NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR

April 2, 2000

Svetlana Abrosimova

Geno Auriemma

Shea Ralph

COACH GENO AURIEMMA: First of all, it really is an indescribable feeling when you win something like this. The reason you can't describe it is because you really can't put into words what the looks on the kids faces are and what's going through their minds and their bodies, and that's what this is all about. You know, I've told these kids all year long that every pass we make in practice, every cut, every rebound, you know, pretend like it's the one that's going to win the National Championship, and these kids have practiced like this all year long and the night that they had to do it, they did it better than any other time in the season. And the fact that we did it against a team as good as Tennessee, it's unfortunate what happened to Kristen at practice today, and it's a shame she didn't get a chance to play, but the fact that we did it against a team that's as good and has as much tradition as Tennessee, makes this an accomplishment all the more worthwhile, because I know how hard it is to beat them, how difficult it is to deny them when they are playing for a championship. So I'm really proud of my players and extremely -- extremely happy for them.

COACH GENO AURIEMMA: You know, sometimes, it gets lost that you know, you're not going to get a lot of points out of our center sometimes. Schuey or maybe Asjha or whoever is in there may not score a lot, but if you look at Schuey's contribution, I don't know if anybody had a bigger contribution. I think she set the tone for the way the game was going to be played. You know, I know that Tennessee relies a lot on offensive rebounding, and I knew that playing Michelle Snow was going to be difficult for her, but Schuey just played the game of her life, and in the biggest game of her life, and it's a credit to Schu.

SHEA RALPH: Well, I think that this entire tournament, I think that we've understood that our defense is the key, and that it our defense does jump start our offense and if we play good defense and get after it on the defensive ends and cause a lot of turnovers and steals, our offense will be jump started right away. And knowing that we're playing against Tennessee and that they have Tamika Catchings and Michelle Snow, big

offensive threats; those two really killed us the last couple of games we played them. We really concentrated on playing them as tough as we could and making sure that they didn't score.

SHEA RALPH: Yeah, I think we just came into this game knowing we needed to play our game and not focus on what they were going to do to us, not focus on their game plan against us. We went out there as a team and decided we were going to focus inwardly on us, and knowing we could do what we knew how to do the best as we could do it. I don't know if I've seen us play this well all year, and we got the ultimate prize.

COACH GENO AURIEMMA: These guys lost games so they are not quite as good. But they won more games so we've got to give them a little bit of edge in the win category, as Svet reminded me right away. Still hard to compare. You know, I don't like to compare. I never like to compare my players and I don't like to compare my teams. I told the kids in the locker room I've coached a lot of really good teams at Connecticut. Some were better than others. The '95 team won a National Championship and was regarded as a great team. They played primarily with seven players. This team won a National Championship and is going to go down as a great team because of the way they gave up of themselves. A lot of these kids were questioned repeatedly about, "Wouldn't you be happier playing somewhere else, playing more minutes, scoring more points" or doing this and doing that. The fact that they were able to able to put that aside and win a National Championship, I think that this team sacrificed more and deserves everything that it got.

SVETLANA ABROSIMOVA: You know, this season we had a great team, and I think next year is going to be even better, because you know we are going to lose only two guys and we have a great freshman class. You know, right now, for a whole year, Coach was telling us we have to be perfect, we have to do like -- make perfect passes, play great defense. I think next year it's going to be even better because we know that eventually we won a National Championship; so we just have to repeat that.

SHEA RALPH: Yeah, I agree with Svetlana, and I also think that it's too early right now for us to be looking at next year. We're just going to enjoy this right now everything about this. We've worked so hard this year and we're going to enjoy every minute of it. I think we deserve it.

SHEA RALPH: Well, you know Tennessee is a tough team. They have upheld a tradition for as long as I've known the game of basketball and watched it, and, you know, as long as I've known that I wanted to play at this level. And you know, Connecticut came around and they have challenged them for the past decade and I think that being part of this rivalry is something very, very special and that a lot of young kids look up to it and strive to achieve as they become older. It's special feeling out there. You know, it was the third time we met, and to be able to beat them and you know the matchups were pretty close and everybody thought it was going to be a great game. And I don't think that, you know, we expected to win it by as much as we did, but I think we went out there and we played tough and we played within ourselves and we used our teammates; we played together. Everybody played as best they could, and I thought that, you know, together with our chemistry, that's what did it for us. This was a team effort. You know, there were no -- Coach said it in the locker room perfectly, there were no MVPs; there was none of that. This was a team effort it came from everybody who played out there. It's been carried through this tournament by different people, and I think that's what makes our team so special.

SHEA RALPH: Yeah, you know, Coach was telling us in the locker room before that the ball is primarily in Kara Lawson and Tamika Catching's hands; they are two of their best 3-point shooters. Tamika is lethal when she has the ball in her hands. She is a great player, she has great moves and can pretty much score from anywhere on the floor. And I noticed every time my man was passing her the ball they went over to the other side of the floor. And before we even went out there, he said to make sure that if Snow or Catchings gets the ball, to release and go get them; and I could just hear him saying that over and over in my head. And I thought if I'd try and if it backfired, I wouldn't do it, and after three or four times, it worked, and, we just kept doing that. Svetlana and Sue and Asjha did a great job of doubling down as well.

SVETLANA ABROSIMOVA: We knew it was the last game of the year, you know. What else you can do, you know? Why would you want to save something of yourself? We just wanted to put everything on the court. The first five minutes -- after the first five minutes we kinds of sensed that we were getting tired; so we just keep pressing them. We were getting new guys from the bench, and so it was easier for us to press them on defense.

SHEA RALPH: Are you talking about our depth?

SHEA RALPH: I think our depth was key. I think it was something that was one of our main stories the entire year. We have people that come off the bench and we don't miss a beat, and most of time, they are better than the people on the floor. Not only are they fresh legs, but they are tremendously talented, tremendously, and they are young. And this is this is just another experience for them and something that's going to help them grow and something that I hope they enjoy and I think these girls deserve so much. We've been through a lot together as a team. I've watched them work, you know, until just about they have either thrown up or cried and this is something that for them is more than you could ever want. And for our seniors, it's the perfect going-away gift. And I love those two girls more than anything. They are my two best friends in the whole world, and I'm so happy that we were able to give them what they deserve.

COACH GENO AURIEMMA: Well, you know the first time we played down in Tennessee, we had a similar run, you know; and then when we played them at our place, they had a big run coming out of the second half. So we made it a point to let the kids know that in those first five minutes, whatever we had done in the first half could have gone away. And they came out and -- we appealed to them about playing those four-minute blocks, four minutes at a time. We wanted to play -- and TV time-outs, and the way we came out and the way we played, I'm not surprised this team was intent on proving tonight that they are the best team in the country.

COACH GENO AURIEMMA: Yeah, I know a lot of guys that I coached, a lot of guys that were coaching when I was playing, they used to tell me I'll never be any good as a player, and they were right. So I turned out to be the coach of a championship team. So it's kind of funny to come back and they are all in the stands, and they are all happy for me because they finally saw me win something. It was just -- I saw a lot of my friends last night. We had a little party last night. We had everybody there and kind of hung out together, and I had a chance to thank everybody for everything that they have done for me since I was a kid, and it's a perfect way to cap it off.

COACH GENO AURIEMMA: You know, I think sometimes that gets lost in the shuffle of our team. We have a lot of guys who can score, but we have a lot of guys who take pride in their defense. They are pretty good at taking the game plan and following it through. It was so key to limit how many shots Catchings got. She can win a game by herself, and we did a great job limiting her touches. We never want Snow to get anything going. We wanted to make sure they were thinking about where the traps were coming from and certain key people that we wanted shooting the ball and others that we didn't want shooting the ball. The kids really took it all in, paid attention, and did what we asked them to do; and we did it perfectly. And sometimes, you know, your game plan works and you lose the game. Today the game plan worked and we won.

COACH GENO AURIEMMA: I think the game itself needs big games like this by two really good teams. I'm sure the people at ESPN would have much preferred double overtime game won on a three-pointer at the buzzer and I apologize for that. The game itself does need more great rivalries. Connecticut, Tennessee is one; it needs more. It's hopefully the continuation of something. This isn't the beginning of thinking and this isn't the end of anything. I like to look at this as the continuation of the growth of the game.

COACH GENO AURIEMMA: Yeah, she's been coming on. She's like a race horse that struggles early on in her career and then finds her stride, and now you can't keep her -- can't keep her off the lead. Every time she touches the ball I think something good is going to happen. Not only that; she is probably our best post defender. We did a really good job in the post tonight. And for Asjha, it's all about being in the moment, not thinking too far ahead, and she was exactly where she needed to be this whole tournament. Sometimes we look at them as one person, Asjha, Tamika, Swin, and today, they were all terrific.

COACH GENO AURIEMMA: Well, I don't want to share what I anticipated, because it will make me look as something other than the way I want to be perceived. I just anticipated a great game, I really did. Obviously, they are a great team, and obviously, they have great players and great coaching and great tradition. And you don't take anybody like that lightly, not one bit, and we certainly didn't. And tonight, whenever we get back, it's a quarter after 12:00 already. I'll spend some time with my family and my friends, and just kind of reflect back on all that's happened and try to make some sense of it.

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