March 24, 2007
Head Coach Carol Ross
Opening Statement
"We're happy to be in Dayton, with obviously a great group of teams in Marist, Tennessee and, our focus obviously is Oklahoma. Of course it's been a great year, certainly one we don't want to see come to a close. We've got a very inspired group of seniors in [Ashley] Awkward, [Jada] Mincy, and [Arminitie] Price that want to keep playing and that as coaches, we want to keep coaching. The only way for that to continue to happen is for us to continue to be successful and a lot of that goes through our defense."
Observations on stopping Oklahoma's offense through Courtney Paris:
"Well, I think we just have to go at it as Ole Miss versus Oklahoma. As much as I respect [Courtney] Paris and her abilities and what she's been able to accomplish and is accomplishing, we still have to keep our focus on our team defense. She is surrounded by talented players that deserve our respect and our attention. I don't know if there is any one defense. If there is one, I've failed to see it on the film yet of anybody that has had any success in really stopping her. We will continue to mix our defenses up, try to keep Oklahoma off balance as best we can, just try to be an irritant. Just find ways to try and slow down a great offensive machine, which so much goes through her. If she doesn't get it on the initial, she gets so much on the put-backs, which have become so much a part of their offense."
Do you view your size and quickness as an advantage when facing a team that is bigger in the middle?
"Every team we face is bigger in the middle. We've sung that song for three years, going on four. We don't know how to play any other way. We wouldn't know what to do if we were the biggest team on the floor. This is a situation we're in every time we take the court. It's one we have grown accustomed to in league play, and we play to our strengths. We can't worry about what everybody else does and what everybody else has. We focus much more on Ole Miss and what we have to do and how we have to do it then we do on our opponents, and this will be no different."
Defensive philosophy of pressuring guards into offensive opportunities:
"It's very ironic that, I think, we are the sixth scoring offense in the country yet we don't have any offense. It's pretty funny. Our defense is what it is, and it is what we have for it to be. It has to be aggressive, it has to be quick, it has to be all the things that people are aware of, our traps, our rotations. That's the identity of this team. It's our persona, it's what makes us swagger, and if it's good, we're good, and if it's not, we're not. It is very simple that way. Hopefully, at this time of the year, we can get a little bit more rest and we can play energized and keep our energy up, our enthusiasm up, and keep playing the way we need to play to survive."
How important is it "to make hay" while Courtney Paris is on the bench?
"If Courtney gets in foul trouble, it would be a great day for the Rebels. I'm not banking on her getting in foul trouble. We're preparing for the best they've [Oklahoma's] got to give, and for them to be their best, she's usually on the floor. Anytime we can do anything positive, whether she's in or out, we're going to have to seize that moment and see if we can't find some easy way to get some easy baskets. At this stage of the game, nothing comes easy. We're aware of that. We know that we're going to have to work harder than we worked in the last game. We're going to have to manufacture more points than we normally do, which is hard to do because that's how we score all the time. It is what it is. If she's out, then, sadly, they put someone in who looks an awful lot like her. Ashley [Paris] has really improved her game. There's not a whole lot of difference. We won't get too sidetracked by whether they're in or they're out."
On Oklahoma's experience in the tournament:
"They [Ole Miss] hadn't been to the second round either, and they handled that one okay. This is a ball team that loves to compete compete. They love to play. This is more about having another opportunity to play. When you enjoy competition, when you enjoy putting the uniform on and running out and having fun playing with your teammates, it's not so much about getting distracted about whether this is the first round or second round or third round. They're just surviving. They're getting to realize a special moment playing with three great seniors and nobody wants that to end. That is much more of our motivation than getting caught up in what round this is and have we been here before. It's another opportunity to keep coaching Mincy, Price, and Awkward, and as teammates, it's another opportunity for them to keep play together. I don't know that it matters that we've been here before. It's what we do with the moment in front of us."
On Armintie Price's adjustment following the loss of her mother:
"Armintie is a young woman of strong faith. Whatever adversity comes her way, she has the strength to press on. She also had an incredibly wonderful mother who taught her a lot about how to handle adversity and how to move forward. From talking to Armintie, I know she pulls greatly on not only what her mother taught her while she was living, but also how she would want her to enjoy life now. There is nothing that brings Armintie greater joy than playing basketball. So, this is her playground. I know that she knows that her mother's spirit is with her every step of the way and that just provides even more just provides more incentive, more motivation to continue to make her mother proud and to play the game the way that God has blessed her to play with great energy, enthusiasm, and passion."
On the National Championship game and Armintie Price's birthday being on the same day:
"Well, I'd like to have the biggest gathering to celebrate her birthday that she has ever enjoyed. That certainly would be an awesome experience for her, and nothing would be more appropriate for her than for her to be able to have a chance to play basketball on her birthday."
On coaching at your alma mater:
"Anytime you have an opportunity to go back to your alma mater and pay back, it's a great gift. I'm not sure how they would view it, but to me it's a chance to give back to the university that provided me with a free education and the opportunity to enjoy collegiate basketball. It also paved the way for my career, and I've enjoyed a great career, and to be able to go back there and to not just say `thank you' but to work and to show them, it feels really good. And to have success doing that is even better because it brings the spotlight to a university that has meant so much to me and to a program that was once very proud and very successful and now we're having a chance to work our way back into the scene, to have people across the nation know what people already know in the SEC [Southeastern Conference] is that we are pretty good at what we do. Some days better than others. It's been special. It's been good. I'm enjoying the moment as a graduate to also have some power in what happens and what has happened."
Ole Miss Player Quotes
Armintie Prince
On how she's adjusted to her mother's death
"I think I've adjusted very well with the help of my teammates. My Mom is someone I pray to every night. I know she is with me and proud. My teammates have kept me strong. We just know she is happy for me right now."
On whether she's realized that the National Title Game is on her birthday:
"I have realized that. That would be wonderful."
On Ole Miss' Tournament run:
"I don't think we are overwhelmed. Coach Ross does a good job making sure we are down to Earth. She's out running us every day all the time. We have bigger goals that just being here. We're trying to win a championship. We're trying to take one game at a time. Yes, we are excited, but we have a game we're trying to overcome and things we're trying to get better at. So, we're trying to take it one step at a time."
Jada Mincy
On Preparation:
"When you get this far,you have to have mental and physical things, or whatever. We have meetings. We're always talking about the next team and always thinking about the next thing."
On Ole Miss' Tournament run:
"Great intensity. We have so much of a support system. Everybody is on the bandwagon. It's great."
On guarding Oklahoma's size:
"Everybody keeps asking me how you're going to guard (Courtney Paris). It's a team effort. Everybody is going to guard her. With us being so quick and adding so much pressure, it should be a good matchup."
Ashley Awkward
On playing against Oklahoma's point guard:
"LSU has one and she's quick. Little people are quick. She must be doing well if her coach (is playing her)."
On Ole Miss' quickness:
"It has to be an asset. Ole Miss isn't getting any taller so we had to get faster."
On Ole Miss' defense:
"Defense has been our main goal since Coach Ross has come here. We made it a point of emphasis within ourselves that this is what we had to do. We're not tall so we have to move fast and move with the ball. So, we take pride in our defense with trapping and causing chaos."
On What Coach Ross is telling the team about its success:
"She said `Don't get cocky. Don't be all high in the sky. Don't fall into the media.' She says, `You know what, you're this and you're that."
