NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - FLORIDA GULF COAST VS WASHINGTON STATE

March 17, 2023

Denise Dillon

Brooke Mullin

Maddy Siegrist

Finneran Pavilion

Villanova Wildcats

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What Cleveland State does really well is they get to the line. They get to the line a lot. You guys are aggressive on defense. How do you be aggressive without fouling considering that's what they love to do? They get to the line, and they're really good at the line.

BROOKE MULLIN: I think it's a lack of emphasis on focus and just staying focused on the personnel, not bailing out your person you're guarding. Just staying down on defense and just being disciplined.

Q. Just obviously the men's team has had so much success, but for this team to, regardless of what kind of season they had this year, to be making it a true basketball school. What's it been like? You have sold-out crowd and a big following in large part because of you and all the wins. What's it been like this year to see the team kind of really take off into another level in terms of respect and attention? You're on the back page, front peak of two newspapers today.

MADDY SIEGRIST: I mean, it's been incredible. The support over my five years at Villanova has just -- it's been like this the whole time, but just to see the amount of attention that our team is getting, it's just so exciting to be a part of.

You know, I think it's well-deserved. We've worked really, really hard. Last year we were able to win a game in the tournament, which really gave us a lot of momentum. Everyone was feeling good, and then coming back in the summer Coach was, like, if you want to do that again, you know, you saw what it took last year.

Just I think the commitment to doing that starting in the summer everybody was really on the same page and really wanting to get back here. So just, you know, so exciting to see. I'm just so glad to be a part of it.

BROOKE MULLIN: She summed it pretty well.

Q. Coach Dolan is only in her third year here, but she's already gotten you guys to two tournament. What have you seen from her, especially in the last few years in her changing as a head coach and her growing as a head coach?

BROOKE MULLIN: I think the emphasis she has on defense takes us a lot. Defense wins our games. Obviously, the offense helps, but her focus on defense is what I think takes us to the next level.

Q. I'll follow up on that. When Denise was at Drexel, her nickname around places was Little Harry. What all changed, or what was the difference since you did get one year with Coach Perretta before Denise came?

MADDY SIEGRIST: You know, honestly, I don't think it could have been a smoother transition from one coach to the next, and I'm just so fortunate. I've had both experiences. I've got to play for two great coaches, you know, instead of one.

And I think throughout my whole career I've been able to draw on both of the things, but knowing that they kind of have a similar mentality, you know, with the motion offense and stuff like that.

Denise is a lot more intense on the defensive end, and I think it's just kind of been the best of both worlds and being able to experience both of those. And I think that helps the way we play.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Villanova.

Coach, if you would like to start with an opening statement, we'll go from there.

DENISE DILLON: It's finally here. I think the excitement of hearing our name called on Sunday to host is starting to set in with the environment, the setting. Campus is electric and having you all here is fantastic, so thank you.

Q. Lucy has made a big jump. How much has she improved from just last year to this year?

DENISE DILLON: Immensely. To Lucy's credit, it's just the time she puts in is impressive, remarkable. We say it all the time. She gives everything she has at practice. Like, she never skips steps. Every drill, she just gets after it.

But the amount of time Lucy spends in the gym is remarkable. We've got to check every once in a while. We are like, all right, what's your schedule? She's in here at 6:30 in the morning. She's in Nevin at night.

Yeah, she is an absolute basketball player in everything she does. You can see the results through her efforts. It's working beautifully for us.

Q. Kind of going off of that, you know, last year it was a lot of Maddy, and this year obviously you have your Maddy, but it seems like she's a lot more supporting cast, especially this year.

DENISE DILLON: Yeah.

Q. Dalce, Olsen, Maddie Burke. It just seems like everyone -- and Brooke obviously as well. It seems like you're getting a lot more production from everyone else. What have you seen from that side of things, and how big of an emphasis was that in the offseason to kind of take the pressure off her, but get more people involved?

DENISE DILLON: Absolutely. After finishing last season, you could see a sign of disappointment in our team. Heading out, excitement about being in the tournament, winning that first game, but definite disappointment with losing to Michigan. You appreciate that as a coach it.

Summer came around. We had the full team back, knowing what the roster looked like, and from that point they really figured things out, what we need to do.

Just the commitment to working every day and getting to know each other. You know, Maddy had a tremendous year last year, so you're wondering, wow, how are we going to match that? Not only has she matched it, she's brought it to another level.

With those supporting members doing just the same. Improving from last year. Wanting more responsibility on the floor and opportunity. Christina is stepping into a starting position. She embraced it and has just gotten better each and every day. Just wanting to be better for her team and to improve her game as well.

Then you mentioned some of the others. Brooke Mullin, you say you don't see the numbers so much, but she's just a glue factor for us. What she does on the defensive end just setting the tone, and offensively she's extremely smart. She knows who to pass the ball to, so she find her buddy, Maddy, all the time, which is great.

But I do, I feel that this group has been a pleasure to coach because of they are effort and everyday practice. They make practice enjoyable because you can challenge them with anything. When you have that, you are able to just progress a little faster with some more game strategy.

Q. I know you and Tina Martin have been long-time friends. Finding out that Joe Biden is suddenly your No. 1 fan, have you considered talking to her back in the Delle Donne days when you witnessed it from the other side?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, I guess he was always as competitors in the CAA when I was at Drexel and Tina at Delaware. You had the Bidens in the stands supporting Delle Donne.

I think they've been great supporters of Villanova, talking about on the men's end. So he is following suit and supporting the women as well. Always a good thing.

Q. Denise, you said you wanted to treat this as a business trip as you would any away. How well is the team focused in on that? And despite the fact you're being home, they have treated this as such and the way you wanted it to be?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, it's been great. You know, you think about the players' mentality in this. And you wonder, okay, are they looking at it, well, this is a home game, so we do our thing? Our routine of a home game in the apartments, coming over for shoot-around, going back and forth with their regular schedule.

When we presented it to the captains, it was almost like a relief to them feeling like, cool, all right, good. We're going to be off campus. We'll all be together. We'll be able to keep that road game schedule and eliminate the distractions and just come in here and do our job when it's practice time, game time.

So it was a great relief to you us as coaches to make sure there wasn't any pushback. They embraced it and handling it just as they did. Again, this team gets along great, so any time they have together away from some distractions, they embrace it. So it's been really good.

Q. I have a question not having to do with Villanova, but I'm curious. Less than 30 percent of the players drafted over the last five years were able to make the WNBA, even when they were drafted. Now you don't have Russia as an option. Do you see that it's getting harder to find a path to the pros for the college stars, or have you not noticed a change?

DENISE DILLON: I mean, you say that stat, so it's eye-opening, and I think the awareness is there for the players.

I think the current players in the league are doing a good job of communicating that to some of the college athletes just so they have an understanding of how hard it really is. I mean, you can look at the rosters and realize the turnover, it's so few and far between. Yeah, few opportunities to be on that roster.

Here with the opportunities that we have at the college level, and I could speak to it at Villanova. Just the growth of our -- not the game itself. Just the support, the environment. I mean, you look around. Even just our crowd in the last two years. It's been really exciting.

The buy-in to staying and making the most of your experience here has been welcomed and appreciated within the athletes instead of jumping so quickly to what could be those opportunities in the league because it is --

Q. How do you feel NIL opportunities will affect that, especially here at Villanova?

DENISE DILLON: Again, that is a factor, the NIL. You don't see it often in the WNBA with players leaving early. Who was it at Notre Dame? Was she one who had a year, and that was prior to COVID. You know, she made the jump, but you don't see it.

Now, especially with the NIL opportunity to make some significant money and play the game they love with some of their best friends. It keeps the innocence of the college environment, but also the professionalism of an opportunity to make some money before you take that next step, whether that's your career or something else.

Q. Obviously, you were at Drexel for a long time before you were here. Talk to me a little bit about what it takes to build a perennially successful mid-major program in a crowded landscape, and how appearing in the tournament here with you guys can help springboard that a little bit.

DENISE DILLON: Well, I feel it was mid-major when I was at Drexel. Villanova is not certainly mid-major. So I feel taking that step, the vision was how do we sustain national attention as opposed to just a year or two?

For us it's continuing with the promotion of what we are now and then continuing to grow, and you're only as good as your players. Making sure we bring in those players and developing the ones we have to continue to raise the level, but it's the commitment.

Lucky for me, my time at Drexel, a tremendous staff and growing our program itself, and I would say our greatest strength was the player development, but you have to have players who are willing to just embrace that coaching and get better each and every year and increase their responsibilities.

Q. Cleveland State is really, really good at getting to the line, and they're also really good from the line, but at the same time they also will shoot it from outside, and they shoot it relatively well. How do you maintain your aggressiveness on defense, which is such an emphasis for you, and balance that while also trying not to get in foul trouble?

DENISE DILLON: Sure. You continue to remind the players of what the tendencies of the other team is. Especially Cleveland State this time of year, not being as familiar, so you talk real direct about the tendencies.

And seeing that stat, you know, their efficiency from the foul line. One thing we always say is the discipline on the defensive end. You want to stay out on the floor, you have to be disciplined, but also being disruptive. So relying a lot on our veteran players to keep that in mind, set the tone.

As I mentioned, Brooke Mullin just setting that tone at the guard position. I think Lucy Olsen has grown in so many areas and defensively being one.

Then you look Maddy is so solid in her position on the defensive end in her recognition of it. I would say with Christina, that's a big X factor for us, keeping her on the floor and understanding how important it is to just stay present and be disruptive, but not bailing them out.

You are. You want to get them off the three. But they put the ball on the floor, yeah, you're not bailing them on the drive.

Keeping in mind defense is always something we talk about first, so if that's sharp in their brains, then the reminder will be there throughout the contest.

Q. You mentioned Christina. She has struggled at times with foul trouble. Now Megan Olbrys is hurt, and she's out. She's come in and given you guys some very valuable minutes, especially when Christina is in foul trouble. How do you fill that gap, whether it's -- is it with Bella? Is it kind of by committee? Is it just based on matchups, I guess, because that could be a big --

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, exactly. Megan Olbrys has given us good minutes as a freshman. An unfortunate incident with her hand, so she's out.

To the point of committee, for sure. I think Bella Runyan, she's willing to guard anyone. Kaitlyn Orihel as well. She'll mix it up inside. The understanding of what needs to be done is there, so us just being smart as coaches getting that rotation down a little better.

Q. So I guess kind of coming off of that with the injury, but your team has stayed relatively healthy this year. You've had the same five starters all year, knock on wood. How important has that continuity been, and how amazing has it been everyone getting to know each other and everyone really seeing how everyone plays the whole season?

DENISE DILLON: It's something we certainly recognize and are grateful for. You are seeing so many players throughout the season missing games due to injury and, unfortunately, hearing the tournament some key players being out for teams.

So we recognize and we appreciate it, and I think that has led to our consistency. You know, being able to have that starting five. To their credit of them being consistent players in order to hold that spot has been huge for us, and then our other players coming in off the bench, just the rotation has been really good. So just keeping that in mind.

We switch it up a little bit in the second half. We do change that. I think Bella Runyan always gives you that spark you need, and you need that in the second half, so that's been something we've done consistently.

But yeah, again, some consistency in areas. If you can control it with the starting lineup, we've done it.