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BIG EAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 3, 2018Anthony BozzellaNicole JimenezChicago, Illinois ANTHONY BOZZELLA: I'm just really proud of our ladies today. I know Xavier didn't play their best game by any stretch, and they'll have a great future ahead of them. I think Coach and his staff do a wonderful job. They have a lot of young, talented players, and it's very difficult in a Big East setting, especially in an arena setting, to play in your first Big East game, let alone in an environment where the other team played well, which we did today. So I was really proud of our girls. I thought we came out with a lot of energy. And I thought we'd be a little nervous, so we tried to use the nervous to our energy. Early on to get the lead was important, too, because we wanted to play ahead. The young lady on my right has improved each and every day, and I'm really proud of her. She brings a lot of passion, a lot of toughness, and really helps her teammates play that way as well. Q. Nicole, the coaches said you guys were going to be nervous, and you turned that nervousness into energy. It's all hard to play in a big arena with not that many fans. How did you create that energy tonight? NICOLE JIMENEZ: We just kind of stuck to the game plan. Just kept communicating, and we just had fun and played through the nervousness. It's basketball; we've played since we were little girls, so it was easy. Q. Nicole, so, first Big East Conference tournament game for you among many others on this team. Going into this game before the tip off with the introductions going on, what was that moment like for you? NICOLE JIMENEZ: Just like I said, they prepared us. We were ready. I mean, we had a week of preparation. The girls constantly encouraging each other. Q. This season as a team you shoot 44% from two -- point range, yet today from the field you were at 50%. How were you able to do so much better than you were able to do on the offensive end? NICOLE JIMENEZ: It starts off in practice. We go hard, game-like speed, and shows off in the game with 50%. Q. The way you guys were shooting tonight, what statement do you think was made tonight when saw that DePaul was scouting the game? NICOLE JIMENEZ: Just, I mean, we're hungry. We've lost to them twice, so we're ready to see them again, so... ANTHONY BOZZELLA: I want to say the young lady on my right has battled a lot. She came in as a highly recruited junior college player, and it's been a tough year up-and-down. She's always stayed with a positive mindset and she works hard every day. She's been through a lot of injuries now, and she's embodied what this team is about. We try to get better every day, and we try to play within ourselves and we take each other for what we are. I'm really proud of her. I am. Q. One player that really stood out to me that made a big impact, Selena Philoxy, ten points, bunch of rebounds, really fought down low. What was your impression of her performance tonight? ANTHONY BOZZELLA: I agree. Selena won the USA Championship last year, and she was arguably the best player in the state. I think the bigger the game, the better the Selena plays. We met last week at the beginning of the week, and we had a very serious conversation. We said, listen, you've got to dedicate yourself to having a great week of practice, because that will translate into having a great tournament, and to her credit, she did. It's not a coincidence that she had a great week of practice and had a great game tonight. And I'm very proud of her for that because it's not easy. She's a freshman. She's tired. Our other freshman Kimi Evans played really well, I don't care where her numbers are. She came out and grabbed two of the best rebounds she's had in a month. And they set the tone and that was really important, and the rest of their teammates encouraged them, so that was important. Q. All season you've been in the top 10 percentile in block rate. Do you think that hustle mindset carried over today? ANTHONY BOZZELLA: It does, that's a really good question. We said at halftime, we only have one steal, and I'm like, all right. We'll get a lot more steals in the second half, and we only had three. So, I just think we were a little bit on our heels, but the girls found other ways to defend properly. And I think we pushed them off the three-point line maybe a foot more than they normally like to shoot them from, and I think that helps, because I think they only shot 6 for 32 from three, so that helped. So our defense was very important with our pressure. We just pushed them off the line as opposed to stealing the ball tonight. Q. When we met earlier this year it was right before you guys were playing Marquette. You told me that you didn't have a bona fide leader on this team, that you were still searching for that. Who is that for you guys now that you're in tournament play? ANTHONY BOZZELLA: You and I have met many years ago. Please don't say we met this year. We talked about that yesterday at dinner as a staff. We're still searching. I think Inja has done a great job. But I thought Kaela Hilaire showed a lot of leadership skills today. The kids didn't have to come over and watch the beginning of the game. She did. She came by herself. She had a really good week of practice. She came off the bench. I didn't play her a lot in the beginning of the third quarter. She was like, no, coach, it's okay, it's okay. She struggled in the beginning and really kept the team together. I'm proud of her for that, because it's not easy. She hasn't had the year she's wanted, and I know it's been frustrating to her. But she's had great support from her teammates and her parents who have understood it is about us building and winning, and she is an important part of our team. I think while her leadership skills may not be as vocal, today I think she showed guys, I'm ready to play, and I'm proud of her. I thought Inja in the first half really -- got into some foul trouble in the second half but was a lot better. I was also proud of Samuels. I thought leadership-wise she had a great week of practice, and she was very vocal today during the game and kept us going. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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