March 20, 2009
Coach Joi Williams
Opening Statement
"We are very excited to be here it is a very exciting time of the year to be here in March, anytime we are able to participate in March Madness. I am just proud of this team to be able to experience this and having the chance to win our conference tournament and earn the right to be here. We are excited for our first time and for UCF and Conference USA and we are ready to get started."
Re: Slow start and their tough schedule
"We felt like at times we might have been a little crazy making the schedule; obviously we were hoping to win a few more of those. We just weren't able to close out some of those non conference games, but when looking at the films and the break down, our kids saw that there were things we weren't doing. We realized that it wasn't something the other teams were doing, but rather things we could fix; so that was a good thing. I remember January 2nd was start of our New Year and season, our girls made a decision that day to buy into the program and do the little things to become successful and make the turn around."
Re: The decision to go with a young team
"Having ten freshmen last year we looked at the talent and skill level and decided to go with five freshman starting; they were the ones that were going to win it or not. This year they played with more experience on the court and learned a lot during the off season. As coaches you live or die with your decisions. They have gotten better each and every time out there, and you can see it in their performance."
Re: UCF players matching up to North Carolina players
"They are probably one of the most athletic teams in the country. Most teams don't match up player for player with them. We know that we have very little room for error, but our team saw that playing Baylor and Wake Forrest. We have to carry out our game plan; everyone knows that they (North Carolina) do a great job of pressuring and running the ball, but I think we may be able to do some things to cause them some problems?"
Re: Thoughts on 16 sites
"I like the 16 sites, and I have been on both ends as a coach. Obviously you would love to have it at home, but for women's basketball I don't know if we are at a place that we are ready for a completely neutral site. I think the way it is now is great, I like it the way it is."
Re: Thoughts on predetermining 16 teams in pre season, and them getting to play at home
"I don't know about that. How would you determine that? You may have a team that is top 15 all year long and you hadn't expected that, then what happens? "
Re: Playing in Chattanooga
"We were hoping to be in this area because of all our kids with family in Georgia. We would be happy wherever we were sent in the Southeast, but having some familiar faces in the crowd couldn't hurt."
Re: How is the team feeling?
"You can't verbalize this for them, until they go through it. What is really fun is watching them as they came in as freshman and seeing how they have grown. We have practiced hard and they have really grown."
Re: Playing 4 straight games to get to the NCAA tournament and being tired for the tournament
"We are refreshed, we got a few days off since then. Last week they had spring break so they didn't have to go to class or anything. We all went to Disney World and got in some good practices. You don't usually want too much of a break, but it was nice to have a few days since the tournament."
Re: What being in the tournament will do for recruitment?
"Oh, it helps tremendously. We have had people calling us, recruits and coaches. This exposure with ESPN in the tournament will allow potential recruits to see us on the national stage. We are excited to be able to play in it this year. "
Re: Perseverance after 2-11 start?
"That was always hard especially after coming off our last season. We just kept fighting and we ended up winning the conference tournament. We were a surprise from our conference so that is great."
Re: Particular win that turned things around?
"The first Southern Miss game really put a lot of confidence into us because they were picked to win the conference this year. I think going into that game, our first conference game, gave us a lot of confidence."
Re: A lot of Atlanta area players on roster. Expecting big fan base?
"I know I have a pretty good amount of people coming. But it being only a two-hour drive we should have a pretty good fan base."
Re: So many young players. Who is taking the leadership role?
"I wouldn't say that we have a particular leader but everyone has a job and they are doing it."
Re: Early season tough non-conference schedule. Help against UNC?
"I think it helps a lot because we did play some big teams like Baylor, Villanova and Wisconsin. We competed with them and this is really all we are trying to do is compete with a good North Carolina team."
Re: Trip here so far?
"It has been a great experience so far. It is the first experience for everyone on our team except the coaches. It is great to be out here, hopefully not our last."