NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - TOLEDO VS TENNESSEE

March 19, 2023

Tricia Cullop

Thompson-Boling Arena

Toledo Rockets

Media Conference

TRICIA CULLOP: It's a great opportunity. We're thrilled to be here, but not just happy to be here. This team has been focused for a long time on not only getting into the tournament, but seeing how far we can go.

It's a formidable opponent, unbelievable atmosphere that we're going to be playing in. So much respect for this program.

But we're not just here to be here. We're looking forward to the challenge. We're going to give it our best shot, you know, and see what happens.

Q. Coach, I know you're focused on your team, but a year ago 12 seed played the No. 5 seed Lady Vols and came up just three points short. Is that something that you think about maybe mentioning, that you can be within shooting -- be within striking distance, or you just, as you mentioned, focus on your team and the fact they've got -- they've their own goals for the season?

TRICIA CULLOP: Well, I don't think we can look at last year and really rely on that. Every team is different a year from now. I think we have to look at -- Kellie has done a fantastic job with her team. We want to respect them.

I think the biggest things for us are we've got to find a way to get some rebounds. They're big. They're athletic. We have to take care of the basketball because they're going to be disruptive with their length. They're great shot blockers.

Then I think we also have to find a way to protect the paint. They have more size than we do inside.

If we can be effective in those three areas I think we can make it interesting. But this team has got to continue to share the basketball the way that we have and play unselfish basketball.

If we do that, you know, and we hit some outside shots, life could be good. If we're relying on blocked shots, that could be interesting for them.

And so we're going to have to hit some outside shots. But I really like the mentality of our team right now. Like I said, much respect, but we're looking forward to this opportunity.

Q. You mentioned the atmosphere of what's it's going to be like tomorrow. Got a glimpse of that Saturday. How do you approach the factor of crowd noise in this game as opposed to the first round?

TRICIA CULLOP: Our attendance is not the same as the Lady Vols by any stretch, but I will say it's beneficial that we've played in really loud environments for most of the season. I think for those that don't know, we're top 30 in the country in attendance at Toledo 10 out of last 11 seasons, so we're used to crowd noise.

We don't play as well when we play in quiet environments, probably because they can hear me.

But I think that our players enjoy a loud environment. They enjoy an environment where people care about women's basketball. That's here. So I don't think -- you know, will we have to talk a little louder on defense? Yes, will we have to make sure we're on the same page about what we're run position offensively? Yes.

But I don't see it being as big a factor because our kids are used to it and they appreciate it.

Q. For a generation of women's basketball fans it's obviously Tennessee and UConn, and Tennessee came first. Over the years when you think about Tennessee women's basketball, what kind of comes to mind?

TRICIA CULLOP: Well, number one, respect. That's why we took our players up on the hill to take a picture with the statue. That's why we took them to the women's basketball Hall of Fame. That's why two, three days before we came down here I showed them some videos on Pat.

Because I have sp much respect for not only the current program, but the history and everything that Pat Summitt did for women's basketball. You know, I grew up in a time where I got to sit beside her in a recruiting trail.

I came down here as a assistant when I was at Xavier to watch individual workouts because I wanted to learn from her. I think that it's pretty cool for now my players to see that, even though they don't have all that background.

That's why we tried to educate them a little bit before we came here. Now they do. After leaving the women's basketball Hall of Fame they have a full appreciation of what's happened with this program and what an amazing historical value it presents for women's basketball in general.

But it's just a great opportunity for us. I'll be honest, out of all the sites we were sent to, this is a really cool pace to be sent because of that historical value. But let's not let it be lost on -- you know, Coach Harper is doing a fantastic job, too.

I can't imagine the pressure of following not only Pat, but Holly, what a great job she did. That would be tough trying to fill shoes of some people that have done some very amazing things in the history of women's basketball.

Not just Tennessee, but I think Kellie has done a fantastic job.

Q. Speaking of the statue, I saw Abby Conklin's post. How cool is that? Both of your Indiana ties and seeing each other again here.

TRICIA CULLOP: Ironically, we were getting ready to get on the bus and I looked over and saw Abby standing there and I said Abby. What you all don't know is when Abby visited Purdue I was her host.

So I said to our kids, boy, I was a bad recruiter that day. But it was really cool to catch up with her and walk up on the hill. I had her share some stories about Pat Summitt with our team so they could appreciate how intent she was, how competitive she was.

Abby graciously did so. It was pretty cool to see her.

And then as we were leaving the yesterday, catch up with Michelle Marciniak. I've known her a long time as well.

Like I said, so many great players. Look in the rafters in there. It's who is who of women's basketball. But it was really cool to run into Abby. What a great career she had.

Q. Q was underrecruited I would say.

TRICIA CULLOP: Understatement.

Q. Yeah. You guys clearly had belief. Until she signed were you extremely nervous that a Power 5 school would swoop in and scoop her up?

TRICIA CULLOP: At the time we were talking there were no Power 5s in the discussion. Creighton was sitting at the court that we initially went to to watch her play for the first time. You know, the nice thing about recruiting Nebraska is that at the time Omaha wasn't Division I. I believe they were getting ready to transition.

So you have University of Nebraska and Creighton and neither one were showing full-fledged interest. Creighton was showing up to games but hadn't offered. I kept praying they weren't going to offer. You know, home town, easy. I mean, we're talking her high school must be five minutes from their gym.

So I was nervous about that. Then I was also nervous about a couple of Missouri Valley schools that were nearby, but no one was laying on offer out except for Omaha.

And so we were thrilled that she said yes, and number two, that she wanted to go away from home. She is a blessings to the program, not only on the court, but as a person, as a leader. I can't tell you how much I enjoy coaching her. She's special.

You don't see -- not only a player of her athleticism and her talent, but as her demeanor and just being an amazing teammate. She does so much for our program on and off the court, and I'm glad she's not done. (Smiling.)

Q. One more trip down memory lane. What's your favorite Pat Summitt story? You mentioned being so grateful to absorb that knowledge. What was your relationship like with her?

TRICIA CULLOP: Well, what I would say is this: She and my college coach Lin Dunn, were very good friends. We heard stories a little bit through Coach Dunn. I remember sitting beside her in the stands one time recruiting, and you're sitting close enough and we all have rental car keys sitting on the bleachers.

As we were leaving I went out to -- and I chit chatted with her a little bit because I was watching a team that was playing a Tennessee club team, and so I thought she might be there. I knew she was recruiting someone from that team.

As we got ready to leave I walked out to the parking lot and I hit the beeper on my car, because I didn't know which one. You forget sometimes when you got a different one every day, you know, what I was driving. When I hit it, a Beamer lit up and I'm like, that's not my car keys.

I ran back in, I think I've got your car keys. I don't think she would've been too pleased when she saw what I was driving. She laughed and we had a good laugh about that.

But I will just say this: What an amazing person. Very giving. When I drove down from Xavier to watch individual workouts she sat beside side me afterwards. Matthew was there, Matthew Mitchell, and she couldn't have been more giving of her time.

That's one thing that I think I took from her, is just to be very willing to help others as you're going through this process, because that meant a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to high school coaches that stop by our gyms to be gracious and kind and helpful when you can be.

I can't imagine how many people she helped through the years beyond me, help to go grow the game. She did it because she cared. She didn't have to open her doors to us. But she did it out of kindness and willingness to keep moving things forward in our game.

Q. I think you guys are 58 and 10 the last two seasons. Now you've got two top 20 wins, even against Tennessee in this arena, do you feel like your team has just like the utmost confidence and belief in themselves?

TRICIA CULLOP: I think after that many wins you do have confidence. I think it's a guarded confidence. It's not overconfident by any means. It's a touchy word, because when you say that people think, oh, you think you can't do wrong.

We do. I think the biggest thing is we're confident and disciplined, and that's what we need to continue to be. We don't try to be somebody we're not. You know, we don't have -- Quinesha, I think people could say sometimes is flashy, but most of it is built on what we call blue collar gold standard, willingness to do the dirty work, box out, dive on loose balls, box out people bigger than them.

It's not always the fun, glitz and glamour, but they're willing to do it because they know their role helps us win. I think they're confident in that if they continue to do what they do we have a chance. We always have a chance.

So that's what our message to our kids is: Continue to do what we did to get here. Don't try to be something we're not. Let's give it our best shot. It took so much effort to get here. As a mid-major you have to be darn near perfect to get into the tournament. We're talking 17 straight wins just to be standing here.

The plight of the mid-major to get into the NCAA tournament is unreal. There are teams left home today, Columbia comes to mind, a couple in our league. BG and Ball State. I think they could be in this tournament.

You have to win the conference tournament or you're deemed not worthy. That's unfortunate. I hope we start looking at RPI maybe again instead of net. I'm going to get on this platform for a second. The net rewards that play bad teams and beat them by 40, where the RPI is not built that way. It rewards you for playing a tough schedule.

The net rewards you for unsportsmanship by leaving your starters in to blow teams out. I was built on if you win, you win and develop your team and substitute and develop the younger plays.

We were always taught, play the toughest schedule you can, get as many wins as you can, earn your opportunity.

I think the net is teaching people to play easier schedules and beat them by a lot so that your net score can jump up. We can show numerous examples of that in the net.

But I just it's tough and it's tough to be a mid-major and have quad ones tell you, no, they don't want to schedule you. That's why we were so grateful when Kara Lawson said, yes, and a few years back when Muffet McGraw said yes, we'll play. That's why when Kara said it in about .2 seconds we said yes.

So people say prove yourself. It's hard to prove yourself when people tell us no, we won't play you. I'm so happy we're here. Sad that a few other teams we coached through the years that got to 29 wins aren't sitting here, too. For them, we're playing hard for them, too.

Q. Coach, a question about tomorrow's game. Jordan Horston and Rickea Jackson obviously present a tremendous challenge. When you watch them on film what kind of challenges do you see for your team?

TRICIA CULLOP: Defensively they're disruptive. Length, athleticism, quickness, ability to cover a radius with their length and wingspan.

But also ability to score in a variety of ways. I think it's important that we try to keep them in front of us. We can't be undisciplined defensively with our footwork.

But they're a challenge. That's a great way to say it. It will be a challenge. But I also think their ability to get to the boards. You're going to see our kids have to be willing to sacrifice their bodies to make sure they're got getting to the boards. Watching film, both of them.

I will say this: Located where we are, we are very familiar with them. We watched them grow up. You're talking about a kid from a Michigan and a kid from Ohio. We know who they are.

Obviously Walker is from Western Michigan. We played against her back in the day. So this -- and even Powe is from Michigan. We watched all these kids grow up.

It's not a surprise. But our kids are looking forward to the challenge. Do we think it'll be easy? Absolutely not. We're going to have to work our tails off. I do think you can't do it with one person. It's going to have to be our whole team playing team defense. If we went out and played one-on-one they would win every time. But the good thing is we get to play five-on-five.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you so much for your time.

TRICIA CULLOP: Thank you.