March 3, 2008

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes |  Photo Gallery 

St. John's Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico
Opening Statement:
"I thought we played incredibly hard and just did everything we needed to do. This was the best defensive showing we've had all year. I'm proud of the effort everyone gave. I'm ready to move on to the BIG EAST tournament."

On defeating Notre Dame on Senior Day:
"We just happened to be playing well at this point. Our confidence is pretty good. Today was a special day because Kia Wright and Tiina Sten had their Senior Day. They've contributed a tremendous amount to this program and the turnaround we had in the four years since they've been here has been incredible. I think everyone was fired up to play for them."

On when she knew the upset would happen:
"We felt pretty good all day. Today, there had been a lot of energy. We talked about playing hard and defending. I'm a coach, so I never think it's going to happen until the end of the game. I thought people stepped up. Once Kia was fouled out, anything could have happened because Sky Lindsay, Kelly McManmon and Monique McLean have never been in that position. When the pressure was on, they stepped up and did what they needed to do."

Senior Guard Kia Wright
On the way she played to close out her career:
"I felt excited coming into the game. I felt good all day. To get this win means a lot to me. Even though I fouled out at the end, I was still cheering the team on."

Senior Forward Tiina Sten
On the win:
"I'm really excited about this win and I think the whole day was emotional for us."

Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw
Opening Statement:
"St. John's looked like they wanted the game more than we did. I was really disappointed in how we came out of the gate. We didn't shoot the ball well and we started a little complacent. Defensively, I thought we could've played a little bit better. Overall we just couldn't make any shots. That has to be a record for us, in terms of field goal percentage on the season. For a team that averages 75 points a game, it was just a disappointing showing. St. John's played well and Kia Wright led them well. They made more shots and they made the free throws down the stretch. "

On Kia Wright:
"What I like about Kia is that she's not the leading scorer on the team, but she does run the team. She is the team. She gets the ball to the right people. Even when she doesn't get assists, she's throwing the ball ahead to somebody to get things going. I think she's a fantastic player who made big shots down the stretch."

Sophomore Guard Ashley Barlow
On losing the game:
"This was a tough loss for us. We have to regroup for the BIG EAST tournament and play better than we did tonight."

Sophomore Guard Melissa Lechlitner
On what changed momentum :
"From the start of the game we lacked intensity. They crashed the glass real hard. We didn't do our job defensively and that hurt us the whole game."