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NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONALS SEMIFINALS & FINALS: SPOKANEMarch 29, 2008Agnus BerenatoMercedes WalkerShavonte ZellousSPOKANE, WASHINGTON THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll go ahead and get an opening statement from coach and then take questions for the student-athletes. COACH BERENATO: Just like to congratulate Stanford. I thought they just did a great job and they really I think took it to us on the inside. And the rebounding was a huge factor in the game. And we were out rebounded by 24. And that had a lot to do with the size of Appel and Pedersen. So congratulations to them and I wish them the best of luck as they continue on their questions to a National Championship. At the same time, I just want to say just how proud I am of my team and of the university of Pittsburgh. And I think that, it was a great honor to be in the NCAA but we didn't just settle, we just weren't happy to be in the NCAA. We felt like we could really he do some damage and I just think that what the seniors have done, Marcedes and Mallorie and what they have done, it's just been great and Shavonte Zellous, she's an awesome player and she's a great teammate, she really took the team on her back tonight and I thought that you could see some of her explosiveness and she's charismatic on the court. And I thought Mallorie Winn really stepped up and just did a great job. So for what these ladies have done for the university of Pittsburgh and for the people of Pittsburgh, for our Chancellor and Steve and Carol and Don and our community. We're a hard working community, I think I mentioned that the other day and they bring their lunch pail and their hard hat pretty much every day and I just can't say enough about them. Again, to the seniors, they were just, they're a pleasure. I don't look at it as that they're leaving or our season is over for them it's just beginning. And really that's what an education is all about. I think they will have great a careers and for Shavonte we have next year and we'll start working and I wish we could play another game tomorrow. We definitely, I definitely my staff Jeff, Caroline and Shay, we want to thank them. We're not ready for this to be over. So to everybody involved but especially to my team, it's just a hell of a group of girls and ladies and you know what they're going to be community changers. They're life changing people. And I'm really proud of them. THE MODERATOR: Take questions for the student-athletes. Q. Marcedes, how tough of a matchup was Appel inside and then the second part of that they seemed to double down on you a lot and it didn't seem like you guys were ever able to figure out how to get the offense going out of that double team. MARCEDES WALKER: She's a really good player. I knew coming into this game she was a really good player and I knew I was going to have to play a strong game. She had the best of me. And as for like the double team, we knew that they were going to double and that was a lot that we were working on in practice, so we were expecting them to double, it was just that we couldn't, I didn't hit any shots and I wasn't aggressive on the double team and I tried to kick it back out and stuff like than just re-post but we wasn't able to get it going. Q. Shavonte, can you just talk about what it was like to kind of engage in a game like that, especially in the first half when it was so close and where you felt like it got away. SHAVONTE ZELLOUS: In the first half it was close. I think that the second half it was close too. They just, we let them get away from us. I think that they by them off offensive rebounding and put backs, the things like that, we let it slip through our hands and that's how they got away from us. THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll take questions now for coach. Q. Can you talk about at one point it was 49-46 with about seven and a half left and you took out both Zellous and Walker. And that's what when the game got away a little bit. They went on a run. How hard was it to see that happen under those circumstances, I guess. COACH BERENATO: Well, it was very hard and you know, Walker had four fouls. And Shavonte, she rarely, rarely, rarely, I mean rarely asks for a breather. And she had asked for a breather and it just happened that Marcedes had picked up her fourth foul so we just felt like we thought that we used a time out, we thought that would be good enough. But I just thought that they really exploited the inside on us. I thought that then we rest a couple sets probably took some ill advised shots, missed, didn't get the rebound, then went down and they connected and I thought that they scored the two plus one and then the very next time down the court they penetrated, we had like three great stops and on the rotation they kicked it out to the wing and they hit that three. And I thought that that was a dagger we got Tay Tay right back and they came right back down and she hit, the same girl hit the shot again, you know, a three. And I felt at that like that was really tough to overcome and then it was nine points and we really we just didn't chip it away after that to be honest with you. I thought that really up until about two and a half minutes to go it was a three possession ball game four possession ball game and that's a reasonable ball game. We pressed them and I thought that we surprised them with that. But their size really hurt us. I thought that, um, you know, they just they really exploited us on the inside. Q. Coming into the game did you ever imagine that they would have such an edge in the rebounding department, really physically dominate you the way they did? COACH BERENATO: I knew their size. They start two six four kids and so we have really felt that Pedersen was going to be the difference maker to be honest with you. We felt like my kid is five nine and that starts at the four spot so she was somebody that we were really worried about. But we thought maybe we could out physical them and I did think in the first half I thought it was a tremendous game it was really a physical game, it was a fun game, it was a great game, and the first 13 minutes of the second half, so you look at 33 minutes and then like I said, you know, I felt like if we could just keep going at them, go at them, just attack and maybe we could wear them down. But actually it was the reverse. And I thought they just did a great job of just running their splits, running their sets, running their curls and they just dominated us on the inside. Dribble penetration as well as just both Pedersen and Appel on the flares and the handoffs. Q. I know it's tough to look at the whole season after a game like this, but can you put into perspective what the team accomplished this year and do you think you were maybe even a little bit ahead of schedule in terms of where the program is? COACH BERENATO: Yes, I think I can put it into perspective where the team is. And it's not hard for me to think about it after a loss because winning and losing is part of it. That's just the way it is. I did not think that we would be sitting here as the losers tonight. We really felt into our heart and soul we were distinguishing to make it to the Elite 8 and have the opportunity to play. But I feel like I enjoy every moment. And I try to make the team and the staff aware of everything that we have accomplished along the way. I'm not real good at like strolling down memory lane. I don't have a very good memory. I don't remember who I met five minutes ago, so that's in the past. But I do really think that I really live for today and I enjoy everything and every minute of what we do. And I feel like it was great year for us. We tied our record number of wins with 24, which is what we got last year. We beat I think five or six Top-25 teams. Which is a record. We beat a team in the Top-10 when Notre Dame was number nine in the country. We got our first Top-20 away win, which was DePaul, January 6, and we beat them by 30. We beat West Virginia who was 13th in the country, we beat Baylor who was just a national name. But more importantly I think we have three seniors -- that Mallorie has already graduated. And Marcedes and Karlyle will graduate in April. And Shavonte will also graduate as you know she's a junior. And these people are just such wonderful people. And I think probably the most important thing that we have done and I always say winning is great, but losing like the highs of winning are not as low as the lows of losing. And it's hard to lose. But I don't think that we are losers. Tonight it was a double win for Pittsburgh. And I know some people might go, oh, that's so contrite or that's so whatever, but I really believe that. Because I feel like Pitt women's basketball has been embraced by the community. And has been embraced by the community of Pittsburgh as well as the university. And I think that five years ago that's something that my staff and I, we were brought here to do. We were brought here to be healers and I think it's about people, it's about the story, and if you look at the stories of the kids on my team, it's so much more important and so much more valuable than pick and roll or a 1, 3, 1, nobody's more devastated than me for losing. But at the same time I think that we really he need to keep it in perspective and I think the university and I think the community and this team has really a lot to be proud of. THE MODERATOR: All right. COACH BERENATO: I'm just going to say before we leave. Okay. I probably have another minute, right. THE MODERATOR: You got four or five. COACH BERENATO: Damn. All right. (Laughter.) COACH BERENATO: Well let me -- no, I'm just kidding. Just, I just want to say to the NCAA, and I really I guess I really he can't see back there, but I don't really he know who is here but NCAA and to the people of Spokane, you guys have done a tremendous job just in hosting and you have embraced us. And to my host family, John and Karen, you guys are awesome and I'm sure you're in the audience somewhere. And Ray and Kevin, coming out here from Pittsburgh and to the other writers, if you guys don't write about our story, our story never grows. And as the NCAA they, we're the NCAA. We represent them. And women's basketball is the greatest story in the world. And they're great student-athletes. And they're kind and they're gentle women and they care and they're great volunteers and they're just hard working kids and so I just want to say to everybody that's here, the auxiliary people that have helped with this, with facilities and travel and security and catering and I know all about it, because when I was at Georgia tech I hosted two Final Fours and at Pitt we hosted a regional last year. And then just a special shout out to our Chancellor and Steve Petersen and my staff, you know, who has really changed the face of women's basketball at the University of Pittsburgh. I feel like that is team now, it's a team that people will recognize and they have worked hard for it and they brought great pride to the university as well as to the community. But we could have never done it if my staff and the community and the administration didn't jump on board. So to all of you that are here tonight, it's late somewhere, in the world, and I just want to say it's like the saying it's five o'clock somewhere. Well, I just want to say on behalf of my team, thank you all very much because by you being here our sport will grow and grow and grow and all these NCAA events will be sold out in the future. So thank you. THE MODERATOR: Coach thank you. End of FastScripts |
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