This time of the year, it's individual players who make the difference. Your style of play, your system as a program gets you to this point and then individual players end up deciding the outcome of the game. Ann stepped up and made some huge plays.

(Turner) had an unbelievable night. There comes a point and time when you're a senior when you have to start to assert yourself. Usually those times are on the road.

The time she broke her ankle standing still. Do you know how hard that is to do?

Any time like you have a really good point guard like they do, you have a chance to have a really good team. Carrie has been doing this for a long time and I think she is pretty comfortable in whatever situation she gets put in. She has a really good group of players that are pretty versatile.

This is probably the first time since 1991 that I feel like we're truly a team that relies so heavily on each other. Everyone has to make a contribution for us to be really good. And obviously, Barbara and Ann have the ability to make huge contributions, and they did. That's what you expect from them. And sometimes we do forget they've won two national championships. They know how to handle these situations.

There's a lot of things that I can fix, and generally speaking, those things are about my team, ... I can fix anything that's wrong with my team. Some of the other nonsense that goes on, I can't fix. And when it comes time when that other nonsense comes to the point where it affects the way I can fix and help my team, then it's time for me to leave. When that time comes, I'll let you know.

It seems like we're in the late game an unusual amount of times compared to maybe some other schools. I guess that's a good thing that people want us to be in that game. Or maybe they're trying to keep women and children from being exposed to some of the stuff that we do on the court, and hoping everybody's asleep by the time we play. I do think it's difficult on the players.

I told them before the (Providence) game started, every team that I've ever coached that was consistently good had seniors that were very, very consistent. And it's time now for this group to kind of separate themselves and say, 'Hey, it's time for me to have an impact every single game and not be in those peaks and valleys.' I think they've all kind of made that progression.

I told them any time you are open and it's your shot, it's a good shot. I think my job is to instill confidence in shooters. The only way to instill confidence is to tell them every time you are open - shoot it. If we get an open look we are going to make the most of them.

It's not something that you really consciously spend any time at all thinking about, or gauging your reaction. It's kind of like a spontaneous thing that happens if you ever get a phone call saying you've been selected.

You think about playing in the NCAA tournament and playing at this level, there'd be a lot more energy in the crowd and that's not the case. You have to bring your own, and it's not what you would expect at this time of year.

It's not anything that you could ever prepare yourself for. And for someone who spends a lot of time talking, it really is the first thing that really renders you speechless because you just don't know how to express in words what it would mean to be part of this fraternity. And I still haven't figured out how to say it. All I can do is just look around bug-eyed at all the people that are here.

It's day-to-day. She said she felt pretty good (Friday), but right now it's going to be some down time for her. We'll give her a couple more days off and see if it keeps getting better.

It's interesting when you know somebody when they're 17 and they come out of high school and spend some time with them on the college level. I remember the Duke game was one of the best games she ever had when I was there. Things like that just stick out in your mind.

Any time you go on the road and you have to make plays to win and you do make them, it's a huge confidence booster.

At this time of year, everything is about confidence. About your ability to make the play that needs to be made at the time it needs to be made. That's everything at this time of year. And the bottom line is, if you have those guys that make those plays, you win.

I remember the last time we won a national championship without a great tournament from our point guards. I think it was never. And I would venture to say if our guard play isn't really, really good, it won't happen again this year.

I haven't had time to think about that. But since you mention it, since I won't be in Boston Sunday or Tuesday, I wouldn't mind being in Indianapolis.

If you would have asked me how would I want it to go ... it went exactly the way I was hoping it would go. I was happy for the kids today because I?m not usually one to think in these terms, but if you do what we did on Monday anywhere else in the country, it?s not a big deal. But what we did on Monday can really scar you for a really long time if you play in this program because you?re going to hear about it every minute of every day, everywhere you go from everybody. You have to have pretty tough skin to survive in this environment. I was really proud of our guys to come back after the kind of week that we had to do what we did (Sunday).

He and I talk all the time about playing again and we probably will. They're a really good team to play. I think he runs the kind of program that I would enjoy matching up against from a competitive standpoint and from a personal standpoint that I have a lot of respect for him and I have a really good relationship with him. I would want to do it if we could.

For the first time since 1994, there isn't anybody sitting there saying, 'You know, there's three or four teams that can win the national championship: Connecticut and three other teams.' First time in 12 years. So, how they react to that is going to be interesting. They might like being in that situation.

You worry at this time of the year that you get a little bit hesitant, a little bit tentative, and it becomes a walk-it-up, grind-it-out game. I don?t want it to be like that. I don?t want to be afraid to run and afraid to lose and worry about ?What if.? I just want to go and run up and down the floor and make some plays and see what happens ? that?s when we?re at our best.

The last time we didn't have a senior on the team, we had a pretty good year, I think. We were (37-1) and we won a national championship. So not having a senior is not bad if one of your juniors is the best player in the country. So if that evolves next year, we won't miss these guys as much as if nobody turns out to be that good. Then we'll miss them a lot.

When I look back, that's probably the one thing that I'm going to remember more than anything, not so much the championships, the wins, but I think we made the Big East take women's basketball seriously. I think we made people around the country pay attention to what we were doing. Because of that, it showed a lot of people out there that there's an unbelievable game out there that people were missing.

She's come a long way with this team. She's one of the great people in the game and I'm happy for her.

One or two people can't get you to where you want to go. The Yankees can get to the World Series almost every year. But one or two guys really have to step up for them to win it. We needed just a little bit more tonight.

One of the dangers that you run into when you have success so early, people tend to forget. It?s better to have success late then early because an awful lot of people may end up remembering whatever happened last year or whatever is going to happen this year.

I don't care if you have the best team in the country or are Cinderella, this is the hardest game to play in that you'll ever play in. The goal for most people is to have an experience of being in the Final Four. After you've been to the Final Four there's no experience like it, except winning a national championship.

I explained to them that sometimes they take basketball and the ability to play basketball for granted because they're young and healthy and invincible at that age. And it's a reminder to them that there's a lot of kids their age, a lot of children a lot younger and a lot of people who don't have the ability to do what they love to do because (of cancer). Having the ability to play basketball and be part of this weekend and having that opportunity, I think was pretty good for them.

I always thought Mel has a chance to be the poor man?s version of Shea (Ralph) and that?s exactly what?s she?s turned out to be. She can?t get to the basket like Shea could. She?s not old enough to go slam people just to see what it feels like, like Shea did. But she makes shots like nobody else in the country at this point.

I thought we ran so much that we got a little bit tired. We need more contributions from more people if we're going to keep playing like this. You worry this time of year that you get hesitant and tentative and it becomes a walk-it-up kind of game. I don't want it to be like that. I don't want to be afraid to run and afraid to lose. I just want to run up and down and make some plays and see what happens.

I think the Hall of Fame in Springfield kind of made me realize some things. ... There's a lot of people in the Hall of Fame that are dead. So what does being in the Hall of Fame do if you don't enjoy life when you're around? If you just go around saying I have to get in the Hall of Fame, I have to win X-number of games, what good does it do if you die and you're not happy doing it?

I think because of Diana (Taurasi playing for the Mercury), circumstances are different in this one, ... Maybe people sense that the climate is different at Connecticut than it was in the past.

Pitt has a chance to be really good. They have a great facility. They are located in an area that is really good for high school basketball. The hardest part is winning, especially being in such a tough league. But they are winning and scoring a lot of points. People will notice. The men's program has done just that. Pittsburgh is a city that likes winners.

I think, for now, it works. I think it?s the best way to get her some minutes. And going into conference play, if you were to ask me what you want other than obviously talent, the thing that you probably look for the most going into this part of the season is experience ? people who have been in that situation a few times.

We played pretty good defense and took good care of the ball and got people involved in offense that we wanted to get involved. We got the right shot at the right time. We accomplished a lot.

We can't run a play. We can't get into any kind of offense. For us, it was hard to find people to contribute. (Rutgers) got contributions from a lot of people.

When Megan was a freshman, it wasn't that difficult (to guard her) because she didn't know the ins and outs of getting other people involved. Now that she's a senior, it's difficult because she knows how to get her own shot, she knows how to score, and she can get the ball to the big post players.

As I look at stuff like this I say to myself, it's kind of odd because you always think of coaching as an opportunity for your players to stand up their on that podium and put the net around their neck and celebrate winning championships. You never think of yourself as being in that situation. You're only as good as the people that you get to direct, and if you're fortunate enough to have the best people to direct then you're one of the lucky few. I think that's kind of what this is all about. So it's hard for me to put it into perspective from a personal perspective.

(Duffy) should get 40 points if she played the way she did in the last 10 minutes. She's just one of those unselfish kids who wants to get the other people on her team the ball. She showed in the last 10 minutes how hard she is to defend.

I've always had enough people around me that I've come to know a little bit about it. We're trying to do as many things as we can to help the process.

Anybody that knows Rene, knows that she loves to say things that irritate people and she's one of the best in the country at it.

As long as we play defense like that and keep people in the 50s we'll be all right. Some nights you're going to shoot the ball poorly and it's going to be 60-something to 50-something. Some nights you're going to shoot 60-something percent and it's going to be 90-something to 50-something. But you've got to be able to play with the game on the line, which I think we showed (Saturday).

You?re only as good as the people that you get to direct, and if you?re fortunate enough to have the best people to direct, then you?re one of the lucky few. I think that?s kind of what this is all about, so it?s hard for me to put it into perspective from a personal point of view.

There's 12 really good reasons (to stay), the 12 players on my team, ... And that's always going to be the case. You always coach for the players and you always coach for the enjoyment that you get out of it. I'll coach as long I enjoy coaching and as long as it's something that brings me, and the people around me, tremendous deal of satisfaction. When that's not the case any more I won't coach anymore. Here or anywhere else.

It seems like we're in the late game an unusual amount of times compared to maybe some other schools. I guess that's a good thing that people want us to be in that game. Or maybe they're trying to keep women and children from being exposed to some of the stuff that we do on the court, and hoping everybody's asleep by the time we play. I do think it's difficult on the players.

It's kind of odd. She coached players who won national championships. She made women's basketball acceptable. And yet, she's not in the Hall of Fame. People say it's because she didn't coach long enough. I don't care whether she coached three years. When you win three national championships, you're in the Hall of Fame. So there's a lot of people that aren't in that should be.

It's not anything that you could ever prepare yourself for. And for someone who spends a lot of time talking, it really is the first thing that really renders you speechless because you just don't know how to express in words what it would mean to be part of this fraternity. And I still haven't figured out how to say it. All I can do is just look around bug-eyed at all the people that are here.

The big guys hurt us. And Essence Carson hurt us. They got contributions from the big guys and Essence Carson. And for us it was hard to find people to contribute.

It's different than it was two years ago. People buy into teams and into personalities. We were coming off a national championship and we had the dominant personality in the country. Now we're coming off losing in the Sweet 16 and we have a bunch of nice kids that are just happy to be here. Maybe I'm going to have to rile some people up, start saying and doing stuff that stirs the pot a bit.