NO. 1 SEED TENNESSEE LADY VOLS PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Head Coach Pat Summitt
Opening Statement:
“Obviously, Dayton is a team that is resilient. They demonstrated that in closing out in an impressive way yesterday. We have to focus on our defense and board play and have to find a way to make shots. I like where we are. I’m excited for this team.”
(on protecting a No. 1 seed after watching Kansas’ men’s team lose Saturday night):
“Obviously, I was watching. It was a great game. It was a reminder that we can’t take anything for granted. Our team has to be focused. Dayton will make runs. They have size and match us. It’s a matter of our team being invested. I hope our bench can give us quality minutes. I like the rotation that we’re starting to see. That will help keep our players fresh.”
(on not feeling good about some players’ efforts on Saturday):
“That was yesterday. Today is a new day. I was probably the hardest on Lyssi (Brewer). It’s so important for her to battle on every possession. Yesterday, she would pick and choose. Taber (Spani) did a great job. She deserved to be here (in the press conference). I wanted her to see what it takes to get ready for the next games. Alicia (Manning) struggled yesterday. She was trying to do too much. I told her, ‘Forget yesterday. Move forward. We’ve got to have you.’”
(on freshman Kamiko Williams):
“Today is Sunday, so we had a little prayer meeting. She responded very well. Kamiko is more casual and laid back. The time we spent in film session was very beneficial. This team needs her. If she doesn’t step up, it can be costly. I told her, ‘You can be a mental midget, or you can be a mental giant.’ From this day forward, she’s going to be a mental giant.”
(on the closeness and accountability of the Tennessee team):
“This is a team that’s very close. They hold each other accountable. It has been interesting to see their growth and their maturity. Kelley (Cain) and Lyssi (Brewer) police the post game. Angie (Bjorklund) and Shekinna (Stricklen) have been working with the guards. They have taken ownership in a positive way. We have told them, ‘It’s not our team. It’s your team. You have to want it more than anyone else in the country.’ They have responded. Have I been hard on them? Yes. But that’s my job, too.”
(on the role of guards on the Tennessee team):
“If we can play inside-out, that’s where the game will be determined eventually. If our post players are double-teamed, our guards will benefit from our inside-outside game. No one has benefited more than Angie (Bjorklund). We’ve put a package of screens together to help her get open. I’ve told her to speak to herself, ‘Wait, wait, wait,’ because she can get anxious.”
(on Dayton coach Jim Jabir):
“I’ve known Jim. He’s an excellent coach because of his ability to teach. His teams execute well. Watching his team yesterday, they have great ball movement and great player movement. They have great weapons. Boards will be a key. Jim is very successful and respected in our profession.”
Sophomore Forward Alyssia Brewer
Coach was not happy yesterday about the rebounding efforts; she said you had roll call at half time, talk a little bit about that, and where you are mentally about playing to advance and playing to win.
“Yeah, we just had a little check at halftime; our rebounding wasn’t where it was supposed to be. But I think after that we really got after it and our mentality for advancing is survive and advance, we are going to give it our all so that we can advance”
There is so much focus on rebounding, I am curious about guard play. Eeveryone makes an issue about guard play in the postseason, I’m curious about how the players feel about guard play versus the inside play, how you’ve really managed to dominate the inside game, can that make up for any perceived weakness or any concern at the guard spot?
“I think at first before even the SEC Tournament started it was all about our post game, but I think our guards have really stepped up and done what coach asked them to do. They need to be a big role in order for us to advance and I think they have stepped up to that matter”
Sometimes coach has said that you, especially last year, pick and choose when you wanted to play do you notice that happens when you make a big run like you did yesterday, and it’s kind of hard to keep that momentum? And is it something that you can check yourselves or does coach have to say ‘hey this is one of those moments when you’re choosing not to play’?
“Earlier games in the season we did have a big lead, but the thing about yesterday and the difference between that game before is that we would let them come back within single digits. And I noticed yesterday we didn’t let that happen but we still kind of let down. But I think we can check each other before coach has to check us, we have done a really good job of being able to get on to each other without coach having to, at first.”
When you hear that Dayton was down by 18 yesterday and won the game, how much, if at all, does that change the way you perceive a team when you know they have had to come back and fight back in a game like that?
“Every team is out here to fight to win, obviously they have that mentality, to be able to come back and win, but for us it’s just we have to keep the pressure going and keep our game going for the whole 40 minutes for us to be able to do what we always do.”
Lyssi since the post game is your bread and butter, you go there first, Dayton is a little bit bigger team this time around, do you like going against bigger posts or do you prefer smaller posts? Which do you feel you are more successful against?
“My mentality doesn’t change whether it is a small post or a bigger post I still go into the game thinking I am going to have to do certain things to be able to be successful with my game. It’s not necessarily that I have a preference between the two.”
Sophomore Forward Alicia Manning
Coach was not happy yesterday about the rebounding efforts; she said you had roll call at half time, talk a little bit about that, and where you are mentally about playing to advance and playing to win.
“Coach always says rebounding wins championships and I think that is right on. We have such a big size advantage against these smaller teams, so it’s going to be a huge advantage for us if we can continue to get that rebounding, I think that will help a lot.”
There is so much focus on rebounding, I am curious about guard play. Everyone makes an issue about guard play in the postseason, I’m curious about how the players feel about guard play versus the inside play, how you’ve really managed to dominate the inside game, can that make up for any perceived weakness or any concern at the guard spot?
“Obviously since we do have one of the best post games in the country, our guards just focus on getting the posts touches and then that will open the game up for us. Especially in the beginning of the game just getting them looks, then hopefully the defense will collapse on them and open up shots for us. But it’s our job to get the posts the ball and if we continue to do that then I think we will be just fine”
Sometimes coach has said that you, especially last year, pick and choose when you wanted to play do you notice that happens when you make a big run like you did yesterday, and it’s kind of hard to keep that momentum? And is it something that you can check yourselves or does coach have to say hey this is one of those moments when you’re choosing not to play?
“Obviously when you have a big lead like that it’s easy to become relaxed and content, but we have to treat every game especially right now in the postseason, like it’s the national championship game. Just staying focused and trying to get better every possession and putting together a 40 minute game every game we play.”
When you hear that Dayton was down by 18 yesterday and won the game, how much, if at all, does that change the way you perceive a team when you know they have had to come back and fight back in a game like that?
“Every team in this tournament, there is a reason why they are here, there is a reason why Dayton is here, there is a reason why they won that game. They proved to the NCAA that they deserve to be in this tournament. Seeing yesterday that they were at an 18-point deficit and came back, that just shows, like coach was saying they are resilient and they have heart, they are not ready to go home yet, so we have to take that into account and play as best as we can tomorrow”
Freshman Guard Taber Spani
Coach was not happy yesterday about the rebounding efforts; she said you had roll call at half time, talk a little bit about that, and where you are mentally about playing to advance and playing to win.
“I think rebounds are such a staple of who we are, for us it’s just about focusing and getting every box out. Like coach always says it’s about heart and desire and wanting to play every minute of the 40 minutes. I think it stepped up in the second half but it’s going to need to improve for Monday.”
There is so much focus on rebounding, I am curious about guard play. Everyone makes an issue about guard play in the postseason, I’m curious about how the players feel about guard play versus the inside play, how you’ve really managed to dominate the inside game, can that make up for any perceived weakness or any concern at the guard spot?
“I think our team is very balanced but obviously with Kelly Cain, and Lyssi and Glory in there you kind of play to your advantages. So like they said you try to dominate the post game early and hopefully they will collapse and double and it opens it up. So just playing to the game plan, and I think we have done that the last couple of games and it’s really helped open up first the posts and then the guards.”
Sometimes coach has said that you, especially last year, pick and choose when you wanted to play do you notice that happens when you make a big run like you did yesterday, and it’s kind of hard to keep that momentum? And is it something that you can check yourselves or does coach have to say hey this is one of those moments when you’re choosing not to play?
“I think we have grown a lot this past season in working on that. Now I think we are trying to not necessarily play the team we are up by 20 against we are trying to be the best team we can be, and we know that we have to prepare for the upcoming rounds. I think that has really helped us and the accountability on this team is much improved I think. We can definitely self check that, and coach shouldn’t be the one that has to get on us for effort, hustle, and attitude, that should be us.”
When you hear that Dayton was down by 18 yesterday and won the game, how much, if at all, does that change the way you perceive a team when you know they have had to come back and fight back in a game like that?
“Just echoing off it just shows the type of team that they are, every team in this tournament wants to win and wants to compete as if it is their last game. So I think it shouldn’t really change our mentality because from now on every team that we play is going to have that mindset of wanting to win and advance. So I think for us we can’t really focus on what they are going to do we have to focus on what we can control and that’s playing a 40 minute game, and I think we all feel that if we do that we are going to be a hard team to beat.”
NO. 8 SEED DAYTON FLYERS PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Head Coach Jim Jabir
Opening statement:
“We are very excited and pleased to be playing in the second round. I can’t think of a better place to play than the Mecca of college women’s basketball. We’re going to come out and try to play Dayton basketball the best we can. I’ve been very, very proud of our team all year and I’m sure we’re going to come out and do the things we aim to do.”
On how he saw his team grow as the game progressed:
“I thought we started the game fairly well. I think we hit our first couple of shots and I felt like ‘Ok, we’re doing alright.’ Then the bottom fell out a little bit. But, when I saw the field-goal percentage after the game, I felt like we did bear down. We started attacking more; we were more aggressive. I felt that we settled for threes and weren’t as aggressive on the offensive boards as they were. I thought that was reversed in the second half and we got after it. I think we learned a little bit at halftime.”
On if his team seemed nervous to be playing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game:
“I went to church today with Justine [Raterman] and her parents. We were on our way walking back from church and I said ‘When I took you out that first time [yesterday], you kind of looked like you had seen a ghost. I didn’t know where you were.’ She said that she started the game feeling pretty comfortable and then missed a couple of shots, and her confidence started to ebb. She kind of went into some place that I’d never seen her before. After sitting for a bit, she was able to kind of get herself back together and become the Justine that we know and love. She picked it up. I think there was that period where she needed to refocus. Overall, I was pretty happy with the way we came out. I don’t think we matched their intensity in the first half, but I don’t think that nerves played that big of a part.”
On how advancing to the NCAA second round is for the growth of the program:
“It’s literally everything. You take steps to continue your progress and your growth of the program. For us to achieve success yesterday and to win and come back in the fashion that we did, and get the opportunity to coach against a legendary coach in a legendary play against all these All-Americans is just one more step in our trajectory. I think that you always need to continue to improve and always need to continue to build. One step is so important. It’s historic. It’s very, very important.”
On the difficulty of facing No. 1 seed Tennessee on its home court:
“I sincerely believe that outside of our little world in Dayton, there’s probably not a lot of people who think we stand a chance of winning and I understand that. I think this is a good experience for our kids. I think we will really challenge ourselves in a way that we’ve not really been challenged all year. We’ve played Louisville, we’ve beaten Michigan State and we’ve played some good teams that are in the tournament. There won’t be any challenge as big as this one. If it doesn’t break us, it will stretch us and make us stronger. I see it as a positive and that’s how we’re approaching the game. We are going to try to be the best we can be and if it’s not good enough, it’s not good enough. Hopefully we will grow and, next year, we will be better for it.”
Senior guard Kendel Ross
Would you rather play Tennessee on their court in front of their fans, or would you rather it be a neutral site?
“For me, I love playing them here. I have played on many stages. I love playing in big games, and I love big crowds. There’s no better place to play Tennessee than at home, for me.”
With this being your first NCAA Tournament experience, what has prepared you to play at this level?
“I feel like we started the season with a tough schedule. Our coaches set up a really strong schedule for us. The Purdue tournament really allowed us to prepare, especially because we had big games there. Just our schedule in general has allowed us to play like that all year.”
Can you describe the emotion of Saturday’s 18-point comeback victory and the fact that you are preparing to play Monday instead of going home?
“There are two reasons I’m thinking of right now. We didn’t want to go home tomorrow. First, it’s the NCAA Tournament so why give up when you’re down 18 points? There’s no point. You’re just going to work as hard as you can either way, and hopefully at the end of the game we come up with a win, and we did. My second reason is that a couple of days ago it was my dad’s birthday so I thought I would give him a birthday present.”
Justine Raterman was apparently here at one of Pat Summitt’s camps as a junior in high school. Have you talked to her about what she gained from that?
“She did mention she had been to a team camp here and that it was great. But I think the only thing she gained for tomorrow’s game was maybe being on the court. Other than that, I don’t know that it’s going to help us that much tomorrow.”
Sophomore guard Patrice Lalor
Would you rather play Tennessee on their court in front of their fans, or would you rather it be a neutral site?
“This is a great opportunity to play in front of a large crowd and have people see what Dayton is about.”
With this being your first NCAA Tournament experience, what has prepared you to play at this level?
“Practice, I think, has a big part in preparing us to play on this stage. We practice extremely hard every day so I think that’s a major part, along with our schedule.”
Can you describe the emotion of Saturday’s 18-point comeback victory and the fact that you are preparing to play Monday instead of going home?
“We had nothing to lose. We just went out and played as hard as we could. We were down 18 and we just kept playing and kept playing.”
Freshman guard Kari Daugherty
Would you rather play Tennessee on their court in front of their fans, or would you rather it be a neutral site?
“I am such a big fan of huge crowds. Back at Dayton, we try to get as many people to come out as we can. It’s not quite as many at our games as the men’s games, but our fan base has been growing. I can’t wait to play in front of a big crowd like we will tomorrow, so it’s going to be exciting.”
With this being your first NCAA Tournament experience, what has prepared you to play at this level?
“I would have to agree with the schedule. But I would also include our practices. Our coaches have done a great job all year of pushing us to our limits and making us work extremely hard. This is what we’ve prepared for all year. We’ve been working hard for it, and practice has made us ready for this. We’ve been working hard all season, and this is what we came to do.”
Can you describe the emotion of Saturday’s 18-point comeback victory and the fact that you are preparing to play Monday instead of going home?
“When we were down 18, the tournament is so final. If you lose, you’re done. Your season is completely over. I don’t think we were ready for it to be done yet. Everyone had their moment; it was a complete team effort yesterday. And it showed that everyone wanted to keep playing. We weren’t going to be beaten then because we wanted to play one more game, hopefully a couple more. But we’re taking it one game at a time.”