NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - FGCU VS MARYLAND

March 19, 2022

Andrea Cecil

Tishara Morehouse

Kendall Spray

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles

Media Conference

Q. Congratulations on making the second round. For anybody, when you watched that Maryland tape last night from their game, you know, they put up 102 points, what stands out to you as far as what you guys have to do defensively?

KENDALL SPRAY: I could say they're very long and athletic. We have to be able to rebound, box out, get back in transition and then just play FGCU basketball and play together.

Q. Kendall, I'm curious if you've followed Katie Benzan's career at all. You guys are both Top 5 in all-time three-pointers. How excited are you for this matchup?

KENDALL SPRAY: I'm excited. I'm not really worried about that right now, but we do have to lock her down and just know that she is a great shooter and we have to respect her.

Q. For any of the players, obviously overcoming a huge game from Elizabeth Kitley last night, Angel Reese has had a heck of a season as well. How do you kind of limit her offensive production tomorrow and still be able to get the outcome you want?

ANDREA CECIL: We have to guard them as a team. Obviously they're going to have a size advantage, so it's something that we talk about in practice all the time is that we have to help each other and have each others' backs.

Q. Tishara, you seem to enjoy getting into the paint and creating penetration for your teammates and for yourself. Can you speak to the importance of that tomorrow for the outcome of the game?

TISHARA MOREHOUSE: We know that they switch a lot. And I know that me getting into the paint will draw a lot of attention. So it makes it easier for me to kick it out to my teammates and get threes. And I'll have a lot of opportunities to get threes myself, because they know that I penetrate the paint a lot. So I think it's going to be a good game.

Q. The style that you folks bring to the game, to paraphrase the men's program years ago, they may have been dunk city, but you folks are three-point city. What sort of mentality, what confidence, and how contagious is that when each of you are able to get it going from outside?

ANDREA CECIL: What we actually calls ourselves is "Raining Threes." And it's something that we take a lot of pride in. It's a fun way to play basketball. And we focus on getting our three-pointers, and that's our game and that's our style.

TISHARA MOREHOUSE: Yeah, we practice threes every day. Half of the practice is shooting threes. So we have a lot of confidence when it comes to shooting, no doubt.

Q. After yesterday's win, does that kind of build your confidence heading into the second round? What are the feelings entering tomorrow?

TISHARA MOREHOUSE: I think that it builds a lot of confidence, especially with just us being the 12 seed in general, and we just want to prove -- not even just prove to people, but prove to ourselves that we have the ability to make it to the next round. So, yeah, that was a good push.

Q. Maryland had 50 points in the paint, and they also were prolific yesterday from three. How important will it be to combat them in the paint and also try to run them off the three-point line?

KENDALL SPRAY: That's very important. I feel like following our game plan that we've gone over last night and today is very helpful. And just knowing that they do have really great shooters and people that can post up. So we just have to help each other and know where everybody is at on the court and never leave Benzan.

Q. Tishara, I was at the game yesterday, so I saw you, and obviously you're way shorter than everyone. So how do you use your height almost like disadvantage when you're playing against people way taller than you?

TISHARA MOREHOUSE: I mean, I've been playing against people taller than me my whole life, even grown men. So I just use -- I know that I'm at their knees, so anytime they're dribbling, I look for a steal. Just make sure they don't get past the perimeter.

Q. Kendall, so I think last time we talked you said you came to FGCU because you wanted to win a championship; you wanted to play in the NCAA tournament. Well, you're here, so how has this ride been for you personally?

KENDALL SPRAY: It's been awesome just making it here, but knowing that we won our first game builds a lot of confidence. And we're here to make a statement, and we know we can do that. We just have to play together every day, and we know we can make a long run in this tournament.