2011 NCAA® Division I Women’s Basketball Championship April 2, 2011 • Conseco Fieldhouse • Indianapolis, Ind. National Semifinals • Texas A&M
Texas A&M Locker Room Quotes
Junior Adaora Elonu
On the importance of rebounding against Stanford:
“That’s always a team goal to rebound and to find a player, box them out, and then go get the rebound. As far as our guards, we are going to need them to come down and help us get rebounds because we are going to have our hands full with them. Knowing how good they are, of course I am going to be focusing on being a lot more physical with my box out.”
On making the program’s first Final Four:
“It’s a wonderful feeling, but we know that there are two more games left that we could possibly play so we are still focused and still hungry to win.”
Senior Maryann Baker
On the keys to rebounding:
“I think it’s really important for the posts not to just turn around and find them, but to get them out of the paint. By opening the paint up, our guards will be able to come in and get some easy ones because we have seen multiple times on film how you think they are boxed out but they just reach over you because they are so tall and long. To me, the key is the guards helping the posts out because the posts are going to have their hands full.”
On trying to play up-tempo, force turnovers, and control the pace of the game …
“That’s when we are at our best, when we are forcing teams into doing things that they don’t want to and forcing them to play our tempo of ball, which is fast. Even if they don’t turn it over, hopefully we can force them into shots they don’t want to take.”
On being a senior and making the Final Four …
“It’s been fun so far and this is what we set out to do from the very beginning, so it’s fun and it’s great to see that we finally achieved a goal that we said we were going to do.”
Freshman Karla Gilbert
On the ancillary events around the Final Four:
“It’s been amazing. All the different things they have put together for us, the signings and the banquet. It’s amazing and we really do feel appreciated.”
On the keys to the game against Stanford:
“We are going to have to be aggressive of course, and matchup with them. We need to be aggressive and keep them off the boards. We have to block out, deny the ball, and just play Texas A&M defense like we usually do.”
Junior Tyra White
On helping lead Texas A&M to its first Final Four:
“It means a lot and it goes to show that all the hard work and dedication we put in has paid off in the end. To be able to come out and play on the center stage like the Final Four is a blessing for us.”
On the keys to success against Stanford:
“We need to play with pressure, I don’t know if Stanford has played anybody with our physicality where we deny the wing or deny the dribble. I think it will be a good game and I think our defense will be something they need to work on. We need to be smart and execute. It’s going to be difficult for us, but we are working everyday with their switching man-to-man defenses. I think both teams are going to have to get adjusted to the things the other team brings.”