DePaul Postgame Quotes
No. 2 DePaul vs. No. 7 St. John’s
Game 11- Quarterfinals, March 6, 2011
XL Center – Hartford, Conn.
Head Coach Doug Bruno
Open Statement
“I thought our basketball team did a great job and they got a win over the BIG EAST top 10 teams that are going to the NCAAs and Kim does a great job with the program so it was a tough, hard fought game. My only regret is I wish I could have gotten Sam Quigley off the floor more tonight and there were some technical regrets but in the big picture that's what Sam does and we played her almost forty minutes tonight.”
Can you talk about the prospects of facing Notre Dame again a week after you had a close battle with them?
“I really have to talk about facing Louisville first because Louisville beat our butts and they did a great job of winning at the KFC a few weeks ago. If they get through this game, they have the potential 25 point win over Kentucky, that's a great win. If Notre Dame does win, that's what tournament ball is all about, facing people within a week. St. John's had to beat a tough West Virginia team, they had to play a great game last night for their victory over West Virginia and that's what tournament basketball is all about.
Our players played a tough ballgame on Monday night, it was a great win for our program because this group has put together a great season. Yet losing at Louisville and at Marquette we needed our collective psyches to come back. Notre Dame is one of the best teams in the country as well and when you go player for player, down that lineup it's a great basketball team. If they win tonight we're going to have our hands full, they have three first team all BIG EAST players, nobody else does so that should tell you something right there, they have the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, they are just a talented basketball team.”
Can you discuss the fact that you're known as a 3 point shooting team but when the shots aren't falling you were able to get other things done tonight? What was it that you were looking for there?
“It's important for us to establish an inside and outside game and take what the defense gives us, they were sending a second player to Felicia Chester and she didn't score like they can but she occupied St. John's people and it's huge for us to have an inside presence. The whole idea of this game is for the three's to set up the post feeds and the slashes and vice versa, they're intermixed and that's what we're trying to do and have been trying to do. I think it's important for us to establish both inside and outside balance.”
On tournament play and Sam Quigley
“Postseason basketball, especially league postseason basketball, is a one and out, crash and burn deal.
It matters in the questioning, it's a great question about, you know, we make it into the semis, but when you're a player and you don't look like it you're in the quarters, the semis or the first round. You know going in if you don't get the job done tonight you're going home.
In that respect that's why these league tournaments are fun for the fans the media and the players. It's an experience that doesn't take place in the NCAA because of the day off in between. I think our players have experienced they've won a game here, one of the only teams in the league to have won a game in this tournament for the last six years now.
And while it hasn't always taken them to the semis because we didn't come in with a double bye like this, they have a good understanding now of ice bathing it tonight and what they have to do tonight. I just wish she would mess up sometimes. I asked her to do her final online at midnight and she said "It's done" and we have other people that have to get their finals done and she's already done with it. That's the kind of kid she is. They are good student athletes and they've got to turn it around fast against a good basketball team, whoever comes out of it.”
Senior Guard Sam Quigley
You guys ran in the first 15 minutes of the game and then they started to press you, what was it that slowed you down or allowed them to get back in the game?
“I think it was a combination of a lot of things, they were taking us out of our offensive sets and they were getting a lot of rebounds, offensive rebounds so that's something we've been focusing on this year and we let up a little bit.
Can you discuss the fact that you're known as a 3 point shooting team but when the shots aren't falling you were able to get other things done tonight? What was it that you were looking for there?
“This year it's something that we've been working on and what’s helped us is being patient on offense, getting an inside/outside balance and just because they aren't falling doesn't mean there isn't something else that can come to us.”
You guys are an experienced team, your senior class has been around for quite a few years and you've pulled off quite a few wins this year. The semifinals thing is new to this team since you guys have been there, how do you feel you're prepared tore that?
“I think we're going to be prepared to play good teams, the BIG EAST gets you prepared and we've had that benefit for the past 16 games or whatever so we're getting ready for the postseason and knowing that every game could be your last.”
Sophomore Guard Anna Martin
You guys didn't make a shot in the last 5 minutes and they started to come back, can you speak about that? Your shots weren't falling and they were maybe going to come back, can you talk about that?
“They had great defensive intensity and they wanted the game and so did we, but it was a tribute to them for their defense but if we stayed together as a team we were going to pull it out.”
St. John’s Postgame Quotes
No. 2 DePaul vs. No. 7 St. John’s
Game 11- Quarterfinals, March 6, 2011
XL Center – Hartford, Conn.
Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico
Opening Statement
“I thought they came out and took advantage of us early and DePaul is a great basketball team. We were battling back all game. I was proud of the effort our kids gave and we made some runs to try and close the gap and make it a good game but DePaul has some great players and they did it down the stretch. They came away with the victory but I was proud of how our kids fought, especially in the second half and my best wishes to DePaul because they have a great team.”
You did win a game in the tournament, can you talk about what that means for the team going forward in the postseason?
“I thought yesterday was an outstanding game for us. I think West Virginia is a great program and for us to come to the BIG EAST tournament and get that victory was a great victory for us and helps our resume getting into the NCAA Tournament. But we knew playing back to back, we really exerted ourselves, spent a lot of energy playing West Virginia yesterday we knew today was going to be tough. Especially the way DePaul plays and the way they like to run. I think that showed a little bit of fatigue for us today, but yesterday was a great win and it helps us and it's great for our team to come here and get to this round, especially with the competition in our league.”
Junior Forward Da’Shena Stevens
Late in the first half you guys came up with some good defense and you started slowing the clock down and winding the clock down, what else were you trying to do at that point to prevent them from running up and down the Court?
“Our main focus was to get back in transition and they were hitting three's on us, so just to find the shooters and try to rebound. They were getting some second chances in the first half.”
tough is it when you play a team like DePaul who has great three-point shooting and when you take that is able to cut inside and get to the post players?
“It makes it hard to defend them when they're hitting their shots. You go out to the shooter, you leave it open for the bigs down low and they can finish and it makes it tough, but you've got to try to take something away and that's what we tried to do tonight.”