Saturday's Press Conference Quotes

March 22, 2003

2003 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
Lloyd Noble Center - Norman, Okla.
Host: University of Oklahoma

Head Coach Harry Perretta

On playing in the NCAA Tournament:
"We're just happy to be here, we were here last year. We played pretty well here last year and I hope we can do the same this year. The match-up is interesting. St. Francis and us play very similar styles of basketball. Both teams shoot a lot of threes. They score a little more inside than we do. They score a lot of points and pass the ball very well. They play five players that are mobile at each position and we can do that. If we decide to go small then we will be able to be mobile at all five positions as well. We're not the kind of team that's going to press them into 25 or 30 turnovers. We're not like that. I think the game will be interesting tomorrow."

On beating UCONN:
"If you look at the previous games, they have beaten people by an average of 25 to 30 points. I think people were stunned that we won. We were. As much as you think you have a chance to win, it's difficult when you're playing against a superior opponent. No matter how well you play you're getting beat. I told the story a year before when we played one of the best games we've every played and lost by 33. I don't think it was unusual for the reaction the way it was."

On Tournament Experience:
"I think it can help us depending on how they react to the game. The biggest strength of any player is to know their weaknesses and the one thing about these kids is they know their weaknesses. They know that if they don't play well it doesn't matter who the opponent is, they can get beat. So far they've kept that mind set. Now tomorrow will be a little different situation because we will be favored in the game. Hopefully, they will be able to fall back on what they've done all year and have the same mind set as all year. Don't concentrate on winning, but on playing well. You can't win unless you play well."

Senior Guard Trish Juhline

On the Big East Tournament:
"I feel like that Big East tourney happened like a year ago. So I think we're totally focused on what we need to do this week. It feels good to be back."

On being the No. 2 seed:
"I think we still see ourselves as underdogs in every game. As far as our thinking goes nothing has changed at all. People recognize our names now but like I said we still go into every game thinking that we are the underdog and have to play our best possible game to even have a chance to win.

On the Big East Conference:
"The Big East was really tough this year. It was the most competitive it has been since I've been here. A lot of teams played differently so I mean we've seen a lot of different situations. I think that has really helped us."

Senior Forward Katie Davis

On preparing for the game:
"We take every game the same way, the same approach. So the seeding doesn't mean that much to us."

On being back in Oklahoma:
"We know what to expect and we've played in this gym before. So it's not new to us and I think that helps us out a lot."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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