	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: ALBANY

March 23, 2018

Albany, New York

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams. Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. For both of you guys, what do you know about Duke so far? Their a talented back court, but what have you seen on film from them? You haven't played them in a few years now. You haven't played Duke since I think 2014?
KIA NURSE: Obviously their back court is very talented. They find each other extremely well, and their three-point range is obviously deep and effective. I think they do a great job with their zone. They're long, they try to use their length to their advantage, so it will be interesting.

GABBY WILLIAMS: Yeah, I mean, they have two really, really talented guards who are going to be hard to stop offensively. But defensively they like to push the ball. They're really aggressive at the trap, so we're going to have to really take care of it tomorrow.

Q. I asked Coach this, 25 straight years that UConn's made it to the Sweet Sixteen, you guys in the last four. Buffalo's here for the first time ever in school history. Do you appreciate that other schools don't have the same success that you guys have, and sort of take it for granted outside of UConn that you guys will make the Sweet Sixteen every year, but to see some of the new faces out there that you may not play or know that have their first experiences, does it make it fun to see other teams getting there besides you guys?
KIA NURSE: I think it's a great experience, the Sweet Sixteen itself, and just being here. The environment is always fun. I think for teams that are coming here for the first time, when we were freshmen and we were in this building for our first time, it's kind of eye-opening and it's amazing. You are grateful for the experience and you appreciate it.

In terms of us getting here as much as we do, I think that's just a testament to Coach Auriemma and Coach Dailey what they've done, the legacy they've built, and the people who came before us to give us the opportunity and build us into what it is.

GABBY WILLIAMS: Yeah, she pretty much said it all. But it is cool for us to see teams be here for the first time. Think it's also something for the teams who are at the top. It's a reminder that this is anyone's game and anything can happen. So I guess it kind of humbles you a little bit that you've got to kind of watch your back.

Q. You two ladies were here three years ago in Albany. I believe you beat Texas and Dayton. I just wondered what your memories might be from having been here three years ago.
KIA NURSE: Well, the Dayton game was a memory in itself. Obviously they played a really good first half. Then we played Texas and we played them really well and we came out, and that was exciting. I think the end part of it is you get a trip to the Final Four. If you can have that as many times as you can, that's probably the best experience that you want, and hopefully that's how this one ends as well.

GABBY WILLIAMS: I don't know. I blocked out like 90%. I just remember the excitement of the tournament because at that point we had only heard talk about it. You think you were ready for it after everything you've been through, you've played 30-plus games, and there is nothing really to prepare you for this atmosphere.

Q. Kia, I think if you were to stop anybody randomly on the street in any city across the country and ask who won the National Championship in women's college basketball last year, 99 out of 100 would say UConn if they didn't follow the game closely enough. With that not being the case, how do you guys resist that complacency that maybe comes with the expectations of this program?
KIA NURSE: Well, I think every single time we end up in this situation, and every time March comes around, we hope that throughout the year, throughout the season we've prepared ourselves in every way possible. Seen as many defensive executions that we need to. How do we create as many strengths for ourselves and how do we hide our weaknesses as much as we can.

And we just have a great leadership of our coaching staff who will not ever let us be complacent in anything that we do. Whether that be the practice that we have that day, the game that we're playing. And even if we win by a lot, it's not a complacent win if we didn't play up to our own standards.

I think that's something that prepares us for this tournament, prepares us to go into every game with the understanding it's not a cakewalk, it never will be, and we have to earn everything that we get.

Q. Talking about complacency and avoiding that, how does it help to see a team like Buffalo? They've never won a game in a tournament ever, and they're kind of happy to be here. But did that kind of wake you up a little bit to not take it for granted?
KIA NURSE: Absolutely. I think one of the best things about having a team like Buffalo in this region is that everybody has to wake up and smell the roses. Like Gabby said, this is anybody's tournament. On any given day, if you come out and don't play your top game or play with respect towards your opponents, anything can happen. And Buffalo has shown that time and time again throughout this tournament.

Q. Gabby, your coach was just talking about Central Michigan and Buffalo, if 11 seeds win a supposed mid-major, he thinks that's good for the women's game. How do you see that?
GABBY WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think it's good for the game, too, because, like I said before, it kind of makes the top teams kind of watch their back a little bit. You don't realize that it's not just about your talent, but it's about the way you compete, but it's about the way you work. You have more teams with the combination of talent and work ethic, and I think those mid-major teams winning games like that reminds the whole country of that.

Q. You mentioned the excitement three or four years ago. Does it feel like the last four years have flown by? I mean, coming full circle, coming back here for a Sweet Sixteen, wow, it feels like 20 years ago it was last year, but it's like, wow, it was just last year we were here doing the same thing?
KIA NURSE: Every day I look back and think that freshman year was yesterday, and I'm still kind of learning the ropes, but not anymore. This has been full circle. Coming back here, coming back to this facility. Different hotel this time, but definitely things have flown by so fast, and I think that's why when we're sitting in the circle before practice, you can look at the freshmen and you can see, oh, you know, this year's gone by really quickly, and you feel like you have forever in freshman year.

Then you get to your senior year and it goes by in the blink of an eye. Those four years are the best four years of your life. But you have to understand that they go by so quickly that there's no point in wasting any time.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297