UCLA - NC State Postgame Quotes
March 22, 2010 | Women's Basketball
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UCLA Quotes
Press Conference Quotes - Head Coach Nikki Caldwell
Opening Statement:
"I am very proud of this group. They actually started to buy in this system last summer and it has paid off for them. We talk about the addition of Jasmine Dixon to our team and her ability to score baskets. That's what you have to have in March Madness. Also, when you look at Markel Walker and what she's was able to do for us - almost coming up with a triple-double - and her ability to pass the basketball. I am very proud of our two rookies. Our guard play was a lot better this game, and Erica Tukiainen got herself into a rhythm and knocked down big shots for us in the second half. Our team relies on defensive intensity and our board play allowed us to have a win."
On what was said the the first-half media timeout to change the momentum of the game:
"We talked about giving them their defensive assignments and I asked them, 'Why aren't you in the mood to trap.' They looked at me but again, it goes back to making that commitment. They know what our game plan is and they know what we want to do defensively. It's a matter of that one player saying, 'OK, I'm going to get after it.' And that trickles down to the rest of the team. (Markel) Walker really ignited that defensive effort for us."
On UCLA's defensive scheme:
"Defensively, we are chaotic. We want you to jump-shot the basketball quickly. We may show a delayed disruptive type pressure, then we may come back with pressure. We may sit back in our matchup and not do any trapping, or we may come at you at all angles in the lanes. As long as they are not confused, I'm good. We want to confuse our opponent."
On how important it is that Markel Walker can play like a guard:
"She is very special. She can play '1' through '5' for us. She makes our press break much faster for us. We are sending our guards. We are not going to be a traditional outlet passing team. Now you have to train a '5' player to guard and if you don't, Walker will be able to maneuver freely. We want to run every opportunity we get. When we can have an up-tempo, that is when we are at our best."
On tournament game jitters:
"You feel what you feel during this time. Some people feel confident. The only thing you can do is ask them to do their best. That will overcome. They can control if they go out there and perform at their best ability. When they know this is another chance for us to advance, they will play hard. They have to understand that you will be nervous but that is not who you are for 40 minutes."
On the Tennessee coaching pedigree and its impact on the coaching profession:
"When you have 50 Tennessee affiliates coaching in the coaching profession, you are teaching something. If you know defensive schemes, that is half the battle. Her (Pat Summitt's) legacy will continue because we all carry our experience through our kids now. I was fortunate to know how to prepare my team for this time of the season."
On the Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor:
"The honor was an unbelievable award, when you look at the coaching that is in the Pac-10. There is so much respect within the coaches in the Pac-10. I tell them the team it is about them. They allowed me to earn this award. They worked hard. My assistants worked hard to prepare them for the win."
On Nebraska:
"I would end practice to watch Nebraska. We scouted early. Nebraska is a polished team with Kelsey Griffin, an All-American. We have to be aware of where she is at all times, but they also have a balanced attack with their guard play. They are a lot of similarities with the Stanford team. They have great perimeter game. We are prepared to face a No. 1 seed like Nebraska."
Press Conference Quotes - Guard Erica Tukiainen
On Coach Caldwell:
"Right away when she came in, she had a vision for the team, and it's really more about who we are as women off the court and how we represent UCLA. So I think there we had a foundation, and it carried onto the court. It's all about doing the little things, making sure we have the right angles on our traps, running our offense. It's taken hard work, and we've had our ups and downs, but I think we're getting there, and we've just got to keep working hard."
On UCLA taking the lead at the end of the second half:
"The coaches were right away telling us we've got to get the easy baskets inside. Markel [Walker] started getting the ball inside. Jasmine [Dixon] was pulling down boards. Those little things allowed us to be successful."
On the importance of UCLA's pressure defense:
"That's what we've had from the very beginning. It rattles teams and makes them play faster, and that's what we wanted to do. We want them to panic while we maintain our composure, and we execute our game plan."
On her nerves:
"I definitely had butterflies in my stomach. It was all of our first times coming in here. Coach Nikki said in the locker room that in the first round, you kind of have to get it out of your system, and after that you kind of go forward."
Press Conference Quotes - Forward Jasmine Dixon
On the lead change at the end of the second half:
"Our pressure defense began to kick in, and our traps began to work. We trapped hard and it got us steals and gave us the opportunity to score."
On if she was nervous playing in her first NCAA tournament game:
"I would say yeah. In the beginning they got out to a lead, and we just had to keep our composure. We didn't panic. We just had to play our game, and it came to us after a while. We started to have the lead, and we kept the lead and we just kept playing our game. In the beginning we were off to a shaky start, but I think all teams start a little shaky."
Locker Room Quotes - Guard Rebekah Gardner
On what got the game turned around:
"I think in the first half, we probably had some of the jitters, like we'd never played an NCAA game. I know I was nervous. Then in the second half I calmed down, I think the team calmed down too, and we just handled business because we really wanted to make it to the next round."
On getting the running game going:
"We try to run every time we get the ball; that's our bread and butter. So when we were able to do that, it helped us calm down and after that, we were good."
On the Nebraska game in the second round:
"We were watching their game earlier, and they're a pretty good team. We're just going to come out and play hard, and hopefully come up with the upset. That's the plan."
Locker Room Quotes - Guard Doreena Campbell
On what got the game turned around:
"I think it was our defense. We started putting pressure on them and they had difficulty handling the press. They had a few turnovers right there and the end of the half, and that gave us momentum and we got back. In the second half we kept getting that momentum and we were good to go."
On if Nebraska is like another Pac-10 team:
"Nebraska's kind of a big team. I want to say if I was going to match them up with anyone in the Pac-10, I'd have to go with Stanford for the closest."
On the post players having a good game:
"We started getting them good looks, and they were good to go down below. They're put in some tough situations, so they make some tough layups and they do a great job down there."
N.C. State Quotes
Head Coach Kellie Harper
Opening Statement:
"I'm disappointed for our team that we weren't able to play a little bit better. Our team has really improved throughout the season. As a coach, you hate to see them end on this note, because they've really grown a lot. They play hard, and I've been so proud of them all year long. One of the hardest things you have to do as a head coach is walk in the locker room for the last time during the season, because you have to bid goodbye to your seniors, and we've got four seniors that I am going to miss dearly."
On the end of the first half:
"We made some very critical defensive mistakes at the end of the first half - and they were mental, to be quite honest with you - and then a couple turnovers. I thought it did give them some momentum going into the second half. I think they had a little bit more confidence going off the court. Then to start the second half, we were just on our heels the whole time."
On the team's development over the season:
"This team developed, period, throughout the season. That's something I'm so proud of. They really took on a winner's mentality. They began to walk on the court with a little swagger, believing they were going to win. It didn't matter who our opponent was. Sometimes we would win, and sometimes we would not win, but we believed, and that's the first step. Also, when you walked in the locker room after a loss, they were hurt, deeply hurt. If you don't have that hurt inside, you don't have a winner's mentality. Strategically, we started playing to our strengths, which for us this year was just playing hard. It was playing defense, and it was rebounding. Unfortunately, tonight we weren't able to do what we do well."
On when UCLA changed its press:
"I'm not quite sure they changed up their press. I think they extended it a little bit during those couple possessions, and unfortunately it caused Marissa (Kastanek) to go a little bit faster and a little bit out of control, and the result was two turnovers."
On the Pat Summitt "coaching tree," which includes Harper and UCLA Coach Nikki Caldwell:
"The coaching tree that Pat Summitt has is very vast and is growing rapidly. There are so many close friends and so many acquaintances in the game for us. Nikki has done a great job. ... She's just competitive and she'll find a way to win."
Press Conference Quotes - Guard Nikitta Gartrell
On the loss to UCLA:
"It is like Coach (Kellie Harper) said in the last game - we are playing but it is disappointing and no one likes losing. My teammates and I know we want on a little run towards the end of the season. I know that it is heartbreaking because there is no more basketball at North Carolina State. It has been a great four years and I know that they will be better next year."
On the transition with Coach Kellie Harper:
"It has been quite fun, as I must say. When we met Coach (Kellie) Harper, the first thing that she told us is that she likes to win and that is what we are trying to get back to, like my freshman year. Losing is something that nobody likes, and this being my senior year and senior game, I take a lot through this experience, including the coaching change. It help build my character and helped me be a better leader. I don't have any regrets. I felt like I gave it my all, including all four years."
Press Conference Quotes - Guard Marissa Kastanek
On the last minute of the first half:
"I would have to say that the biggest thing is that they changed their press, which was a little bit more aggressive than the first press that they had been using. Personally, I took it too quick and those last couple of turnovers got the momentum going, but in the locker room, we got it all settled and worked it out. I think that that the momentum that they had at the end of the first half did not affect us in the second half, but we did not come out with enough fire that we needed, too."
On playing in her first NCAA tournament:
I think that next year it will be a good experience, because I will be able to help my new teammates coming in, that you want to come and you want to be here. Then we make it here, we are not going to be satisfied on just being here; we are going to let them know that it does not feel good losing in the first round. And the experience that we have now, we will be able to come in next season and get prepared so we will not play scared or up to our full potential in the first round. "
Locker Room Quotes - Guard Amber White
On how the game changed at the end of the first half and into the second half:
"I think we had a couple of mental lapses. Early on we were calm, and really trying to figure things out, and then I felt like at the end, we started speeding up and (made) a couple of careless turnovers in a stretch. I think it definitely gave them momentum, and we came out and we had two empty possessions right off the bat and I felt like they did a good job of capitalizing on our mistakes early on."
On her thoughts on the season:
"I definitely think the season was a success, because we set out a goal at the beginning of the season and what we wanted to do was get back to the NCAA Tournament, and we accomplished that. We definitely think we could have gone further, but I feel like we reached our No. 1 goal, to get back here."
On if it helps build for next year:
"We have some good foundation and couple other players that are going to be a little bit more seasoned, and the great freshmen coming in, so I feel like it gives us momentum for next year and something to build on."
Locker Room Quotes - Forward Bonae Holston
On the difference when UCLA got going:
"I think in the midst of that four- or five-minute span, they capitalized on our turnovers very well. We'd turn it over and they'd get an easy layup or easy shot in transition, and after that it, was hard for us to recover."
On her experience here:
"Makes me want to come back and win."