NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR

March 25, 1999

Katie Douglas

Ukari Figgs

Carolyn Peck

Stephanie White

COACH CAROLYN PECK: We're excited about being here and getting to the Final Four. There are three big reasons. But three of the biggest reasons for us to get here are sitting in front of you now. And that's because of Stephanie, Ukari Figgs and Katie Douglas, and you can been great senior leaders for us all year long. As a matter of fact, we were great. I don't remember stronger leaders for us last year. I think strongest tribute to their game is not their basketball talent, but their personalities. It's not just that they are great competitors, but they are great friends, not only for each other, but for our team. They really know how to get their team mentally prepared to play. They also have their team mentally ready to handle just about any situation that we've been in. And we have in Katie Douglas, who does a great job and plays with these two as if she's been with them for four years. I'm very proud of this team. And it's not just the five, six or seven players that you will see in the game, but it's really all 16. We only have 15 here, but they have all played an important role to getting us to this point.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: I think that a big factor in that game is rebounding. Louisiana Tech is a ferocious rebounding team. We saw that especially evident in their game against UCLA. They also have a strong perimeter game with Jackson, LaQuan, Stallworth and Maxwell, all in the perimeter that are all scoring threats as well as inside impact. It's a total package. It's going to be a total requirement from our team to play together as a team on both ends of the floor.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: I think Camille has just been willing to contribute to the team. And I think Ukari's in her head a little bit. And that comes from great senior leadership. Camille is playing very strong for us right now. She wants to do whatever she can right now for this team. That's just the type of person she is.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: Absolutely.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: Very carefully. We will match up the same way we did the first time we played them with Ukari and Jackson starting out matched up and Katie Douglas on Stallworth, Steph on Maxwell and Cooper, if that's the starting lineup that they go with.

UKARI FIGGS: I think I really started playing basketball because a lost my friends played. It was just something that I enjoyed doing. And I think that the more I played, the more I realized I was pretty good. But I had to play in a league with the boys. And I think that really helped out a lot with physical -- I mean, college basketball is so physical. And there's so many quick players, that when you play against boys, and I think -- we have a rip squad that we practiced against every day. And I think it really helped us out with adjusting to quick -- to a quick team like Louisiana Tech.

UKARI FIGGS: My brother played football; so he was pretty rough. But I don't play with him too much.

STEPHANIE WHITE-McCARTY: I think the biggest key for us is to play good defensively. Defense is going to be the key for us. Louisiana Tech is a great team. They have great penetrators. They have good shooters on the outside. And they have good posts. I think we just need to communicate, play good defense and box out.

UKARI FIGGS: I think -- it's sweet just being here, period, whether what we've been through or not. And I think that we haven't dwelled on the past. And we've just come out here and we're going to make our senior year special. Our teammates came in, and they have played so hard for us, for each other. It's just sweet for our team to be able to come together and do the things that we have been able to accomplish this year and accomplish our goals.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: Well, I've watched Steph really mature. She's gone from kind of a leader by example to even becoming a more vocal leader. It is -- it is more than just the points she scores. She is a coach on the floor. There have been several ball games where teams have switched up defenses on us, and Steph is holding up symbols, talking to me, telling me what defense they are in. She sees the game, gets a feel for the game. She'll come over to me a lot of times and say this is where I think we can score. Or can we try this? Because she has a great mental mind for the game. She and Ukari are like having two coaches on the floor. And I think that's an added advantage that we have when we have two player -- really three, Katie along with them, that think the game the way these three do.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: Their roles won't change. And their role is to do whatever this team needs them to do. They have always taken great pride in that role. If we need Mackenzie to take -- either stepping aside from the basket, she did so. If we need Tiffany to be a defensive spark or for us off the bench, she is willing to do that. And that's the great part of this team they have a lot of fun and play for each other. It's not about an individual. It's whatever they can do to help the team.

KATIE DOUGLAS: Well, in the regular lineup my role is to do whatever I can, you know, to help the team be successful and when we go to the four-guard lineup, I usually switch over to the four and my goal is to set up big screens, to see off the post and do whatever it is I can to help the team win.

KATIE DOUGLAS: Well at the beginning of the season I was, you know, a little cautious, but now I'm really starting to, you know, like it inside. But you know I understand that I can rotate and play whatever position.

UKARI FIGGS: The players that have left Purdue have done a great job at the institutions that they are at. I don't know how that speaks -- I guess that says a lot about our team that we had our freshman year. But we're just happy that we're here and we're happy that they are here, too. And good luck to everybody.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: Well, from my perspective I'm thrilled to be here period. I think it's great. There's a lot of parity in women's basketball and we've seen that this year. There's a lot of talent and women who can play the game. That will help to evolve the interest in women's basketball even more. There is more than one or two or three teams to watch and that really spreads the excitement in women's basketball.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: I'll take this one. I think it comes down to rebounding and composure.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: What this season has done is made me think about the now. That's the only thing we're focused on is what we're doing right now, today. That's it.

UKARI FIGGS: It's been really tough. I think that our team has done a great job all year with keeping up with our academics and going to class and bringing the work on the road with us. I know a couple of us had to take some exams, we know we have to keep our focus on the academics. We have to go back to school after we get back from San Jose. Our academic advisor does a great job of kind of keeping us in line; so I guess we're doing a great job, I guess.

UKARI FIGGS: I don't think I really have to do a lot. I've been playing with Camille since our freshman year in high school, and it's been great just to see her develop as a player. And I know every now and then I can read her and know when she's getting frustrated or know what's going on in her head and I just talk to her a little bit. But all she needs is a little bit of motivation every now and then, and she's just come out and done such a great job for us this year; and hopefully she can continue with that, even after I leave.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: Well, I think there are four teams out here that have a great opportunity. A prediction really at this point is really useless. All four teams have to play 40 minutes of basketball twice. They have that opportunity. So we'll just go out and play the game.

UKARI FIGGS: I think my freshman year, things were pretty rocky and I think that everybody maybe took a look at it. I don't know how serious a look. I don't know if you can judge how serious that look was. But to answer your other question, it's been tough but I think that the thing that's really kept me going is the team and my family has -- we have such a close-knit family and all my family is coming out to the game and it was a struggle at first. But I think now that, you know I have the team behind me and we've been playing so well and everything that it's kind of maybe taken my mind off of it a little bit.

STEPHANIE WHITE-McCARTY: I don't know what stemmed my interest in flight school. I've always loved to fly. The first time I went up and actually flew with a friend in 4th grade. And I just loved it. I went into Purdue, decided I wanted to major in it. I got my license and decided it wasn't really what I wanted to do, something as a career, it was just something I enjoyed doing. It's a sense of peace and relax time. Its beautiful to look at all the scenery and everything. It's just something I've always loved to do. And I'm just going to continue to do it for fun.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: It's a more aggressive team, really. They are all clicking on all cylinders right now. Monica Maxwell is playing extremely well. And there's no other way I can think to describe her than an animal on the boards. She really has a nose for the ball. Amanda Wilson as well. And you could name all the players on their team. Their bench has even come in and contributed in a very positive manner for their team. It just seems that everything is clicking together for them right now.

STEPHANIE WHITE-McCARTY: I think that we're going to have a lot of fans here. Everyone is coming out we've talked to, and whether they have tickets to the game or not. Our fans have been great all year. Personally, a lot of my family are coming out. So it's going to be a lot of fun. We're all here for the same reason. And our fan support has been great, and they are going to continue to support us.

STEPHANIE WHITE-McCARTY: I don't think so. I think our team has been very focused all year, whether we've played teams perfect or not. It's always tough to play a team twice. But we've been focused. But we come and know what we have to do to win the game, and we just have to be able to execute it. I think that we have a mature group of ladies here. And we're just going to come in and do what we need to do and win the game.

STEPHANIE WHITE-McCARTY: They are very quick equally with the ball and without the ball. I think it's just going to come down to a lot of communication and a lot of team defense. We have to get back into transition and help each other in the halfcourt. But we're looking forward to the challenging and defending them as best we can.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: Well, I think that all three players have a very similar vision of the game, you know, of penetration. They can look at the basket and look for an opening for themselves. And when that's taken away, they find their teammates. And I think they have a lot of fun working for each other. We don't have any selfish players. When they find each other, a lot of times you'll see Ukari penetrate in and kick out to Steph or Ukari through, and she's the first one to give the sign. I think they have a lot of fun setting up opportunities for each other.

STEPHANIE WHITE-McCARTY: The main thing that we took with us all summer was just that feeling of not getting to the next step. We remember what that felt likes now. Now it's a whole new season, and we have another year of experience. We're here now, and we just have to come in focused and ready to play the game.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: Very important. She's important in every game. A lot of times Michele accepts the toughest assignment inside for us. It may be a player that may have several inches on her or a few more pounds even. But Michele is willing to answer the all. To me, for post players, she has the quickest feet and the quickest hands and she has a knack for the ball. And she also seems to think ahead. So if she gets a rebound and doesn't see an opportunity to get the ball back up, she now knows to find one of these three to get the ball back up. She's a very smart player. She studies film, looks at different things players like to do. So when she goes into a ball game, she's prepared.

UKARI FIGGS: I think it is going to be an emotional weekend. But at the same time, we know that we can keep the weekend going by going out and playing our best game, playing a great game tomorrow night. And we're focused on the game. And after the game, you know, I guess we'll worry about what the rest of that holds. But I think our main focus is on the game and not emotions.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: I think that, too, regardless of the situation, these two are seniors, and they have got to graduate. As much as we'd like to, we'd like to keep them around forever. But that doesn't happen. They have done a great job in focusing on playing the basketball game. If you spend a lot of time worrying about something that's going to happen down the road, you might miss something very special in front of you. And they have done a very good job of staying focused on that.

STEPHANIE WHITE-McCARTY: Well, I think when we were out here earlier, we did. But I think, you know, we came out and we started out a little flat. But the biggest thing is we come out to play every day. We didn't come and say think about getting San Jose or whatever. We take it one game at a time. We've done that all season. And that's the way we're going to focus on this season as well. We've turned it around. We've come to play every day. We realize how important it is to come focus and be ready to play and to focus one game at a time.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: We were in games where we were 17 behind. That's not an unusual situation for us. Steph and Ukari's leadership and experience had a lot to do with that. You saw the expressions on both their faces when the game got tough. It was as if they were going to refuse to let anything happen less than a win. And they would do everything they could to make sure that this team could push ahead. It seems like when the situation gets tougher for this team, the closer they become. And I think that that had a lot to do with the progression of the game.

STEPHANIE WHITE-McCARTY: I guess I can thank him. But, you know, we -- I wouldn't be in the position that I'm in without the rest of my team. Nothing comes from an individual. I think that this team has done well all year. We've played well together. And that's why we're here. We've played as a team. And we're going to continue to play as a team.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: I think that he made a wise vote. Stephanie does do a great, great job for this team. Like she said, she would be the first to tell you that she does those things as a team. And I think that she's a great leader in motivating her team, very selfless. You could go through all the players on the team and ask who's your best friend? Well, Steph. She has the best personality that I could describe as a hug. She embraces everything and everyone around her.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: Well, I think that Ukari, for the past three years, has run the point for this year and done a great job. One thing that I think goes very unnoticed of Ukari is her defense. She starts our defense. She's at the top of it. And her intensity at the point of our defense really flows through the rest of our team. She gets a big steel, gets a big stop. She's so quick. I can guarantee you if you watch our game, if Ukari ever misses a shot or turns it over, she's the first one at the other end to get the ball back. It's never a pout or a gosh, I missed. She turns it around. You know, just like switching on and off a light. Who looks at us as a favorite? When you get to this point, the score is 0-0, and every team as got to go out and play the game.

STEPHANIE WHITE-McCARTY: It's disappointing, especially for her. She has had a great career at Tennessee. She's a great player with a great attitude. To see that happen, it's kind of disappointing for women's basketball. But she's done a great job. And she's got a great future ahead of her.

COACH CAROLYN PECK: I think part of it is human nature. I think our team philosophy is: Take care of your teammates. They work well together. When we approach each game, each player has individual responsibilities for the team, and they take those responsibilities to heart. And I think that that has a lot to do with it.