NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR

March 28, 2002

Krista Gingrich

Gail Goestenkors

Sheana Mosch

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: We're just very happy to be here. It's been a great season, and we're looking forward to playing Oklahoma tomorrow. We know they're an excellent, excellent basketball team, very similar to us in many ways except they have almost as many seniors as we have players. But we feel like it's going to be a great game, because we both love to run. We both have excellent passing teams and I think it's going to be a great game for the fans to watch.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: In this particular season it certainly has been the case. These eight players have really come together, and I think it's been such a great year for me as a coach, and an easy year for me as a coach, because they all know their roles, and they all know that they're going to get to play and there's a level of trust that they have with one another and I think with the coaching staff, as well, and our chemistry has just been -- it's incredible, and I think it is because there are only eight of us.

KRISTA GINGRICH: Most definitely. I think this team has been through so many things this year, losing two players and our assistant coach having brain surgery, that we had to come together or we were going to die, basically. So I think that it was easy in that sense, but we were already great friends, but it's a dream come true, because I'm playing with seven other sisters of mine on the court.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: How it affected me personally, Joanne is not only a great assistant, but also one of my best friends. It's a total shock, because she's in the best shape of anybody. She was training for a marathon. To have someone so healthy all of a sudden be in the hospital and have it be touch and go and not know exactly what the outcome was going to be was -- it was tough for all of us. We didn't let the players see her for several days because she was in such a bad way. Out on the court I felt like I was missing my right arm. She's somebody who is always offering suggestions and she's very high energy and so that was missing. So it was tough. You look around and you expect her to be there, and expect to hear her. But again it really binded us together as a team and as a whole, because we all knew that everybody had to give a little bit more.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: It shows how far we've come. We've come a long, long way, and we're still growing. But I think this just is a prime example of how far we have come when we can play in this type of a dome and this atmosphere and everything that goes along with it. So we've come a long way.

KRISTA GINGRICH: I think like Coach said they're very similar to us. I think we have to limit their transition game.

KRISTA GINGRICH: I think overall, I think they play great team defense. They work well together, and we need to be big and strong with the ball and limit our turnovers. That's another key to the game.

KRISTA GINGRICH: We're excited. I think you can fit about ten Camerons out there. We're very, very excited playing in front of a large crowd. I think the practice today was good just to get us used to the environment and have fans watching our practice, but I think overall we're just elated to be here.

SHEANA MOSCH: It looked like it. I don't know, it's hard to tell because it's such a big gym. But I don't know.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: In many ways it does. They have tremendous guard play, one of the best back courts in the country. They have several guards, three or four of them, sometimes they'll go small, and all four guards can bring the ball up the floor. We'll go small, we'll play Currie at the fore or Beard at the fore. So we can both go with very small lineups, very quick. We both love the transition game. It's a favorite part of our game. And through watching tapes I can see it's the very favorite part of their game, as well. It's wide open, they've got great three point shooters, they run a lot of motion offense, which is what we run, as well. We're very similar. I think it's going to be a fantastic game.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: We started with ten this year, and then one decided to transfer, I don't know exactly what the date was. I know it was two days before our Virginia game, because then the day before our Virginia game when we went to Virginia the other player, Crystal White, decided to transfer, as well. So it was a shock. It was tough to deal with at first, but we got right on the bus to head to Virginia and we had a team meeting that night and the players were great and said this doesn't change our goals, it doesn't change our dreams, if anything it makes us more determined. And we played Virginia the next day and came out and -- that was one of our best games of the year, quite honestly, because we were so focused and intent on showing the nation that we were for real, because we felt that everyone would now be questioning us, with only eight players, and would be doubting us, and we wanted to prove everybody wrong.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: In '99 we planned to go to the Final Four, you know, that was our goal, as well. But when the brackets came out and we saw that Tennessee was in our way with the "Meeks" having been there before, and having won the national title, we knew it would be difficult. We still believed ourselves, but that win was just unbelievable. And so it was to be here, it was a blur that year. It was -- there were so many people talking more about the Tennessee game really than being at the Final Four. And so many people thought it was a fluke. And fortunately that really paid off with our recruiting, as well. We were also able to go out and recruit after that year and bring in an outstanding class. So I think this year shows that we're legitimate. So many times people go to the Final Four, and most people don't have the opportunity to, but they think it's a one shot deal, they had a big run or whatever. But when you go the second time it really legitimizes your program, that you have an outstanding not just team, but program. But we've had great joy this entire season dealing with as much pressure as we've had, because we've been ranked No. 1 in the conference and the ACC Tournament and getting the one seed and they've dealt with it so well, that I feel like this is again another pressure situation, but I think the players are really handling it very, very well at this point in time.

KRISTA GINGRICH: I think that -- I was a freshman in the last Final Four and the few weeks were just a whirlwind to me. It was very emotional with our wins. We got a No. 3 seed in the east, so we weren't expected to go far. We beat ODU and the Tennessee win speaks for itself. So at the Final Four I don't think I got to calm down and enjoy myself as much, because we were all so stressed out and emotional. We didn't really get the full atmosphere of enjoying the Final Four. I think that's one thing that I'm trying to stress to our younger team, to take this experience, because it's a great time in your life and I'm going to enjoy this one.

SHEANA MOSCH: Sure it takes a little pressure off. I don't think there are a lot of people that expect us to win. We love being the underdogs, we love being in that position, because we love to surprise people. And I think -- I believe this Final Four we're going to surprise even more people, because when we go out there we're going to play the best basketball we can, and as long as we do that we can beat anybody in the country.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: I don't know if it's the way it ought to be played, but it's the way that we love to play. And that's the way I played as a player, and it's the way I've always wanted to be able to play, getting up and down the floor and giving the players some freedom to create things at the same time having some discipline within a system. So I think it's the most exciting brand of basketball out there. I think the fans really enjoy to watch it. I know the players love to play that way, so we are very similar in that.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: I always like to have played somebody, personally, because then you just have a feel for them a little bit. So it would be exciting to have the opportunity to play Connecticut, but it's always nice when you've already played somebody once, you get a better feel for them.

KRISTA GINGRICH: I think the main key is our unit on the floor. We are eight people, some people say that's not enough, but we are eight people strong, and we play well together, and I think we're playing very well right now. We know what each other is going to do before they do it. I guess it's just something that if you're on this team you would understand. I know Sheana and I feel it every day when we step on the court.

SHEANA MOSCH: I would say just especially through all the trials that we've gone through this year, that was mentioned before, and the great unity on this team, back with our last loss to Tennessee, that was in December. I think since then the team rededicated ourselves, and we decided like from that point on, we did not want to be upset anymore. And throughout all those losses and trials, it brought back feelings of last year, our loss to SMS, and that was really the worst feeling any of us have felt. And we were willing to do whatever it took not to have to feel that way again. I think from that point on we rededicated ourselves and wanted to do whatever it took to reach all our goals.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: As I said, I think Oklahoma's back court is if not the best, one of the very best. They're just fantastic. LaNeishea and -- they just compliment each other so, so well. And you can tell that they've been playing together for four years, just by watching them on the floor, because they seem to know exactly where the other one is at any point in time. And if they look like they're getting in trouble, they're not, because their buddy is right there to make a cut for a layup. We watched tape with the team and I said you could not ever take your eye off your player, because they read each other so well, it's really incredible. I think guard play is going to be huge. We've obviously got great guards on our team, as well. Neither team goes very deep. We both play -- we play eight, they're really playing only six, maybe seven people in their last several games. I think it's going to be exciting to see some of the best guards in the country out on the floor tomorrow.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: If we had this season, most definitely. But you can't be guaranteed that you won't have illness, injury, foul trouble. I think we were very, very fortunate this year.

COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS: I yell at them a lot. It's pretty loud when I do that. Other than that, no.