NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - SOUTH FLORIDA VS SOUTH CAROLINA

March 18, 2023

Jose Fernandez

Sammie Puisis

Carla Brito

Colonial Life Arena

USF Bulls

Media Conference

JOSE FERNANDEZ: Well, nothing different than what we talked about after the game. Yesterday after our kids stayed and watched a little bit of the South Carolina and Norfolk State game, went back to the hotel, got something to eat and we started to work on South Carolina today and just finished practicing.

Looking forward to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and that's about it.

Q. How could you get yourselves prepared knowing who your opponent is and playing the No. 1 team in the country?

SAMMIE PUISIS: We take it as a great opportunity. So we are already excited. We don't need anything else. But we know we need to be special but this is March, anything can happen, so we're really excited to play tomorrow.

Q. It looked like yesterday, you had like a big game vibe about you, like you were not intimidated by the situation. How did you feel you attacked the game?

CARLA BRITO: As Sammie says, we started to prepare today, but we want to do our best, so tomorrow we'll try to give to the team, my 100 percent and try to do my best.

Q. What impresses you most about South Carolina and what do you think about the atmosphere in this arena when you play South Carolina?

CARLA BRITO: It's amazing to play here. When we were watching yesterday the game, South Carolina, there were a lot of people. But we will be focused on the court, not on the people, and we know that it's the first team of the U.S., so we will try to do our best.

SAMMIE PUISIS: They have got a lot of fans, so definitely a very exciting atmosphere. But this team, they are very athletic and very big. They rebound really well. So yeah.

Q. For both players, do you see in similarities in Dulcy's game, I'm sure you've seen Aliyah Boston on tape preparing. Do you see some similarities in how Dulcy plays and her relentlessness on the boards and the way she's able to take on two and three defenders and still score?

SAMMIE PUISIS: They are very similar. They are both really good post players. Dulcy has so many moves. She doesn't just have one move. Really good footwork. So I think she can be really special tomorrow.

CARLA BRITO: What Sammie said, but it will be a good fight tomorrow.

Q. Everyone expects, most everybody, I imagine expects South Carolina is going to win. Do you take on this feeling of under dog and no pressure? How is your outlook on the Bulls tomorrow?

CARLA BRITO: I think we don't have anything to lose tomorrow. Of course everyone will be for South Carolina, but we will do our job and try to do our best to win tomorrow.

SAMMIE PUISIS: I look at it as they have all the pressure on them. We are just out there playing. It's March; anything can happen, and we know that so we are going to do what we do and see what happens.

Q. What have you seen out of Aliyah and how she plays, and does she have some similarities to the way Dulcy plays?

JOSE FERNANDEZ: Well, Aliyah is one of the best post players in the entire country. Finishes around the rim. Has great footwork. Has good hands. Yeah, it's going to be a really good matchup between her and Dulcy.

Q. Dawn was in here a second ago talking about international recruiting. How does that help grow basketball getting players from all over the world?

JOSE FERNANDEZ: I think the game has grown globally on the men's and the women's side. It's changed the NBA. It's definitely helped our program and our program, where it's at. We have had two international players get drafted, in Angorakova (ph) and Kate Ulaxa (ph), and last year I believe we had 18 former players still in Europe, Euro League or Euro Cup, playing at the highest level. It's definitely helped build our program and continue to sustain it.

Q. I imagine 2-for-18 or whatever from the three is not going to cut it tomorrow. Is making shots the biggest thing for you guys?

JOSE FERNANDEZ: It is. The team that beats these guys, a lot of things have to happen. Got to shoot the ball well from the free throw, got to score in transition. You've got to have two or three guys have a special guys, which we have three really, really good guys that are going to have to be special tomorrow.

And they are going to have to also not play up to their standard, and that's how -- that's how these type of things happen.

Q. What concerns you most about South Carolina, and also, what do you think about the atmosphere here at the Colonial Life Arena?

JOSE FERNANDEZ: First part of your question, what concerns me is their size and their rebounding ability, right, because sometimes their best offense is getting it off the glass and putting it in. Cardoso and Boston and then Amihere and all them other three, fours and fives that this they throw at you, that's the biggest concern. How we are going to collectively defend the paint, right, and limit their paint touches and also second and third opportunities.

This is one of the best atmospheres in college basketball. It's different on this team, I think Elena has been the only one to play in different atmospheres. But as a coach, hopefully you talk about 94 X 40 and ten feet and just take care of what's going to happen on the floor.

But when you've got to get off to a good are the start and try to take the crowd out of it, but we played in hostile environments in Connecticut and Texas and Louisville and Tennessee, so our players have been through that stuff.

It's a different time of the year but what Dawn has done here and what she's built, it's one of the best atmospheres in the entire country.

Q. How does this atmosphere, and not just the win, but the fan base here in South Carolina, how can that help grow the game beyond this state and across the country?

JOSE FERNANDEZ: Well, I think you look at just in Tampa and the support that we have with professional football, baseball, hockey, the NBA an hour away; we lead the league in attendance in our league. We've got a great atmosphere at home.

Now, it isn't the atmosphere that these guys have because it's a lot different, right. The City of Tampa and the City of Columbia, just from a sports standpoint, there's a lot more opportunities in Tampa.

But you compare this atmosphere to some of the crowds, like Louisville and Iowa State and Hartford, it's great for the game and hopefully that continues to evolve and continue to get support on campuses. It's great.

Q. Is it strategically suicidal to play man against South Carolina? Has anybody tried it for any length of time and had any success, or just not?

JOSE FERNANDEZ: Well, we are going to play man tomorrow, so I guess I'm going to be crazy.

Q. Can you talk about that a little bit?

JOSE FERNANDEZ: Well, there are different ways that you can play man-to-man defense, right. You can trap on ball screens, turning ball screens on the side of the floor down, denying the wing, right, or gapping and playing off of people, being in open stance. There's a lot of variations of how you play man-to-man.

So I guess Dawn knows we're going to play man-to-man for 40 minutes. We've played man-to-man for all year -- how many games have we played this year? 33 games? Well, guess what, we are going to play man-to-man tomorrow. That's what we do.