Utah lost to Texas Tech 75-64 in the Big 12 women’s tourney but still earned an at-large bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Utes only won 5 games in 20221 but are now heading to the NCAA tourney for the 4th year in a row. Yesterday HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Utah SR F Maye Toure about being a good rebounder and making the NCAA tourney.
You were born/raised in France: how big is basketball in your home country? It is very big: we have competitive leagues and great competition all year long.
There are several great men’s college basketball players from France (Adama Bal at Santa Clara/Daniel Batcho at Louisiana Tech/Maxime Raynaud at Stanford/etc.): how well do you know any of them? I only know Maxime from the list above, but I knew some other guys who played in the US in the past.
In 2022 you won a bronze medal at the 3×3 World Cup: what is the biggest difference between 3×3 and 5-on-5? I love 3×3: it is very physical/fast-paced and you must move smartly on the court. There are not a lot of fouls called so it makes you tougher and helps you get in better condition.
You began your college career at Rhode Island, and in 2023 you were named 1st-team all-conference/Most Improved Player of the Year: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? I was proudest of the Most Improved honor. I came off the bench during my 1st 2 years but that is when I grew the most. It was comforting when I finally became a starter and I never lost trust in myself because I would wake up at 5AM every day and worked hard all the time. I could not see the progress at 1st, but after winning the award I felt that I did not do it all for nothing.
Why did you decide to transfer last year, and what made you choose Utah? It was the end of my cycle at URI: I love the program but wanted to challenge myself more in a bigger league. This is the 1st time that I have ever been in a culture like this: everyone has their eyes on the prize and is disciplined and there is no drama. It is like a family here so I knew it was the right fit for me.
You joined the Big 12 this year: how do you feel about your new conference? It is a very physical league, and every opponent has its own strength and poses a good challenge.
You are leading the team this year with 6.8 RPG: what is the secret to being a good rebounder? Just doing your work early: you cannot try to get a rebound after the shot hits the rim. You must start before the shot is even taken.
You played several tourney-caliber teams this year including Mississippi State/Notre Dame/Kansas State/Baylor/TCU/Oklahoma State/West Virginia: which of them impressed you the most? I was impressed by a couple of them. Mississippi State had a very aggressive team and really challenged us for 40 minutes. Notre Dame/Baylor are also great teams who were tough matchups for us.
You lost to Texas Tech in the Big 12 tourney but still received an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney: how did it feel to hear your team’s name called on Selection Sunday? It feels great! This is my 1st time in March Madness. We expected a different outcome in the conference tourney, but we have bounced back and will not take it for granted.
How do you feel about being a #8 seed, and what do you know about Indiana? I feel good about it. They play different than we do…but we can beat them.
