Marquette University Athletics
2002 Division I Women's Basketball Mideast Regional
3/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 22, 2002
2002 Mideast Regional
NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship
March 22-25, 2002
Milwaukee, Wis.
Hosted by Marquette University
at the U.S. Cellular Arena
News Conferences
Connecticut Press Conference
Connecticut Quotes Head Coach Geno Auriemma:
On which opponent executed their game plan the best against Connecticut: "I thought the Villanova game at Villanova and the first twenty minutes against Iowa. I love the way they play and the way they are coached. That was the two best."
On seeing Indiana upset Duke in the men's tournament: "We were having dinner while that game was going on, we kind of caught bits and pieces of the final minute. I haven't had a chance to talk to the team about any of that stuff. I'm sure I will bring it up, but I don't know what to say about it. I think that is why it is important that people don't jump up and down saying `best team ever.' A lot of things happen in the NCAA tournament."
On the Big 12 Conference: "For the most part they are really, really serious about women's basketball, the school's are into it, the fans are into it. They are in an area where they can recruit. I think that is one huge advantage where their athletics directors say we don't just want to be football schools, we want to be good men's basketball and women's basketball schools as well."
On Penn State not scheduling Connecticut: "Rene (Portland) is just being Rene. Anyone who knows her knows that she loves to say things that irritate people. I don't know if we will be able to schedule them, maybe when we get to be as good as they are we can get them on their schedule.
On her plan for tomorrow's game: "I'm not sure whether dunking would bring more fans to the game. The ability to play higher off the floor would add to the game. I think that if players played harder generally across the country, more people would watch. When I was growing up, I never wanted to hear `you play like a girl.' Now people have that on their t-shirts. I don't think we are demanding as much out of our kids. That is why the game hasn't grown. Playing above the rim is still far away, but not that far. You need to be able to be physical. Anybody who has sons or daughters knows it is natural to knock your son around and toughen him up, but if a ground ball hits your daughter in the chin, you take her out for ice cream and buy her presents. The further we get from that, the better."
On Connecticut's weaknesses: "We have a lot of weaknesses, we really do. The problem is that it is hard for other teams to exploit them. One of the things that we have gotten really good at is our defense. It has gotten better than I thought it could be. That is the biggest progress we have made since October 15. It is hard to score against us."
On Penn State: "I think the way they run up and down the floor. They are pretty aggressive offensively. They are enthusiastic and play hard. I saw them play earlier in the season and they didn't look too good, but they have improved."
On being number one:"I think being number one for so long, for these seniors we have been number one at one point in every season. No one ever asked us about being number one this season. They don't get too worked up about things, when I want them to get mad, they look at me funny. When I want them to get excited about things, they don't. We didn't cut the nets down after the BIG EAST championships. I guess that is good."
On the Connecticut seniors: "It has been pretty amazing. When you recruit kids, sometimes it works out for them and other times it doesn't. To have four players in the same class that scored 1,000 points. They are all great."
Guard Sue Bird:
On waking up early for tomorrow's game: "It's different than normal games. We are used to seven or eight o'clock games. We might have to cut around shoot-around, but I'm not worried about that. We got a lot of shots in today."
On being coined one of the best teams ever: "We don't really notice it. The media makes a big deal about it, but its not in our circle. If all goes well for us, we could make history as one of the greatest teams, but we have to take it one game at a time."
On her first role model as a kid: "When I was a little kid, I remember seeing a special on Stanford and seeing Jennifer Azzi. But I have tried taking different things from different player."
On Penn State: "We haven't watched film yet, we will plan on doing a little bit of that tonight and tomorrow morning. I've seen them on TV a few times. She is a great scorer and obviously you can't deny that."
On the team: "We have great chemistry. We know how to have a good time. We just enjoy what we are doing, we are confident in what we are doing and that enables us to have a lot of fun."
On the offenses: "I'm not even sure how many offenses we have. As the season goes on, one will get changed 10 times. It's not a lot of plays, it's a lot of options on one play."
On playing with the pressure: When you play for Connecticut there is always pressure. The pressure is something you learn to deal with. Without that, we don't play as well as we do. We don't get caught up in it. The way we prepare allows us to be that comfortable because we know what we are doing.
On the Big 12 Conference: "It's a tough conference. Oklahoma was one of the toughest games in our season. They are a great team, and I can only imagine what its like to play in that conference."
Forward Swin Cash:
On seeing Duke lose in the men's tournament: "As a team, we saw the ending of the game. He didn't have to say anything to us. I think the message was loud and clear from watching it on TV."
On who was Connecticut's toughest opponent: "I can't think of just one team. There has been different teams that had different combinations. Every team has something different."
On the upsets last night in the men's tournament: "Our focus right now is Penn State. You have to take care of business before you can move on to the next round."
On being slighted on individual awards: "I think this year has been about team. We have gotten ourselves to the Sweet 16, that is all I have to say."
Kansas State Press Conference
Kansas State Quotes Head Coach Deb Patterson:
On the youth of her team: "I think in our situation it is about us utilizing who we've become. If you are young or old at this point is secondary to what kind of basketball you play. It comes down to two teams playing 40 minutes of basketball. It is more appropriate that we focus on who we are."
On Old Dominion: "They have great athleticism and are extremely well coached. It wasn't surprising to me to see them here. They had the balance and the athleticism to be here today."
On Kansas State in the tournament: "I think we have done a good job of enjoying the NCAA tournament. That is the perspective that we have taken this year. Every game is an opportunity to extend our season. Now it is time for the next challenge, we will know tomorrow how prepared we are for the next step."
On the Kansas State bench: "The quality minutes we receive from our bench is responsible for us being here. It is an important element, but just one part of why we are here. I have a great deal of confidence in our team's ability to go deep. It comes down to the nature of the game on any given night."
On Megan Mahoney: "Megan is the most versatile player we have on the floor. She can defend at a high level, she is one of the best passers we have, she can score. Her versatility is very critical, we need to have big games from her to keep going."
On the program improving: "It has been a surprise to have made the kind of advances we did. I can say on a daily basis it has been very rewarding everyday to walk in and see these players improve. We truly have appreciated this because we did have that long drought."
On recruiting: "I think recruitment always comes down to a couple things. You need to find players that fit your character. I think we will know over time if we can expand our recruiting nationally. We will never take a back down approach to recruiting. The success we have had this season will allow us to walk into the homes of talented prospects and have a chance."
On Old Dominion: "We have a great challenge with Old Dominion. I think all in all we have to play a top quality basketball game. We need to take care of the basketball and rebound the ball. I don't think there is anything different that we need to do than Old Dominion needs to do."
On dunking in the women's game: "I'm completely and totally fine with it. If you have the ability to execute a skill like that use it. It is still two points, so it is about pizzazz. I'm all for it in situations where it will present itself as an opportunity."
Forward/Center Laurie Koehn:
On nerves heading into the game: "I don't think any of us are as nervous as we are exciting. We are going to come out and have fun and play like we have been all year. That should take away all the nerves we might have."
On the Kansas State fans: "Our fans have always been loyal at Kansas State. This year they have been unbelievable, they have given us an advantage and we are so appreciative of their support."
On Old Dominion: "We know Old Dominion is very athletic and gets a lot of rebounds. We just have to come out and do the things we have been doing all year long. If we stick to our game plan, everything should take care of itself"
Guard Nicole Ohlde:
On having experience: "I think being here is so exciting. It is not like our home court, but we had a nice practice today and everything went well."
On looking ahead to Connecticut: "We are just trying to stay focused as a team. People can think what they want. If we had an opportunity to play another game, that would be great, but we are just focused on Old Dominion right now."
On having a number of weapons: "One thing that stands out when you are in the post season is that anyone can step up in the post season and we have experienced that this year."
On the bench: "I think our bench has definitely shown that they can step up. I feel good about the players on the bench and I think the other players feel the same way."
Forward/Center Kendra Wecker:
On running the floor: "I think that since none of us have ever been here before is good, we are just going to come in here and have fun and play like we have been all year. This is all new to us, but we are learning what it means to be in the Sweet 16 and what it means to your school."
On her feistiness: "It comes from the competitiveness that I have. When things aren't going my way, I get a little feisty. I also think I feed off of that, just wanting to go harder. Sometimes my teammates need to get me to calm down a little bit, we all feed off each other."
On playing on the road: "There is an advantage at home for the first two games. But now everyone is on the road. It definitely helps when there are 10,000 screaming fans for you. You just have to stay competitive and that is what we have to do tomorrow."
On growing as a team: "We have gotten better and learned from each game this season. We need to execute on offense and play hard, hopefully good things will happen to us."
Penn State Press Conference
Penn State Quotes Head Coach Rene Portland:
On this Penn State team versus the one that played Connecticut two years ago: "That team was much older, we started two seniors and two juniors, now we are the opposite. We start two freshman, two sophomores and a senior. Skill wise, we are probably more guard oriented than we were. Our post play is not in comparison to what we had before. We are an outside team."
On Kelly Mazzante: "She's seen a lot of games of her life. If she gets her average we'll be happy, that is a lot more than most players."
On who to stop on Connecticut: "I think there is a pecking order as to who you have to stop. Certainly you don't want to put that in the media, it will be up in the locker room."
On the local fans backing Penn State: "I would hope Wisconsin would love us. We do recruit in this area and hope that they are thinking Penn State and not Connecticut. It is an underdog thing, but that is the nature of the beast. I hope people are vocal in their case of following the underdog."
On her plan for tomorrow's game: "I'm not known for surprises. We have to go with what we do and go with who we depend on. There were probably three games that were fun to watch and we showed those games to our players to show them the intensity that it takes. We need to teach our players the Final Four level."
On the season's turning point: "When we were 9-7 I went on a recruiting trip, it was the best thing that could have happened. When I came back there was a press conference and I was listening to the doomsday attitude, I heard one of my players say if we won seven of ten we would make the tournament. I almost flipped out of my chair with this seven of ten nonsense, I wanted to go ten out of ten. We knew it could be done."
On being the underdog: "If this thing was predetermined, why would we play the game?"
Forward/Center Rashana Barnes:
On beating Connecticut: "Pretty much everything needs to go right on our side. We have to do the little things. We can't go for the home run in this game. We need to do the fundamentals and the little things. We have to give it 100%."
On pressure: "There is always a lot of pressure going into a game like this. For us, we know what we have to do, we don't need to put pressure on ourselves. We could put pressure on ourselves, but we need to go out there and relax."
On what it takes to beat Connecticut: "We just have to play outside of ourselves, anything we did good this year, we need to do ten times better tomorrow."
Guard Kelly Mazzante:
On being compared to Jackie Stiles: "I think for me personally, I just go out and play my game when I step on the floor. I don't think about being compared to her. I just go out there and play my game."
On Diana Taurasi of Connecticut: "I think Diana is a great player. Her name has been across the media all year, she needs attention at all times."
On the upsets last night in the men's tournament: "We saw Indiana upset Duke, we automatically thought right there that we could come in here and beat Connecticut."
On being slighted on individual awards: "I think this year has been about team. We have gotten ourselves to the Sweet 16, that is all I have to say."
Guard Tanisha Wright:
On complimenting Kelly Mazzante's game: "Me and Kelly have two different types of games. She shoots the ball well and I penetrate well. As long as we keep doing what we have been all year, I think we will be all right."
Old Dominion Press Conference
Old Dominion Quotes Head Coach Wendy Larry:
On experience: "I think at this point, everybody has experience. It is not just the teams with juniors and seniors, it is certainly the teams who have battled through the first and second rounds. Our players need to understand that there are many distractions and how to avoid those distractions."
On Kansas State: "They play so well together, their timing for such a young basketball team is good. They have taken individuals and collectively turned it into a sound team and they know each other inside and out. Their timing is so good."
On what needs to be done to win: "Our defensive transition better be the best it has ever been. You can't have a brain cramp defensively. We have to be smart defensively. We will also have to be the best rebounding team in the country."
On the tough schedule: "We've been contenders, we have made the Sweet 16 six of the last seven years. We have tried as one of the smaller schools in the Sweet 16 to maintain a national prominence and we have played the best there is and we will continue to do that."
On beating Kansas State offensively: "I know Kansas State loves their match up zone. We added our own twist for that and we can't wait to use them and haven't used them all year."
On someday coaching on the men's side: "I don't think there is a question we could do it. There wouldn't be a difference in terms of preparation for a game. Would I want to do it? No. There have been so many women who have not had the opportunity to be coached."
On her bench matching up with Kansas State's bench: "It's Sweet 16, any given night any player can have the best game of their career. If we had to go bench to bench, anything could happen, but I am very confident in my bench."
Forward/Center Lucienne Berthieu:
On the seventh seed: "We just happened to get the seven seed and some people thought that is what we deserved. We are happy we are here. We earned this."
On playing road games throughout the tournament: "Being on the road we know it is harder. It is another step. We took at as it came and it came out well for us."
On the Tennessee loss: "We learned a lot from our last loss. We came together in practice and found out who plays well with whom. We set new goals starting in January."
Guard Sharron Francis:
On having experience: "I think experience helps a lot. We know how physical the game is, it is a lot more physical. We should have a lot of confidence and poise at this time. We have been here for a while. The past three years have taught us a lot."
Forward/Center Hamchetou Maiga:
On running the floor: "That is how we play, we run the floor, uptempo."
