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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS: WEST LAFAYETTEMarch 21, 2014Kacie CassellJodi KestHanna LuburghRachel TeccaWEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA COACH KEST: We worked hard the last two years, and to win that MAC Championship, especially what we went through last year, losing to Central Michigan in the finals and seeing all the chairs that they had in the locker room. And after that loss, they really got committed to putting in more work and wanted to get back and feel the joy of winning that championship game, so I'm really happy about being here. Q. Casey, Hanna, Rachel, after winning the MAC Tournament for the first time in program history, how were you able to regain that focus to get back to basketball and get back and get ready for this game? KACIE CASSELL: You know, we just came to practice ready to go. You know, we won the MAC Championship and we were really excited about that and we came back to practice on Tuesday and ready to get focused about that. We weren't thinking about that. We were just looking forward to the next game we played. HANNA LUBURGH:  We had a couple days off, so we just enjoyed the win for a few days and then when we got back in the gym on Tuesday, we were just focused and just ready to listen to what we were going to do against Purdue. RACHEL TECCA: Yeah, also, we're playing great as a team right now, and I think we're having a lot of fun as a group, so we're just excited to be here and play tomorrow versus Purdue. Q. Rachel, why is your team so good offensively? RACHEL TECCA: Well, thanks to Coach Kest, she put in a fast break offense a few seasons ago, and we've had a lot of practice at it. We have the personnel for it, too, as well. We are finesse players. We get out and run and Casey pushes the ball up the court and looks to get us all the ball. So I think it just works out great for our personnel. Q. What's the difference between your team before January 15 when you were 7‑8 and after when you went 16‑1? RACHEL TECCA: I think the biggest difference is that we are playing together as a team. Everybody knows their role now. I think at the beginning of the season, we were playing more like individuals. Now I just think we are clicking as a team and we have a lot of team chemistry out there. HANNA LUBURGH:  One of the big things is our bench play has improved tremendously. We have a lot of contributions from everywhere now. Before it was just a couple of people. So now we have, you know, really, just a lot of contributions. So it's really helping us, and the confident level of our bench is really high right now, as well. KACIE CASSELL: I would agree. Our bench has stepped up tremendously. I couldn't be more proud of those girls. And I think we really looked in the mirror; January 15, we looked in the mirror, what had we been doing wrong, and we made improvements in practice and so we stepped it up. Q. At the MAC Tournament, some of you state that had Coach Kest gave you a chance. Bigger schools looked over you, possibly for being too small, not strong enough. Does that motivate you going up against a Big Ten school like Purdue? HANNA LUBURGH:  I mean, I think we all want to prove ourselves. So I think that we are just going to go out there and play our game. I'm not really focused on whether they recruited me or not because I'm happy with where I'm at with Akron. So we just want to go out and represent the university the best way we can. KACIE CASSELL: I agree with Hanna 100 percent on that one. RACHEL TECCA: Yeah, same. I think all three of us are just happy to represent the university for the first time in the NCAA Tournament and we're just happy to be here. Q. You guys are playing pretty good right now and the fact that your championship game was on Saturday and there's a quick turnaround, no long layoff, do you feel like that will help you keep your momentum? HANNA LUBURGH:  Absolutely. We like to play. We like to play basketball games, as everybody else does. So I think that being able to play right now, in a week, we're ready. We're in rhythm. We feel good about ourselves. So, yeah, we are excited to play already on Saturday. Q. The President of the United States picked you guys to win. What is your reaction to that? KACIE CASSELL: I love it. Thanks, Obama. That's awesome. Q. First time coaching, getting this team to the NCAA Tournament, is there any change in your preparation from the MAC Tournament to the NCAA Tournament? COACH KEST: No. We keep things very simple. You know, like they said, it's all about us. Our preparation is going to be the exact same. It's never been a concern for us who the opponent is. We've just got to take care of us. Q. Was there a particular game or moment that you thought was a turning point in the middle of the season? COACH KEST: They talked about it a little bit. After we lost to Miami, we were 1‑3 in the conference and that hurt us, because we lost to Central, wasn't a big deal. We didn't play well, we lost to BG, but losing to Miami at Miami really hurt. The coaching staff, we came back, and we self‑evaluated on what could we do differently. Sometimes you always want to point the fingers at your players and blame them, and we needed to look at ourselves and what we can do to get better, and then, as well, look at the players and what they can do to get getter. So we made a change in the starting lineup and we sat them down and said: We are good enough to win the rest of the games, 14 in a row, or we are bad enough that we can lose 14. The change really helped in the starting lineup, Carly came off the bench and did a fantastic job, especially a senior, that's a tough role; you've been starting for the last year and now all of a sudden you're coming off the bench. Like the players said, I think our bench has played unbelievable over the last month: Anita Brown, Katie Nunan, Carly off the bench, Megan Barilla; and even though Rachel and Hanna both scored 22 points, those other kids knew that they had capabilities of scoring but were not looking for that early on, and they were open. I think Casey offensively has gotten so much better. Early on they were not guarding her at all. They were double‑teaming Rachel or Hanna; and I think the last month, she had a lot of confidence right now in her offensive ability and that's helped out. We have five players on the floor right now that can score at any time and that makes it very difficult at times to stop us. Q. Courtney Moses, their leading scorer, what does she do so well and defensively how are you going to be able to stop her? COACH KEST: I don't really know if anybody can stop her. I think we want to try to contain her. She's phenomenal. I see her playing the WNBA next year. She can score so many different ways. She can score in transition. She scores with all the different sets that they have. She scores in the two‑man game that they have. She's just phenomenal. And to be honest, and I've seen Purdue play on the Big Ten network as a fan, just watching basketball, but not really evaluating it, and what I've watched the last six, seven games and watched their team play how impressed I am with their team and their coaching staff. They do so many good things. We are going to have to play a great basketball game in order to beat them. Q. Is there anybody that you've played this year that has a similar style to Purdue or that remind you of Purdue? COACH KEST: A little bit size‑wise, maybe Dayton. Dayton was a very big team and they like to score in transition. And you look at Purdue, they score so many different ways n transition and halfcourt set. They don't set as many ball screens as Dayton does but size‑wise I would rank them as close. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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