NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST FOUR - ST. JOHN’S (NY) VS. PURDUE

March 15, 2023

Joe Tartamella

St. John’s (NY) Red Storm

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Coach, congratulations on making the NCAA Tournament, and welcome to the Columbus regional, first and second rounds, press conference. If you wouldn't mind opening up with some thoughts on your season and making this NCAA field.

JOE TARTAMELLA: Obviously extremely proud of our group. They set forth a goal this summer with a lot of new faces -- we had six new players that came in, and the way that they were able to create -- I think in reality we say it, but it is true -- an atmosphere that they became so connected with and mostly becoming a family over the summer where their only goal was to get here.

To see that come to fruition through the ups and downs of the season, from where we were a year ago today, is as a coach as proud as I've been of any team that I've had.

We're very excited obviously to be a part of it, but we're also here to win games.

Q. You talked a little bit about Unique Drake's impact this year and winning the Big East Sixth Woman of the Year award.

JOE TARTAMELLA: Unique's been a great player for us in her time with us, a four year player. We talked earlier in the year about what her role was going to be, and we felt as a staff that her coming off the bench for us was going to be a huge lift for our team from an offensive side, but just in general to affect games.

She had to embrace that role, and she did. She trusted us with it. We trusted her with it. We felt even back then that she was going to be able to have the opportunity to possibly put herself in position to be the Sixth Woman of the Year in our league, being the best player, probably the first one off the bench.

She could have probably started for us all year, but I think for the value of what she brings to our team off the bench has been a large part of our success through the season.

Q. Coach, your team won -- you mentioned the six new players on your team, and then you win your first 13 games, including all 9 nonconference games. What did that do basically to set the foundation of this team?

JOE TARTAMELLA: Yeah, confidence is a big thing. I think being able to start the way we did, if you'd have told me we were going to be 13-0, I would have signed up for it back in the summer, but I wouldn't have predicted that either.

Just the way we had been competing through the summer and through our practices once we started officially in the fall, we felt pretty good of where we could go.

Being able to do that, I think, first time in the history of our program, to be 13-0 going into Christmas without a loss, which I had never felt as an assistant head coach, whatever, was pretty awesome for us.

I think the confidence part that built for us early in the year was important, and I think that the game we had against Creighton when they were No. 13 in the country, to come back home off a tournament, we had to go up to Butler, quick turnaround Friday, Sunday, to be able to win that Creighton game, I think, validated for our players how good they could be.

THE MODERATOR: Then speaking about games and big wins, coming back in the second half to win at UConn, what did that -- did you see anything different from your team that game, or what did that do for your confidence?

JOE TARTAMELLA: Yeah, just the poise that we had. We had a tough game against Villanova in the week prior to that where we felt we really had a chance to close the game out, and we didn't. So to see the poise we had in that atmosphere and an atmosphere that will probably feel like tomorrow in some ways with the magnification of what's on the line.

But as much as you can understand as a women's basketball fan, winning on the road at Connecticut is extremely hard. It wasn't just about being up there, but also what it meant for our season. We were pretty much coming off two tough losses against Nova and Marquette, and it was our last chance probably to give ourselves an opportunity to be here, and I could not have been prouder of how they played.

Everything we needed to do, for the most part, we did right. We were winning going into the half, and then they went on a 13-0 run, which wasn't exciting for me. The poise that we had to come back, the mental fortitude, as I said after the game, and then also to be able to finish the season beating Georgetown and beating Providence, you've still got to back it up.

No, I think that was a big accomplishment for our players, not just from the standpoint of what it meant for the season, but the confidence they gained from that to get us to this point. When you talk about winning there, it's not easy. I didn't realize they had press conferences at Connecticut until we won because usually you don't have one.

Q. Coach, looking at tomorrow's game, what are your thoughts on Purdue?

JOE TARTAMELLA: I've told everybody this, anyone you're playing now is a good team. Coming out of the Big Ten, their league has been extremely strong all year from top to bottom.

I was just telling my assistants they're in some ways similar to us in weird ways. They've got talent all over the floor. They can shoot the ball really well. They play quickly. So we've got a great opportunity tomorrow night, and obviously playing against a great team, but that's the beauty of the tournament.

So we're going to go out and do what we do and hopefully execute a bit better than they do.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, this is your fourth NCAA, a few years since the last one, but you've made it. Anything that you recall from your prior NCAA Tournaments that you'll engage with your team this year?

JOE TARTAMELLA: Just to embrace the opportunity to be here. I think -- and not just embrace it, but be prepared and be here and be able to win games.

It's great to get into the tournament. That's the first part. But understanding the value of going ahead and beating teams.

I think from prior tournaments just the preparation that we had to do and things that I've kind of looked back at over the years now as far as when we got in and how we prepared. So I've been able to share certain things with them about it. But just to really embrace the opportunity to be here with each other as teammates and as a family, as a program.

Yeah, we've had some great moments in the past in the games that I've been a part of as a head coach and even as an assistant. So being part of a team that got to a Sweet 16 was one of the special moments that we've had in our program, and obviously having a buzzer beater win in my second year as a head coach was one of our better moments as well.

So I do think the value of thinking next play is always important in the postseason. It's one thing that I've always talked about with our teams, whether it be this year's teams or teams in the past.

They're excited. They're ready. They've got even cool gear. So it's been a minute since I've been in the tournament. So they've got that going now, so they're pumped. They're ready to play.

Q. Can you talk with Sam about returning here and just the impact that she's had on your staff?

JOE TARTAMELLA: Sammy who? No, Sammy, we joke with her all the time. I'm not sure our team even understands the impact she had here, but she shared her story with them over the years -- over the year, and I think it's fun for her. I think.

I haven't really talked to her that much about it, but I already saw her shaking everybody's hand, so you know the type of player she was here and the impact that she had. It obviously wasn't good enough to get her to stay home and play for us.

But I've watched her since she was a kid. So her impact is what you would think. She's a player that was a highly touted high school recruit, came here, was unbelievable, helped win countless amounts of games, and had a chance to play in the WNBA. So you can't put a price tag on the experience she can give our players.

A lot of which are older, so the experience that we have is around the corner for them, and I think Sammy's done a good job of being able to share with them and impart the wisdom of the successes that she had and also maybe some of the pitfalls to look out for.

She's been a great addition for us, and we look forward to having her for not only just the stories that she can tell, but the advice that she gives them from play to play or on the court. So a lot of our guards work with her on what they can improve on or what she sees because, as many of you know that have watched her, she saw a lot out there in fast moments. But she's been great.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you very much. Congratulations, and best tomorrow evening.