Feb. 14, 2012

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Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

On tonight’s game…
“I thought we played better defensively in the second half. We had a couple of times where we left them loose with three [pointers], but overall I thought we did a better job. Devereaux [Peters] did a great job on the boards tonight with another double-double. In the beginning of the game, Skylar [Diggins] really got us going. We had a slower start than I expected. I thought we would come out and have a great bounce-back game. We weren’t able to do that, and I credit Providence with that. They hit some shots and handled our press really well. We had some turnovers and got a little sloppy.”

On the team’s emotional level…
“I think a couple of us had some emotion, and I think we could have used a little more off the bench. Natalie [Novosel] has been under the weather, so it has been hard for her.”

On the team’s frustration level…
We had a little frustration. I was frustrated from the start. I’ve really been frustrated since Sunday. I think that is why we came out the way we did. I was just so ready to get off to a good start. I think I riled them up a little too much. I subbed a little too quick and got [the team] on edge. I think I could have handled it a little better.

On the importance of the last eight minutes to get back in its groove…
“Brittany [Mallory] came in and helped us calm down. Devereaux [Peters] made some big plays with a couple of blocks and got us going in transition. We looked a little more like ourselves.”

On the hangover from the loss carrying over into tonight’s game…
“I don’t know if hangover is the right word. I think we were quicker to be frustrated with that on our mind. The little mistakes got magnified.”

On the competitiveness of the team…
“I think the competiveness got the best of us. We just really wanted to get something going early. I could have calmed everyone down a little better.”

On the play of Skylar Diggins…
“She’s on a roll. She’s so hard to guard. When the other team tries to slow us down, she can dribble right through. On a field goal she gets the ball down so quick and that’s the pace we went to play at. When you’re rebounding like Devereaux [Peters] is doing and get the ball to Skylar [Diggins], she’s difficult to slow down. She’s shooting it really well from all over. She can do it all.”

Notre Dame Player Quotes

Skylar Diggins – Jr. – Guard

On playing a better game tonight…
“I don’t think we can ever really meet our expectations. We wanted to win by more. I think that was what Coach was talking about. We were really anxious to get out there and play. I don’t now if it was a good or a bad thing to play again so quick. It was good because it helped us get our mind off the loss. It was bad because we were so anxious at the beginning really trying to get something going. We settled down and that’s on me. Pushing the pace is fine, but I need to notice the times when we need to slow it down.”

On calming down…
“I’m ready to get back on the roll we were on. I’m still fired up. I’m ready to practice tomorrow.”

On elevating her game by increasing both points and assists…
“I think it has a lot to do with pace. Devereaux [Peters] is having a crazy rebounding year. When she goes in, I’m right there following her to start the break. Teams are starting to take away the high post, so we’re working to play off each other. It’s easier with me pushing in transition because I draw attention, and then I have to look to others for opportunities.”

On getting the entire team at the same level of competiveness…
“We talked about it yesterday that we have to play with our swag and confidence again. We have to know we are a dominant team. That comes with not being complacent. We have to be ready to compete and never be satisfied. We expect a lot out of each other, and I think that shows when we get frustrated. Everybody is competitive and wants to win. Nobody wants to be the one that lets the team down.”

Devereaux Peters – Sr. – Forward

On having her eighth double-double…
“I want to go in there and rebound. The first game that I had sixteen boards, I went in and realized I can do this every night. Tonight, I felt like I was slacking and could have gotten a few more. I want to get in there and get rebounds. Early on we weren’t a really good rebounding team. That’s all on the posts. We can’t expect the guards to do everything. They do a lot on offense, so the post players have to get in there and get rebounds. I want to do that every night if I’m not doing anything else.”

On facing other physical players…
“I thought they were pretty physical, but that can happen in any game. It’s the BIG EAST. They let a lot of [physical play] go. West Virginia was really psyched for that game, and they came to win. I think we shied away a little bit when we weren’t getting what we wanted off the bat.

On shooting one-for-eight against West Virginia…
“That’s never going to happen again. I promise you for the rest of my career here at Notre Dame. I told Coach [McGraw] after the game that it is unacceptable. I don’t care what the circumstances are. I wasn’t doing the fundamentals – I wasn’t squaring up – I wasn’t being aggressive. I have to do that, keeping pushing and look for the ball more. I feel like I took advantage of that today.”

Providence Head Coach Phil Seymore

Opening Statement…
“I think of all the times that I have come down to play here, this is one of the best starts that we have had. This is probably the best Notre Dame team that I have played against in terms of their ranking, and the maturity of their players. I was proud of my team in the first half. We wanted to have a good start because we knew that coming off of the West Virginia loss, Muffet [McGraw] was going to have her players riled up. We knew they were going to have an attitude of coming back twice as hard. I tried to prepare them for that. In the beginning we were happy, but we just couldn’t sustain that energy. Their backcourt players really bothered us. We went to the line only five times. That means we were shooting a lot of jump shots, and we were not getting the ball inside enough. That was a big difference in the game, and you can’t win basketball games like that.”

On what was working well in the first half…
“I thought we were aggressive. We attacked, and we spread the floor pretty well. When they were in their zone pressure we had opportunities to score. In the second half they went to a man-to-man defense, and we didn’t have the same opportunities that we did in the first half.”

On letting Notre Dame get on a big run…
“I think we took some quick shots, and their transition is really good. They are their own team, but it reminds me of Connecticut because they are non-stop and they are running hard each possession. If you are not prepared, and you are not ready to play defense, they are going to drive it right down your throat. You can’t make many mistakes against teams like this. We are not a great scoring team, so it isn’t going to work if we start going up and down with them.”

Providence Player Quotes

Symone Roberts – Jr. – Guard

On slowing down after a fast start…
“The fast start kind of took a toll on us. We wanted to keep up with their pace, but we also knew that we had to be smart. We are known to be an offensive transition team, but we have to be smart while we are doing it.”

Rachel Barnes – Sr. – Guard

On Notre Dame’s defense…
“Their defense was good. They saw us come out hard. They knew that we came here to play, so they had to play good defense. We were getting good shots and we were getting to the middle, so they knew they had to pressure us more. When they did we stumbled a bit.”