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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 8, 2013KK HouserDrey MingoSam OstarelloSharon VersypHOFFMAN ESTATES, ILLINOIS Purdue: 74 THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by Purdue coach, Sharon Versyp, along with KK Houser, Drey Mingo and Sam Ostarello. Coach? COACH VERSYP: Well, we know the first game you play in a tournament you need to get through hesitation and, you know, play through the game and the first half and I thought Wisconsin obviously played a very good basketball game, they did a great job yesterday, and today they broke us down off the dribble quite a bit. We tried to go to zone and they did the same thing. We got our game plan back together at halftime and we executed what we needed to do. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach. Questions for the student athletes? Q. KK, can you talk about picking them up full court like you did, especially in the second half and how you were able to slow them down and wear them out? KK HOUSER: Yeah, I decided to pick 'em up, be aggressive, and I think it worked. We were trying to get the ball out of 35's hands, so I think we did a successful job at pressuring them. Q. Drey, they only had two field goals for about 10 minutes, did the defense intensity allow you guys to get going offensively? And help you get going? DREY MINGO:  Definitely, that's a staple for our team getting stops and kinda getting our offense started. SAM OSTARELLO: Pigging backing off what Drey said anytime we increase our intensity and get layups the other day that bodes well for our team. Q. KK, I know Dee Dee guarded her well but can you talk about Paige and how you limited her ability to score? What have you done well in the two games? KK HOUSER: Dee Dee is the best defender on our team so we can have her lock down, that's what Dee Dee did and whoever switched off on her we wanted to keep the ball out of her hands, she is a great guard, she can take off the dribble, and take the 3, and keeping the ball out of her hands was our main goal and Dee Dee did a great job on her. Q. Sam, talk about the job that Apriland Taylor did, freshmen in their first tournament experience. SAM OSTARELLO: As freshmen they have no fear. I think we have seen that all year. They stepped up and hit big shots and they understand it right now, and that's huge for our team and that's‑‑ I just can't wait to see their growth through the tournament. Like I said, they're fearless and that's awesome. Q. KK, the shots that Aprilhit in the second half, the three, three pointers there in a 10‑minute span, how big were those to give you a cushion that Wisconsin couldn't come back from? KK HOUSER: Huge and that's April's role. She just comes in and hits big shots for us, and she is a smooth player. When they sag off and she is wide open and knocks down threes, that gives us a boost so they were really big for us. Q. Just looking ahead to tomorrow, Drey, you get Nebraska. Prepare for overtime, I guess, with people, but another shot at them and as you move on in this tournament? DREY MINGO: I think it will be a great game, always fun to play against Nebraska, and looking forward to it. THE MODERATOR: Players, you can head back. Questions for the Coach? Q. Apriland Taylor, if they had any tournament nerves they were not there but throughout history you have had freshmen step up in these situations, they did well today, didn't they? COACH VERSYP: Absolutely, did a great job on Courtney early not getting some shots and we talked about Aprilbeing open a lot and she can knock down the three just like anybody else on our team and she did it effectively so the second half when I had the three small guards in, all of them could shoot the three and everybody could take it to the hole and I told Aprilto bend her knees and knock down the shot. For her to score more for us was big and she won a state championship, she loves tournament time, you can see a different gleam in her eye, and Taylor is Taylor, just knows how to play, she understands the game. Sometimes she is too unselfish, quit passing the ball just score every time you get the ball down low, we had a scare, she tweaked her ankle a little bit, glad she was able to come back in. Q. Sharon, what did you do the second half to prevent Wisconsin from getting in the game in the second half? COACH VERSYP: Played defense, got that going again and we changed the tempo, started full‑court pressing at a certain time, didn't want to do that too early, but we started doing that and they got the ball into an offensive set with only 2 seconds, so trying to keep it out of 5 and 35's hands, and we did that effectively. They didn't respond as well because of our pressure and that throws people out of sync. Q. Sharon, the way Wisconsin pushed you for most of the game today, and they're an 11 seed, does that lend to the evolution of the conference as a whole in the RPI rankings? You've been around the Big 10 a long time. Is this one of the strongest years you've seen in the last five to eight years? COACH VERSYP: I believe so. I keep saying that every year and every year it gets tougher, and we have new coaches come in, different blood, different style of recruiting and different style of the game, so I think that has improved immensely. You have seen No. 12 knock off No. 1, 11 knock off No. 2 or 3, 11 knock off No. 6, and you're seeing the parity. Any given day anything can happen, and it's huge right now and when you add Rutgers and Maryland in another year or two, it's really going to escalate. Q. Thoughts on tomorrow? Playing Nebraska? What do you expect? COACH VERSYP: I expect an up‑tempo game. They want to run as much as they can. I really feel that Lindsey Moore is the key to that team right now. When we played them, we did a great job of trying to maintain our tempo, but I think she has been the key why they have won so many games in a row. She knows how to manage the clock, she is a senior point guard, she knows how much time to take off the clock and she knows who the go‑to players are and she knocks down the shot. I think they have more depth than they had last year. They have guards that can come in and "D" you up, and Hooper ‑‑ her and Moore are the keys to their team, but they have more than just those two. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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