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BIG EAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 8, 2020

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul - 83, Seton Hall - 80

ANTHONY BOZZELLA: Thank you, my friend. Yeah, it was a really good basketball game. I give DePaul a lot of credit, as always. It was obviously well coached, just foolish to say that.

They just made one more shot than we did. It was a really good basketball game. It's funny, I watch a lot of the other tournament championship games and semifinal games, two leagues that think they are our level, and it's a joke. Our league is a tremendous league. Any person that doesn't think that the Big East is one of the best leagues in the country is a fool. These kids played their heart out. It is exciting basketball. It is intense, physical, tough. It's just tremendous.

I'm proud of our players and proud of being in a great league. I'm proud that DePaul will represent our league because they're a great team. I watch the other leagues, anyone who thinks they're as good as our league is a fool. We have really good teams and really good players. I know our resume doesn't look like an NCAA team, but our team is an NCAA team.

So enough with the resume. I know we're probably not going to get in. But when I talk about our players and our team, very proud of them and proud of who they are and what they do and everything about them.

You know, these two young ladies to my right, especially Shadeen, because this is her last year, have given me everything they could ever give me. They're great human begins and great people.

And I'm just proud of them. Yeah, I'm frustrated we lost. We're competitive. We expected to win, and we wanted to win. We expected to win. This was the first time in a few years we expected to win. That's a tribute to these girls. It is not a knock on anyone, but a tribute to how good our team is. We lost to a team that's 27-5. They're really good.

Q. Wondering if you can describe the ebbs and flows of the game, highly emotional game (indiscernible).
SHADEEN SAMUELS: For me, it was -- it was fun. I had a lot of fun, especially playing against DePaul. Every time we play them, I know it will be a tough, physical game. You know, me and Stonewall, we always try to push each other in the game and make each other do things we're not comfortable doing.

I always have a good time playing against DePaul. I knew coming to this game I had to give it all I had. I had nothing to lose. It was either win or go home.

DESIREE ELMORE: Same thing as Shadeen just said. You know, especially me being a junior, Shadeen is a senior, this is her last year. I just try to go out and play as hard as I could for our seniors. This is it for them. That's it.

Q. Desiree, obviously a great performance, the team as a whole, (indiscernible)?
DESIREE ELMORE: During shootaround our coach let us know that, you know, the paint was going to be wide open, they can't guard us in the paint. Whenever we catch the ball in the paint, go up strong, finish. And I just tried to execute that. I think, like you just say, we did a very good job of that.

Q. DePaul ran away in the fourth quarter (indiscernible)?
ANTHONY BOZZELLA: I think we defended a little harder. You know, really stayed a little more focused. I think it is hard. In the regular season game, we got really frustrated. In the first game at DePaul, we took a big lead, went to that zone, and we got frustrated. We cut it to nine, turned the ball over.

Another big thing, we only had 12 turnovers. One of the big things on DePaul's game notes, which are really well done, it is just how much times they force over 20 turnovers. Well, we haven't committed 20 turnovers against them yet this year. That's a tribute to the kids on the team. And also having Lauren Park-Lane in the back. She's tremendous. I mean, anyone who doesn't think she is an All-Rookie player is just -- it's crazy.

Q. (Indiscernible) I know you said yesterday you thought your (indiscernible) two-part question, that was really key to the assists, I also just wanted to ask you about the strategy in the last second?
ANTHONY BOZZELLA: Yeah. I thought we moved the ball well. And that was a big thing.

I knew coming in, if we could really work the ball, DePaul really struggles to guard inside, it's not their strength, their strength is forcing turnovers. I'm like don't give the ball to them for a basket. We did a good job with that.

It's so funny. It's something I'm kicking myself, you know, why I didn't foul at the end, because they have tremendous foul shooters. Kelly Campbell doesn't miss. You know, all of them are just such great foul shooters. It's a three-point game. If it was a two-point game, maybe I would have gambled they would have missed one of two. There's no way with the percentages and odds -- I'm a big statistic guy, so I study really well. There is no way statistically they had anyone on the floor that was probably going to miss two foul shots.

And only having one timeout, I could only advance it once. If I had two timeouts, I certainly would have fouled, because I could have kept advancing it. But I had one chance, one gamble. My gamble was either, you know, try to stop them and call a timeout, which we did, or foul, hope they miss two and call timeout. I'd be in the same position.

I would have 14 extra seconds, 12 extra seconds. It wasn't going to benefit me because I didn't have a timeout and I didn't need those extra seconds to be on the floor anyway and given them more time to foul in the backcourt. That's why I thought in the half court, they foul, we get lucky, we throw the ball up.

You know, I really studied that statistically before. They're foul shooters. They didn't have one kid that I thought would miss both shots. If I was down two, I probably would have fouled. I would have had a 50/50 chance. They would have had to miss both, and statistically they had nobody on the floor less that was than 77%.

Q. Coach, (indiscernible) highly about this conference, I wonder if you can as a competitor (indiscernible)speak that program. They have accomplished so much and yet there is this debate about whether they belong in this conversation with Notre Dame. I wonder if you can talk about, you know, the level of eliteness, I guess, of this program?
ANTHONY BOZZELLA: I would love to. I have so much respect for them. Obviously Jeanie in the back. Everything about DePaul. I love playing DePaul. I wouldn't be like -- if someone said they were going to the Pac-12, I would be -- I would be upset. I enjoy competing against them. They set a standard.

I mean, people don't understand -- can't appreciate how good DePaul is. I always laugh because they will draw an NCAA Tournament or play in these other tournaments, people are like preseason, NIT, playing the top team in the, I don't know, the CAA. Oh, yeah, we'll play them.

Okay, you wait until you play DePaul. You think you watch on tape, you think have a clue on how DePaul will play you, you have no clue. You're smacked by 20 and 30. In the league, it is a little harder for them because we play against them, our kids though them, and we're playing three times, you know, but the whole system, what he's accomplished here, forget the win, how about the consistency, the student-athletes. I mean, he's winning with student-athletes. The consistency of their level, it is to me amazing.

What we're trying to do at Seton Hall, you have been there seven years, you've been there a long time. Seven years is not a long time. When I took over, it was not in good shape. You know, we had a lot of success early, and then you have to rebuild it and build it a certain way, and it is hard.

So his consistency is amazing. That's something we strive for. We studied him. You know, those of you in the room know we have tried to change our system, a little more faster, very similar to him, you know. Now we're getting better players. So we're not at their level yet, but we're getting there. You know, I just -- having them in the conference is amazing, great, but having them represent the conference is even better.

I'm excited to see who they're going to play in the NCAA Tournament. I can't wait for them to play this team, this team. You guys have no clue for what you're in for. You know, if it wasn't for some bad luck, he would be in the Sweet 16 numerous time or the Elite 8. You know, this is -- these games, in the playoffs and stuff, there is a little luck involved, who is in foul trouble, right match-up, on the road, stupid shot, you know.

I mean, he just has been unlucky. I haven't seen him -- in seven years I have been here, the six previous years, I haven't seen him win a game where he got a break or he got a little lucky in the tournament. He hasn't been lucky yet. You have to get lucky every now and then, and he will.

Q. Coach, congratulations on (indiscernible) what she meant to the program this year?
ANTHONY BOZZELLA: Shadeen made Second Team All-Conference. I understand statistically, and maybe her play is why she did it, but she played against a First Team All-Conference kid yesterday. Who is, Kristen Spolyar is. You know, Shadeen locked her down.

Shadeen is playing on one leg. She has a degenerative knee. It has been difficult for her. She's gotten better and stronger. It is a hard year. She missed five games. I think if she doesn't miss those five games, we go 5-0, we're probably in the NCAA Tournament tournament.

I never questioned her as a human being, as a competitor and most of all as a student-athlete. She's represented us tremendously for four years. I'm not going to -- I'll miss the points and rebounds. But like Doug says, you miss the people a lot too.

I'll miss her as a person. You know, we'll get some good players in here. I don't know if we'll ever get people as good as Shadeen. She's a good person.

I want to again -- I say this pretty much every year, and I don't say it for any other reason than it is true. The people at DePaul, I say it to Jeannie and say it to the Big East, people at DePaul treat me like it is my home team. They do. From Frank, to every person that takes care of me, when I walk in, they come over, they're genuine, hello, take care of us. The people are great.

It is a reflection on Jeannie. She does a great job. It's a reflection on DePaul. I say it because it is true. I do. I hope I can say it next year whether I'm here or whether we're somewhere else. I'm only going to say it if it is true. And it is true. The people here are as genuinely helpful and nice as any people that I go to any arena at all. I want to thank them for that, thank you for that.

I want to thank you for covering women's basketball here. I started on that thing, and I get a little angry because even us, we have some alumni that think the Big East is a middling middle-level conference I was told. You're a fool. The Big East is a really good conference. We have great teams. I don't care if we get one team in, two teams, three teams, four teams in.

I know Seton Hall is an NCAA team. We're not going to get in. We have good players, and we compete hard. The other conferences, you have no way how good our conference is. Yeah, Connecticut is coming in, it will make it even a better conference. It is a damn good conference the way it is right now. Thank you for covering it. Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297

BIG EAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 8, 2020

Anthony Bozzella

Shadeen Samuels

Desiree Elmore