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NCAA WOMEN'S D-III BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

April 3, 2016

Indianapolis, Indiana

THE MODERATOR: Joining us now we have head coach Carla Berube, student-athletes Lauren Dillon, Emma Roberson and Michaela North.

CARLA BERUBE: Well, we're really excited to be here in Indianapolis. Thank you to the NCAA for having this joint Division I, II, and III Championship. We're excited and thrilled to the city of Indianapolis. What a welcome on Friday night we had. Since then we've been treated like rock stars. So, like I said, we're thrilled. I'm really proud of my student-athletes and my team and our program and our university, and hope we can showcase our product of Division III basketball in the best way we can, and we're excited to play on the Bankers Life Fieldhouse court. Yeah, we're excited to be here.

Q. Can you talk about this match-up between offense and defense that you're going to face? Obviously you faced them last year, but this is a team that averages 92 points a game and you guys give up 44 or something. So how do you see that working out?
CARLA BERUBE: Yeah, they're a very talented offensive team, and I think you have to give them a lot of credit. They're a very good defensive team as well. I don't think they just play on one end of the floor. So it's going to take a great, great effort from us on the defensive end and try to, not stop them, but hold them to under what they're normally averaging. They get a lot in transition, so it's going to be important for us to give back defensively and not allow easy scoring opportunities for them. With our defense, we want to make teams have to work for what they get. So in these past 14 days that we've been practicing, we've been working on our defense a lot.

Then the other key is we've got to score the basketball. We're not going to hold them to 44 points. I don't think that -- I mean, that would be really amazing, but I don't think that's going to happen. So we've got to score the basketball. We want to make it into a grudge match, and hopefully defense wins.

Q. Michaela, first of all, talk about I guess you guys obviously have played in a lot of smaller gyms completely different from here. What's been the adjustment, I guess, going through practices and getting used to, I guess, the sight lines and depth perception here at Bankers Life?
MICHAELA NORTH: Yeah, I mean, it's a ginormous gym that we're definitely not used to. The only thing I could compare it to is Calvin from last year, which is also a pretty big gym. But we've been able to get some shots up, and we're having another shootaround today to get used to the depth perception. I think we'll be able to work it out. I mean, a basketball court is a basketball court, so we just have to play our game.

Q. You alluded to you've had a lot of practice between your last game and this one. This is obviously different bringing all the divisions together. But as a coach, is it tougher knowing the biggest game of your season is two weeks after the last one whatever it may be to decide a title for you guys?
CARLA BERUBE: It's been different. It's been nice also. I think we're a little banged up after the Wofford game in Columbus. So that time off has been good for our bodies. It's also given my staff and myself some time to really prepare for one game, one championship game. So we'll see. We'll see what it's done to the student-athletes on the court. Hopefully we're still sharp. We've been playing some really good basketball in March, and it's now April. So we've never played in April before. So we'll see what happens.

I think to have these championships here at the Division I Final Four, I would do it every year if that could be the case. We'll take two weeks off to be here because it's been an amazing experience and a lifetime of memories for my student-athletes that I'm so happy they could experience.

Q. For the three players, I understand it's amazing an academic institution, but what is it about Coach Berube's sales pitch or passion and vision that made you realize that was going to be the right college for you?
MICHAELA NORTH: When I first visited Tufts, it was mainly because of my mom, actually. I'm fourth generation there. So I always had Tufts (indiscernible). But when I met with the coaches, I knew they understood the game and had a love for it. So I wanted to go to a school that mixes academics and athletics and where all the players would just want to win all the time.

LAUREN DILLON: Yeah, in addition to what she said, Coach is an amazing player and even a better coach, I think. So just the experience she has, the knowledge she has. You can't really compare that to any other Division III coach. And also the assistant coaches she has next to her. And for me it was also mainly the team coming to get this and meeting and visiting with the team, realizing it was a place that you could really fit in with the girls, it was huge.

EMMA ROBERSON: For me, I was looking at a couple of other (indiscernible). And they were pretty similar all around, but for me it was coach, was the main reason I came to Tufts. All of our philosophies matched up. And that's how I've grown up playing basketball. Yeah, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Q. Can you talk about Moss as a player, what do you do to stop her, and what did you learn from that?
MICHAELA NORTH: Yeah, I mean, she's a huge offensive threat. So, I mean, I think we have some great defensive players that hopefully we'll be able to limit her scoring. Last year she kind of took it to us offensively. I mean, hopefully this year will be different.

LAUREN DILLON: Yeah, she's been amazing player. I don't think you can stop her scoring. But I think you can limit her touches and just try to make her work for every shot she takes. The thing about Thomas More, she's not their only offensive threat, they're a whole team. So we really need to key in on her, but we need to limit the other players as well.

EMMA ROBERSON: She's a very dynamic player. She can play inside, she can play outside. I think we're really lucky to have some of the best defenders in Division III who can also play on the inside and outside like Emma and Baptista. So I think (indiscernible).

Q. For all three of you guys, you play the game tomorrow, but I'm sure you're taking in other parts of the Final Four. But what's the experience been like for you and what has been the neatest thing that you've had in the last 24 to 48 hours?
MICHAELA NORTH: Yeah, I mean, getting the Division I and II treatment has been amazing. We've never done anything like this. No media, no video shoots or anything like that. So, I mean, just the overall like experience, I guess of getting this kind of treatment and making us feel important and like police escorts. It's just been a lot of fun.

LAUREN DILLON: My favorite thing so far was going to see the Indy 500 track. That whole night was awesome, the food, the fireworks, everything was really cool. So I think it's incredible. I think being able to share it. We have a lot of alumni coming back and our families are able to share it as a program as a whole. It's been awesome.

EMMA ROBERSON: Yeah, I think limiting it down to one favorite thing is impossible. This whole experience has been so amazing. I think we came in knowing this was going to be life changing, and it's just exceeded all of our expectations and we haven't even played the game yet. It's just been -- we just feel very lucky to be here.

Q. We talked to Morgan Valley yesterday, and she was talking about the dinner when you got here, you, Shea and her were together, not really three generations, but three separate areas. What was that like when you connected and how much do you think your UConn background has helped you build the program you've built?
CARLA BERUBE: First of all, that was a great experience just chatting with them. I played with Shea, Shea played with Morgan. But I'm good friends with Morgan just being a fellow Husky. So, yeah, I think it has a huge amount of just the experience that I had at UConn. I'm a product of that environment, so a lot of who I am is what I've learned at my days at Connecticut. The way I think we defend and the toughest that we bring, you know, that's the way you have to play at Connecticut. So that's the way I want my student-athletes to play from minute one to minute 40.

The other day watching Moriah Jefferson diving over a table with 1:40 to go when they're up 60, we're never up 60, but I want us to play the same way. There are so many things that I've learned at Connecticut, and whether it's off the court things that Chris Dailey has taught us to the X's and O's to just the way you play and the way you represent your university, your program and your team at all times. So, yeah, it's the reason why I'm sitting up here with this team was my experience at Connecticut.

Q. Yesterday Geno got emotional when accepting the AP award (indiscernible). What do you think it is about this stage of his career or looking back? Do you think he's mellowed a little bit? Or what do you think led to it?
CARLA BERUBE: I think he's getting old and it just happens, right? I don't know. You know, being ten-time national champion and going for 11th, I also think he's really close with his senior class, and I think he wants it for them. It was great catching up with him on Friday night, him and C.D. As a UConn alum, I'm just so incredibly proud of what they've accomplished and what that program has become. Maybe you start to feel it, too, what he's able to do over the years. It's been just amazing. It's amazing to watch it from the outside, but also know that there is a little -- I had a little piece of that back in the day.

Q. Carla, Geno's been telling us for the last week that he's going to be at your game.
CARLA BERUBE: We'll see.

Q. Yeah, he said he's going to be there. I'm just wondering if you might ask him to speak to your team if you have the opportunity to talk, if that might be beneficial?
CARLA BERUBE: No. You guys want to hear from him?

MICHAELA NORTH: Yeah.

CARLA BERUBE: Good thought. I don't know. I mean, there's so much going on for these guys, I really want to try to keep it a little bit low-key as we can because that's what we're used to. So come tomorrow I don't think there's going to be as much fanfare for us, and it's going to be we go to the grocery store, we're having turkey sandwiches in my hotel room like we do on every road trip. We're just D-III student-athletes on a big stage, so we're going to try to keep it as normal as business as usual as possible. So, I mean, I'm sure he could get us fired up, but I'll get us fired up.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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