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NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOURApril 1, 2012Skylar DigginsBrittany MalloryMuffet McGrawDevereaux PetersDENVER, COLORADO Notre Dame – 83 THE MODERATOR: Joining us head coach Muffet McGraw, and student‑athletes Skylar Diggins, Brittany Mallory, and Devereaux Peters. COACH McGRAW: I am just so proud of our team right now, because at the end of regulation we had the game won with about 1:13 to go, and we simply gave it back to them. Then we had to make some spectacular plays to claw our way out, Brittany hitting the 3 and Natalie hitting the shot at the end of the regulation. Sky had some game‑saving defensive plays and made the 3 down the stretch. We really earned that one. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Skylar, can you talk about the play you made on Hartley on the breakaway where you blocked the shot and then found you Brittany for the 3, just the impact that had on the game? SKYLAR DIGGINS: We were set up to play, and Brit looked away as soon as I‑‑ and I let go. It was a two on one, and I had to dodge and fake. She passed it, and I was standing right there. So just had to keep the ball in play, trying to tip it or just keep her from scoring without fouling. And then with them being back there, we had an advantage. I sprinted. Nobody found Brittany. Everybody ran the lane and she had a lot of time to set up for that shot. And I told Brit at the end of regulation: Brit, I'm going to keep throwing it to you, so keep spotting up. She knocked it down. Q. Brittany, looked like a really eerie calm in the overtime. Go through both the 3s and what you were feeling. And obviously seems like after you let the release you knew they were good. BRITTANY MALLORY: Yeah, it was‑‑ I was thinking about it a little bit in regulation, not hitting the 3, and it's been a while. But like Sky said, she told me to keep shooting. My whole team was telling me keep shooting, they're going to fall, they're going to fall. And Sky hit me for the pass and I lined up, I just had‑‑ took a deep breath and let it go and was thinking to myself this one's going in. And finally they both went in and I was so happy. I couldn't believe it. I was so happy. DEVEREAUX PETERS: She almost cried. BRITTANY MALLORY: I was so excited. Q. Brittany, can you talk about the defense on Hartley in the second half, just what you guys changed after she had that first half? BRITTANY MALLORY: We tried to focus in on not letting her get touches‑‑ we didn't really talk about it as much. Our defense just came alive and we were talking about team defense. It's been one of our like mottos all year, just play together, play hard, and we just tried to make her uncomfortable a little bit. We were always there on the catch. I think we did that with almost all their players tonight. Q. Skylar, could you talk about the defense that they played against you in the first half and why it was so successful and the adjustments you made in the second half to get yourself going? SKYLAR DIGGINS: They were the aggressors in the first half. They were up, aggressive. We were passive. We were back on our heels. And we were settling for jump shots. Credit their defense. They were up on us tight. In the second half‑‑ we came in at halftime. We made adjustments in the second half. We came out, made sure we were the aggressors and we understood they were in some foul trouble. Attacked the basket. Got them in more foul trouble. And just continued to play our game and at our pace. DEVEREAUX PETERS: At my pace, I tried to move as the team goes‑‑ just trying to push, I think. I wasn't doing a good job of really pushing and getting out. I was kind of passive. Like I said, Coach just told me keep attacking. She told us to keep attacking. I got good teammates around me that move off me and we play off each other. At the end I think our defense kind of led to our offense. We got a couple steals, got out in transition, got some points. And it was good for us to get our momentum going. Q. Skylar, with about 22seconds to go and you guys were up eight, looked like you had sealed the win. You ran over to your coach, and looked like you said something to her and you both kind of smiled. Could you share what that was? SKYLAR DIGGINS: It's a secret. I just said: We got you, Coach. I hugged her. It means a lot. We play this game for her. And this team, we want to get it. We're hungry. We told her at the beginning of the game: We didn't have you in the last game in the Big East Tournament; we're going to have you this time. I thought the team bought in and did a good job backing Coach up. Q. Devereux, how tough was it inside, especially in that first half where it seemed like there weren't many whistles and it seemed like a pretty physical game? DEVEREAUX PETERS: I think in the first half they were getting a lot of easy layups. We were staying too long on screens and giving them wide open cuts to the basket. And so in the second half we really tried to get over the screens and the guards so they could guard the guards and we can get back in the post and they weren't getting easy shots. Q. Devereux, can you talk about the rebounding, the battle there? And, also, could you just talk about in general the fight this team has with what you did tonight? DEVEREAUX PETERS: The rebounding was really important. I think the guards came in and crashed, tipped some balls and got real key rebounds towards the end of the game. We weren't rebounding, really let them do what they wanted in the first half. We tried to focus on them in the second half. And I think the guards did a great job getting in there, getting rebounds as well. This is a team that never quits. We've never been like that as long as I can remember. We're going to keep fighting no matter how much we're down, if the game is over, whatever it is, we're going to keep fighting. And that's one thing I love about this team, is that no matter what point in the game it is, we're going to fight it out until the end. And it showed today. Q. I was hoping you could take us back through those final really crazy last 90seconds. Obviously they had a couple of steals, couple of big baskets and free throws, but then to Natalie's last final shot? SKYLAR DIGGINS: Oh, man. You want me to start? We're in the same predicament as we were at the end of regulation. And this time I think we went in the huddle up 4 with 1:20. We've got to finish. Leave it all on the court. And I think this team did that. And, man, turned it over, and I was like, oh, my gosh, I gotta get back in. Brit knocks a 3 down, and we were talking about our stops in the huddle, how we just needed to get three more stops, three more stops. We were on a clock. We knew they were going to be pressuring us. We did a good job at the end and let out a sigh of relief when we got up three possessions, and we knew we were going to switch everything and not foul. If it was a 2, just try to stay in front. DEVEREAUX PETERS: I think one of the best things about our team right now is we can hold our composure in situations like that. We've been in a lot of tough situations. Like Sky said, when she turned it over and they went on the 2‑on‑1 fastbreak, she could have easily fouled and not been in the right spot and given up. But she ran back and got a huge play and got a huge block and got the ball back. Shows how composed we can be even in those situations where it seems like things aren't going our way. Q. Brittany, I think it was the first three you had‑‑ BRITTANY MALLORY: First game. Q. You've had really good passing all year, a lot of high assist percentage. I think it fed through both of your post players. If it was a like hockey assist, they both would have gotten assists. When you guys have been performing well this season, that's been the case. Could you discuss that and how important that was to you guys playing your brand of ball at that point? BRITTANY MALLORY: Yeah, our team loves to share the ball. We have confidence in each other, and even though I wasn't hitting 3s most of the tournament, they kept feeding me the ball. They kept telling me to shoot. And Sky. She gave me the most confidence today when she said they're going to go in. And it was just a big sigh of relief when that first one finally went in. Our team loves to share the ball and we're going to help each other out. When someone's open, we're not going to be selfish and move the ball and that's when we're at our best. Q. Is it sweeter because it was UConn here? BRITTANY MALLORY: Yeah. SKYLAR DIGGINS: Yes. DEVEREAUX PETERS: Yes. BRITTANY MALLORY: It's great getting to the championship game and it's the exact thing that happened last year. But we've had a battle with them all year. We played them three times before this game. And they won the last game that we had, that we faced each other. And it couldn't be a better way to go to the championship. DEVEREAUX PETERS: I think it's great for the Big East, though, two straight years, two Final Four teams. What a game like this for fans to watch. I know basketball fans all around the country were foaming at the mouth seeing this and when it went into overtime, you could see‑‑ even the Stanford‑Baylor crowd got into it. But this is great. Yes, it's that much sweeter because it's UConn. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Coach, can you talk about your team's character, the way they came back from that let‑down at the end of regulation? COACH McGRAW: It was a huge let‑down. It was important that we went into the huddle with a positive attitude. And I thought my staff did a really good job of stopping me before I got there, to make sure we did go in on a positive note. And the players, they were great. They were pumping each other up. And we had seen them in overtime in South Bend. So we had kind of a little bit the same idea going into the overtime. But, yeah, it was huge for them to not put their heads down and say: God, we just kind of blew it. They were just ready to go. Q. Can you talk about what it means to you when the players say they've got your back? COACH McGRAW: Yeah, it's very emotional for me with this group. I don't think I've ever had a group like this. They take such ownership. We play for each other. I feel the same way about them. I want them to experience a national championship. Every time I look at them, all I can think is how much I love them. It's like a little bit like being a mom and watching your daughters do some great things. And it's always a proud moment for me. Q. Can you talk about Skylar's play, the block, and then the feed for Mallory to get that 3, just the impact it had on the game? COACH McGRAW: That was game‑saving. That was huge. You can't even‑‑ that would have turned the game around had they made that layup. So it was just so important. And as Dev said, a lot of times you turn the ball over, you tend to put your head down and kind of jog back and hope somebody gets there. But she sprinted the floor, made that huge play. I think when she came out of there, I don't think anybody saw where she was, all of a sudden she came dribbling out of the pack. And I think it just gave us such a big momentum lift, and then Brittany hitting the 3 just topped it off. Q. You said the players were going to approach it as a business trip. Now that it's been a couple of days, what's their psyche been like and how would you evaluate them, how they've been here in Denver? COACH McGRAW: They've really been great. I think in fact they probably haven't had enough fun. We went out to the Broncos stadium, had dinner out there and a tour of the stadium. That was nice. But I think they really want to have some time off to themselves to kind of experience the city. So I think they've been great in terms of their attitude and their approach, and we kind of kept telling them if we win you're going to get more free time. We'll have a lot fun if we go win this one. Q. Earlier in the first half it seemed like Connecticut was beating you backdoor and they were getting a lot of easy buckets with Dolson inside. Was it simply the fact that Dolson was in foul trouble early on in the second half, or what did you adjust to eliminate that? COACH McGRAW: You know, she really played well. And we were really happy when she got that third foul and had to go out of the game, because we were having trouble guarding. We were supposed to be fronting her. We never quite got there. She was setting a lot of ball screens. We hedged a little bit too long. We didn't get back in time. Our next plan was to double team her. She had a couple of times where she dribbled and we forgot to go down and double. She played well. That's one of the best games she's had against us, and certainly having her out of the game for seven, eight minutes was important for us. Q. Can you talk about what it means to you and what it means to the program, you're now 3‑0 against Connecticut, national semifinal games? COACH McGRAW: I don't really look at it that way because it's over such a long span of time and they're a program that's here so often. It's nice to be able to be a team that can actually beat them here. Q. I realize we're right after this game, but have you had any chance to look at tape of the Baylor or Stanford? I know you've played Baylor this year. We don't know who the outcome is going to be. But you're going to be playing a good team regardless. COACH McGRAW: We're going to be playing a good rebounding team with good post players. So we probably will have a similar game plan. But I've seen a little more of Baylor. Feel like they've been on TV a lot more. Don't get to really see the West Coast games, can't stay up that late during the tournament to watch them. So I'll be cramming, I'll be cramming tonight for Stanford if they win. And just know that both of them, with Neka, Chiney and then Griner and Destiny Williams, so many bigs inside. Our posts are going to have to be ready. Q. Coach, you know UConn so well at this point in the season. And you know each other so well. Maybe there was an edge there with Skylar possibly compared to UConn this year. Kind of abnormal for them not having that Maya Moore or that player that you know when it's crunch time it's going in their hands. It wasn't kind of that obvious person this year for UConn, but for you guys, you have Skylar who was creating even when she wasn't scoring. Do you think maybe that was kind of the edge in this game? COACH McGRAW: Oh, absolutely. I definitely think Skylar's the difference‑maker for us. I think she does that. When you look at their team late in the game, you wonder who they're going to go to. There was no question today it was going to be Dolson. I thought that was pretty obvious from the way they were looking inside to her. And she really stepped up. But I think when you have a team and you're not sure who is going to be the one, it is a little bit difficult at the end of the game. So I think that was an edge for us. Q. Can you talk about the fighting character in your team, because you've come back before from halftime deficits? COACH McGRAW: We have. We were down a few games this year, probably at Hartford, came back in the last game of regulation. But they just don't quit. I think they just keep on going. They know they have the confidence, they have the maturity, the poise, and that calm, that calm that Brittany brings. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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