Oct. 26, 2004
Head Coach Kristy Curry
On the point guard position ...
"We're making progress every day to get better. It comes down to being consistent with the little things - the little things being to continue to learn the offenses, continue to learn every option of the offense. That's going to come on their own time away from the court. It's obviously probably the most critical position on the floor, just as it is with all other teams. I definitely see Sharika Webb coming back. It's up to her to try to overcome the struggle she's had with her foot. Brina Pollack can contribute and contribute early. And with Katie Gearlds at the 1, that 1 spot will be fine and we'll just have to see who emerges. Either by combination, by committee, by all three, by one or by two, we'll just have to see how it all comes together. I expect all of them to contribute. The effort is up to them and the opportunity is there for somebody because Erika (Valek) is in Greece. These kids have the opportunity in practice. There's no way we can put anybody at the 1 other than Sharika, Brina, or Katie. It's just kind of seeing who will emerge, and that, I think, will come in time."
On settling the point guard situation ...
"I wish it was settled yesterday, or two weeks ago, or two months ago, or the day that Erika hung up her shoes at Purdue, but it wasn't. That's what practice is about: figuring those things out. We can go down the list. Who will be replace Beth (Jones)? Who will replace Shereka (Wright). I don't think that anything is guaranteed at any of the four spots, and I think Emily would tell you that. If the girls want something promised to them, then they're going to have to find someone else to play for."
On Sharika Webb's Big Ten Foreign Tour Team experience over the summer ...
"We had a lot of confidence in her and wanted her to go overseas. There was very positive feedback from the Indiana staff. Nothing but really positive comments came back. As far as what Sharika did in the summer, you'll really have to ask her because I wasn't present. But from what I understand, she made leaps and bound and strides from a year ago, but had some struggles with her foot and she is trying to hop up from that and get going again, and I know she will."
On the status of Aya Traore ...
"She is further along. Every day she gets better. To have the trainer come up and say she can go in the full court some today is really a positive thing. Aya and I are pretty excited about getting back on the court and being able to compete. It's fun to see her in some competitive drills in the half court and moving daily and easing her way into the full court. I definitely like what I have seen in the past couple of days."
On Traore's potential role ...
"(Aya will have) an impact-type role. That's what she was brought here to do: to contribute early and often. That's what we expected and that's what she expected, and we're on the same page with that. She's been working really hard with her conditioning, but there's nothing like court condition. I think that she will continue to get better with her court condition and her ability to be comfortable on the court. I think that comfort and conditioning go hand in hand. I'm excited that she's out there and her face is lighting up; there's nothing worse than being an athlete and being injured. We're just going to take it one day at a time and wait for her to get healthy, and she's working hard to do that."
On leadership of the upperclassmen ...
"I don't think there's any question that they understand that we're going to do the coaching and we need them to be positive, high energy, high spirited, and be more verbal. Erin is very verbal, Emily is very verbal; I'd like to see Katie be more verbal. Hannah is doing an outstanding job. Leadership is going to come by committee. Erin and Katie, obviously they are going to have to lead because they are your top minute getters from a year ago. There may be someone else (that will) emerge. There may be a Sharika Webb, an Ashley Mays, a Brina Pollack, a Natasha Bogdanova. Just because you're a freshman doesn't mean you can't lead. I'll go down the roster of 13 and tell them all that I expect all of them to have some type of leadership capabilities and qualities. Ultimately, it's my job to lead. I expect that. With leadership comes responsibility."
On the five-player freshman class ...
"I like a lot of what they bring to the table. Yesterday in practice we tried to spend some extra time at the end of practice with the freshmen. We kept the freshman longer because you have a 1, you have a 2, you have a possibility of a 2/3. You have a possibility of a 4/5. You also, in that 4/5 combination, have a possibility of a 3, so a lot of what we're doing in a couple of our offenses give us the freedom to play a lot of different people at the same spot. It's fun to have a group where you can work with all five of those freshman and spend some extra quality time teaching, and that's what we were trying to do yesterday. I like the fact that you have so many possibilities from this new freshman class. It gives our team, overall, a lot of versatility. We're bigger and we're more athletic. Brina and Tye make us quicker, and then you've got Natasha and Lindsay, who give us size both inside and out. It's exciting to be able to work with them. They all really work very hard. They have to learn the pace, though, and their sense of urgency has to be consistent."
On the present status of the team ...
"I don't think we're ever where we need to be. I think it's the time of year where you see things that you like and really some big areas of improvement. We're going to be young and taking care of the basketball, minimizing turnovers, a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. We're going to have to be a team that really minimizes the mistakes that we make."
On who will score ...
"I definitely think that everyone expects Katie and Erin to score. If you look at our team and you look at Tye Jackson, Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, Natasha, Kiki, Brina ... We need (Brina) to distribute and take care of the ball and get the ball to people at the right time. The other four, we definitely want them to be aggressive offensively and score, get to the foul line. All five of them really have the opportunity to help us. I see Emily coming along. Ashley Mays is probably doing as well as anybody on the team at being aggressive and really making some things happen. Ashley's yet to do that in a game situation, but I feel like it's going to come. Aya Traore can score. There's going to be a lot of different ways to make up points. I'm always more concerned about defense than points."
On doing the little things ...
"We want to be positive and we just want to take care of the little things. If we're denying one pass away, then deny one pass away. If we're supposed to be in help, then let's be in help. With every possession we have to have a sense of urgency and consistency. Those are the things that are a little frustrating that we don't seem to really understand - that we mean what we say, and to do what we say. On this team, you will probably play more if you play defense because this team can't match basket for basket and win.
On Shereka Wright coming back as a student assistant ...
"It's just great to have her. When you look at her role, talking about a freshman, look at her role as a freshman and who she was playing behind and how she handled that and how she persevered through that and worked to make her team better every day. It was never about Shereka. Rather, it was what can I do to make my team better today? It's just great to have her here every day."
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Emily Heikes, Senior
On motivation to reach the Final Four in Indianapolis ...
"I feel pretty motivated because we've got Katie Gearlds, Sharika Webb, and Ashley Mays that are all from the Indy area. It'd be great to play here so they could play in that event in their hometown."
Hannah Anderson, Senior
On chances of winning a Big Ten championship ...
"Preseason polls don't really mean a lot until games are played and you see what everyone is made of; no one really knows yet. Emily (Heikes) and I know what it takes to win the Big Ten, and the chances are good, depending on how hard we work. Everyone on this team is coachable and open to comments the coaches make. We're going to have to put a lot of work in, but we've got the muscle and heart to be a good contender for the title."
Carol Duncan, Junior
On handling the loss of four seniors ...
"We'll find people to fill in for them. They can't be replaced, but we have freshman coming in and upperclassmen who will step it up. We aren't replacing anyone; we're just rebuilding the program."
Ashley Mays, Junior
On goals for the young team ...
"As a team our goals are to come prepared every day to practice, to work hard, get better and rise to the occasion. The teams we play this year are going to be pretty tough, and we have to be ready to play."
On what she is looking forward to the most ...
"Winning. Proving to everybody that though we are a young team we can still go out, play hard and beat our opponents."
Aya Traore, Junior
On what she did this summer to prepare for the season ...
"I was here at Purdue with my teammates until almost the end of July. We conditioned, lifted weights, and played pickup games. I feel that the strength and conditioning helped me the most to prepare. We have a new strength and conditioning coach, and it's been a challenge."
Sharika Webb, Junior
On how the freshmen are fitting in this season ...
"I think they fit in pretty well, actually. They're going to help us out a lot this year, and they're teaching us to be more patient than we would normally be."
Katie Gearlds, Sophomore
On her confidence of the freshmen class ...
"I can't put into words the confidence I have in them. They were here all summer, all five of them, working their butts off. They proved to us that if the starting job is there they are going to work for it. I think all five of them have a chance to play a lot of minutes, and probably a few of them can make a huge impact for us. They'll be ready."
Erin Lawless, Sophomore
On personal goals for the season ...
"To be able to help the team and go in and step up from the level I was at last year. Instead of coming off the bench I hope to earn a starting role, and want to step up more on defense and offense."
On the biggest challenge for the team ...
"The biggest challenge I think will be getting everybody to play together because there are five freshmen. It's a different level of camaraderie for all of us because there are five new people."
Natasha Bogdonava, Freshman
On biggest difference between high school and college basketball ...
"Definitely the intensity and the pace of the game, and what the coaches are asking you to do. In high school I'm sure everybody on this team was a superstar on their team and they were able to get away with a lot of things, like not working 100 percent of the time in practice because they knew they were going to start. Here it is much different. There is a lot of pressure, and you realize that everybody is just as good as you or better, so it makes you work harder and think twice before stopping in practice and not giving it your all."
Kiki Freeman, Freshman
On what she is looking forward to the most this season ...
"I'm looking forward to the competition, getting to play with my team and seeing what I can do to help the team in any way possible."
On differences between high school and college basketball ...
"One of the biggest differences is the intensity of the game. High school wasn't as intense as it is right now."
Brina Pollack, Freshman
On differences between high school and college basketball ...
"Intensity. Everything is just so quick and focused. You just can't take a day off. Everything is just so intense. You always have to come with your best game every day."
Tye Jackson , Freshman
On what she will bring to the team ...
"Energy and fun. I'll do everything I can do."
On what she is looking forward to the most ...
"Playing. I'm ready for the Big Ten excitement. I just can't wait."
Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, Freshman
On her personal goals ...
"As a team, to get to the Final Four. Individually, to contribute as much as I can, whether it be on the floor or off the floor."
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