March 25, 2012
Recap | Box Score | AP Gallery 
NOTRE DAME
HEAD COACH Muffet McGraw
Opening statement
“I’m really pleased with our defense today. Our goal was to shut down (Jessica) Jenkins and (Brittany) Mallory, Fredrica (Miller), and everybody else who guarded her did a great job holding her to just six attempts and a scoreless night. I was pleased with the defense overall during the game. We forced them into turnovers and did a better job on the boards in the second half.”
Can you talk about the chip your players have on their shoulders from losing in the final four last season?
“This is a really competitive group who all hate to lose. When we lost last year, I think the whole summer workout for them was about getting back and having extra motivation to get back to the final four.
Can you talk about Kayla Turner’s contribution off the bench tonight?
“Her play is really important to our success and its difficult because she doesn’t get a lot of shots when she comes in because we have so many other scorers. But I’m really impressed that she has worked hard on her defense and improved defensively. It was a great day for her and the whole team gets excited when she scores.”
Do you think the game today prepared you for the next round?
“I think we need to take each round separately. It was great that we got to rest our starters a little bit. We had a really tough game last round and that really prepared us.
What is your initial summation of Maryland?
“I thought we were in a tough bracket. We knew Maryland would be a strong team and Texas A&M is a good team as well. We got a chance to watch their game and I haven’t seen much film on Maryland yet. They are a strong rebounding team with great size. They like to play four guards and much more physical inside than we are and its going to be a difficult matchup for us
Do you feel any pride in holding them to only two assists today?
“We take a lot of pride in that, and it’s something that we like to work on. They are an interesting team that scores a lot off the dribble. Their assist leader only had 56 assist while Skylar (Duggins) had 200 so they aren’t the same type of passing team that we are. They like to drive more, but just two assist to 21 turnovers is a stat we take pride in.
SENIOR FORWARD Devereaux Peters
On the team’s defensive effort
St. Bonaventure has some really good shooters and drivers so we wanted to limit their touches and keep them out of the lane. We were able to force some tough shots and get them out of what they usually do well.
On the message in the locker room at halftime
We weren’t hitting our open shots and we wanted to keep them from getting so many high-percentage attempts. There was also an increased focus on boxing out more effectively.
On the starters receiving some rest in the second half
I definitely think it was key for us to be able to rest in the second half since we have such a big game coming up on Tuesday. Maryland is a great team with a lot of athletic players and we are going to have to be ready to play.
JUNIOR GUARD Skylar Diggins
On the team’s effort against St. Bonaventure
It was a total team effort today. Building such a big lead early was a good thing for us. A lot of our players were able to rotate in and I feel like that is key going into Tuesday’s game.
On moving within a game of the Final Four
We are definitely excited. Maryland is a tough matchup and (the Terps) are playing great basketball.
On keeping Maryland off the glass Tuesday night
We really need to commit to boxing out. We have played to No. 1 and No. 2 rebounding teams in the nation this season. Everyone needs to help out and do their part. Maryland does a great job going to the glass collectively and it is something we will have to manage.
Can you talk about the defensive effort on (Jessica) Jenkins?
There was an emphasis of being aware wherever she was on the court at all times. It was a really big team effort. If I got hit on the screens somebody was there to switch out. We just wanted to make her uncomfortable, and be there on the catch and get a hand up. She got a few three-pointers off, but she only took six shots, which I think we all did a really good job guarding her.
You guys had that 13-2 run, then you went scoreless for about five minutes, but you got that spark back. What happened there, how were you able to get off on another run?
I think it just started in transition, getting back to the things that we have always done. We were kind of a little stiff coming out, I think we were just really anxious to get back out onto the court. But we kind of settled down and got back into our grove and hit open shots.
How great did it feel to have the hot shooting night today, especially after the cold shooting against Liberty?
It felt really good because my teammates and the coaching staff had a lot of confidence in me. So it felt really good to knock some shots down today.
ST. BONAVENTURE
HEAD COACH JIM CROWLEY
Opening statement
We would have liked to to be more competitive. We just could never get into an offensive groove. 4 Forty minutes won’t define our season.
On Notre Dame’s Defense
They don’t get enough credit for their defense. They are so much better in person than they are on film and I thought they were pretty good on film.
What gets me is how good they are at sensing you’re not ready or that you’re frustrated. Once they sensed we had hung our heads down they put their foot on the pedal.
Jessica Jenkins on Notre Dame Defense
They are really good at cuts and blowing up screens.
They came out ready to go and we didn’t. They were playing with a chip on their shoulder after coming up short last year.
Jessica Jenkins on the season
I am really proud of how far we have come. Who would have thought we would be in the Sweet 16.
CeCe Dixon on holding Notre Dame scoreless for 5 minutes
At the beginning we were overwhelmed but coach brought us into the huddle. He told us to rely on our defense and it brought us back.
St. Bona Locker Room Quotes
Megan Von Tatenhove
Notre Dame is a tough team. We knew we had to play our A game for 40 minutes. They sort of effected us..
We had a goal, one goal. After we accomplished that, we wanted to make some noise in the tournament. We made St. Bonaventure a national name.
They [Notre Dame] are extremely athletic. They are great players. They read each other and play off each other extremely well. I think defensively we held them to a couple stops but we couldn’t do on offense what we could throughout the year.
Our community and university supports us 100%. Our community shows us great support, it doesn’t matter what the score is.
Chelsea Bowker on advancing to the Sweet 16
It was something that none of us thought we could ever do. We finally got the chance. The experience was amazing. My teammates are great. We came out and played to the final buzzer. We knew it was going to be tough. Only good teams make this far. It doesn’t feel real still. Once getting over the feeling of this loss it will finally click.
It is all the little things. We need to get extra time in the gym, we need to get extra workouts in. We need to watch what we are eating. It is all the small little things. It doesn’t matter how talented you are or what you are doing with the ball. Its who’s around you and what you are doing for your team.
No one knew what we were. Half these people didn’t even know we had a women’s basketball team.
When we grew up that’s all we thought about. We watched March Madness. Who ever thought St. Bonaventure would be part of it. I got my tears going because it was a tough loss, but I have a smile on my face because some people never get the chance to come.
Alania Walker
They are a great team. It is a learning experience. They’ve been here before we haven’t. This is all kind of new for us. They played really hard. I think we can pick up on how they play.
Coming into the season we had one goal to make it here. As time goes on it changes to win a game and then another game. It still feels like a dream. It gives the community something to be proud about.