NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL 2 SEMIFINAL - MIAMI (FL) VS VILLANOVA

March 23, 2023

Denise Dillon

Maddy Siegrist

Brooke Mullin

Bon Secours Wellness Arena

Villanova Wildcats

Sweet 16 Pregame Media Conference

DENISE DILLON: Well, it's great to be here. Good morning so far. We're the Cats. We appreciate Furman hosting us this morning for a practice and then getting on the main court. Ready to roll.

Q. Kind of curious, any early thoughts about Miami? What kind of challenges do they represent, and is there any kind of Big East team you can compare them to?

DENISE DILLON: Well, I think we're all aware, Miami is playing their best basketball. This is the right time to be doing that.

What we know is they're going to pressure us. Their intensity on the defensive end creates a lot of offense for them, so just being prepared for that. Short turnaround, but having the conversations. And then just scoring threats in different areas. They're shooting the ball well, so it's not just about them taking it off the dribble or getting the post entry. They're shooting the ball really well. So just focusing on defensive concepts.

Who to compare? I think you have to go more with some personnel, more player-wise. I think some of the pressure that we have seen from -- Luce was saying Muhl, which she has faced with that point position, she's going to handle. And then the inside presence of I'd say Morrow from DePaul, just how dominant the post action is.

You go more with some of the personnel that they've seen as opposed to just an all-around team that we face in the Big East.

Q. For those of us who don't get to see Maddy all the time, how has she handled the kind of season she's having?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, with absolute humility is how she's handled it. Every time she steps on the floor, she's just excited to play. It's not really thinking about what she has accomplished or what we have accomplished as a team. It's just about getting another opportunity to play.

There's nothing greater as a coach than to witness that, to just see the pure joy in the game and how she is playing it. You want nothing more than to continue to see her out on the floor.

Q. Hoping you'll humor me and take me back to 1991 or 1992, your own recruitment to Villanova. What was that like and why did you pick it?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, I appreciate it. Let's go down memory lane. Why did I pick it? Close to home, I would say was first and foremost.

Philadelphia basketball is tremendous, so opportunity -- we have six Division I programs in that area, so having those options were great. Entertaining some schools a little bit farther, but knowing the tradition -- think of Villanova basketball and getting to know Harry Perretta, it became a no-brainer.

I think that the best thing that I took from him in the recruiting process was if you want to be a great player, then come to Villanova. He followed suit with that in his coaching and development as a player and a person. So great appreciation for that.

I think the path has worked nicely for me. But for that reason, I think just the love of community and that feel that I had when I was on campus that continues.

Q. You've got Maddy here obviously, Angel Reese is here, two first-team AP all Americans. Utah has got an All-American here. There's a lot of talent in this bracket alone. At a time when women's basketball sort of has the spotlight a little bit, this is the regionals and people are really paying attention, how much value is there in terms of players like Maddy, having them out there front and center to show the high level of play at this time of the year?

DENISE DILLON: It's tremendous, and the support you're seeing women's basketball get -- and it's because of the media, of all of you, what you're following, what you're writing about. Just the attention we're getting online and live television has been great. And it's because of the players that you mentioned and so many others in the teams just doing what they're responsible for and putting out a good product.

Having them here, again, the Greenville regional is huge, and just continue with that attention.

I said I was happy. Last year I thought Maddy had a tremendous year and was getting some attention, but really pleased with this year, everyone recognizing the talent that she is and continuing to play great basketball.

Q. We've seen Christina's role evolve on the court, but how has your role evolved off the court, in the locker room?

DENISE DILLON: Well, I would say about Christina, she's learning to bring her personality to the floor, like not trying to be someone different, someone she isn't.

Chris is a dynamic personality and loved by her teammates. I would say campus now. Chris, they're getting to know her, and she is a fan favorite.

I'm really liking just seeing her growth and maturity and carrying into it her craft on the floor, as well.

Q. Last game after y'all beat SGCU you came into the presser and your hair was wet and change of clothes -- is that something you look forward to, that locker room celebration and getting drenched and --

DENISE DILLON: Oh, sure, of course. It's a celebration. We talk about celebrating each other. I felt looking back, the team flipped it on me. They were excited -- I was excited for them going to the Sweet 16, 30 wins on the season, but they completely dismissed that and were talking about me getting my 400th win.

It's unbelievable. I'd say like the selflessness and then just understanding the big picture of how much goes into it, and I try and remind them of that, also.

Yeah, I'll take the shower any time.

Q. What makes Maddy special in those off-the-floor moments to her team, in a practice, on the bus, hanging out on campus?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, Maddy is so genuine in who she is. It's so natural. Like just her easy conversation with any walk of life. It could be person in their 80s, middle age, adults, whoever, or little kids, and she's so great with her peers. Like she just is a personable girl who just is always looking out for others.

I think her greatest mark on this program has been her leadership and conviction to her team and convincing them, like, we're capable of being successful. You're ready -- she tells her team, you're ready. Last year she told our freshmen, you've got this. You know what you're doing.

I think her instilling that confidence and encouragement in them has taken their games to another level which has certainly helped us.

Q. Lucy Olsen had a triple-double the other night and on Monday. What does a performance like that mean to the team in a game like that where it's survive and advance?

DENISE DILLON: Well, Lucy, as you're all seeing -- I talk about Maddy in her last season and we wanted to see her get some of that national attention.

I think Lucy Olsen is starting to shine in that limelight. And her performance is backing it up. I said, Luce just gives everything she has to the game, to her teammates. And I think when you see the scoring, the rebounding, the assists, she just gets after it. Why does she get after it? Because she just loves playing, and to a point where we have to shut her down sometimes. It's after practice, she's still in the gym, and it's an hour later, and it's like, Luce, we're finished, come on, it's time.

She just, yeah, wants to be great. She wants her team to be great. Showed that in a must-win game Monday night. Just what we want, bottle that up and continue to grow her game and for her to feel like these are things she can do on a consistent level.

Q. In your practice pretty early on, you were telling your team, handle the pressure. And obviously Miami's defense is one of their strong suits. And on the flip side, you guys have been really good at not turning the ball over this year. How important will that be tomorrow, preparing your team for that?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, it's recognition of who we are, what we do, but knowing a team is always going to make adjustments in order to disrupt your offense and your flow. It can be talked about. You can't win if you're not prepared. So you have to make sure that the conversations are had and putting them in position at practice, even though it's a quick turnaround. So just feeling it a little. So it's Miami's greatest strength.

I feel, yes, us taking care of the ball, getting shots on the rim is our greatest strength, so we'll have to see who's a little better at it tomorrow.

Q. You guys obviously had great success in the first and second round at home, and now you're obviously away at a bigger arena on a bigger stage. What does that adjustment look like for the team?

DENISE DILLON: I think that excitement of advancing, being here in the Sweet 16, we recognized that Monday night. And then it was a quick shift to back on the road. We're getting on the road, and this team has embraced that from the beginning.

I think us putting them in the position early in the season with the MT tournament down in Florida, playing big games down there, so they've been in these situations of larger arena, crowds and such. And then you talk about the Big East Tournament where there's nothing more grueling than going up against UConn in Connecticut.

So they know the weight of the game is, but also realize at this point that they've had time and situations where it's prepared them for what's next.

Q. At what point with Maddy did you say to yourself, we're at a whole new level? Was it after things kind of died down after the great loss and then recharged themselves? At what point did you think, we've got something?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, I think the Princeton game was a great example, but I'm going to go back to even last year when we -- playing in the NCAA Tournament with the BYU game and then the loss against Michigan, and the off-season was when I realized, like yeah, we're going to be all right.

We're going to be pretty good because of what Maddy was willing to do and her teammates following suit. They all just came in, on board, ready to battle. It was Maddy who was in the office saying, like we're going to be better than we were last year. I was like, we've got a lot of work to do if that's going to happen. And sure enough, she backed it up.

Q. I'm guessing with your Philadelphia ties, Dawn was a few years ahead of you there. What do you remember about her as a high school player and then going -- I assume going to follow her her entire career?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, well, I certainly was well aware and followed Dawn Staley through her time at Dobbins and just knew she was the best -- I wouldn't even say female basketball in Philadelphia. I'd say best basketball player in Philadelphia. So it was a joy to watch that and so impressive.

And then when she went to Virginia, certainly I was happy for her, but I was thinking, oh, I'm not going to be able to see her play. You're not able to get down to Virginia and watch, and few games were covered at that point.

But always followed her career and was really excited when she came back to Temple to play.

It was interesting, being at Drexel, we're not in -- we weren't in the Big 5, so it was games you had to line up and schedule. And a lot of times some of those teams were like, no, we're not playing, we're not playing. Dawn was always willing, was always like, yeah, Temple and Drexel will play each other. It wasn't so great they had Candice Dupree at the time, but we still went to battle with them.

Yeah, I have the utmost respect for Dawn Staley as a player, as a coach, as a person, so it's been really cool to follow her career.

Q. I wanted to ask you, could you describe what it has meant to have RG affiliated with your program? I've seen a little bit of attention for her, the heart and soul of the program, what she's meant?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, RG, and you'll all see her, she'll be here tomorrow. It's just really special to have the relationship with RG. She works on campus. She's at all of our practices. Seeing our players with her, even hearing Brooke Mullin say she thinks that we're her sisters, but she's a sister to us. She knows the game. She's a part of it. She's every bit a part of our program to the highest level.

Just to be a part of her life and to have her a part of the Villanova community is really cool.

Q. Lucy also had a breakout performance on Monday and you guys win. What does it mean to you guys for her to have a breakout performance in a game that was a survive and advance game?

MADDY SIEGRIST: Yeah, I mean, I think that's huge for us. Lucy, she really puts in all the time and all the work, so I couldn't be more happy for her. She really just took advantage of what the defense gave her, and she was confident when she was shooting the ball and she was able to knock down a lot of shots.

Q. For Maddy and Brooke, what's this experience like for you at this Sweet 16, and how do you put aside expectations and the excitement to just concentrate on what's ahead?

BROOKE MULLIN: It's an exciting experience, but you just try to focus in on your team and what you can control. If there's a lot of outside noise, you just have to stay focused with your teammates and the coaches.

MADDY SIEGRIST: Yeah, going off of that, I think it's like such a balance when you get here. You want to have fun and stay focused at the same time. And I think we've had the mentality all year, one game at a time, and just try to keep that.

Q. I was just wondering what kind of challenges do you all expect from Miami? Coach talked about their pressure and how do you compare some of their guard play to UConn's?

BROOKE MULLIN: Like Coach said, we practice a lot working with the pressure D today and just staying composed on offense. And then defensively we just have to stay disciplined and knowing every player out there and what they do.

MADDY SIEGRIST: Yeah, I think just knowing they're a great team. We're going to do the best we can. We can't let them dictate what we're going to do. We've got to bring it on the defensive end, and I think that's an area we've been pretty consistent all year, so just continuing to do that through tomorrow.

Q. We know the First Lady tweeted you good luck right before the game started the other night. Have you guys heard from the White House since? And has Jay come in and talked to you guys about the whole experience?

MADDY SIEGRIST: No, I haven't heard from the White House yet (laughing). Yeah, Jay was there after the game just telling us great job, keep it going, which is great. To feel all the support from the university and all the people around Villanova is huge.

Q. There was a diversity study that came out yesterday that said still most women's teams are still coached by men. That's not the case here. I think all eight teams have female coaches. Do you have a preference? I'm sure you've been coached by men and women throughout your career. Do you have a preference about who's coaching you, a man or a woman?

BROOKE MULLIN: I wouldn't say there's a preference. Growing up, I grew up with my dad was my coach a lot and a lot of male coaches. Denise is my first girl coach, but she's great. I don't think gender has anything to do with it. It's your basketball IQ. And Denise is a great coach and she knows what she's doing and she's got us here, so it's working.

MADDY SIEGRIST: Yeah, just kind of going off what Brooke said, I think it's all about the basketball IQ, your X's and O's and your relationship with players. But that's pretty cool that all eight coaches here are female coaches.

Q. For either player, obviously Villanova is known as a basketball school, and this year the women's program has excelled more than the men's program. What does that pressure look like for you guys to be the basketball team at a basketball school?

MADDY SIEGRIST: I don't really think it's pressure. I think it's just a privilege to play at such a school with such a strong basketball tradition on the men's and women's side. We'll do the best we can to continue to carry on the tradition this year.

Q. Maddy, how have you handled this season? There's been a lot of attention on you when you're doing amazing things. That might kind of get into the head of a lot of people. How do you handle yourself?

MADDY SIEGRIST: Well, my faith is really important to me, and I think that's an area that definitely tends to keep me grounded. I'm surrounded by a lot of really good people, not only on my team, but my family and friends. And I think I've had the mentality all year that all you can do is go out and do the best you can.

Unfortunately, it's not going to look the same every night, and people watching one day you could have 30 and not play that good and the next you could have 20 and that's the best you could have done.

Just knowing that, I'm just going to continue to try to do the best I can, and that's it, and control what you can control.

Q. Coach had said, Maddy, last year you said we're going to be better than last year, when you guys had bowed out of the tournament. For each of you as leaders of this team, what does that look like this season for you?

BROOKE MULLIN: I think just having the taste of the experience of the tournament last year. And last year was a little different, we were excited to even be in the tournament, and this year we got to host and now we're at the Sweet 16. I think it's huge having that taste and now we can just work hard and see where we can take us.

MADDY SIEGRIST: Yeah, just going off what Brooke said, I think we were so happy to be there last year. We were a bubble team, not sure if we were going to get in, then getting in and winning a game was huge. I think with this group when we came in in the summertime in June, everyone was really locked in. Everyone wanted to go back. I know individually, like you want to do better than -- you want to be better than you were the year before, and I think this group did that right from the start.

Like it's tough in June to see where you're going to be in March, but I think we really bought into everything Coach was having us do, and that's ultimately why we ended up here.