March 20, 2015

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2015 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
First-Round · #1 Notre Dame vs. #16 Montana
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center · Notre Dame, Ind.
Friday, March 20, 2015

FIRST ROUND QUOTES – Notre Dame

Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame Head Coach:
Opening Statement:
“I was really pleased with the way we came out. I thought Jewell (Loyd) got us going, and I thought we looked poised. After having two weeks off I was a little worried about the execution and how sharp we would look. I thought all three freshmen really played well and overall it was just a great win for the whole team. It was a real team effort and I thought everybody really contributed.”

On her main takeaways from the game…
“I don’t look as hard for flaws this time of the year because it is all about moving forward. I probably won’t even watch the game again. We are going to focus on DePaul immediately after this. I think that this time of the year it is all about building confidence and just celebrating the victories.”

On how DePaul’s injuries will impact the rematch between the teams…
“I think that Doug (Bruno) has done a phenomenal job playing without Megan Rogowski, a big piece of their team. They really did not miss a beat scoring-wise. I think that they are still second in the nation in scoring. They’ve really managed to play at the level that they were playing at before and he has really done a great job replacing her.”

On how having Brianna Turner will impact the rematch with DePaul …
“Brianna gives us inside scoring and rebounding which will be important. She also gives us a little bit of a size advantage. Last time we played four guards and matched up with them, and now we have a little bit of an advantage inside.”

On the team’s shooting performance …
“I think that we are first or second in the nation in field goal percentage so I expect that we will shoot about 50 percent every game. Tonight, we got much better shots, and our shot selection was really good. We looked to go inside a lot more and we were especially working the high-low very effectively today.”

On the team’s rebounding…
“Sometimes when Bri (Turner) is not in the game I think we forget that she’s not there and that we have to go do a little bit of work. We didn’t get any box-outs. There was a long stretch where we weren’t really hitting anybody. We were just jumping in the lane, unsuccessfully trying to get the ball, and so I was a little frustrated with that.”

On the importance of scoring balance going forward…
“That is a huge plus for us. I think that we have won some games behind Jewell but we would much prefer it to look like this. We didn’t have a lot of people in double figures but we did have a lot of people with eight or nine points. That’s what we need because we are a balanced team, and we share the ball. Those kind of stats look a lot better to me than Jewell having to get 40 for us to win.”

On Brianna Turner’s play as the season has progressed…
“I think that she has definitely overachieved this year. She really came in with a lot of confidence. She was someone that we thought could defend, rebound, and block shots. I think that she will be our all-time leader in blocked shots once she graduates. But that’s where we thought she would help us, primarily defensively. We thought we could press a little bit with her and I thought she really showed that well today. But scoring-wise, I think she is way ahead. She is leading the country in shooting percentage and I don’t think that I ever expected that. She is just so good around the basket and able to jump over people, and her percentage and efficiency is just phenomenal.

Kathryn Westbeld, Notre Dame Forward:
On what she was able to do inside…
“Just started out with good position, running, getting position when they shoot the ball. And for scoring, just my teammates finding me after getting good position.”

On the difference between a regular season game and tournament game…
“If you lose you go home, so there’s definitely that on the line. But just the energy from our team and the will that we have to win and keep on playing in the tournament, I think that really played into our first game.”

Jewell Loyd, Notre Dame Guard:
On being able to get production from the bench…
“It means a lot. They do a lot of work in practice, and it’s paying off right here. They do it all the time, so I’m not shocked about it. It’s just awesome to see.”

On how Notre Dame found success against Montana’s defense…
“I think we executed really well. Everyone fed off each other’s energy really well and we just took what the defense gave us. We just have confident players, and having trust in your teammates makes it a lot easier.”

On playing DePaul and Brittany Hrynko again…
“It’s not about me. It’s not about her. It’s about team basketball. You run with the team, so it’s not about 1-on-1.”

On if she’s excited playing DePaul again…
“It’s March Madness, of course you get excited. You play with a lot of passion, and we’re playing at home. But that was last season. It’s a new season.”

On if the game against DePaul in December affects the team now…
“Every game counts. Every game matters. You take away everything you learn from a game, and I think we’ve played so much better since that game. You take that game and you learn from it. Like we said before, that was last season and we just have another opportunity to play them again.”

On staying in control the entire game…
“I think we were just excited to get on the floor and were really motivated. Our team is young, but we’re very motivated. That helps when you have everyone focused and you just want to play. You want to play hard and you want to play for your family and this program. That makes it easy.”

Brianna Turner, Notre Dame Forward:
On the difference between a regular season and tournament game…
“It’s definitely so different knowing the outcome is if you lose you go home, if you win you keep playing. But it was great to be playing at home, and of course we’re more familiar with the setting here.”

On the progression of Kathryn Westbeld’s game…
“I would just say she’s super crafty with creating her shot. I’m a shot blocker, but I can honestly never block her shot in practice because she just has really good ball control.”