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NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS & FINALS: OKLAHOMA CITYMarch 29, 2009Agnus BerenatoXenia StewartShavonte ZellousOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA Oklahoma – 70 THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by Coach Berenato, Shavonte Zellous and Xenia Stewart. Coach? COACH BERENATO: Congratulations to the University of Oklahoma. They have a great team and obviously it was a great environment to play in. Little kids dream of that, playing in an environment like that, but usually their dreams are when it's their home court and it's their environment. But it was an opportunity for our ladies to come out and perform and to see what we were made of. I think Oklahoma was the better team tonight. I just want to congratulate Sherri Coale and her team and congratulate the fans of Oklahoma, because you guys really did a great job. So I want to thank the NCAA and everybody here on the host committee and everybody that worked with this tournament. Personally, I know what it takes to run a tournament of this magnitude, and it's just a lot of work for years in advance. I can't wait until we host next year, can't wait until the Peterson Event Center is covered with blue and gold and we're home. I just want to say thank you to Shavonte Zellous and Xenia Stewart, two of the most wonderful athletes that a coach could have the joy of coaching. They have been wonderful representatives of the University of Pittsburgh, both on and off the court, and they always have a home at the University, and I wish them both luck. I think Shavonte will be a No. 1 draft pick and I told Xenia don't be surprised if her name doesn't get called. They're class individuals, both on and off the court, and even forget basketball and I know that's why we're here, but really for me we're here because we're educators, and we're here because of the game of life. I think that this team, they've been led by these two young ladies and we've gone further than anyone thought possible. In the first game we played Texas A&M, and in the first few minutes we lost our point guard, and honest to God I don't know if we thought we would win 15 games, but we never changed our goal. And for us to get to the Sweet 16 and for Xenia to take over as a point guard and go point guard by committee, this team has done a great job. Shavonte, when things were rough, she put the team on her back. They've been like sisters, we're going to miss them dearly, and it's a tribute to the University of Pittsburgh and our community. Q. Both of you, can you talk about leaving this program better than when you found it? SHAVONTE ZELLOUS: It feels great. We're so honored that we helped rebuild the program, and we wish the University the best, even though we won't be there next year and wish them the best of things to come. XENIA STEWART: We're proud of the progress that we have done at the University. We've worked hard to get to where we were at and we're happy to be there. We set a standard and we're happy to be role models, not only to our teammates but also future ladies that we work with through our volunteerism, and we were proud to play for Agnus and her staff and the University of Pittsburgh. Q. Shavonte, early in the second half you hit a three, got it within 9 and the -- on the next possession Oklahoma was scrambling around, they beat the shot clock with the 3. That was deflating? How big of a play do you think it was in the game? SHAVONTE ZELLOUS: It was a big play, we had the shot clock going down and Nyeshia hit a big shot for her team and got the crowd into it, and I think we had a defensive let down and didn't communicate and didn't have our hands up against her shot, so it was a big play for them and congrats to her and her team. Q. Could you guys talk about the first half, they got a lot of perimeter shots, was it just not getting out there or was it the goal coming in to not have them make those shots and they just happened to? Talk about your defense. SHAVONTE ZELLOUS: I think it was a communication let-down, we knew they were going to get their shots to the perimeter, it's not like we were going to shut them down completely, but we wanted to be there and contest them and disrupt them, but they got the shots and knocked 'em down, did what they had to do. Q. As a member of a student body of the University of Pittsburgh, as a member of our WPTS and calling many games, I want to thank you for a tremendous season. Coach, Shavonte, how do you guys use this, where do you see this taking you in the future? SHAVONTE ZELLOUS: I would like to see me to the WNBA and Xenia. If I don't see that, I graduate from the University of Pittsburgh and I have a degree in Criminal Justice, so if I don't pursue my dreams in basketball, I go on my degree, but I plan on playing in the WNBA. XENIA STEWART: I think for me the WNBA possibly, but for me to have the opportunity to play and have the media interview me and I have a degree in Communications, so you might see me on ESPN talking to somebody. I have a degree in Communications. I'm going to get in front of the camera one way or the other. Q. Can you talk about the fatigue factor and being able to maintain a defense against a strong interior program like Oklahoma's? SHAVONTE ZELLOUS: Can you repeat that? Q. The fatigue factor involved in trying to contain the Paris sisters and the strong inside game and at the same time trying to maintain your own outside perimeter game. SHAVONTE ZELLOUS: It's not fatigue, the Big East has -- almost all of the schools in the Big East have an inside/outside game. We had a game plan, I feel like our defense was not focused, our communication broke down and there were holes where there shouldn't have been, and I don't think it was fatigue. We've been prepared through the regular season with the teams we played, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Louisville, even Maryland, they had the inside/outside game, so I don't think it was a fatigue factor. Q. Coach, you said yesterday that you enjoyed watching Whitney Hand play on film, the way she carried herself, do you still feel that same way after her performance? Talk about how big she was in the first half for them. COACH BERENATO: I'm not a sore loser, there is a reason why she was the rookie of the year in our conference, I'm not a sore loser. I think she banged those shots in early on and that set the tone of the game. We tried, we were doubling down and getting guard help on Courtney Paris and we thought that was really going to be a bigger factor. And give her credit, she knocked the shots down and that's what you have to do is knock shots down. It's funny because she is a freshman and sometimes freshmen have no fear. They don't realize what's at stake and as kids get older, they start to realize the magnitude of a game like this when they're juniors and seniors. My gosh, I've got to make this shot, but freshmen just go out and play. I like her game, her size, her athleticism. Yeah, if she wants to transfer you could send her my way. (Chuckles.) Q. Coach, what are your goals after how far you guys have gotten in the tournament? What are your goals for next year? COACH BERENATO: I just want to go to sleep tonight to be honest with you. First of all, I want to say thank you guys for coming from Pitt Radio. It's awesome. The one lady here had a question about fatigue factor, I thought you were going to say the fatigue factor of going to Seattle and turning around a day later after getting home and coming back here. I appreciate the students and my hometown supporters and Karen and Paul, so thank you guys. You know, I can't look to next year, I think right now I really believe in -- I don't know if any of you have a philosophy, but there is a philosopher Epicurean, and his philosophy is eat, drink and be merry because tomorrow you may die, and it means to live in the moment and take every day for what it's worth. And I'm not about looking to next year, because I might not be here, tomorrow I might have a heart attack and die. I'm going to enjoy this team and our team will never be the same because Shavonte and Xenia will go on their own and their own paths and they will have their own lives and the fabric of the team will be different, but then we will have freshmen come in and be new and our team will go on. And you have to then identify your goals for the new course. But right now I would say I want our student athletes to graduate from the greatest university in the country, University of Pittsburgh, and be good citizens and great people to their families and good citizens. Q. Agnus, did you see breakdowns in communications like Xenia thought, or did they just hit shots that you thought they were going to have to give up? COACH BERENATO: In the beginning when they came out, our rotation wasn't great, we tried to go "man," and then we were in a 2-3 and then in the very beginning the transition got us, which was surprising but I didn't think they could keep it at that pace and then they didn't, they slowed it down and we went with the zone. And I thought they did a great job of rotating the basketball, they moved the basketball well. When we had a breakdown, we would help the helper and then someone else would have to help the helper and they made that extra path. Kudos to them, that's what great teams do, make that extra pass and they just passed, passed, passed. And those two 3s they made with the time running out were back breakers, and you almost say, it was a destiny for them to get those. We played great "D" for 29.5 seconds, but you have to play for a 30-second possession and they nailed those two shots. I think that's the way the game went, to be honest with you, give them credit. THE MODERATOR: Coach, congrats on a wonderful season. End of FastScripts |
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