March 24, 2008

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- St. John's Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico
Opening Statement:
"I thought Iona played really tough. There were a couple of times we could have put them away but we weren't able to do that because they played hard. I think it was a good game for us considering we haven't played in such a long period of time, especially to get the kinks out. I was proud of our effort, especially the way we stuck together and made our free throws in the end."

On today's win against Iona:
"I thought we were very tight offensively. We were going for the first shot and not necessarily the best shot. I think we settled a lot and maybe that's the sign that we haven't played in a while. When we executed we got easier looks and it really opened up the floor. But a lot of times, especially in transition, we were just pulling up for the first one and not necessarily the best one."

On Joy McCorvey's key plays:
"Joy did a good job of guarding Iona's Anna McLean. She made some key plays, she didn't turn the ball over. Joy probably has the best assist to turnover ratio next to Kia [Wright] on the team. She provides a lot of intangibles that don't show up on the stat line."

Senior Guard Kia Wright
On how it feels to be playing in the postseason:
"It feels great, it gives us a chance to showcase who we are and how tough we are as a team. Just to keep playing is great."

On Monique McLean's 20-point performance:
"I'm glad to be finally playing with her. Coach always has us playing against each other in practice."

On working off the rust from such a long break:
"I couldn't wait to play. It's been a long time since we've played a game. It's over and done with, we got the jitters out and we have to keep moving."

Junior guard Monique McLean
On playing a game after a long hiatus:
"It's been a while since we played, I was excited and coach kept telling us it was like the first game of the season. I was just really excited to be playing again."

On being in a scoring rhythm:
"I wanted to go out there and play hard and I just wanted to win. I don't want the season to be over yet. I don't want Kia's and Tiina's career to be over yet."

Sophomore Forward Joe McCorvey
On Kia Wright's floor presence :
"Kia always keeps fighting and she makes me want to work harder when I see her. Kia always gets knocked around and she gets hit hard, but all the energy she brings - the whole team feels it. It brings me a lot of energy."

Head Coach Anthony Bozella
Opening Statement:
"St. John's is extremely well-coached. I'm very impressed with how Kim rebuilt this program. I thought St. John's played a solid basketball game. They made big shots when they had to. Lauren and Tiara brought our program to new heights. To have 58 wins in three years tell a lot about these two and the rest of the program. Our game plan was to force St. John's to shoot from the outside and we executed that pretty well, despite not having to play like this all year. We haven't faced an opponent this season with their type of quickness but we stayed in the game. We hit some shots down the stretch but it wasn't enough. Overall, I'm very proud of this program and my seniors. They should hold their head high."

On Monique McLean:
"You got to give all three of the St. John's guards credit. Tiara [Headen] is the best defensive player in the MAAC conference. Monique made a couple of shots against Tiara, but in the end she made some good shots. She's a good player. Taking nothing away from Kia, I think Monique is the best player on St. John's."

Senior Guard Tiara Headen
On the cold shooting:
"We were just off. Most of the time we weren't able to get our shots. In other games, we would be able to hit the shots that we missed tonight."

On playing against Monique McLean:
"I had to play Monique differently than how I played everyone else because of her elevation. Most of the time I don't face a lot of guards that can elevate and get that shot over me. That made a big difference."

Senior Guard Lauren DeFalco
On the difference between Quinnipiac and St. John's:
"Against Quinnipiac we had a size advantage on the inside so we did good on the rebounds. St. John's is pretty athletic and we weren't getting too many second chance points. It was harder to get Tiara the ball because St. John's guards were the quickest we've faced."