March 22, 2013
First Round • Comcast Center • College Park, Md.
Friday, March 22, 2013
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES - Maryland
Brenda Frese, Maryland Head Coach
On the NCAA Tournament:
"Obviously we're excited to get started with the NCAA tournament. Thrilled to be here at home hosting and excited about our matchup with Quinnipiac. Obviously we've had a lot of time to study film. A tremendous team, 30-2, undefeated in their conference. A ton of depth."
On Quinnipiac:
"They're very well-coached. They shoot the 3 extremely well. Don't turn the ball over a lot. So, we're gonna have to come out and play a tremendous 40 minute game."
On the energy:
"I'm excited where we're at. I feel like we've had some of our best practices this week. You can tell the energy and the focus that our team has. And we're just ready to get started."
On the two weeks off:
"It was exactly what the doctor ordered. It's just what we needed. We were coming off some sickness from the ACC Tournament. Obviously the rest was much needed. To be able to give our team the weekend off. When they came back on Monday it was the best practice we've had all year. They got their legs back. Just mentally, physically, emotionally in a tremendous place. It was critical for us."
On preparing for an 11:15 a.m. tip off:
"I think a couple things. It's very similar to back in their AAU games when they would play 8 o'clock games. I told them today, typically on Sundays you're tipping at 1 p.m., so it's not that much different. They're young and they're used to it. And we have, the last couple days, we've started to get them up earlier in terms of their practice time to get them adjusted."
On whether she's worried they will take Quinnipiac lightly:
"I don't think this team would be where we are by taking teams lightly. We haven't done that all season long, and now you're on the biggest stage in the NCAA Tournament, you know what's at stake. If you take a team lightly, you're going home. That's not what drives this team. This team is motivated internally every single day. I know both teams are going to be ready to play and both teams are going to give their best effort tomorrow."
On whether they feel they are under-seeded:
"I haven't really given any thought to the seed. It's a number in front of your name. For us, the most important game is tomorrow morning, and from there that's all you have. That's where we put our focus. The committee made its decisions and we feel like we've worked hard all season and you back that up with your play."
On managing a thin bench:
"With the media timeouts, and we face that all season through the ACC Tournament, your time is a lot longer. Credit this team; they're just in phenomenal shape. They're used to logging the type of minutes that they've put in this season and it's been something they've grown accustomed to. There's no issues with it."
On Quinnipiac's offense:
"They have a tremendous inside outside game. They can score down low and almost the entire team can shoot the 3. It makes it extremely difficult when you have that type of lethal combination. They don't turn the ball over, so you've got to be smart as a team when you're going to have a team that really values possessions and doesn't turn it over a lot. We've got to be smart on our end."
On defending the outside:
"We've prepared against teams like Boston College and Duke that are really good in terms of half-court defense and how locked in you need to be. If you make one mistake, they're going to get an open look from the 3-point line. Hopefully those games will have prepared us for tomorrow."
Tianna Hawkins, Maryland Forward
On the excitement of being a senior:
"Most definitely. It's my last time playing in the NCAA tournament, so we've got to make the best out of it."
On what their run to the Elite Eight last season taught them:
"It was a long journey. We know what it takes to get back to that and we also know what we need to work on to get back there. Like Coach [Frese] said, we've got to take it one game at a time, and that starts tomorrow."
Alyssa Thomas, Maryland Forward
On advice to freshmen:
"Just letting them understand that we play 40 minutes every night because teams are coming after you and playing your best game."
On Quinnipiac and Maryland's No. 4 seed:
"I've heard the name before, but I've never seen them play. So we watched film on them. And we're happy with our seed. It's just a number. When it comes to the tournament it's all about who can make a run."
On Tianna Hawkins:
"Tianna's been great. Her mentality on the court and how hard she works for her team. It's been great having the opportunity to play with her. We're just going to come out here and give it our all and try to send her out on a good note."
On carrying the scoring load:
"I just go out there and play hard. We've been playing with these numbers all year so it's not really an issue for us. We just go out there and play hard for 40 minutes."
Katie Rutan, Maryland Guard
On the journey to this tournament:
"Just losing a couple players and everything, it just kind of brought us together as a whole. I know all of us are really close, especially on the court. We all know each other's tendencies. That helped us going along with the season. We learned how to finish together. Every play we do is together. We give our best effort and that's what we have to take through the rest of the season."
Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac Head Coach
Opening statement:
"It's a historic moment for our women's basketball program. The players, staff and coaches are obviously thrilled to be included in this fine field of 64, and we look forward to the challenges this weekend represent."
On participating in the first NCAA Tournament in program history:
"We are coming off two great practices where we've been ourselves. We've been extremely competitive; we've stayed within who we've been all year long. Obviously we were excited to get on the bus and get down, but at this point in the season and over the past two years with these ladies who are up here, we've won 52 games. We've had really good wins over some BCS schools and this is the next step for this program and this team, and this stage is not going to be too big for us. We're ready for it; the program is ready for it; these ladies are ready for it. We saw St. John's this year, Minnesota last year, this is the next step for our program with this historic moment of being included in the NCAA Tournament and to see a tremendous program like Maryland. This is where we should be right now in this time and place. These young ladies have had the same focus all year, and this has been no exception. One thing I am sure about is this stage will not be too bright for us tomorrow."
On guard Gillian Abshire:
"[Gillian] leads by example. She has the heart of a champion; we knew that when we were recruited her right out of Maryland's backyard, playing at Good Counsel. It wasn't just a coaches' decision. What she does, day-in and day-out, has set the tone for how this team is going to succeed and be really successful. It's nothing that's ever said, it's just stated by who she is and what she does every day. She comes in and works tirelessly, not only on her game. She leads by example. She has the will of a champion. Her play has set for why we've been so successful on our assist-to-turnover ratio. We've been able to turn teams over and take care of the ball. And that first and foremost starts with [Gillian]. She works hard every day, and I just love that she doesn't need a bright light on her. She just puts in the time and effort that no one else sees. When she does that, everyone else takes notice, and she's been a tremendous leader for this team."
On the team's depth and the "Gold Rush" second line:
"We're going to come out and a really big key element to our success going 30-2 and making the NCAA Tournament is the fact that we play 10 or 11 kids significant numbers. Not one of our starters sees over 26 minutes a game. It's allowed our first five to go out and play at an intense level for three or four minutes because they know they're going to get rest, and be able to go back in and be just as effective. Through the course of 40 minutes, the first five and the Gold Rush has allowed us to wear teams down, and that's where we've had so much success. With that in mind, we're not going to change what got us here. The expectation is the same for the Gold Rush coming in and again, our defensive pressure doing what we do on the defensive end. Our identity offensively and defensively, I don't expect to change. I'm hoping that through the court of 40 minutes to use that as a big key to having some success."
On the growth of Quinnipiac's program:
"From the top down, it's the goal of Quinnipiac to be its best. Whether it's to open up a medical school, a law school, being a great undergrad program with nationally recognized academics, the same goes hand-in-hand with our athletic program. We get to share the stage with hockey this year, which has been ranked No. 1 in the country, and we're doing our own with women's basketball. Whatever the vision has been with [university president] John Lahey, is to be our best, and this was always the vision. This has always been a vision of mine since I took over the program as a small Division II, to have it walk hand-in-hand with the growth and success of the university. This day has become a reality, and this is where we expected to be this year, and I'm glad we're here. We want to make the most of our opportunity being here."
Jasmine Martin, Quinnipiac Guard
On beating Maryland:
"I would say going into this game, we have nothing to lose. We're just going to give everything we've got. We have a great group of 15 girls who are ready to leave their hearts out there on the floor. Going into this game, our game plan is to do what we've been doing all year. Defend, rebound and run the ball, run the court. Hopefully with the advantage of having more players, we can run, get the ball up the floor and score in transition, and I think that's what we're looking to do."
Brittany McQuain, Quinnipiac Forward
On what she needs to do against Maryland:
"I think I just need to do what I've been doing all season. I know I'm not as big as they are, but one of my advantages is I play bigger than I am. People don't know the fourth tallest on the team; one of our guards is taller than I am. I think I'm going to do what I've been coached to do and be a monster on the boards. I'm not going to let up."
On Playing Maryland:
"I think that Maryland is a great basketball team and they have a lot of respect and a great program. Their seeding is great for them, and I think we're going to see a great team on Saturday. I think our advantage is they only play eight players or so, and we have 10 that can come in and pick up where the starters left off. We have a lot of depth, and it's worn teams down all year. It is one of our biggest advantages going into Saturday, but they are a great team."
Gillian Abshire, Quinnipiac Guard
On growing up near Maryland:
"I grew up coming to the games and watching Brenda Fresecoach. I always looked up to this program and thought this program was awesome. It's pretty cool coming back and being able to play against them."
Suzy Merchant, Michigan State Head Coach:
Opening Statement:
"We're excited to be back here again, this is two years in a row for us. We really appreciate the hospitality and the way Maryland does things, it's a first class organization here at the University of Maryland. We'll be seeing lots of each other in the future when they enter into the Big Ten. But we're really excited to be back, and look forward to the challenges ahead."
On the matchup with Marist and Marist head coach Brian Giorgis:
"Well [Brian Giorgis] is a pretty smart coach, so he's dead on, he said it best. I think he does a great job defensively, there's no doubt about that. They make you work for everything you get. On the other side of the ball I think they have a tremendously balanced attack. I think the one thing that makes them dangerous is that all five people on the floor can shoot it from the arc as well as put it on the floor. There's not a lot of weakness [with Marist], and the balance is there. I think that's certainly the same thing we've had our M.O. on a little bit. We like to pride ourselves defensively night in and night out, and I don't think we have one superstar, but we have a lot of kids who play really hard and well together. From that perspective, he's very correct."
On what you do to stop Marist's motion on offense:
"We've been racking our brains trying to figure it out. I think that's why [Coach Giorgis] is so successful, it's challenging to guard. I think where their mismatches are at the post positions they certainly do a good job trying to attack your bigs on the perimeter. Forty percent of their offense comes from the arc, so you have to guard it there. As soon as you do that and start spreading your defense, they can drive it and cut on you. They read screens extremely well, their patience through the shot clock. For us, I'm not going to give you a lot of what we're going to do, but I'm fully aware of what we have to do to try to be successful. I'm not sure if it's going to be 100%, but I also like our team's ability to potentially match up at times with them. We can go a little bit smaller, we've done that in the past, we can play really big too depending on the match up. We don't have a lot of people on our roster obviously with injuries and adversity, but the ones that we do have are very interchangeable, much like Marist can do."
On playing a team with a lot of potential like Marist:
"I'm from the theory I guess that at the end of the day all you can do is coach your team the best way to put them in positions to be successful. These guys have done a great job overcoming a lot adversity this year competing. The number one thing I want to see is our team competing. What happens happens, but we're fully aware of Brian's success out there watching them beat Georgia a four seed last year. In the women's game, seeding is interesting just because of the home sites. You don't know procedurally where you're at, at the end of the day you just have to go out there and play the best you can play and focus on some of the things that you got you here. For us to focus on and worry on something that is out of our control, all we can do is to play the game that's in front of us right now. I know they'll have a great game plan, and they'll do what they do well and we'll see what happens. I haven't really focused a lot on what they have done in the past. Our team is definitely aware of it though, I've seen their past success getting to a sweet 16. Sometimes I think the seeds at the home sites make things interesting in the women's game maybe a little bit different than the men's side."
Courtney Schiffauer, Michigan State Forward:
On Marist:
"We are well aware of what they have been able to accomplish in the past. As coach said, they are a team that works well together. We know what they have done. So far we have done our best to look at film and have a game plan set up so we can overcome their ability to work together with back cuts and things like that. They are a great team and they always do well in the first couple rounds of the tournament. We know what they are capable of."
Jasmine Thomas, Michigan State Guard:
On redemption from last year's loss here:
"You always want to go into the tournament trying to get past the first round, second round as it continues. Getting back here it is a new beginning. It is on our list to try and proceed as the games continue."
Brian Giorgis, Marist Head Coach:
Opening Statement:
"It is great to be back here. We were here in 2006-2007 for a tournament. We come here every year for an AAU Tournament. We always know that the hospitality here is top notch. We are very excited and humbled to be back in the NCAA Tournament."
On the defensive challenge that Michigan State presents:
"I think the biggest defensive challenge that they bring is that they are very balanced and that they can score both inside and outside. It is almost like you have to defend them straight up, which is what we don't like to do. We like to take away certain things, take away certain players, or focus on certain players. We are kind of a poor man's image of them. We have six players that average between 7 and 12 [points per game], they have seven players that average between that. We know we have our hands full. It is nice to take off the bulls-eye jacket, and see if we can pull another upset."
On their prior success in the NCAA Tournament:
"You get labeled as [giant killers] because of what you have done in the past. The nice part is we have some players who are from that past and have been able to experience that the last couple of years. They believe that if they play good basketball and believe in the system, we can cause problems. If somebody has a bad day or isn't ready to play us we have a very good chance of beating them. We know we have our hands full, we know we are the underdogs, we know why we are the underdogs. Sometimes we like that."
On being the underdog:
"When you are a twelve seed, we have been twelve or thirteen [seed] a lot, you know that the four or five seed is a good team. They are from BCS schools, they have more resources than we do, they have a lot bigger pick of the litter than we do. They are there for a reason. We saw what they did in the Big 10 tournament; Suzy Merchant has done a tremendous job. Coming from Eastern Michigan and coming to the Big 10 and having them competitive every year. You know Suzy won't take us lightly coming from a mid-major program. We will have our hands full. That is what the tournament is about. We like to think that we can cause some problems."
On Casey Dulin:
"I think the great thing about Casey [Dulin]; she has been a godsend to our program the last two years. Her freshman year she played the fewest amount of minutes. We had an injury to Christine Best in Casey's sophomore year where Casey was rotating between the two and three. When we had that injury to Christine Best our freshmen point guard wasn't ready yet so Casey volunteered to play the point, and we took off when that happened. The great things about Casey is she has the shortest memory going. We always kind of laugh because we know when Casey is in there something is going to happen, it may not be good, but something is going to happen. She will throw a pass that still confuses me three weeks later why she threw it, but it doesn't faze her the least. She is going to try and make that same pass or do it a different way. She is going to keep going at you. That motivates our other players. Some people make a mistake and get down. It is like water running down the back for her. She comes right back. She isn't going to shy away. It reflects our team because I don't think we shy away from anyone.
Elizabeth Beynnon, Senior Marist Forward:
On defending Michigan State in the post:
"I think coach talker about this earlier, but I think we have to focus on the boards and being physical. That's been one of our weaknesses, and I think it'll have to be a primary focus tomorrow."
On the team's history of first round success:
"I think it definitely gives us hope. I think that our upperclassmen have passed that down, and hopefully we can do the same for our underclassmen"
Casey Dulin, Junior Marist Guard:
On her role on the team this season:
"I mean I just do what [Coach] Giorgis tells me to do. If I have to go get rebounds, or assists, and stop turning the ball over, I'll try to do that. I just go out there every game and do what I can do to help win."
Leanne Ockenden, Junior Marist Forward
On embracing the underdog role:
"It's nice to not have that target on our back anymore. I think as a team we like being the underdog, we like that challenge. We like to go up against the bigger schools, and Michigan State is a really good team. We're excited for that tomorrow."
