March 7, 2009
UCF HEAD COACH Joi Williams
Opening Statement:
We're excited. This is the first time for our program and we're just so proud of these players. We've asked a lot of them and have demanded a lot and they've really responded. One thing we were concerned about was SMU on the boards. After their game yesterday, they had about 26 offensive rebounds. We had to block out and couldn't give them any second chance opportunities. Rebounding is what wins championships. I'm so proud of Emma (Cannon). She had about 19 boards and was relentless on the glass.
On the effort of rebounding:
It was a collective team effort. You look at all our players and the numbers and they all have numbers. After seeing SMU's impressive numbers on the boards we had to keep them of the glass. We just pounded it in that we needed to limit them in transition. We talked about rebounding winning championships, and it's really true.
On Limiting SMU's transition:
SMU's known for transition and we were concerned about that. We had to protect the basket and we couldn't let them get easy baskets. We play fast too and we used that to turn it up a notch. We're going to try and use that game plan tomorrow. We have to get some transition baskets.
On preseason schedule:
The caliber of teams we played helped us to prepare for everybody. We knew if we could do the little things, we could be prepared to compete.
On Aggressiveness:
One of our big keys was to get to the free throw line. We've talked about how important that is and getting to the free throw line shows how aggressive you are.
UCF SOPHOMORE FORWARD Emma Cannon
On the game:
We went out today hard and we had the championship on the mind and we got it done.
On expectations:
We were picked last to finish this year. It feels awesome to have a turnaround season and changing a lot of people's minds.