NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - CHATTANOOGA VS VIRGINIA TECH

March 16, 2023

Yazz Wazeerud-din

Abbey Cornelius

Addie Porter

Cassell Coliseum

Chattanooga Mocs

Media Conference

Q. First time in awhile this team has been to the NCAA. What does it mean to you guys to have gotten here?

ADDIE PORTER: We are all just really excited obviously to be here. It is going to be a good opportunity for us to show what Chattanooga is made of. We have not made it in the past couple years, but we are back this year and really excited.

ABBEY CORNELIUS: It is just really exciting seeing the Power C on everything around here just knowing that's us. We brought Chattanooga back to the big dance for the first time where we belong.

YAZZ WAZEERUD-DIN: They said it all. It's very exciting and a good opportunity.

Q. On the flipside though, you got the 16th seed which means you have to play number one seed, Virginia Tech, tomorrow on their home court.

You know, how tough a task is that, you know, and you know, what do you guys need to do to hang with the Hokies tomorrow?

ADDIE PORTER: I think we have to play our game, stay us, don't try to be anybody we are not. It is going to be a tough task. It has never been done before. Why not us?

ABBEY CORNELIUS: Virginia Tech is a really good team. They're number one seed for a reason. We have a game plan, and we are going to execute it to the best of our ability. We don't have to be perfect. We just have to be the best version of ourself.

YAZZ WAZEERUD-DIN: Basically just be us, execute and play hard.

Q. You guys have an advantage that a lot of teams don't. You guys already know Coach Poppie was coached by Coach Brooks. So what advantage does that give you guys going up against the team that your head coach essentially helped run?

YAZZ WAZEERUD-DIN: Of course like everybody talked about it, the plays, like, you know him knowing what they run and knowing personnel, I guess that's really our main advantage. The main focus is just to be us and not worry about the extra stuff, just be us and play hard.

ABBEY CORNELIUS: We run a lot of the same plays, so offensively and defensively, we know what's coming. And he does know a lot of their strengths and weaknesses where we can take advantage of some stuff.

ADDIE PORTER: They really said it all. Just I mean knowing a little bit of what they got. I am sure they have watched film on us too. It goes both ways. Coach Brooks is going to know Coach Poppie's style too. I am sure it is some of the same stuff. It goes both ways, I think.

Q. What has this experience been like for each of you winning the SoCon and then coming to play on the big stage?

YAZZ WAZEERUD-DIN: This experience has been great. We went through a lot of adversity. And for to see us like pull through like that at the end, it's been real great.

ABBEY CORNELIUS: It's a dream come true to be here. Kind of the last week and a half, it didn't feel real. But once we got here, it hit hard.

ADDIE PORTER: It's a dream come true. To be here with this team, like Yazz said, all of the adversity, all of the things we gone through, it's cool to see it's all worth something for a reason. I think we should just keep making history.

Q. To follow-up with on what we were talking about before, so when you watched Tech on film this week, were you like, oh, okay, I know what they're doing right there, this is what we are going to do on defense or vice versa there?

ADDIE PORTER: A little bit. We had some of the same plays. It's going to be knowing that the scout of however we are going to guard it and just execute in that.

ABBEY CORNELIUS: Yeah. As we were talking through yesterday, they would start running a play or the practice squad would. We were like, oh, this is our whatever play it is. So it will be helpful to know what's coming.

Q. Coach Brooks talked earlier about Coach Poppie's loyalty and just that Virginia Tech wouldn't be here without that, but now he's loyal to the Mocs. Can you guys speak on his loyalty and how you have seen examples of that with your team?

YAZZ WAZEERUD-DIN: His loyalty, I got to think on that one.

ABBEY CORNELIUS: Yeah. He's talked about Virginia Tech a lot, but he's full Chattanooga now. Obviously he still has great relationships with him. We are his family now too. It's a tough spot for him to be in, but I know he's all Mocs.

Q. The word adversity has popped up several times in your answers. And every season has a story to it. When you talk about that, what do you mean and how has it helped you all as a group get to this point where you are an NCAA tournament team and a conference champion?

ADDIE PORTER: We started off not too great. We took some hard losses, some early ones. But they were all pretty close coming into it. And then leading up to the end of the southern conference, the regular season, we took a loss to UNCG. If we would have won that game, it would have secured co-champions for us.

Losing that one was hard. We were able to bounce back and win the tournament. Just all of the hard losses we have taken throughout this season, we have been able to learn and grow from them.

Q. How did you use those moments to get better as a team?

YAZZ WAZEERUD-DIN: Watching film, staying in the gym, and staying together as a team basically and not just getting down on ourselves. We lost to Western, and you know, that's a hard loss. You know, so we didn't stay down. We just stayed up and moved on and kept moving forward.

Q. Abbey, do you have a thought on how the season transpired and got over the adverse moments?

ABBEY CORNELIUS: It was a roller coaster of a season, but just sticking together and leaning together on the hard times really helped us through.

Q. This is for any of you guys, outside of the similarities, what kind of jumps out to you in terms of when you guys are scouting Virginia Tech, what are you noticing about their personnel or their tendencies, anything specific outside of, oh, hey, we kind of run the same stuff?

ABBEY CORNELIUS: They have really good players. So that's a big difference. Obviously Kitley is 6'6". Our tallest person is 6'2" on the court. That's a big difference. Their guards are really skilled players. It's going to be a touch match up, but we are excited.

YAZZ WAZEERUD-DIN: Of course they're bigger than us, quicker than us. That's really it. We run the same stuff. As long as we execute the game plan, everything will just go its way.