Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State's NCAA First Round Press Conference Quotes
3/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 17, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - On Saturday afternoon, Michigan State women's basketball coach Joanne P. McCallie and the Spartans addressed the media before their first round game of the NCAA Tournament against Delaware, which tips Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement
"We're just very excited, it's wonderful to see the Breslin transformed by hosting this great event. We're very excited for it. Delaware's an excellent team, they're a guard driven team. But very talented guards, good post players too of course. We've been preparing and getting ready so we're real excited. I think we're just excited to play, it's been a long time since we've played a game."
On the value of having senior guards in the NCAA Tournament...
"Well I love guards any way, guards overall are just great. But I think senior guards are special just given the experience. In all the times they handle the basketball and all the different situations they're in. I don't dislike post players, but guards are special in the way they make decisions, the way they move the basketball, and just the experience. When you have seniors who have been through a lot of different things, they're really eager to take on any fight. It's always a battle, it's always a fight and there's no question we're certainly eager to take on the next one."
On playing at home...
"It's all positive. It's an incredible event to bring to East Lansing with all these great teams. Because our program has worked so hard and so many people have worked hard in our program to make things happen. We love playing in Breslin, so it's all good. We have to focus, and you certainly don't take anything for granted and there are no guarantees. But I can't think of anything better than earning more games in Breslin, especially with our community. Our community support really made this possible, in terms of our fans and the numbers that we put up. I just think it's all great."
Michigan State Senior Guard Rene Hayes
On dealing with two weeks off...
"I do not think having two weeks off is detrimental. We had a couple days off just to relax and get back in the groove of things. I think that the couple days off that we had after the Big Ten Tournament made us come back hungry and ready to play. We have had a good week of practice and we are just ready to play."
Michigan State Senior Guard Victoria Lucas-Perry
On preparation for the NCAA Tournament at home in East Lansing... "I don't think your preparation changes. You cannot take lightly the fact that you are playing at home because we have lost at home. It is anyone's game if you don't come ready to play. I think that it is very important to keep your focus and prepare for each game and know that there are 64 teams that are all winners and have the capability of winning. You need to come ready and bring your best."
On lessons learned from losing...
"You never like to lose to learn, but this year we have definitely taken a lot from our losses. I think that at this point in the season it doesn't matter what conference you are from, it's just a good team playing against another good team. That is the attitude and mentality that you have to have. We have learned from all our losses at home and grown as a team."
Michigan State Senior Forward Katrina Grantham
On playing in her last NCAA tournament...
"That feeling of it's `one and done' makes you focus on putting everything out there. I think for seniors like Myisha (Bannister) and myself, who missed out on the NCAA tournament last year with injuries, it makes this last chance even more special, especially playing at home. For Myisha and the Ohio girls going back to Cleveland for the Final Four is also in the back of our minds. This year we just have that sense of urgency and we just want to get it done and we hope to do that here."
Michigan State Sophomore Forward Aisha Jefferson
On what type of crowd she expects for the team's first round game..."We have a lot of young fans, and I think that's how we start out our fan support, from the younger children. I think it's going to be the same as the regular season, just a lot more excitement surrounding it because this is the NCAA Tournament and there is a lot of hype around it."
On the team's preparation...
"It's basically the same thing, we had a lot of training when we came back (from the Big Ten Tournament), we just did a lot of running and stuff because we had that whole week off. Before Selection Monday, we didn't have an opponent, we didn't have a face and basically what Coach did was just run us to death and keep us in shape. Yesterday we watched film on Delaware."
Michigan State Sophomore Guard Mia Johnson
On the team's mindset entering the NCAA Tournament...
"Right now it's just to take it one game at a time. We definitely have to go in there and play hard. It's all about playing hard and competing."
On playing at home... "We consider this a neutral, more off-site type deal, because you don't want to feel that just because you're playing at home you have that advantage. It's really just about us being focused, and we've been playing in that mode of just being on a neutral court."
