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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 7, 2013Barnes AricoNicole ElmbladRachel ShefferHOFFMAN ESTATES, ILLINOIS Michigan – 67 THE MODERATOR: Coach, if you would like to start with an opening statement, please. COACH ARICO: I was really proud of the way our kids came out today. I thought we were very focused and we were really sharp. I thought Indiana made a run at the end of the first half, but then we started the second half crisp and sharp again. I thought we rebounded. I thought we shared the basketball well and ran in transition. It was a followed game for us against an Indiana team that has been playing well lately. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Nicole, did you come out looking a little to score more than before or did that just develop? NICOLE ELMBLAD: Obviously I kind of struggled a little bit this year, but in practice, we've kind of been working since a couple of teams have just been sloughing off of me and not playing me out deep. We've been working on cuts and places I can get open and get some shots up. That's what we've been working on in practice. Q. Nicole, can you talk about the fastbreak tonight? Seemed like you were on the receiving end of a lot of those fastbreak opportunities, and did that really get you energize you and get you going? NICOLE ELMBLAD: Yeah, my teammates found me and I made some incredible passes to everybody tonight. But I think that was one of the goals of the team was to get out, run in transition, and get some easy baskets. And I think that energized the whole team. Q. Rachel, can you talk about what Nicole's offense adds to your offense? RACHEL SHEFFER: Yeah, just having more threats out there when we're, from the starting five and everything, they played off her. Packed it in the paint more in the past couple of games. So I think Nicole just being a threat. We have complete confidence in her to shoot the ball whenever she wants. So just letting her know she has the confidence in herself to shoot the ball, too. And I think once we all have the confidence to do it, we can go really far. Q. Rachel, can you compare like the aura around the team, last year on the bubble, and compare it to how you guys feel now? RACHEL SHEFFER: I mean, it's hard to say because it's a new year and everything. But we're really just focused on just playing ourselves and March is a new season come tournament time and everything. So we're really just focused on the next game right now, which is Michigan State. So we're going to come back and prepare for that and just be ready to go for that next game. Q. I just want to ask how it seems like in all three games against Indiana, Rachel, yourself and Kate have not had, like, great shooting nights, but seems like someone such as Nicole or another player always steps up. Can you talk about just the depth of the team and how the offense seems to be like an equal opportunity offense? RACHEL SHEFFER: I think tonight really showed the depth of our team. We had people come in off the bench scoring, contributing defensively, just knowing that we have threats all the way down our bench. It really helps us know that we can just score with whoever out there and play defense with whoever out there. NICOLE ELMBLAD: Yeah, we know that teams are going to target on Rachel and especially Kate. And so we worked on still setting screens for them and trying to get them the ball whenever we can, but when teams are targeting on them, other people are going to be open for slips and cuts and everything. So just being able to step up other players, we've worked on that all year. Q. Obviously you talk about next games, playing as it is, but what do you really take out of getting one more chance playing Michigan State, coming off the victory against them last time? RACHEL SHEFFER: That's really the biggest key we were looking for coming into the game against Indiana, is just being able to have the opportunity to play tomorrow, and that was the biggest focus. And I think tonight we came out with a lot of energy, a lot of confidence through the bench and everything. And just being able to know we have another game tomorrow is really, really great for us. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Kim, did you plan that play for Kate right out of the half to get her going? COACH ARICO: Yeah, we run that sometimes. And we always‑‑ we try to get Rachel the ball inside. But we know if Kate's defender helps on Rachel, Kate's going to be open. And it worked out. And I thought it was good to get Kate going, because her first two shots were in and out, and then she became really hesitant. And that's one of the things we talk about is you gotta keep shooting the ball. But sometimes her and Rachel are the same way, both of them, miss a couple shots, then they get a little hesitant. But we need them to score. So we ran it. It was either going to be Kate or Rachel that we're going to score out of that or try to score out of that play. Q. Coach Aulani Sinclair really struggled tonight for IU. What did you think about your team's defense on her? She did get some open looks, but overall it seemed like she was being denied the ball quite a bit? COACH ARICO: I thought we did a great job defensively tonight. I thought we really, really did a tremendous job, whether it was zone or man knowing where she was, and as well as knowing where McGhee was. I thought we did a tremendous job on McGhee. She made some tough, tough shots in transition, pull up 3s. But then you look at her percentage, and she was five for 16. So we forced her to take a lot of contested shots. But we knew that if we could do a good job on those two, we would be in good shape, because they've been really doing a great job for Indiana scoring lately. So we knew they were going to be key to us winning tonight. Q. Could you talk about Nya's rebounding and assists and her total game? COACH ARICO: Yeah, I mean, Nya is just a name that keeps coming up each and every single game because I think she's getting more and more comfortable and more and more confident. And she was everywhere rebounding in the first half. She had ten rebounds at the half, which was incredible and it gave us a lot of our second‑chance opportunities and obviously helped in our lead at halftime. But when she gets out in transition, she gives a dimension to our team we really don't have, and she was able to do that tonight. She pushed the ball. She had six assists. Golly, she had a heck of a night. And she's just a difference maker for the team because she plays a position we really don't have. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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