether we were still in it or not. And I think our mentality was like, we just have to keep doing -- sticking to our game plan.
Q. You seem very subdued right now. You just won a game. You played a lot of minutes. Or is it kind of your personality? You just seem very --
[ Laughter ]
COACH MITTIE: It's 90 degrees in the locker room. We just got out of a sauna.
AYOKA LEE: Yeah. I would say it's my personality. Yeah, I think definitely like celebrating. This is huge for us. But also I think, I don't know, I think I'm pretty, like, steady.
Q. You seem to position yourself better in the second half, what kind of changes do you make because you definitely got more rebounds in the second half than you did in the first half?
AYOKA LEE: Yeah, I just think the second half we were just playing better as a whole. And I think if I can get better position earlier on when -- and I know they have bigger windows to get it into me, I think that puts me in better rebounding position. I think that starts -- earlier on in the possession than just when the shot goes up.
Q. Ayoka, when you started getting to a rhythm a little bit there in the second half, just how did that feel for you especially after kind of some ups and downs in that first half?
AYOKA LEE: I think it was just something to keep building off of like every possession. I think our defense was better the second half, so having that too I think it was all just like, okay, let's keep building, keep building, keep building.
Brylee Glenn, K-State Freshman Guard
Q. What was the mood like in that locker room at halftime and who is it? Is it coach doing the speaking or the players speaking up? What is it like when you're down at half?
BRYLEE GLENN: Even if we are down we also maintain a positive attitude. When coach walks in, we do clap. And we do celebrate like the little things that we had done. We try not to dwell on what we're doing bad, but stay confident and maintain that composure so that coming into the third quarter that we do what needs to be done.
Q. Brylee, what was the focus on the defense end in the second half?
BRYLEE GLENN: Watching film, doing scouting and everything like that, we knew they were really good spot shooters. So I think coming into this game -- we do play a lot of zone. But the emphasis on it was not to let them get super wide open three's. We kept working better together, and we got more confident as a team. We were able to get better defensive stops and limit their three-point attempts.
Q. Brylee, it seemed like you had a little bit easier time, you and the rest of the guards, getting the ball in to Ayoka in the second half. Why do you think that was and how much of an emphasis was placed on that at halftime?
BRYLEE GLENN: During halftime I think there was a lot of emphasis. We all know what a great player Ayoka is so we all do want to get her the ball. I think in the first half we saw there were two people there, so we might have shied away from passing the ball into her a little bit. Coming out in the third quarter, we did put a big emphasis on looking at it more. And see those small windows, because there were small windows of getting her the ball. We wanted to just wanted to be able to do that for her.
Washington State Head Coach Kamie Ethridge
Opening Statement
COACH ETHRIDGE: Just really sad and disappointed in how we played. K-State was awesome in the second half and made great adjustments, really just got standing still. I thought we really lost some opportunities in the first half to extend our lead. That just was glaring to me with some turnovers that we had in trying to do too much at times. But again, just a hard game to compete in. You know, you hold a really good team to 50 points you think you're going to have a much better chance to win. We just had one of those nights where our best shooters didn't always shoot it very well. So congrats to K-State. Really proud of our team for being here and fighting like they do on a daily basis. And you know, disappointed that we didn't do a better job today.
Q. I think you said yesterday you hadn't seen a player like Lee before this year. What was the emphasis to frustrate her? It worked really well in the first half, what changed in the second?
COACH ETHRIDGE: I think we got into foul trouble and had to go small a little bit. Fouls really mounted up for the two bigs that I put in. They obviously got a few good looks for her, but every foul ended up in a shooting foul. And so you look -- both of us were pretty awful shooting the ball and shooting it from three, and the difference is the kind of body, the kind of length, she's so good -- better than anyone in the country that can catch it high and keep it high And she gets a lot of calls on that. And that was really the difference. I thought they just got to the free throw line before the bonus right away. And that's how they scored a lot of their points. Point-wise that really is the difference in the game. But I thought they did a really good job of maybe changing where they threw it to her. They adjusted well and I thought they frustrated us a little bit on the defensive end And we weren't as sure as we wanted to be when they were switching defenses. And just at some point you got to balance that out and you got to make some shots from the perimeter if you can't score over her, and we just didn't do that today.
Q. Coach, before last year this was a program that hadn't made the NCAA Tournament in 30 years or something like that. This is your second year in a row, you had a winning record competing in the Pac-12. A very tough conference. You are only losing one starter from this team. Do you feel like this team is closer to getting over the hump and how good do you feel about taking this momentum into next year?
COACH ETHRIDGE: I really want to believe our foundation is really solid. And I think losing the foundational pieces of our other two seniors that don't play a lot, losing Krystal is a big loss for us. We have a couple of point guards that we're bringing in and a couple of players that I think will bring us a little bit more depth there. But those are big shoes to fill. But I love the fact that we're still pretty young and we have everybody coming back, and now the challenge for that group is to consistently get better. I think recruiting will get better for us. We will continue to try to get a little bit more talent, a little bit more size, things like that you've got to keep doing to keep up with teams that have this kind of size. But again, we've got to really be proud of the fact that in four years we've taken a program that had not won very many games in the history of their program to competing in NCAA tournament. So couldn't be more proud. Couldn't be more grateful to get to coach that senior class. And I do, but I have every great feeling and excitement about what I think this group that coming back will bring to the table and try to improve on and try to continue this streak And take us further.
Q. Kansas State's defense, would you put more of the struggles on yourselves in missing what you normally make or kind of what they did in their adjustments?
COACH ETHRIDGE: As a coach I'm always going to be critical of myself and that's not doing enough to help our team. It is unbelievably unusual to have our best 3-point shooter to 0/10. We missed some lay ups. I think the opportunities we missed in the first half, instead of having a little bit of a lead, I think we could have been up 12 or 14. And I think, you know, those are the ones that I look at that you can start figuring things out in the second half and you can manage it when you go dry. But disappointed in how we responded. And again, I'm going to look at me first and my staff first and figure out ways to be better for our team. But I don't care. It's still the same point. We held a really good team to 50 points, and you -- whether it's the coaches, and it certainly is in some ways, and the players as far as what we have to do to get better. We have to learn how to score the ball better.
Q. I know you kind of touched on outlook going forward and reflecting on the growth of the program going forward, coach, but what's kind of the message going back into the locker room after this loss and then going forward, going back home and when you start to get back to work, what's the message to build on this even further?
COACH ETHRIDGE: Well, I really feel good about our team and the competitors that are in that locker room and obviously their commitment to getting better and their work ethic. I think we do a really good job as coaches as far as player development in putting in some workouts that will help continue to grow our team. Their starting spots on the floor that I think there's huge growth and the players will and can make. And that point guard spot is going to be a concern for ours. Recruiting is never over. We have to continue to find ways to get better. The work ethic in our program is really solid. The commitment, the excitement to do that -- obviously we'll take some time off. There's not much time between when we get home from the Final Four to school finals and stuff like that. There's limited time to be in the gym with them. I have confidence that this team is hungry and not satisfied. And yes, we will celebrate it. We're going to celebrate last year's team because I didn't think we did enough and this year's team at some point. But we're never going to just live on that, we're going to also celebrate and look forward to the future.
Q. What would you call that defense you were playing on Lee with the zone help and how well did you think you executed and then on top of that how crucial --
COACH ETHRIDGE: We had a couple of different coverages. Help from the backside in some cases and then we sagged off of players that were kind of reluctant shooters. And you know, they are a little bit like us. They have some kids that aren't shooting it well. Everybody that has been successful has found a way to take Lee away and make other people lead them. Again, I think we kind of did that. When you consider 50 points, that should be enough to win a game. It's just we weren't good enough to get to 51. Again, I think we had a couple of plans and given the fact that we lost a little bit more of our size with fouls and had to go super small on Lee, I think that hurt us, but I thought it would counter on the offensive end because it put more shooters on the floor, and it just didn't for us. Again, she's a handful, she's really good at what she does, and they know how to get it to her. Credit to them.
Q. Coach, first and foremost, congratulations on another fantastic overall season. Didn't seem to have the depth scoring tonight behind the sisters. How much does that change the way you can approach the offense when 90% of your offense is coming from Charlisse and Krystal?
COACH ETHRIDGE: Yeah, thank you. And I mean, it's been our struggle all year. We haven't shot the ball well enough. We don't have enough depth of shooters. You look at the people that are going to win in this tournament. Everybody plays pretty good D. Some are better than others. Gosh, people can stretch the floor and people made timely three's. And we have a lot this year. And when we win, we make three's. We're too reliant on one or two player And that's about recruiting. That's about our bigs getting better and being a presence in the post. We didn't really have that today. So I think we can get better at every position on the floor. And in part, everybody in our locker room needs to be better and we need to recruit people to put the ball in the basket. I love the fact that you can tell our team to watch the games from here on out and people are going to see that there are a lot of teams that can affect winning and you got to have to have depth to affect winning and we are too pencil thin.
Q. Bella only played 13 minutes. Fouls a big part of that. Coming down the stretch in the fourth, were you trying to go small, or was she banged up from that elbow she caught early?
COACH ETHRIDGE: No, I just thought that we could stretch the floor a little bit better. I'll second guess a lot of things. But she just got a little bit anxious in the first part of the game and tried to do a little bit too much. Again, just she's got to be better in the future and she has so much willingness to work at her game and to try to get better. And part of her thing is going to be learning how to stretch the D and get a little bit more range on her shot. And I think this off season you're going to see a different player next year, and she's going to be able to stretch the floor a little bit more than she does and will be comfortable doing that. I can't wait to see what Bella will look like next year. She's a very hungry player that wants to be great. Tonight felt like we didn't have enough people to shoot the ball. Needed to go to that. Well, I'll second guess myself the rest of the week.
Q. Coach, you coached Krystal for four or five years now I believe. Just kind of talk about her as a player and her impact on both of the programs that you coached at.
COACH ETHRIDGE: Right. When she walked in the door at Northern she was not a complete player yet or complete leader or a complete body. But she had a will to her. And she could will herself past conditioning best when she hadn't trained. She has the will to her and she has the IQ and she has a toughness. And that came with her the first day that she got there. She changed our program at Northern, she helped us step kind of really a championship season in the second year that I coached her. And look at what she's done here. She comes in, sits for a year, watches the Pac-12, wanted the challenge to play at the highest level which is typical of her. She got to sit and then the opportunity to come in and play with her sister and COVID happens, she gets to play two years. I'm so happy for her. I'm so happy that they got the play together for two years. I love that family. I think they are just such good people and such great competitors and they want to win. They love what we're trying to do at Washington State. They are kind of those gritty people that had a chip on their shoulder and again, what she did for Northern and turning that program around and making us that and then turning us around at Washington State it has a lot to do -- she carried a lot of weight. It had a lot to do with Krystal Leger-Walker. Proud that I got to coach her. Thankful I get to continue to coach her sister. And I'm so excited and grateful for just knowing that family and getting to kind of do this thing together.
Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State Sophomore Guard
Q. For either of you, how would you kind of assess the shooting struggles tonight? Was it, you know, getting the looks but not following or something about Kansas State's defense?
CHARLISSE LEGER-WALKER: I would just say, you know, we did get a lot of good looks and just looking at the set, obviously we had a really poor shooting night. And I think especially shooting, the team, myself included, we got a lot of looks that we usually get but they just didn't go in. Yeah, I think for us that's just getting in the gym and getting up those shots everyday, being more consistent in that area. I think throughout this year has been a problem for us some game when we go cold. From the 3-point line we kind of struggled getting into different looks and getting into the paint, that sort of stuff. I think today we got a lot of looks, we just didn't knock them in.
Q. Did it feel like at any point later after that first half and kind of grinder of a game, did fatigue start to set in a little bit in the second half?
CHARLISSE LEGER-WALKER: It was just our addition making. And you could probably say that it was a sense of fatigue. I don't think that's an excuse that we should use. I think we just made poor decisions in the second half and that just kind of stacked on top of each other as well as defensive lapses, and it all compiled and that's how we struggled in that third and fourth quarter.
Q. I know it's a tough emotional moment right now, but just kind of reflecting, being able to play together as sisters. You talked about you didn't know if you would, or think you would. Being able to share in all the special moments. I know it's right after the last game. What can you take away from that whole experience?
CHARLISSE LEGER-WALKER: From my perspective, obviously I'm still here. It's more the fact that we're losing three great -- really great leaders. Obviously Krystal on the court you can't replace that. She's our on-court coach. She calls the shots. She's the hardest working person out there. And it's going to be really hard to replace. And also you might not see it in the game on the court, but they are so solid for our team, and our trainings, in the locker room, their voice is something we all listen to. All the girls look up to them. They are the best role models we could ever ask for. That's going to be really hard to replace. We're definitely going to miss them. But as a team that's normal, you lose people all the time and you have to find a way to bounce back and refigure everything out within your team.
Q. Obviously not the way you guys envisioned your season ending here. But you can come back and say this is the second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. What does that accomplishment mean, I know Krystal you touched on it a little bit. This program is really starting to be impactful on the national scale, talk a little bit about that.
CHARLISSE LEGER-WALKER: Yeah, and I would probably just add, Coach was talking in the locker room, we're going to celebrate this year and we're going to be proud of what we have achieved. On the backside we can't be satisfied with just getting to the tournament. Obviously that is an achievement, second year in a row is amazing for us to get back here. It's taking that next step and getting passed this first round. We're really capable of doing that. It's just getting in the gym and having that mentality everyday, knowing that we can do this and it wasn't just luck last year or luck this year. We've proven that we can play and compete and get to this level. We just have to figure out how to get past this and get to the next step.
Krystal Leger-Walker, Washington State Redshirt Senior Guard
Q. What do you think worked defensively in the first half that didn't in the second half?
KRYSTAL LEGER-WALKER: Our coaches had a really good game plan for us, and we had some different schemes to try to stop both Lee, and Sundell, and the Glenns, and all the great players that they have. And I think in that second half when we just weren't scoring as much and we were kind of struggling to get ourselves back in the game, we maybe took some risks that we shouldn't have, or we kind of just got a little bit flustered. So we had great planned plays, but we deal real great at sticking to them in the first half and had some lapses in the second that kind of hurt us.
Q. Did it feel like at any point later after that first half and kind of grinder of a game, did fatigue start to set in a little bit in the second half?
KRYSTAL LEGER-WALKER: I don't know if it was fatigue as such, I mean I'm a person that's always the mentality you are never fatigued in and those things. And we're kind of coached that. It doesn't matter how your body is feeling, you're going to keep going. I don't really think it was fatigue as much.
Q. I know it's a tough emotional moment right now, but just kind of reflecting, being able to play together as sisters. You talked about you didn't know if you would, or think you would. Being able to share in all the special moments. I know it's right after the last game. What can you take away from that whole experience?
KRYSTAL LEGER-WALKER: It's a lot of emotions. So proud of not just how Charlisse has come into the program but all of the young players. How they stepped up and really made a mark. And I think that's always been my goal and the goal of our team. As I have been saying over and over again, we want to be in conversations on the national stage. We want Washington State to come up in those conversations. So really proud that we've got it to this point. And it's bittersweet for me that our program is on the rise. And we have a lot of great recruits and a lot of the girls here staying that are going to keep building that. For me proud of that. Definitely sad I couldn't help our team get to the next stage, and I won't be able to be here. But I know -- I trust Charlisse with anything and I know that she and all the other girls will be back in the gym. We'll play together down the road. It's not like I'm never going to see her again. So it's not too bad.
Q. Obviously not the way you guys envisioned your season ending here. But you can come back and say this is the second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. What does that accomplishment mean, I know Krystal you touched on it a little bit. This program is really starting to be impactful on the national scale, talk a little bit about that.
KRYSTAL LEGER-WALKER: Yeah, we are finishing at the same point we did last year. If you reflect on our year and some of the big games that we had and how we did all year round, we have taken strides and steps forward and so definitely not how we wanted to go out. But bittersweet in terms of, you know, what we have been able to achieve and if you're really a part of our team, you pay attention to us you will notice our program is on the rise and we've made a lot of growth this year even though it might not show it from how far we've gone. But yeah, definitely think this team is on the rise, and I'm excited for them to keep coming back to these tournaments and keep making some noise.
Q. Girls, obviously, incredible season for you yet again. Just kind of looking at this game as you've talked about, shooting struggles. 16 points in the second half. Was it something they changed in their defense, or do you think it was just coming down to they did something different, you couldn't get the open looks you wanted.
KRYSTAL LEGER-WALKER: We saw they went zone in the second half and they kind of went away from their man defense. I think we kind of were flushing playing out of our man sets, and I think when they went zone and we couldn't make those 3-point shots and kind of got a little bit flustered in that second half with our decision making and things like that. I definitely think they changed some things up, and we didn't make the adjustments that we needed to in that second half.
Q. Krystal for you as you said, a bittersweet feeling. You have done so much for this program, but turning over the reigns to your sister and the players remaining. Something that when you look back in 30, 40 years you can look back on this and you look at how you helped spearhead the team and the program's culture, is that something you can take out of this?
KRYSTAL LEGER-WALKER: Yeah, definitely. In exactly 34 years I will look back and I will be just so proud of how the coaches helped me kind of turn this program around and the work I've done. I was just grateful to be on the ride with them and follow them here and really try to do something. And I didn't get as far as I would have liked with them and helped them as much as I would have liked, but definitely glad I was able to be a part of it and I was able to be a part of their coaching story and this program's history here.
