NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - CLEVELAND STATE VS VILLANOVA

March 18, 2023

Denise Dillon

Madison Siegrist

Bella Runyan

Finneran Pavilion

Villanova Wildcats

Media Conference

Villanova 76, Cleveland State 59

DENISE DILLON: Extremely excited and proud of this group coming in here, knowing it would be a great environment, and coming out ready. We certainly set the tone from the beginning and did everything necessary to advance here on our home court. So looking forward to that same energy on Monday night.

Credit to Cleveland State for continuing to battle. They didn't let up, and that was a lesson we had talked about and addressed, and the group responded to that as well.

Q. Before you were coming out on the court, are you thinking of the last loss and the fact that you lost before you came out, something that has rarely happened, and did that empower you to get off to the start you both did tonight?

MADISON SIEGRIST: Not really. I think having a week and a half or whatever it was in pen games was good. You could let go of that game. You always think -- it's something, you use as fuel. But just trying to focus on what we had to do tonight knowing Cleveland State is a really good team.

BELLA RUNYAN: I agree, I think having a week between the BIG EAST Tournament and today allowed us to let go of that loss and focus on today. Our coaches were on us about one game at a time, stay in the moment, be in the present and we were focusing on Cleveland State all week, and then after we win, we were going to focus on the next opponent?

Q. To that moment, was there a moment where -- to be hosting and able to experience the full house like this in the NCAA Tournament; that you'll take away from that moment?

BELLA RUNYAN: This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We had this crowd at the UCONN game at home but to see this support on the women's side is a really cool experience, and I'm never going to forget this game or the next one with the full crowd.

Q. So much attention is on your scoring and all the records. Does your defense get overlooked? (Laughter)

MADISON SIEGRIST: I think so. Personally I think so.

Yeah, just trying to focus on whatever I need to do on the defensive end. I think the biggest area I've grown is not fouling after like you miss a shot. I think that's something, you know, did I as a freshman and sophomore and it used to just like compound and you're sitting on the bench with two fouls in the first half.

I think the biggest area for me is trying to alter shots, but you don't have to block every shot in the first quarter and just kind of try to keep that mentality.

Q. What did you do with Brittni Moore? Did you try to deny her or keep the ball out of her hands?

MADISON SIEGRIST: Yeah. She's a great player. She's a great shooter, so knowing that I had to use my length against her and try to force her into where the help was.

Q. Can you talk about the stretch in the second half where you were just going off at one point and Cleveland State just had no answer for you?

MADISON SIEGRIST: I think just trying to move throughout the zone and trying to find my open teammates and they always do a great job of finding me. It's hard to guard a moving target, as Coach always said, so just try to keep moving no matter what?

Q. Overall, how would you say the fan support was for today?

MADISON SIEGRIST: It was huge, just so exciting. Knowing we went to the NCAA Tournament last year and we were so happy to be there. But to play at home is something I'll always cherish, and now to have another game to play at home, it's huge.

Q. Bella, when Kaitlyn gets going like she did in the end of the first quarter, what's that do? And you've played with her for a little while.

BELLA RUNYAN: We never played together because she was a year younger than me but I've known her and we've grown to be best friend. When she's going off, it hypes me even more. I think we were feeding off of each other's energy tonight and it was just a really cool feeling like the moments we had assisting each other tonight.

Q. When you're playing defense, usually you have this look in your eye, and tonight you were playing defense on Leo. What's your mindset guarding the other team's best player? Because it's an assignment you have a lot.

BELLA RUNYAN: Well, Denise says don't let her touch the ball because the less she touches the ball, the less she's going to score, but she still put up 25 on me. I did my best. She's a really good player. She gets her shot off really fast.

But yeah, deny her the ball, don't let -- over halfcourt, and even the game plan was, like, before halfcourt.

Q. Your milestones take up most of the game notes but I'm wondering where a thousand in one season ranks for you personally? You're only the fifth woman to ever reach that total, and what does that mean to you?

MADISON SIEGRIST: It's definitely something that I never even like thought about. I never even thought that was an achievable goal. So yeah, it means a lot. I'm really glad we won the game. It's better when you win when you get a milestone than when you lose and you get one.

Yeah, it's something I'll definitely think about. Probably think about it after the season.

Q. Now your name is with Kelsey Plum, and you have a shot to pass it on Monday night.

MADISON SIEGRIST: Yeah, she's a great player, so just to have your name in a category as someone like that is such an honor.

Q. The extent to which you are in all these different ways resonating in a way that we haven't necessarily seen from the women's program. I just wonder what that means to you, what the significance of it is to be that figure?

MADISON SIEGRIST: You know, I'm so glad that our team is getting so much publicity this year. You know, women's sports, they are really hot right now and women's basketball is really continuing to take off. So whatever I can do to help my team and to help all the women who play basketball, and all the young girls; if they can see somebody like that and look up to that. And I always try to remind myself that, like sometimes when it seems like it's a lot and it's a little too much, I just remember, if you can impact one little kid's life, then it's worth it.

Q. I think the crowd was loudest when you hit that three right after she hit the three-point going into the time-out. What does it mean to have her and the rest of your teammates come up and be able to hit those big threes like she did today?

MADISON SIEGRIST: It's huge. I couldn't be more proud of my teammates when they hit on open look like that. Just that run in the second quarter, it just felt like everything was going in. The first quarter it felt like nothing was going in. It's just so exciting, and I couldn't be more proud of Bella and Kaitlyn coming off the bench and be able to hit that many threes is just so impressive.

Q. Having Maddy in the game down the stretch, they are up by 30, but I remember talking to you at Media Day; that it's impossible to take her out of the game. Take me through what, if anything, conversation you have at this point.

DENISE DILLON: Obviously we had that stretch in the third quarter where we were able to give Maddy some rest. But the reality; we are looking to advance, so you need your top players on the floor just to continue to learn within the experiences that they are facing.

As I said, Cleveland State didn't let up, so it was a matter of keeping that group out there in order to finish the game off. So she understands exactly what need to happen and as we say on the defensive end, that's been her growth. When she's locked into what she has to do there, then good things happen for us.

Q. The flipside, there's a quote about the great players excel when the good players get tired; the fact that she doesn't seem to get tired --

DENISE DILLON: Yes, that's it, just preparing yourself. You train to play at that pace every time you're on the board. That's certainly something Maddy has done, and physically, she just keeps moving and keeps going and wants a little bit more.

Q. Does your team defense, because of Maddy, maybe get overlooked and not get the credit you feel it deserves?

DENISE DILLON: Well, I think it's just us understanding. This group knows how important it is for us to be disciplined on the defensive end, take away some of the tendencies on the other side.

It was something we talked about coming into this NCAA Tournament saying, let's not lose our identity. And they know it. Like defense is -- that's what keeps us competitive. That's what keeps us in games. Rebounding can separate you a little bit, but putting the ball in the basket is a huge piece of this equation, and they know Maddy does it better than anybody.

Q. Did your defense keep you in the game early when neither team was making shots?

DENISE DILLON: Exactly. That's where I said they came ready to play. Knowing, I think the emotions of a game like this and the environment. Yes, you're excited about it, but you have to be patient and settle in a little bit for shots.

We had mentioned to them before the game, just recognize that it was a good shot. Let's not try and do something else on the offensive end. Just continue to work the offense until shot start falling for us but on the defensive end, you have to be disruptive and they bought into that and did just that from the start.

Q. You mentioned the other day about Bella can put pressure on herself. You know the defensive effort you'll always get from her, but what do you think it means to her to see the ball go in the basket couple times?

DENISE DILLON: It's huge, and no better time than now. We've seen it this season in some spurts, and we always said, like Bella is like an X-factor for us. You know you're going to get that spark on the defensive end but her offensive game, she's capable of doing some good things.

Today was, yeah, finding open spots and taking the shots. But she has to continue just to recognize, like her teammates are behind her and she can continue to do good things on both ends of the floor.

Q. Can you comment a little bit about, okay, you don't see zone a lot, but how you can get Maddy to her spots against the zone.

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, knowing going into this game, again, we had not seen zone all year; that it would -- happily we had a week and a half to prepare for it.

But you knew Maddy and Lucy would find the ball. Like and they would find open spots to get some shots, and that did work in our favor with Maddy. But it was really good that the other players really zoned in, for lack of a better term, on what needed to be done to get open looks.

Kaitlyn Orihel really started that off of the bench getting that corner jumper, knowing where they like shooting from, and you can do that against the zone. And Christina rebounded the heck out of the ball early; so she just continued to give us some of those extra possessions.

Q. You mentioned Kaitlyn, Lucy, there's a southeastern PA and Jersey flavor to this team. How special is that that a group of local players is helping elevate this program on a national stage?

DENISE DILLON: Sure. It's always been part of Villanova basketball, getting some of the top players in the area and I think that's what makes it great. You have some of the ones that battled. If you can get some of the best from that East Coast region, then you're in good shape, especially the ones locally just to get that support you have from the crowd and all them going. So continue to grow the game within and count on some of the high schools to keep us going.

Q. Can you talk about what this whole week has been like since you're the only team from Philadelphia in the NCAA Tournament? Was there more added pressure this week?

DENISE DILLON: I don't think so. We just appreciate everybody being here. We're getting that attention, and Maddy mentioned it, the coverage that we are getting, we're happy for all that and just to represent. It's an opportunity to represent the city and represent our university is what's so important to us stepping on the floor, and doing our job, so it can continue.

I can't say it enough. You know, nothing makes us prouder. For me, myself, this program means everything, and our players feeling that and wanting the best for each other showed on the court today, and we want to see it continue to go.

Q. What are your impressions about facing Florida Gulf Coast on Monday night?

DENISE DILLON: Well, interesting, I only caught a little bit of the game live. But it will be a quick reset. We told the team they have this evening, and then we'll regroup tomorrow morning.

You know, you see what Florida Gulf Coast is capable of doing. They flipped it; in the first half, it was more drive; the second half, it was more the three. It's going to be that one-on-one coverage and being in position and working it out together with different screen action. But the reminder will always be: We have got to know who we are, what we are capable of and work it out together.

Q. You mentioned that Cleveland State, they are just continuing to fight. When you guys reach that 30-point lead, it felt like you guys maybe got comfortable in the defensive end and it looked like you were frustrated at times with the defense. What was the mental and how did your team respond to that?

DENISE DILLON: Well, the message is always play the possession, be involved. It's not really easy when you see the scoreboard at that number. Players try and tell themselves, like, oh, okay, it's a tie.

But it really came down to just putting it back on them of, you know what needs to be done in this situation, like the one-on-one coverage. Like don't look over, was it a foul and whatnot. It's just that ownership.

When I saw that they felt that and they were looking at each other, I felt, okay, we'll be okay as we move ahead, as opposed to just hanging -- being so proud of this win; of course, but not celebrating too early.

Q. Besides their fight, what else did you expect from Cleveland State, and what did you do to keep Leo somewhat under wraps?

DENISE DILLON: I think she did a tremendous job. Bella spoke to it. We had both Bella, tag team Brooke, Bella and Lucy actually started on her. We gave her our best shot and she did a really nice job. That's the whole thing. When it's the last game out there, you're going to leave it all out there, and she certainly did. I mentioned some of the other players, we kept them in check and the biggest thing was on the rebounding end. Just stay in position in order to keep them off the glass. So it was the one-and-done that what allowed us to run a little bit more.

Q. The way Maddy shoots and catches the ball up high and doesn't bring it back down or quickly brings it back up, have you ever seen another player score in that way, and does that element of her game make her more effective?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, Larry Bird was pretty good at it (laughter) I don't know if Maddy's watched any Larry Bird film.

But her understanding of how hard it is for players to contest her shot when she keeps it high. Just the control, which she's done a really nice job of doing that even off the dribble; it's not just on the catch, keeping it high. But you don't see it too often in the women's game for sure, and she's mastered it.

Q. Early on in that game when it's like 8 percent from the field and there's just not a lot of shots falling, it's still low-scoring and stuff, and you talk about the defense played early and stuff. There's a time-out, and immediately after that time-out it felt like everything going in. What was maybe the adjustment that you made in that time-out and what was going on in that time-out that allowed that to just go off like that?

DENISE DILLON: I think it just allowed the team to settle. The recognition, as we said, the emotions of game and the pace we were going.

But just the recognition of we were getting good shot. They just were not falling but we were moving the ball nicely. We were playing Aggressive D and to stay on course with that. Again it's always important when comes from them, and I could hear them talking to each other. Brooke was saying it; defensively, let's stay locked in. And they all mentioned, continue to move the ball, look for your shots, encouraging each other.

Came out there, making the sub with Kaitlyn Orihel getting in there. She was ready, ready to let it fly; so stepped in to that position.

I feel everyone played their role nicely today. They took responsibility on the floor, and it allows us to play Monday night.