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2015 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Regional Semi-Finals · #1 UConn 105, #5 Texas 54
Times Union Center · Albany, New York.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
POSTGAME QUOTES
Geno Auriemma, UConn Head Coach:
When you shoot the ball as well as we did today we are a really hard team to play against.
You know people are under this impression that just because Stewy doesn’t get 30 every night
that she can’t. If Stewy wanted to do what she did tonight, she’d do it every night. If we didn’t
have the balanced team that we have, if we didn’t have the 5 starters today that we had, she
would be doing that every night. Sometimes people forget just how good she really is, and today
was another indication of how good she really is.
We felt like we would have a little bit of an advantage on the perimeter, try to draw their big guys
out. I wanted [Texas] to shoot jump shots instead of throwing the ball inside. Kiah is one of the
best shot blockers in the country, and shes the only one that we have that can really match up
with the Texas kids.
The number one thing is players want to play, so every kid on the bench wants to play. So when
you put them in the game, you gotta let them play. When [the bench] gets in the game, they
have to impact the game, right away. If they do, I leave them in the game, or if I take them out,
I’ll put them back in. But they know, if I put them in the game, and they have no impact on the
game whatsoever, they’re going to come out and they’re not going to get back in.
There’s a lot of ways to motivate kids today. Some kids sitting on the bench is a great motivator.
They want to play, and if you do what I tell you to do, you’ll play.
We were going to find another gear in the second half. Those first five or six minutes in the
second half, that was pretty good, I liked that. That was about as good as it’s going to get, it
really was.
This time of the year, the only thing that you worry about is weather or not your team is going to
play as well as they’re capable of playing. That’s awlways my biggest fear in the NCAA
tournament.
Some people don’t get a chance to play in the NCAA tournament ever, some people get to play
a couple games in the tournament. We were pretty fortunate [to win 100 games]. We didn’t win
anything in the NCAA tournament first couple years we made the tournament, we lost both
times the first game we played. So for us to be in that situation, that’s pretty good.
In the NCAA tournament, it’s easy to remember [all the games], but because the losses sting so
bad, those are really burned into your memory, those are really hard to forget, those losses,
because they’re all losses that end your season. They’re tough to take.
Winning the final eight game is really hard to do. I don’t care what your record is, I don’t care
what you’ve done leading up to that, it’s the last step before the final four. That’s the one that’s
the hardest step because you know how close you are. All these other games leading up to
Monday night, you’re just playing in the NCAA tournament.
Monday night, whoever wins that game Monday night actually gets a chance to compete for the
national championship, that’s why it’s so hard. I’ve always found it’s the most difficult game to
prepare for.Whether you know [the team] or not, Monday night is really hard.That, to me, is way
harder than what happens the following weekend.
Moriah Jefferson, Guard:
Whenever you get to play against a former player that you played with in high school, or against
in AAU it’s always a special game, but for me I just wanted to focus on this tournament time, the
sweet sixteen. You just have come out and have a good game and make sure you do whatever
you can to get a win.
I just had to step up, make big shots and my teammates do a good job of getting me the ball
when I’m open.
Breanna Stewart, Forward:
I think today was a lot of fun. Just right from the start shots were going in an we were being
aggressive, and taking open shots. We knew texas had a big presence inside, big post players,
and we knew that once we could get them moving a little bit we could get any shot we wanted.
Any team, their game plan is probably to get me in foul trouble, if they can, and I’m expecting
the physical play every night, and it was physical in the post, but I think that we were just
battling for position.
I think the way that Moriah has grown, and how her playing has grown, has been tremendous
and it’s so much fun to play with her, especially when her confidence is high like it is now, and
like it’s been a majority of the season. She’s not afraid to take open shots, she’s not afraid to
take contested shots because she’ll make them. When you have a point guard who’s
aggressive like that, and confident in herself, it’s a lot of fun to be out there.