North Carolina State University Athletics
Press Conference Quotes
3/15/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NCAA First & Second Rounds
Raleigh, N.C. * March 16 & 18
NC State Press Conference
March 15, 2001
Head Coach Kay Yow :
"First of all we haven't played in 12 days. That concerns me. On the other hand, I'm not sure we could have played right away after the ACC Tournament. We had some bumps and bruises and injuries that we needed time to heal. It was good that we had the extra time off. We took a lot of time off the court last week so we could heal. We started back on Monday of this week. Our enthusiasm and passion is there. Hopefully when we start the game we'll be clicking. I hope we're not too rusty because we're going to have to get back in the swing of things again. I hope we come back playing the way we were. From practice I think we will, but you never know until you get into the game."
"We have to play really great defense, something we've tried to do all year. We have to box out. This is a team that goes to the boards really well. We'll have to box out all the way around.
"(Cindy) Johnson is the all-time leading scores at Delaware. She does a great job directing the team. She shoots the three. Every player they have is tough. Defense we have to have. We need to keep the tempo up and push the ball. We also need to take care of the ball. Rebounding well and taking care of the ball are keys for us. We cannot give up second and third shots and hanging on to the ball so we get a shot up. Those are the two things I'm hoping for on Friday."
(on Delaware's zone defense) "They play it just a little differently than most of the team we've played. Iowa State is a team we played just one time. Delaware's zone defense is similar to theirs. We've seen a lot of zone in the ACC, but not exactly the way Delaware plays it.
"Delaware plays hard. They play very well together and they are extremely aggressive in their zone. They look for their shots and they take good shots. Delaware is very well coached. It's scary playing anyone in the NCAA Tournament. It's survive and advance. It's one game each time you go out.
"They have done a great job this year. Tina has done a super job getting the program to this point. I'm very impressed with where the program was when she took over to where it is today. She's done a great job."
"We played the first half of the season with a number of players at point guard. We were looking for the right combination with our starting point guard, Terah James, out for the season. We kept trying different combinations. We could never find the perfect fit. If we had someone really strong defensively, they weren't as strong offensively. We had Ivy Gardner subbing in for Tynesha Lewis at the two-guard spot. T was playing consistently well for us and so was Ivy, but we couldn't have them in together. Ivy got hurt in mid-season and was out for four games. When she came back, we wanted to make an effort to get our best players on the floor. We had to get Ivy on the floor. That meant moving Tynesha to point. We approached her with that idea. We practiced it a couple of days and then we'd play a game with it and see how things went. Well, she had a triple-double the first game out (vs. North Carolina) at point guard. That sold her and us that it was a good decision."
Guard Tynesha Lewis:
"We're feeling great. Eleven days off has been good for us. We can't wait to play. I've had trouble sleeping all week. It's been hard waiting all this time to play our next game. We'll have to channel that excitement for the game on Friday.
If we play like we've been practicing intensity-wise and play defense like we've been playing defense, and we execute on offense, we should be fine.
(on spring break falling this week) "I personally love it. You wake up in the morning and go to practice. You can stay as long as you want and shoot afterwards. We do a little homework when we get back home. I love spring break. You can stay in the gym as long as you want and you have no worries.
(on maybe missing fan support with students being away from campus) "Our fans did a great job in Greensboro at the ACC Tournament. They'll show up here in Raleigh and allow us to make it up to them."
(on Delaware) "I lucked up and got (Cindy) Johnson. She's an outstanding player. She reminds me a lot of Christy Floyd at Clemson. She has the great right to left crossover and hesitation. She's real good. Hopefully, we'll go out there and play great team defense. I don't think she's the type of player you can stop one-on-one. Hopefully, we'll have good weak side help in case she gets by me a couple of times."
Center Carisse Moody:
(on spring break falling this week) "We're just focusing on basketball right now. That's our No. 1 priority during the break. It gives us a little more time to practice. We can just shoot around. If school were in we'd have to balance everything out. Spring break has really helped us out."
(on Delaware) "I'm very impressed with Delaware's perimeter, especially their point guard. She's a real general on the court. She basically controls the team."
(on second half of season) "Our focus was there more the second go round the ACC. The pressure was put on us. We knew we had to do a better job the second half. That helped us especially during the ACC Tournament. Our motivation went straight up."
Delaware Press Conference
March 15, 2001
Head Coach Tina Martin :
"For the first time coming in the NCAA Tournament it means a great deal to our program overall, to our coaching staff, and our players. We are thrilled to be here and we want to be competitive. We want to step out on the floor against an outstanding team like NC State, and a legendary coach like Kay Yow, and give our best effort and that is what we came here to do. Hopefully it will work out for us, and it will be an outstanding game tomorrow. I look around at our team and I see the twinkle in their eyes, and see a coaching staff that is extremely thrilled with this opportunity. The first time is always the best time, and although I was an assistant coach before, this is definitely the highlight of my coaching career. We really are on cloud nine right now, but we also are determined to come in here and try to play our best basketball."
"NC State is very good at pushing the ball up court and getting penetration to the basket. Tynesha Lewis is outstanding and their other guards do a great job also. We have got to get back in transition, and that is what we have focused on in our practices. They really rebound the ball well and that starts out with Carisse Moody who is just all over the glass. They always try to get the ball inside to her, and we have to limit her touches. I'm watching them play in the ACC Finals against Duke, and Duke has three players surrounding her and she is still scoring. It is not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. With Lewis running the floor and pushing the ball, we really have to sprint and get back on defense. The game can not turn into a track meet for us. We have to try to slow them down a little bit, and pack it in against Moody and not give her as many touches. We have to rebound the basketball. If you don't board the basketball it is going to be a long game."
Guard Cindy Johnson:
"Winning our conference championship on Vermont's court was just awesome. A lot of people were talking about our 14 game losing streak on their court. It was a hostile environment there and it was tough to pull out the win."
"NC State is a very athletic team that gets up and down the floor really well. They also have a very good inside game so we are preparing ourselves with that. We are a very balanced team and we feed off of each other. I feel that if we come out with a lot of energy and keep everybody calm and play our game, I think we will be fine."
Forward Danielle Leyfert:
"We've had a good chance to prepare for NC State. Coming off the victory (in the conference tournament) at Vermont was huge for us because it gives us a lot of confidence coming into this weekend. Just being here is really exciting for all of us. We just have to be competitive and give it our all."
"It is really exciting for us to be the first Delaware team to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The success of this season has put Delaware on the map, and I hope we gain a lot of respect out of it."
Drake Press Conference
March 15, 2001
Head Coach Lisa Stone:
"It has been a great year. It has been very rewarding in many, many ways to walk into a situation and a program that has established itself as a winning program. Drake has made their mark in the Missouri Valley, and have made its mark in the NCAA's. Our players compete everyday and come to practice ready to compete and work hard for their team."
"We went on the road in the conference this year and played very, very well. We ran off 14 straight games, and I credit our team. We have nine players and use a rotation of six, and we are a little slim inside. My staff has to practice out there ever once in a while, but that keeps us in shape. We have had a lot of fun, and we found a way even through all this adversity to smile everyday. There is a lot of love and support out there and I really have to believe that has pulled us into the position we are now."
"Our players are very confident coming in. We are not overlooking Villanova or anybody else. Drake has not been very successful in the NCAA Tournament in years past, but we hope to change that. We are here to compete and we are here to have fun, and I think a real important thing for us is to enjoy the moment. The NCAA Tournament is a special time, and I hope we put our best foot forward on Friday."
"Villanova is a catch and shoot team, they are very good perimeter shooters. All five starters will throw it up there. I think our two teams are a mirror image of each other in some regards to depth. They have a dominant post player in (Brandi) Barnes, and we have one in Carla Bennett who right now is playing like an All-American. Rebounding I think is going to be an issue for both teams. I think that the team that controls the glass will be the team that comes out on top."
Center Carla Bennett:
"This has been an interesting year for us coming off losing two of our players early with serious illnesses (Martha Chaput and Mandy Kappel), but I think the whole situation has definitely helped us. It has brought us closer together as a unit, and it helped us play stronger and brought us to the level of success that we have had. I'm not sure we could have had as much success that we did without the inspiration that Martha and Mandy have given us by seeing them everyday."
"I really didn't know much about Villanova, but after I found out we were playing them I went online to look up stats and read about their players. They have a good center, and it should be a good match-up inside. They have some great three-point shooters, and I think they are a very talented team. "
Guard Stephanie Schmitz:
"When you get to this time of year you have to bring your best play even more. We have played great on the road this season, and we are very confident playing on the road."
Villanova Press Conference
March 15, 2001
Head Coach Harry Perretta:
"Right now we are playing pretty well. This team has developed a lot quicker than I thought it was during the course of the year. A lot of that was due to both players that are here (Mimi Riley & Brandi Barnes). Brandi has really established herself as an inside force in our league and that really helped us win a lot of games. It opened it up for our perimeter kids. Mimi, who was hurt all of last year, came back this year and progressed quickly. Our point guard position is very important to our team. We run a lot of different things and run a lot of different offenses. We play a little bit methodical at times. Her coming back with experience has helped us in that role.
"Last year, we had to start three freshmen, that kind of hurt us last year, but it has helped us this year, because those three kids are experienced sophomores. We also have returned Lauren Pellicane, who missed the last 10 games of the season last year. We added a freshman, Courtney Mix, who's maturity level is very high for a young player. So all those things together have helped our team develop quickly."
"Drake is more like Georgetown and Virginia Tech in our league. They are a very good offensive team. They shoot a lot of threes. The have a good post player who scores and they shoot the ball well off the dribble. I see them as a lot like Georgetown in our league. "
(on coaching against Drake's emotion) "You can't. You've just got to go play. They are going to be highly, emotionally charged. We have got to try and meet that energy. Sometimes things like that help you play better. I know I was inspired when I saw the piece on (Mandy Kappel & Martha Chaput) on ESPN. I went to meet both kids today. I told them I was praying for them. I've included them in my rosary prayer when I run each day. I told them that. It's good for me to see stories like theirs. I helps me understand what's most important."
"It's amazing to me. The biggest development to me has been the media coverage and publicity. I was around when we first played the NCAA Tournament. No one even knew we were playing. Now it's a big deal. It's good for the kids. They work hard and they deserve the publicity and some just do. We were on the player the other day and everyone knew who we were and where we were going to play. A guy next to me pulled out his portable computer and punched up the brackets. We did get him as an extra fan. He's coming to the game. The publicity has been the greatest improvement."
(on neutral sites) "Right now the way it is probably the best for us. The only thing we haven't developed is a bigger fan base. I think that's coming. Our attendance improved dramatically this year. The fan base is improving, but until it reaches a little better point, the way it is now is best for us."
(on this team compared to other Nova teams) "This team is a little deeper. When we won 20 some games three, four, five years ago, the league didn't get a lot of respect. Now, the Big East has developed itself into a better conference, which helps us.
"No. 2 this particular team is deeper than the teams I had years ago. We are usually four of five people deep. Now we're at eight players that all really contribute. From the playing standpoint, we're much more talented. From the basketball standpoint I think that the league improving itself has helped us as well. If the Big East had been as good as it is now several years ago, we would have gotten in with 21 wins. "
Center Brandi Barnes:
(on last year's NCAA) "It was exciting to me even though I didn't participate. I was sick then. The whole atmosphere was exciting. We played down at ODU. The crowd was crazy. Hopefully it will be like that here at NC State."
(on Big East crowds helping preparations) "That's big. Not just Uconn. Rutgers might be a little worse than Uconn. And then you can add Notre Dame. It helps us a whole lot."
(on riding stationary bike during practice) "I've been having some foot problems lately. The best thing for me is to stay off my feet as much as possible. With the bike I'm able to stay in game shape a little. It's both of my feet. They've been really bad for about a month. (adds Coach Peretta) Brandi hasn't practice in over a month."
Guard Mimi Riley:
(on how much she knows about Drake) "I didn't know what state they were in. We saw a couple of game tapes and figured out they are a very good basketball team. It's going to be a tough game."
(on Big East with two #1 seeds) "We played Uconn twice this year, then Notre Dame and Rutgers. Every game in the Big East is a tough game. That helps us here."
(on neutral sites) "With our team it seems like we play better on the road. The crowd doesn't affect us. I would much rather play in front of a large crowd. I can't hear Coach Peretta screaming at me as much then."
