March 17, 2008

VIDEO: Coach Versyp Discusses NCAA Bid

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - On Monday, the Purdue women's basketball team found out it will be the No. 9 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional and face No. 8 Utah at 7 p.m. on March 23 in West Lafayette, Ind. Should the Boilermakers win, they will face the winner of Tennessee and Oral Roberts in the second-round on March 25. The game between Tennessee and Oral Roberts will begin at 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Mackey Arena will host two other games Sunday afternoon. At noon, Oklahoma will face Illinois State, and Notre Dame will face Southern Methodist at 2:30 p.m. Second-round games will be held on Tuesday with game times to be determined.

Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp and several players discussed the Boilermakers selection Monday night.

Coach Sharon Versyp quotes:

On her thoughts about facing Utah in the first round of the NCAA Tournament...

"We are very excited. We figured we would be that eight or nine seed. We don't know a lot about Utah, but we do know that they are great shooters. The players are ready to practice tonight but we will get to work tomorrow. It was very exciting for all of us."

On her thoughts on Utah...

"I've seen them a little bit. They are similar to an Iowa team; they shoot the 3 really well, they move the ball and have a good motion offense. Having Iowa in the Big Ten I think will help prepare us for that."

On the number of quality teams, especially Tennessee, that will be playing in West Lafayette...

"We've played Connecticut, we've played North Carolina and they've all been No. 1. To have Tennessee coming in here, I think it's incredible for West Lafayette and Purdue University to have somebody of that caliber come in and it's great basketball. Hopefully young people will come out and see a lot of different teams. We have another bracket of teams that are phenomenal. You are going to have so much of a following that I think this is going to be one of the biggest venues."

"That's what our group is so excited about it. A lot of teams couldn't do what we did losing their two best players and playing the second best schedule in the country. That's been our year, up and down, and it was good it finished the way it did."

On the excitement the team is still experiencing after winning the Big Ten Tournament...

"We came back (from the Big Ten Tournament) on Sunday night and we didn't practice until Wednesday afternoon and since it was Spring Break, everybody didn't really see each other. So at Wednesday's practice, everybody was still high-fiving and cheering. Our practices Thursday and Friday were intense, but everybody should be happy. It was one the best ending stories of a Big Ten championship for us. Of all the things we went through, it couldn't have been written any better and you can still see in practice that they are playing different; they are playing at a different level."

Junior forward Lakisha Freeman

On playing Utah in the first round...

"We're just looking to go out there, play hard and get the win against them. We just got to go one game at a time and Utah is our first team so we just need to go out and play hard. It's great to be in there; there are a lot of teams that didn't make it so we just need to go out there and play hard against Utah first. It has been very intense in practice the last week. We've had some really good practices this past week. We've been working on our defense and it will just be good to get out there and play in a game again after having the two weeks off."

On returning to the NCAA Tournament...

"It's just great, it's a tradition here at Purdue and we're playing really good basketball coming off (winning) the Big Ten Tournament. So we're just looking to go out there and do great things."

Sophomore guard FahKara Malone

On Purdue returning to the NCAA Tournament...

"It's great finally knowing who we're going to play and knowing what time and everything we're actually going to play. We don't know much about Utah right now but our coaches will do a great job and get us prepared. The week of practice we've had has been great. We've been able to work on defense and shooting and being able to get back to the fundamentals. We're just glad that we weren't the team to break the streak of Purdue teams making it to the NCAA Tournament."

On being able to play at home in the NCAA Tournament...

"It's outstanding just to have the opportunity to play in front of our outstanding fans at home. Having our fans at home, without having them have to travel is great."

On what Purdue needs to do to win it's first round game...

"We just need to go out there and defend, rebound and hit some shots. We need to do the same things we were able to do when we won the Big Ten Tournament.

Senior guard Kalika France

On waiting to see who Purdue would play...

"We were anxious, waiting all day to see who were going to play. The men's show was earlier in the day and then we were one of the last teams called, so we were waiting all night."

On Purdue's confidence going into the NCAA Tournament...

"I feel like there is nothing you can throw at us that we can't handle, there's nothing we haven't seen already. If (Utah) is a team of shooters we've seen that in Michigan. Then we've played the two most athletic teams in the nation in Connecticut and North Carolina. This is where strength of schedule is going to come into play. The hard schedule prepared us and we're bringing it together now. We're playing together now and it's all about who wants it the most and if the fans can help us we can go out there and play well. We're very confident and our confidence is at full tilt from winning the Big Ten Tournament. Then playing at home where we've been winning lately, we're very confident."

On playing at home in the NCAA Tournament and what it will take for Purdue to advance...

"We're hoping that it will be a huge advantage for us. At home the fans really support us and I still remember against Connecticut we scored the last basket and all our fans cheered. With that kind of fan support behind you, you're likelihood of being successful is higher. To get a win we have to play defense, great defense and we have to rebound. That's what all the top teams do, they play good defense and they rebound and for us to win that is going to be key."

Junior forward Natasha Bogdanova

On waiting as a team to see who Purdue would play at home...

"It's fun to reflect on how we do every year, see what seed we get and it's a lot of fun to travel. But this year, we are just so lucky to stay home and have our great fans as our sixth man and we are really hoping it's really going to help us out this year."

On how big of an advantage it is to play at home...

"Our fans obviously have our back. They are so amazing; they have stuck around the whole year. They are patient with us. We didn't let them down with a Big Ten Championship. We are all comfortable because we practice here. I have practiced here for four years so obviously I feel so much more comfortable playing in this gym versus going somewhere else far away. And, of course, we are going to have 8,000 people in the stands which is just awesome and our band and our cheerleaders will be here, so it's just a really comfortable atmosphere for us. We are all really excited."

Junior forward Danielle Campbell

On the anticipation even knowing Purdue was in...

"I was just excited so see our name up there knowing we are going to play at home. I am just excited right now. I told coach, `Let's go practice right now.' I am just ready to go."

On the past week with no games, just practices...

"We just had a great week of practice this week. It's hard to come down from that win we had against Illinois. It's just all the excitement; we've brought it to practice. We had a great week of practice."

On the advantage of playing at home...

"We play best at home so we know that we are going to definitely bring our `A-game,' especially because the NCAA Tournament is one and done, so we are putting it all out there on the floor."

On the tradition of tournament appearances for Purdue...

"Purdue has a tradition of winning and so to come here, we want to continue that tradition."

Junior guard Lauren Mioton

On the feeling of seeing Purdue's tournament draw...

"It's a great feeling to see who we're playing on Sunday, so we have practiced all week trying to work on ourselves, so now we have a week to prepare for our new opponent. It's exciting."

On whether the wait was nerve-racking...

"We know that we're in the tournament, but you get these nerves no matter what you're watching or just what seed you're going to be, what bracket you're going to be in and who you're playing, to look into the future. It definitely is something that we're looking forward to and it's also nice to see where other teams fall into the bracket."

On staying home and playing at Mackey...

"It's awesome. We get to sleep in our own beds. It's a disadvantage for every team that's coming into this gym. Mackey is a great place to play. We have the best fans. We are going to get the most support that we can. It's something other teams have to fear because we do have such a great audience and fan support."

On Utah going undefeated through conference play...

"They have always been fundamentally sound. They always have great ball handling skills. They're great shooters. They should be a very scrappy team that is going to bring their `A-game.' So, no matter what, not knowing their personnel automatically, but knowing that they are going to be a tough matchup for us should get us prepared and get us excited for this game on Sunday."

Printer-friendly format	Email this article

Purdue Boilermakers