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BIG EAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 6, 2011

Devereaux Peters

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

Notre Dame: 63
Louisville: 53

THE MODERATOR: Notre Dame improves to 25-6 and they will face DePaul tomorrow night. Joining us is head coach, Muffet McGraw along with Skylar Diggins and Devereaux Peters. Coach?
COACH McGRAW: Really pleased with Devereaux's game tonight, I thought they played well defensively, the six blocks were great, we were disappointed she didn't get the 10th rebound, but I thought overall she played well and I thought Skyler hit a 3 that was huge in the corner that boosted the lead a little bit and when she picked Shoni Schimmel at the point in the last minute of the game that was kinda the last nail in the coffin for them. They're a great team, they are -- they have got a deep bench, they pressure, they play physical and hard and they're going to do well in the NCAA Tournament.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for our players?

Q. Devereaux, you guys outscored them in the first half and it turned out to be a 22-5 run, and I think you had 15 points or something like that. Can you talk about what was there for you?
DEVEREAUX PETERS: I think a lot of times I was open in the post and switch and stuff and early on we weren't seeing it and Coach talked about it in the huddle and we were looking for it during that stretch. Really I was in the same places that I was before and they were looking and making the pass. I was hitting them.

Q. How difficult was it to not overlook Louisville with big matches coming up potentially with DePaul and Connecticut?
COACH McGRAW: I didn't look past them, I don't know. I think the thing this team has done well all year long is focus on the game we're playing, and Becca does a great job with her leadership but they come in to practice hard and they come into every game -- I don't think there was any looking ahead at all.

Q. Skylar, with about 1 minute left you had the steal of Shoni Schimmel and broke away for the layup, what did you see? I know it was her first possession back in the court and what was going through your mind when you did that?
SKYLAR DIGGINS: We talked that there was a minute 12 left and my job was picking up the ball and with her I knew she was going to be looking to score so I really wanted to get on her and I looked for an opportunity when she crossed it and I went forward, and that's just part of getting up and pressuring the ball.

Q. Can you talk about the control on those blocked shots and makin' those kinds of plays and not getting a foul on 'em?
DEVEREAUX PETERS: Obviously Coach wants me on the floor and I don't want to be off, either, and in practice we've worked on me containing the ball and I don't have to block everything and going in and looking at the stuff that I can let go because part of the problem is I can't let stuff go, if they're there I think I have to get it and make a stop and today I was focusing on "Today I got a foul, I'm going to let her have it and guard 'em next time."
On the screens and stuff, they can shoot 3s so we were hedging out and I just tried to get a hand up and I had to switch a lot and work on my defense and stay on the guards when we switched like that.

Q. Skylar, talk about tomorrow night's game, you guys are fresh off the game from playing them last Monday.
COACH McGRAW: Obviously it's a good redemption opportunity for us, DePaul is a great team, we know that from their record and, you know, how they've shown it in the Big East play so we knew they were going to have a great game tonight and it will be a great match-up again.
We have to do a better job of contesting and getting out on the shooters and a better job of team defense and those are the things we worked on in practice this past week and we're excited for an opportunity and a chance to avenge.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies. Questions for Coach?

Q. Did you talk about rebounding at halftime and how critical was that to your success?
COACH McGRAW: That was about all we talked about at halftime and I looked at Becca and I said you need to get 10 and that's what she got. I thought she had a much better effort in the second half and Monique Reid is a tough block out, 11 rebounds in 20 minutes and she was a tough match-up for her, we did an awesome job, we didn't rebound offensively as much as I wanted to, I didn't think the guards did their job, I didn't think Skyler, Natalie and Brittany did their jobs on the boards, but the posts did.

Q. Muffet, you talked about Devereaux tonight how much better are you guys when she is playing more than 20 minutes a game because of foul trouble?
COACH McGRAW: Yeah, she's a key for us, obviously, only sat her for 5 minutes and a couple of in half and they went on runs when she was not in the game because we didn't have the same defensive capabilities, she is a good double-team her, good in the press she does so many things and offensively we can throw it up and she can get it.
Her on the floor makes us a very different team.

Q. Was part of the plan to attack and get to the free-throw line?
COACH McGRAW: Especially for Natalie, that's something she has done well all year. In that stretch where we turned it over a bunch and they were scoring and making the run, we talked about keeping the ball and attacking the rim and seeing if we can get to the foul line.

Q. Muffet, you said you weren't looking past that game but now that you have the chance to play DePaul tomorrow night what do you have to do to have a different outcome?
COACH McGRAW: We have to play better, I thought Chester played really well, she had a great game in Hampton, and Becca only played thirteen minutes, and that was hard for us to have a freshman in the game guarding a fifth year senior so we've got to stay on the floor with her and, two, I thought we did a good job defensively with the exception of Chester so we've got to find a way to guard her.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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