Pitt vs. Notre Dame Postgame Quotes
2/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2009
Quoting Pitt Head Coach Agnus Berenato
Opening Statement:
“This was a good team win. Notre Dame is a different kind of team and I thought we were really prepared for their sets. We really broke it down and the team did a really great job of running the sets. Even though everyone didn’t play, everyone contributed. I’m not big with individual awards, but I’ll congratulate Shavonte Zellous on her on reaching 2,000 career points. That’s amazing, but more importantly, I think she’s become a great teammate. Taneisha Harrison played powerful defense and on offensive, she took it to the rack. I thought we won tonight because everyone contributed when we needed it.”
On Notre Dame’s program:
“The first 16 times we played them, we lost. When we took over as a staff, we believed that we could be a top 25 team and we haven’t waivered from that. Notre Dame is always in the top 25. They’ve got something that we want. Five years ago, we would be worried to play Notre Dame. We’d be worried about their ranking. They are always ranked high. Notre Dame is a program that plays with tradition and prestige and they’ve won a national championship and that’s something we want.”
On Pitt’s energy:
“The coaching staff has stressed to our team to not be afraid to take a charge. I think when a player sacrifices their body like that, the team gets energized. That’s what we want to be known for. When someone gets a big block and when Shavonte got those two-and-ones, it gave us energy and that’s the energy that put us ahead.”
On Xenia Stewart:
“Multiple people were able to contribute. I was happy for Xenia Stewart because she did so well tonight. Our offense goes to a different level when she’s able to score. We know that Shavonte is going to get points, but when we share the ball, we’re better.”
Quoting Pitt guard Shavonte Zellous:
On her 2,000th career Pitt point:
“It’s another milestone. It’s great, but I have to give credit to my teammates. They’re the ones that helped me reach that mark, so I give all the credit to them. It’s special getting number 2,000 against a ranked team like Notre Dame. It’s good for the fans and I'm glad they got to celebrate with me.”
Quoting Notre Dames Head Coach Muffet McGraw:
Opening Statement:
“I thought Pitt outplayed us in every facet of the game. To get outrebounded by the margin we did is very impressive for Pitt, and obviously very frustrating for us in a game of this magnitude. We didn’t have anyone who could guard Shavonte Zellous tonight. She’s a great athlete and a great player who just kept finding ways to score points. It was just a disappointing night all around.”
On Pitt’s second half run:
“We were down by a point, at 49-48, got called for an offensive foul, and they came down and made three straight three point plays. That was basically the game right there. They were all legitimate fouls, too. We didn’t get in front of the ball on defense and the Pitt players hit their shots and made us pay.”
On Notre Dame’s inside play:
“I think Erica Solomon is capable of going off like that every time she steps on the court. She’s that talented of a player. Becca Bruszewski was great tonight as well, and really gave us a great effort in a physical game. I suppose our inside play is something positive to take away from tonight. We’ve been such a guard oriented team though, that it’s still frustrating that our perimeter play wasn’t where we needed it to be.”
Quoting Notre Dame’s Becca Bruszewski:
On her play:
“I noticed early on that my shot wasn’t falling. I just started looking to drive and get to the line or post up and get some inside baskets. Fortunately, I was able to get some of that going tonight.”
On the physical play:
“The Big East is a physical league, so you have to be ready for that every night. Pitt’s got tough players, especially inside, but we know that to be successful in this conference you have to come ready to battle.”
Quoting Notre Dame’s Melissa Lechlitner:
On guarding Shavonte Zellous:
“We focused on stopping her a lot in practice, but she’s just such a good player. She’s quick, she can elevate, and she can even hit shots well from the outside. When she gets going, she’s very difficult to stop.”
On Notre Dame’s play:
“I think what’s disappointing is that we didn’t answer their runs. They played very hard all night, and when we had opportunities to cut into their lead, we just didn’t have the fight in us.”
