Oct. 12, 2005

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Head Coach Muffet McGraw

On the recovery of sophomore guard Charel Allen
“I think the word that describes her the most is anxious. She just wants to get out there and she hasn’t been cleared to be out there for five-on-five. She’s done some drills and things. She’s got the excitement and enthusiasm and she’s right there where Dr. (Fred) Ferlic wants her to be, so we’re really pleased with her progress.”

On the strengths of the team heading into the season…
“Our strength is in our balance. We lost some key players from last year. Teresa Borton, she was our leading rebounder, and obviously Jackie (Batteast) is just a great player. We have a lot of people with a lot of talent that just weren’t able to make a big impact. This year is one where we look for each player to contribute and be consistent. One thing we lacked last year was consistency. Each player is going to bring some good things to us and we really need them to bring it every night.”

On the changes in the BIG EAST Conference…
“We’ve challenged ourselves this year with the schedule we have. The BIG EAST has gotten better and will be very strong this year. The teams coming in this year have added a lot. We’re happy that we have some teams in the Midwest that we are going to be able to compete with. We’ve got a very difficult year, and our schedule is going to be so demanding that we have to be ready.”

On the floor presence of senior guard Megan Duffy…
“The other players look to her. She’s a great leader, one of the best leaders we’ve ever had in our program. She’s done so many great things for us and has the respect of the entire team. She’ll make it as easy as she can for everybody else, but at some point they’re really going to have to come into their own and be able to come out and play well every night.”

Sophomore Guard Charel Allen

On the recovery from her knee injury…
“I’m wearing a brace. I have to lift with it, run with it, do everything with it. For the most part (it is pain free). It’s a little sore. I’ve worked with the team and do everything they do and it’s been sore.”

On the loss of All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast…
“You can’t replace Jackie. She’s a great player, along with (fellow graduate) Teresa Borton, but there’s no pressure to follow them.”

Senior Co-Captain/Guard Megan Duffy

On her summer with Team USA…
“Over the summer I played for Team USA in the World University Games over in Turkey and we ended up winning the gold medal. We spent a few months training in Colorado and getting my game ready that way. Every team was different. If a team played a zone, I could get a few more shots off. In our final game, I was in charge of shutting down their offense.”

On the team’s expectations coming into the season…
“We’re coming in with a lot of confidence. We’re going to be a more balanced, up-tempo team. Everyone has the green light this year. There’s no big scorer and we’ve been working on everybody improving their game, making sure we’re all in it together and all on the same page. It’s going to be an exciting group. We lost two key starters, but we definitely have people who are going to pick up the slack from day one.”

On the team’s two freshmen, forward Chandrica Smith and guard Lindsay Schrader
“Chandrica and Lindsay are doing a great job. They fit in and are ready to work hard. They both bring different things to the lineup. Lindsay can score from all different areas of the floor, while Chandrica is going to be more of an up-tempo player, a rebounder and someone who will do the dirty work out there. They both have the potential to play a lot of minutes and contribute for us.”

Senior Co-Captain/Forward Courtney LaVere

On the impact she could have this year…
“I think I need to play on a consistent basis. I had my ups and downs last year scoring-wise and injury-wise, so I think that if I focus on a goal for each game and do that consistently, I can be the x-factor this year.”

On the loss of Jacqueline Batteast and Teresa Borton…
“Jackie and Teresa are great players. They brought a lot of scoring and rebounding. But we have two great freshman coming in and older players who know what to expect. We lost great players, but we still have great ones coming.”

Freshman Forward Chandrica Smith

On anyone she looks up to on the team…
“I don’t think it’s one person. I think I have to look up to everyone that was here last year. They had a really good season. If I had to say someone, I’d have to say Megan (Duffy) and Crystal (Erwin). They show great leadership for the team.”