Players and coaches from all men's and women's 2025 NCAA Tournaments step to the media room for full March Madness press conferences before and after their NCAA tournaments games, including First Four, First and Second Round, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, the Final Four and 2025 NCAA national championship game.
Pauley Pavilion (UCLA) - Los Angeles, CA
Pauley Pavilion (UCLA) - Los Angeles, CA
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NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome, everybody, to the 2025 NCAA Tournament First Four Postgame Press Conference.
00:17A couple of announcements before we get going.
00:19As a courtesy to your fellow media members, as well as the coaches and student-athletes,
00:23please silence your phones.
00:25Please provide your name and media affiliation each time you ask a question during the press
00:29conferences.
00:30If you are joining on Zoom, please use the raise hand function for questions.
00:34We will address questions in the room first and get to Zoom if time allows.
00:38Recording press conferences on cell phones or cameras is prohibited.
00:41We are joined by UCC San Diego head coach Heidi Vanderveer and student-athletes Parker
00:45Montgomery and Kayanna Spriggs.
00:47Coach, we'll start with an opening statement from you.
00:50First of all, congratulations to Southern on not just an excellent season, but a hard-fought
00:56game tonight.
00:57I thought that they came out and set the tone defensively.
01:01We struggled in the first half.
01:03We weren't in sync.
01:07They made us pay for every mistake that we made, so congratulations to them.
01:12With that said, I feel like our team really showed its character in the second half competing.
01:19We've had a great run through the Big West tournament, regular season Big West tournament,
01:24and would not be where we are in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history,
01:29the first time that we are eligible to compete in an NCAA tournament without Parker and Kayanna.
01:37I'll start with Parker.
01:40Parker is a fifth-year grad student.
01:42She's getting her master's.
01:43She came to UC San Diego during the first year of COVID, so she didn't really have a
01:47senior year or a freshman year, senior year of high school, but she just stuck with it
01:54and she came back for this.
01:56Came back for an opportunity to compete for a Big West championship, was a tremendous
02:00leader for our team, especially the last three years here, and gave it all for, again, an
02:09opportunity to compete at this level.
02:13Couldn't be prouder of her.
02:14Love her.
02:15Couldn't be prouder of her.
02:16And then Kayanna, another senior who actually is a transfer from San Diego, transferred
02:23back for one year.
02:26And when Kayanna came, it was really special.
02:28She is really some of the heart and soul of our team after one year, in only one year.
02:36Just is really competitive, and again, we would not be in this position without Kayanna,
02:42so thankful for Kayanna for taking a chance on UC San Diego.
02:49Again, couldn't be prouder of our team.
02:52Again, I thought, we have a young core, you know, we've set a great legacy with the two
02:57young women up here, and hopefully we can come back and have a better first quarter.
03:03If you have a question, please raise your hand.
03:08Hey, Liana Avalos, KSDT Sports, UCSD Student Radio.
03:14Question for you, Kayanna.
03:15So, not a question.
03:16First, I just want to say, it's been a pleasure to watch you all season and knowing you, and
03:21I think Sasha and I talked to you about this after winning Big West, that you have so many
03:24intangibles as a player, so many things you can't teach, the heart, the grit that you
03:28have.
03:29It's just such a pleasure to watch you play, so first, I just want to say thank you for
03:33giving us such an incredible season to cover, and not just to cover, but just to watch as
03:36a fan.
03:37It's been incredible, and just knowing what you know now at the end of the season, starting
03:45out winning eight in conference play and making it to March Madness, talk about the journey
03:49a little bit, and what it means to you, especially as a transfer, only coming back for a year,
03:54and also just knowing that somebody like you has played a huge part in changing sports
04:00culture at UC San Diego, very specifically for women's sports.
04:06We got a picture during our broadcast that somebody sent us of people watching the game
04:10on a projector in a study room during finals week, so what does it mean to you, looking
04:15back on the journey of transferring and knowing you guys started out winning eight, to making
04:20March Madness, to now also knowing that you're leaving a legacy beyond yourself as a senior?
04:27First I want to say thank you for your kind words, I really do appreciate it.
04:31I think, even in the beginning of the season, I chose us.
04:36I had us in the beginning, yes, we went through a lot of adversity, but never for a second
04:40did it cross my mind that it wasn't going to be us cutting down that net when came March.
04:45So yes, we had a lot of adversity and we fought through a really tough season, and like Heidi
04:52said earlier, I really credit Heidi for bringing me along to this team, it's been a wonderful,
04:57a wonderful year, I couldn't ask for a better college experience here.
05:02And yeah, just coming in I feel like I had enough experience to help lead this team as
05:09well, but I give it all to my teammates, we played off of each other, together, and
05:14they made it really easy for it to be a great year.
05:19I would do it over and over again if I had the chance, so yeah.
05:28Sasha Duda, KSDT Sports, question for Parker.
05:31Like Coach Vanderveer mentioned, you've been here since the beginning, and kind of to bounce
05:34off what Haley was saying, how have you kind of seen the sports culture changing over your
05:40years here, and how do you see it kind of going, moving forward, you know, seeing so
05:43much support at the Big West and out here in LA, how do you see that kind of evolving
05:47and moving forward?
05:48I think women's basketball as a whole is growing, and I'm just glad to be a part of, I guess,
05:56that journey.
05:57I believe in my team, as Heidi said, we do have a young core, and that young core was
06:02basically the team that I'm playing now, so I have my full trust in these girls that
06:09are coming behind me, and they're just going to make more legacy, make a name for themselves, too.
06:17Any other questions in the room?
06:25Kurt Johnston, UCSD Guardian, question for Parker.
06:28Just first of all, congratulations on an amazing five-year career here, it's been a joy to
06:31watch.
06:32Can you reflect on what winning the Big West and appearing in March Madness has meant to
06:37you, you know, as someone who's been with the team through this whole transition process?
06:42Yeah, it means everything to me.
06:45I've said it in multiple press conferences that this was the reason why I came back.
06:50I have full trust in my teammates now.
06:54I knew that this team was special.
06:57I took a chance coming back because I, I mean, I had a free year, but I wanted to stick
07:02it out with UC San Diego, and I couldn't be any happier.
07:07Going to March Madness, like, who would have ever thought UC San Diego would have been
07:10here?
07:11And winning the Big West, first year out.
07:13Yeah, I'm very happy.
07:19Henry Stanger, UCSD Guardian.
07:22Coach Vanderveer, you've been coaching this team since 2012, through the D1 transition
07:28process, and now for the first D1 Big West Championship and March Madness appearance.
07:35How much does that mean to you, and how proud are you of this team?
07:39I'm extremely proud of this team.
07:41And more so because of the, you know, they set out a goal in July, and I don't think
07:47anybody really thought we'd be sitting here in November to mid-December.
07:52And then we played Northern Kentucky, and we lost to them right before the holidays.
07:56And then we beat LaSalle, who I think was very good at that time.
08:01And then we just got a lot of confidence, and people started understanding the commitment
08:05that it takes to compete, and couldn't be prouder.
08:09I think that, again, I don't think anybody would have thought that we'd be sitting here
08:13except for the people in our circle.
08:16And sometimes a little bit of belief and confidence and trust is all you need, and the result
08:21is what you're seeing here.
08:23It hurts.
08:24It hurts.
08:25And I told Barker and Keona, if it didn't hurt so much, it means that it wasn't important
08:28to you.
08:29And the fact that it hurts, it was really important to us.
08:32But it's more about the journey than the destination.
08:36I think our journey has been one for, this is going to sound dramatic, but for the ages,
08:41so to speak.
08:42Any more questions in the room?
08:45We'll head over to Rob on Zoom.
08:48Yeah.
08:49Good evening, Coach.
08:50Rob Knox here from The Next.
08:53First and foremost, congratulations to you and your program on a phenomenal season, and
08:57the job that you all have done.
08:59Just a question regarding Southern and some of the things that they did tonight.
09:04Obviously, Senaya Reed had a huge shooting night.
09:07And they've been a type of team that's gotten contributions from different people throughout
09:14the season.
09:17What did you all see out there from Senaya?
09:20Obviously, she made some shots, and she got comfortable, which made it a challenging start.
09:24But in the scout, was she one of the ones that was like, hey, we need to lock in on
09:29her as well?
09:30Or was it just...
09:31Because Southern's a difficult team where they don't have one player that can just score.
09:36Southern is well-coached, and they're very talented.
09:39And bringing her off the bench is a luxury.
09:42She got loose in our defense in the first half.
09:45And then, you mentioned it, got comfortable.
09:49I think that our defense has been something we've taken a lot of pride in.
09:54I think, again, maybe just...
09:56I don't know if it was a little bit of nerves or what it was, but she got loose in our defense
10:01and, again, got comfortable.
10:03No, we didn't overlook her.
10:05I think she was 1A on our scouting report.
10:09Our coaches do a great job scouting.
10:11Again, we just...
10:12She got loose a little bit and made us pay for every mistake we made.
10:17Thank you so much, Coach.
10:18Appreciate that.
10:22You guys, thanks a lot.
10:23Thanks for taking time to cover women's basketball.
10:28You're welcome.