Head Coach Karen Kemp
Opening Statement:
“Once again, we are extremely pleased to be a part of the NCAA Tournament. Last year we made history by coming to the tournament for the first time in school history so this year has been really special because we have done it back-to-back. I always tell my players that it is easier to get to the top of the conference than it is to stay at the top. So we were fortunate enough this year to win it again and get back to the tournament. So we are excited to be here in Bowling Green and look forward to our game tomorrow night against Iowa State.”
On how the approach is different this year:
“The approach started last year after we got beat by Oklahoma State. Last year, there was a lot of thrill about just making it to the tournament for the first time but as soon as we got beat everyone that returned knew what our goal was. We started working on it that very next week trying to prepare ourselves and get here. This year after winning the conference tournament the focus was now we know how it feels to be here and we’ve got that experience so now our focus is turning towards winning basketball games. Last year we were a little happy to be there even though I thought we played well against Oklahoma State. This year, our focus is on going out and playing hard and coming out on top.”
On Iowa State:
“They are a really good basketball team. They aren’t ranked in the top 25 because they are a bad team. They are very, very talented. Size wise, they are going to have the height advantage over us and they shoot the ball extremely well from the perimeter. We are really going to have to find them in transition and keep them from getting the open looks. For us, I hope that we use our athletic ability and quickness a little bit and maybe create some turnovers and easy buckets.”
On advantage of playing in Bowling Green:
“We hope it is an advantage because we played here during the pre-season last year. We have seven that played in this arena last year so hopefully that will be a little bit of an advantage before we go out there and practice today. We’ll get back a feel for this place.”
Siarre Evans, G/F, Junior, #44
On returning to the tournament for the second straight year:
“We are very excited and we are very confident because we played Oklahoma State very close. You are motivated when you play in the tournament and last year gave us confidence.”
Tara Davis, G, Sophomore, #00
On motivation from the men’s play yesterday:
“We tried to watch it but we didn’t have cable so we downloaded it off the internet. It was great to see that they didn’t back down. Everyone jokes about a number one against a number 16 seed and that they are going to get killed but the fact that they were confident and handled their business gives us inspiration.”
TaRonda Wiles, G, Junior, #22
On the difference of preparation for an NCAA Tournament game:
“I don’t think it is that much different but you just have to be focused every day in practice and focused on scouting.”
