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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS: WEST LAFAYETTEMarch 21, 2014Courtney MossSharon VersypDee Dee WilliamsWEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA COACH VERSYP: Just very excited for the NCAA Tournament. It's been a while since we've played, and to be one of the Top‑64 teams is obviously‑‑ we feel honored and we worked exceptionally hard to get where we are and we are just excited to get back out on the court and do something tomorrow. Q. From the Iowa game and the turnover problems, I guess when you look back at that, what was the root of the problems and how do you go about fixing those? COURTNEY MOSS: Iowa's two weeks ago, so we are putting that behind. But the big thing in that game was communication, and it was a little thing. So taking care of communication in defense will help settle us down on offense. DEE DEE WILLIAMS: I agree wholeheartedly with Courtney. Communication is going to be a big key for us. It's not necessarily why we turned the ball over but it's a huge key as to why we turned the ball over. I feel like these last weeks of practice we really worked on that and we got it together. Q. From what you've scouted of Akron, what do they do so well offensively that you guys are going to have to try to slow down a little bit? DEE DEE WILLIAMS: They run really well in transition. From the games that we watched, that's really all that they did. They run plays but mainly transition and transition our defense is going to be key tomorrow. We are just going to have to communicate and get to it. Q. You guys have done a good job all season long, and really over your career, of slowing down individual players. How difficult is that with them because they have two players who are pretty good scorers. Do you try and take one away or look at both? What kind of problems do they present? DEE DEE WILLIAMS: I just like just going out there and just locking down and playing defense. Not necessarily want to take one away; if we take both away that would be awesome and if we do just take one away that would be awesome, too. But I do feel like if we can go down with the attitude of lock down defense, I know that we can take everybody away, and I know that's what we're going to do tomorrow. Q. The defensive mind‑set that you guys had probably the last month or so, how important is it to get back to that as you start this tournament? COURTNEY MOSS: Coach always says that defense wins championships, wins games, and offense sells tickets. So it's all about defense and we have really focused on that the last two weeks that we've had off here and really the whole entire season. That's what Coach has preached to us our four years here. It's her philosophy that it all starts with defense? Q. Most of your players, teammates, have NCAA experience but a few don't. Do you have to give any advice to some of the new comers to what this is like? COURTNEY MOSS: We just have to lead by example, just bringing energy and I think sometimes when you don't know what to expect, it's better than knowing what to expect. So just let them figure it out and lead by example. DEE DEE WILLIAMS: I just feel like leading by example and also just telling them to go out there and play hard and I know they will. They are girls who came in and will do anything for their upperclassmen, so I have no‑‑ I feel like, yes, it's going to be probably a little scary for them but at the same time, I know if they just go out and play hard, they will be fine? Q. I know it's simple but just talk about the advantages of being at home for this and how that is able to help you, especially now having a couple of weeks of rest. DEE DEE WILLIAMS: It's always a nice advantage to be able to play at home and have your fans here cheering for you. I love it. I feel like the girls love it, and I think the Purdue who‑‑ the administration who paid for us to host the tournament here; but I'm really excited about it. I know it's a huge advantage for us and I'm just ready to get out there and play. COURTNEY MOSS: It's awesome be to at home again on our senior day. We knew that it wasn't our last time playing, so that's always nice when you're seniors. Just thankful to the administration for letting us be able to get this opportunity and we hope to see lots of fans out tomorrow. Q. This whole field that's here can really get up‑and‑down the court and score pretty well. Is there anything specific that you felt like you were doing in the six‑game winning streak that was missing in the Iowa game? COACH VERSYP: Communication. I feel like in Iowa, I feel like it was dead silent out there for us. Of course, you had the fans out there, but on the court we were dead silent. I feel like communication is huge for us and the six games we did win, we were out there talking and we were out there moving. I felt like the Iowa game, it's kind of like we were shellshocked, but at the same time we just weren't communicating. Q. Curious if in the time that you've been here, if you've seen Coach Versyp change as a coach and if so, how? COURTNEY MOSS: Through the four years we've been through a lot together with Coach. We went through a lot of adversity together. I would say just the biggest change I've seen is just having fun. She told us earlier in the season it's been a fun year to coach. It's kind of teaching us life lessons. It's something she's done her whole entire coaching career but when you go through adversity, it makes you even teach those lessons more and enjoy each day. DEE DEE WILLIAMS: I just feel like through the four years and all the adversity we've been through, she's become more of a mother to us. Granted we are here for four years and freshman year, she's always going to be your mother away from home but with everything we have been through the past couple months, the past couple years, she's really become a mother to us and helped us and willed us to gut seasons in. Thank you, Coach. Q. For both of the players, just the last game against Iowa, it's been a while, how excited are you to finally stop answering all these questions and just get out and play? DEE DEE WILLIAMS:  I was just telling coach on the way down here I'm just ready to get out here and play. Practice is always good, but to play is a whole different story; and then to have‑‑ be at home and have the fan base behind you is just going to be awesome tomorrow.  I'm just ready to get out there and play. COURTNEY MOSS: I think as a whole entire unit, as a family we are ready to get back and play. The coaches are ready to stop watching so much film and the players are ready to stop practicing and actually put our game plan into action tomorrow so everybody is just really excited. Q. Was it as simple as communication in the Iowa game that got you away from what you had done so well during those last six games defensively? COACH VERSYP: Yeah, Iowa is a good basketball team. They won six in a row. And we did communicate. There was nothing‑‑ there was no unity out there at all. You could sense it; you could feel it. But we've just got to get back to Purdue basketball and can't win them all. Q. Is there anybody that you played this year that you can compare Luburgh and Tecca? COACH VERSYP: I think the guard, Rachel Banham; inside post player, Jordan Hooper. You know, so I mean, we've had to face and try to take and limit two to three players in the Big Ten every single game. In the Big Ten, there's always two or three players that you've got to do that to. So you know, I compare them to an Iowa, Nebraska type of feel, and if you want to compare the kids heights‑‑ she rebounds a lot better than Rachel. Rachel Banham is one of the best players in the country just flat‑out. Just some of her tendencies skill‑set wise, but we have to keep both of them off the boards. Q. Did communication problems lead to the turnovers in the last game? COACH VERSYP: No. Q. Was that just poor decisions‑‑ COACH VERSYP: Just not‑‑ over. Over. Nothing else to talk about. That's two weeks ago. Q. What does 300 wins mean to you? COACH VERSYP: I don't keep track of stats. Everybody tells me things.  I'm like, oh, that's nice. It's all the players; it's all the coaches that have coached with me, and everybody in the process. I'm only as good as the people that surround me and if we can get another win, that's fantastic and then hopefully it will be another milestone. If I can stay in coaching a long time‑‑ I won't be here to get 900 wins, that's a long time. But again, it's about everybody else. It's just a number but again I appreciate all those that have allowed the success that has occurred here. Q. You have slowed down individual players this season, and over the years, Banham this year and Hooper, and Lucas the first game; what do you attribute that to, just following and executing scouting reports, good defense of players? What sort of goes into that? COACH VERSYP: I think it's a combination. Players have to perform. We put in a game plan and if they are stepping up and performing‑‑ if one individual has an assignment, that means everybody else has to be just add attuned because it's a team defense. And it's that belief that defense wins. I mean, everybody in the country, it's all about offense; that's all that was poured into these kids heads for nine straight months. But I think when‑‑ but the officiating has changed so we have been able to play some more defense. It's a combination but it's been a struggle this year at the defensive end. I'm just pleased where we are at right now. Q. How appreciative are you of the administration to bring an NCAA Tournament first and second round back here, and is that an advantage going into the tournament? COACH VERSYP: I think it's big. I compliment this administration every single second. You don't have student athletes usually verbally say that from a camera, it's usually coming from a coach, so you know I instill that in our student athletes. That's one of the big reasons why Purdue women's basketball has been one of the top programs in the country because they started way before I got here. They were hosting way before and that's when they were able to hopefully get to the Sweet16 and March on from there. So it has not been around just since I've been here. It's been over the last 20 years, and that's huge. It's a big advantage with women's basketball. Q. I would guess you've looked at a lot of film from Akron throughout the season. Could you tell the difference, they started 7‑8, finished 16‑1, where did that finish? COACH VERSYP: For them their offense is what gets them going. Just really pushing the ball and making misses and they are just really playing great basketball together. When a couple kids knock down shots, things just continue to get better as it goes. If you miss free throws, it kind of goes the other way. But they are just really gelling, and when you win a couple games and you keep going‑‑ and she rotates a lot of people, and they do their job, and they share the ball. There's two key players that score a lot of points but they are very good at sharing the basketball and not taking bad shots. Q. Other than the two Iowa games last month‑‑ you've been moving the ball really well, why do you think that's been the case? COACH VERSYP: We are not forcing the ball, we are just moving. We are sharing the ball, and we are just going to let them play. I think when you have a stat that's negativeyou try to not talk about it and it becomes a positive and that's kind of what we did. Q. Can you talk about their point guard, Cassell? Her assist‑to‑turnover ratio is outstanding. What does she do well? COACH VERSYP: She doesn't force anything and she has four kids scoring 22 points a game almost, so going to give them the ball. I think she has two players that can flat‑out score for her and she's setting those players up. She's fun to watch, there is no question, and she leads that team. We have to frustrate her a little bit if we can, but she's just real solid and that's the key. She doesn't care if she scores. She needs to score. She's just setting up for that three‑point shot in transition but she's that point guard that gets everybody involved and everything goes from her. Q. I asked you about Akron's turning point. You finished the season well. Was there a game or a time that got you playing good basketball? COACH VERSYP: You know, we had moments. When we won at Penn State; that was a moment. When we won at Nebraska, that was a moment; those were two, early. After AK went down, every game was a moment. Everybody in the country didn't think we would do anything. It's stated all over the national news, they didn't expect anything from us after that happened. So each game has been very important for us, so it's not one game in particular. I think it's the moments and advertises that has allowed us to rise to the occasion. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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