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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: LOUISVILLE

March 17, 2016

Louisville, Kentucky

SANDRA RUSHING: This is an exciting time for us. It's been an amazing journey with this group of young ladies. They're a very special group. They've worked extremely hard this year, and I can't say enough about this team, and I'm really happy, again, for the team, for our seniors. I mean, my coaching staff, our University, and the city of Conway. To be the first team to make it to the NCAAs says a lot about these young ladies and the price that they've paid this year.

Again, it's just overwhelming. We didn't even really have a chance to unpack our suitcase and then we're here, but it's been a great experience so far and just first-class. It's been first-class. Louisville has done a great job. The NCAA has really made us feel welcome and excited.

Q. Jameka, as a senior, what's this journey been like for you to culminate in this weekend?
JAMEKA WATKINS: It's been unbelievable. It's been a great experience for me and my teammates to be here on this stage. It's unbelievable.

Q. Can you just kind of walk through what you've done so far in preparing for this, getting to Louisville, just some of the experiences, what has stood out for you?
BRIANNA MULLINS: It's been -- like Jameka said, it's been a great experience. Everybody has really welcomed us with open arms. We worked hard to be here. Coach has always told us that we'd be here, and like she said, we worked extremely hard to be here. It's just been a great experience.

MAGGIE PROFFITT: Yeah, like Bree said, we just started working really hard in June. It started earlier this year. I feel like that kind of helped us get this team's chemistry together, and like Coach has been saying all season, we've been battle tested and we've found ways to win throughout the season. And I think we've just worked really hard, and to be here is a great experience, to see all our hard work pay off.

Q. In terms of getting here off the basketball court, too, just walk through that process. How long have you been in town? Have you had a chance to do anything in this city, or what have your preparations been like?
JAMEKA WATKINS: Since we've been here, we haven't had much time to do anything. We've been watching film, just kind of getting a feeling for everything. We haven't had a chance to do anything.

SANDRA RUSHING: Yeah, I work them hard. (Laughter).

BRIANNA MULLINS: Like Jameka said, we're preparing for Louisville just like we prepare for any other team we've played this year. We've been watching film, been having great practices, and just really getting ready for tomorrow.

MAGGIE PROFFITT: Coach doesn't expect anything less of us just because it's Louisville. They're obviously a great team, but we're going to go out and fight and give it our all.

Q. If you could just walk through what the coaching staff works with you on defense, I know that's been a hallmark of this team all year. What is your defensive style or how do they try and impress upon you to make that a big part of your game?
MAGGIE PROFFITT: Obviously Coach preaches defense. That's her main thing. Not only do we just play man-to-man defense, she preaches team defense. Obviously we're all going to get beat one-on-one, and just knowing that I'm going to have a teammate that has my back when I do get beat is something we really focus on. We just work on transition and nose on ball every day and that's just something that we really try to be the best at.

BRIANNA MULLINS: Maggie really covered it all. Like she said, help defense is something that Coach focuses on. We all get beat, but knowing that our teammates are there to help us has helped with our team chemistry.

Q. You said you've been watching a lot of film. What have you seen from Louisville? What impresses you? What do you know that you're going to have to work on?
BRIANNA MULLINS: We've been watching film. They're athletic. They're fast. But like I said, regardless of who we're going to play against, we're going to come out and we're going to play our best.

JAMEKA WATKINS: I mean, of course we know they're going to bring their best game. We're going to try to do that, as well. We've pretty much prepared -- Coach has prepared us as soon as we found out who we were going to play.

Q. What's it mean to be leading this team and this University to its first Division I tournament?
SANDRA RUSHING: It's just overwhelming. Like I said, I haven't had time to really take it all in because we're home Sunday or Monday morning late, early, then pack our bags. I know we're doing something right because we're all tired, and I haven't slept. But it's an amazing feeling to know that I've had the opportunity to watch this team from June and how much they've grown and matured and bought in. We've talked about championships since -- well, we talked about it for years. I've got Maggie and Mimi and Bree that's been with me the longest, and we've always talked about getting to the big dance and that hard work is going to pay off.

Just to see them walking into the arena right here or just getting on the plane or cutting down the nets on a Sunday, it was just so emotional, and it makes me so proud. This is a unique group of young women. Great personalities, and they work hard. They really work hard.

I've learned a lot from this team. They know -- they make the moods light sometimes when things get tense, and believe me, my vocabulary has changed a little bit. I've learned a few new words and a few new dances, so they're fun to be around.

Q. What are some of those words or dances?
SANDRA RUSHING: I can't -- we'll skip that one, okay? (Laughter).

Q. I think you've won 18 of your last 19. What has gone into building such a nice end of the late season run, and each of the teams here in Louisville have all come in with that impressive late season run.
SANDRA RUSHING: Well, this team has come together. They're really close. I've had great leadership, and it's been quiet leadership. They lead by example, and they've held each other accountable on and off the court.

You can see the closeness when we travel or when we're back on campus. They really do support each other, and they work extremely hard, and they believe in each other. They believe in the coaching staff. I can't say enough about my coaching staff. They put in the long hours of breaking down film and just player development and making sure that the players are okay. I think you win with people, and I've been fortunate to surround myself with some great people that are competitive and passionate and have the same drive and philosophy that I have.

Q. What's made your defense so spectacular all year?
SANDRA RUSHING: Well, I just think that they gut it out, and we demand it. Now, do I think we played very good defense the last three and a half weeks? No. Not -- but we've found a way to win. This time of year, we're scoring more points than we did in January, but still we played good enough defense to get where we are.

Now, I'll tell you what, we're going to have to play extremely good defense tomorrow. Louisville, they get up and down the floor. They're athletic. They're big. They're quicker than we are. It's going to be fun. It's going to be fun. I want our players to go out and compete, have a good experience and continue to play hard like they've been playing all year.

Q. What do you see from Louisville that scares you? I'm sure there's a lot of things, but is there anything that you're particularly focused on trying to take away from them?
SANDRA RUSHING: Well, you know, I hope they don't shoot the ball very well tomorrow. They're at home, and they do a lot of things well. My concern is our players being on the big stage for the first time. If you see me use all my timeouts in the first five minutes to settle them down, that's what I'm going to do. Because there's no need to save you timeouts at the end of the ballgame if it's out of hand.

I want them to go in and realize, hey, we've got to give it our best shot. Louisville is going to push the ball. They're going to D us up. When we shoot the ball, we've got to relax, and when we get an open shot, we've got to take that open shot because we don't need to just continue -- make some passes that we've been able to make in the past. We've got to cut down our passing, our long passes, and we've got to try to get to the rim.

Q. For women's basketball fans nationally who may not know a lot about your program, kind of walk through the last five years and coming up from Division II and what fans should know about your team.
SANDRA RUSHING: Well, I've always admired Central Arkansas. They were in the Gulf South when they were Division II and we would play against them when I was at Delta, and it's some of the best fans in the country. I'm glad the fans are on my side now because when we used to come in, there would be battles. I just think it's a unique place. I think people -- when you think about it, they have no idea where Conway, Arkansas is. I think we've got the best mascot around, the Sugar Bears. Love the Sugar Bears. If we can get people on campus, to see our facilities and what President Courtway has done and our athletic director Brad Teague. They're so supportive of the whole University, but especially athletics. We're still growing, and the facilities are great. We just have built a practice gym, and there's things improving. Basketball, our men's basketball, Russ does a tremendous job, recruiting. All our sports are -- volleyball is successful, football. It's just a really neat community -- all the coaches -- it's a family atmosphere. The coaches support each other and the teams support each other, and I'm really happy to be the Sugar Bear coach. I'm hoping we can continue this. I like this feeling. I like this feeling of going to the big dance, and it's something that I think your players have to get there and experience to see what it's like.

I had one of the players earlier tell me, Coach, I want to do this again. I said, you think? I said, I think I want to do it again, too. They have to get here to see and to know what it's like.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: LOUISVILLE

March 17, 2016

Sandra Rushing

Jameka Watkins

Brianna Mullins

Maggie Proffitt