North Carolina State University Athletics
Post-game Coaches' Quotes
3/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
I was really pleased with the focus, the intensity of our team in this game on defense. I think our execution was pretty good offensively for having been off two weeks. We needed the rest physically and emotionally, as well, so I know that being off really helped but yet we had to get back in the rhythm.
We came out really determined to play hard.
A lot of things in the game we did well. One of the things we didn’t do as well was the offensive rebounding. Particularly, one player more than any other really asserted herself (Robert Morris’ Sugeiry Monsac, 18 rebounds) on the boards and did a great job. So that’s something we know we really have to tighten up on. I feel like we were a little slack in that area, but I’d also like to give credit to Robert Morris and to Monsac. She did a great job.
I know this was their first trip to the NCAA. For three years, we lost this first-round game. So we got that little monkey off our back today. We’re glad to get No. 1 under our belts and be able to focus on the second round.
Overall, I’m pleased with the team’s effort and execution today. I’m just really pleased, mostly for the seniors because each year, they’ve lost in the first round. There were reasons for each one. We were more fortunate today, having everybody available and everybody in pretty good health.
As seniors, they want to go further, and they know this is their last chance. Their focus was very good.
On whether her team has a chance to win the national championship:
Actually, we do think we have a chance to win the national championship. We know that we have to play our best every game. It’s six games, and you can’t falter. You have to be on top of your game in every single one off them.
Whether it’s Baylor or Chattanooga, our next game will be a very tough game trying to get to the Sweet 16. But many teams are going to have some tough games to keep going. If we play as well as we can play, then I feel we can play with anybody. We’ve proven that in having beaten two of the No. 1 seeds (Duke and North Carolina). We know the level that we have to play in order to have a chance.
I was so pleased with the number of fans that we had to come out today. I was so humbled and honored and grateful for the reception that they gave me and for the way they cheered the team on. It was so uplifting and inspirational. I hope everybody that was here today will be here Tuesday and that they’ll bring some people with them. There was a lot of red, and I was proud just to be a part of the Wolfpack today.
On potential second-round match-up:
I’ve seen both teams play. Wes Moore, the coach at Chattanooga, was an assistant for me for three years. I know how very detailed he is. He lacks nothing in preparation. He will devise a defensive scheme for each and every team that he plays.
So I have a lot of respect for him as a coach. They have excellent shooters on his team and they are as sound fundamentally as they can be.
Baylor is more athletic. They have a great player in (Bernice) Mosby, who can do it all. They have a lot of confidence. They play hard-nosed. They have a lot at each position.
On Robert Morris Coach Sal Buscaglia’s comments on her:
He’s been most gracious to me. He’s made some of those comments to me personally. I’m just overwhelmed sometimes by comments by other coaches. His son, for the last two Final Fours, I ended up having lunch with this guy and talking some advice here and there. And when I saw him Friday, I found out he was at Robert Morris and he was Sal’s son. So I have a little special connection that I didn’t even know that I had.
I think his son is an up and coming coach for the future. He does things the right way, and he really wants to excel.
I know that Sal has done great things in basketball. He’s been a pioneer, and he’s given a lot to the game. So it means a lot to me when somebody like that makes the kind of remarks about me and to me that he did.
On player Keisha Brown:
We have a few people who don’t show a lot of emotion, but it’s inside. Every once in a while, it comes out.
Keisha has become almost our second-best defender on the perimeter. Ashley Key is the person we look to first and foremost.
Keisha has a really sweet shot. We’d really like for her to put up more shots.
She has a great shooting touch. In a few games, she has really been the difference in winning that game.
NC State senior forward Marquetta Dickens
On the six seniors providing motivation for the team:
We actually have a lot to spark us, one being Coach Yow and what a great leader she is to us. We’ve been here (to the first round) three times, and this is the fourth time, and never won it the last three times. That was a lot of it.
One thing that really got to us was when Coach Yow came out and the other fans didn’t clap for her, we were talking about that--that fired us up. We have a lot of respect for Coach Yow, and to be able to play for her, that’s motivation in itself. The coaching staff always talks to us about not overlooking anybody and staying focused. I think we did a great job of that today as a team.
On looking for her shot today:
Right before the game, Coach Yow came to me and said, “Just let the game come to you.” I had great percentage shots, as Coach (Stephanie) Glance would say. So I just took the open shots, and my shot was falling and that just boosted my confidence.
Robert Morris Head Coach Sal Buscaglia
Opening Statement
“We are really excited to be here, and it’s a great moment in Robert Morris history. I wish we could have played a little stronger. I think playing at NC State with all the emotions surrounding their program and the way they have been playing was a tough challenge for us, but the kids kept their heads up high. We came into this tournament with a great record and we had defeated some good teams. It was the ultimate challenge. Any team that would have come here would have faced the same challenge, playing a team in front of their fans. It was an honor to be on the same court as Coach Yow. I wish their program the best and certainly we are going to be pulling for them as they make their run for a NCAA championship.”
On the team’s game plan:
“We had to shoot the ball well and we had to score, which we didn’t do. I think the kids were a little tentative; a few of the shots went in and out at the beginning of the game. We had open looks. We weren’t really concerned about their defense, because watching tape on them we really felt we would get shots at the basket. I don’t mean easy shots on the inside since they are so big, but we felt we would get perimeter shots. We knew that in order for us to win this game and be in the hunt at the end we had to hit our shots early and feel confident about ourselves. And that didn’t happen. They certainly do a good job of contesting shots on the interior, especially with their strength on the inside. They are very strong. Gillian Goring is a very strong lady and KhadijahWhittington plays so hard and so aggressive. We knew that was going to be a problem. But we thought we could get open looks, and we did, we just didn’t make those open looks. We had to do that and it didn’t happen for us.”
Robert Morris senior forward/center Sugeiry Monsac
On the opening minutes of the game when State took an early lead“I don’t think we were nervous. We knew they were from a big conference but we still wanted to play hard, and we did, and we never gave up. Even though we lost 84-52, we never gave up.”
On the team’s first appearance in the NCAA tournament
“The only difference in the atmosphere was the way we played at the beginning. During the season we played against Pitt and Bowling Green, but it’s obvious N.C. State is on another level. The toughness of the team was the difference from the teams we normally play.”
