Feb. 9, 2014

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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse
February 9, 2014
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

Opening Statement…
“Well, I was really pleased with the first half. It was one of the best halves we’ve had, and we’ve had some good ones. But we shot the ball extremely well. We handled the press well. I was most pleased defensively. Brittney Sykes didn’t have any rebounds, and that was one of the keys to our defensive game plan. Brianna Butler didn’t make a three. Overall, I was really pleased with the effort at both ends.”

On effectiveness of Notre Dame three-point shooting in the first half…
“I was wondering if we had missed a shot early on. It just seemed like [Kayla McBride] and [Jewell Loyd] were just making everything. And then [Michaela Mabrey] came in and made a few. 8-for-14 from the three-point line [in the first half] is tremendous. But then we came out in the second half and went 2-for-12. So, I thought we should have shot a lot less in the second half and used the post more. But the first half was great. As long as it’s going in, it’s great to keep shooting them.”

On the impact of Notre Dame’s shooting success on Syracuse’s zone defense…
“It’s deflating and so demoralizing to the defense. They pressed and we handled it. They played zone and we handled it. They just couldn’t get anything going. [Brittney Sykes] and [Brianna Butler] are such good players. I was so worried about them, and I thought defensively we did a pretty good job on them.”

On comments by Syracuse coach that this year’s Irish squad is better than last year’s…
“I don’t know. I think that remains to be seen. We still have quite a few games left. But I do think that this team is very different in a good way. I think that everybody has stepped up and done more. Kayla (McBride) has done a tremendous job at handling the ball, which is something she didn’t have to do at all last year. She’s really stepped out of her comfort zone a bit to play point guard for us and has been very effective. Jewell (Loyd) has stepped up and played better. Kayla and Jewell are the reason we have been playing so well this year because they’re very hard to guard. And when they rebound and put the ball on the floor and go, our attack in transition is so much better and so much harder to guard. They don’t know who to stop. When we’re on as far as rebounding, that’s really what makes us better. We’re throwing the ball ahead a little more than we did last year.”

Notre Dame Player Quotes

Kayla McBride – Senior – Guard

On comparing her experience on this Notre Dame team to that on previous ones…
“I think everybody has taken a step more. If you look at our bench, that’s one of the main reasons we’ve been so successful. Mike (Michaela Mabrey), Maddie (Madison Cable) and Taya (Reimer) bring instant offense when they come in and they just know the game. The coaching staff does a really good job of instilling confidence. And it starts in practice. We do a really good job of mixing it up a bit. I think it starts there, they bring it out, and they’re working hard every single day.”

On Notre Dame’s confidence level in the locker room sitting at 23-0…
“We still have a chip on our shoulder. I think we play in the best conference in the country, and we know it’s going to be a tough game. We’re going to get everybody’s best game night in and night out. It’s just sticking to the game plan and taking it one game at a time.”

On early effectiveness against Syracuse’s zone defense…
“We were just finding the gaps. I think we were playing really well together, making the extra pass and hitting shots. That gave us a lot of energy and intensity. That got the crowd going, which got us going and we just went from there.”

Jewell Loyd – Sophomore – Guard

On reasons behind an efficient 9-for-11 shooting day…
“I think our players found me when I was open. I was just trying to be relaxed and not force anything. I give credit to my teammates for giving confidence to me.”

On her team’s level of fun in starting 23-0…
“It’s been a work in progress, but it’s really fun with this team. We try to implement fun everywhere we go including in practice. But we still have a lot of stuff to do and a lot of things to improve on, so it’s just another day at the office.”

Syracuse Head Coach Quentin Hillsman

Opening Statement…
“First of all I have to give Notre Dame a lot of credit. They are a very good basketball team. We played them a lot; this isn’t our first time playing them obviously. By far, I think this is the best team they’ve had since I’ve been here. They’re very balanced. I thought that last year, with Skylar (Diggins), they let her do her thing and go to the side and let her shine and she did, nothing against her. She really dominated, had the ball in her hands a lot. Now, with Skylar gone, they’re so balanced. It’s hard to prepare for a team that has that kind of balance and can score from all spots on the floor. Have to give them a lot of credit.”

On how Notre Dame attacked zone…
“People have different ways of attacking it. I think they did a very good job of their personnel in the way they attack it. (Natalie) Achonwa at the high post is tough. (Ariel) Braker on the low block is tough. And they have guards that can make shots, and then they can bring two shooters off the bench. They’re just very balanced. Teams try to attack us in different ways but normally we match team threes so it offsets with their threes made per game. This game they doubled our threes and it’s tough to overcome. We talk about if we give up seven we have to make seven. That’s how we balance off the three point shots against our zone.”

On Jewell Loyd’s matchup problems…
“Well, she’s just balanced. And our scouting report simply says play her honest. Play her for the shot, play her for the drive. She’s getting better every game, not just every year; this is her second year. I think she takes really good shots. She doesn’t take bad shots. She’s really, really balanced. She’s 9-for-11, that’s pretty efficient, and 2-for-3 from the three-point line. Last year we wouldn’t have guarded her out there. She was a shooter we called a no close out kid, we didn’t go. Now, we have to go. She’s tremendous and she had a great game and almost shot 100%.”

Syracuse Player Quotes

Brittney Sykes – Sophomore – Guard

On playing at Notre Dame…
“It is a great atmosphere to play in. We played all these different teams but definitely coming to Notre Dame and having all their fans and being in this great arena, its a great atmosphere and a great experience to play in as a player.”

On trying to mentally overcome fast start
“You have to have mental toughness. When we looked at the score we realized we were down. It was 14-2 but as a team, the coaching staff made sure to relay to us we were going to be ok. We were going to go on our run. They went on their run and we went on ours. No matter how close the score was we made sure we competed the whole 40 minutes.”