Marquette - 57, St. John's - 47
COACH DUFFY: I'm just thrilled. What a great game by our team. I thought just our grit and toughness throughout the 40 minutes was really impressive. That fourth quarter, our defensive effort really changed the trajectory of the game.
When you play a team for the third time, you're trying some new things, it's kind of that rubber match, nothing always looks pretty. Just so proud of our grit, led by Chloe Marotta, especially her second half.
Q. 14 points, eight rebounds in that second half. What was your mentality going into those final moments of the game?
CHLOE MAROTTA: I knew it was going to take a lot of rebounding ability, and Coach talked about it. We were only up by two in the first half on the boards. And so, I mean, making sure it was a priority coming in. We had to box out. Those bigs are very, very good rebounders. For Liza and I to do that in the second half was really important.
Q. Obviously fourth quarter, crunch time, the experienced players that's where they thrive the most. What was working for you, especially in the mid-range game where it seems like you couldn't miss in that area of the court?
CHLOE MAROTTA: Jordan King did a really good off her reads and she found me in easy opportunities, whether it's in the mid-range, and I just had to be confident to knock it down. Staying steady throughout the entire thing is important -- calm, collected, just shoot the ball when you got it and go back and play some good defense.
Q. Karlen, King and Marotta combined for 50 points in today's matchup. How have they led this team in this game and throughout the entire season?
COACH DUFFY: They've been our big three. Obviously we lost Liza right after Christmas with an injury for a while. I thought it took her a little bit of time to get back going and just her legs under her and her confidence back.
As much as we talk about Chloe and her second half and her timely shots as a senior, I thought Liza throughout the course of the game was a steady anchor for us, very efficient.
St. John's was switching a lot of, really all of our screening action, so we knew there were going to be some mismatches. And I thought she did a really good job of finding some deep position and just keeping us in offensively when it was a struggle at times for both sides to score.
Just really like the way she's playing and the way her confidence continues to grow. And that's what we lost a little bit when she was out, just that steady presence and kind of buddy system with Chloe out there.
Q. Wonder if you could talk a little bit about -- it was a bit of an emotional game out there, a lot of intensity -- could you talk about what Jordan and Chloe bring to your team in terms of intangibles and leadership?
COACH DUFFY: I'll start with Jordan. She's been our starting point guard since the day she walked on campus. That's a lot of minutes, a lot of experience. And probably her greatest strength across the totality of her career has been her steadiness.
You look at a stat sheet, yes, she can score and playmake, but the way she really doesn't have a bad day. I think, the old saying, your best player, your head coach, your point guard can't have a bad day, she fits all that because she takes my role sometimes. That's how good she is.
She's been just a steady presence, very confident about herself. And then Chloe, I mean, one of the most improved players in the country, really, the way statistically she has improved.
And I thought Chloe was always that kind of bulldozer, fill a stat sheet, and now she's settled into a go-to-player role, which has been really cool to watch and watch her grow and take advantage of every opportunity she has here, especially in March.
Q. It was really neck and neck throughout the entire game, but what do you think was the big X factor or two that led to your people getting the separation they needed to pull away and win the game?
COACH DUFFY: I mean, to hold them to six points in the fourth quarter, I thought our defensive intensity turned up. I thought we blew up a lot of their really good sets they were on.
We did an awesome job on Everett, just not letting her get easy 3s or easy pull-ups. Rose Nkumu was tremendous. And we did enough switching to keep her off balance.
Bailey is another talented one, that if you lose sight of her, she gets going downhill, she's hard to stop. So I thought just -- we looked a little tired in that third quarter and, wow, how it changed in the fourth quarter of their tenacity, their fight; they're slapping the ground, trying to get our little crowd up involved, which was cool. So just that energy fed off of one another, and that's been our staple all year. It's really good to see it when it matters the most.
Q. Just looking to the next matchup, the last time you guys played UConn you were able to knock them off at home. How do you build off that going into the next matchup? And how much does them having Azzi Fudd back change things for you guys?
COACH DUFFY: For them to have Fudd back I'm sure is a huge boost. They're just getting more depth on their roster. They've had a lot of injuries, as it's been documented throughout the course of the season. She's one of the best players in the country.
We had an amazing night and an amazing moment at the Al McGuire Center a few weeks ago, beating UConn, an historic for our program. But we also understand UConn is March is definitely different. And again we're going to treat it as a very separate entity this third game.
We're definitely not resting on what happened out at our place and obviously we know when it's a one-and-done mentality we're resetting ourselves. They will as well.
And, again, just super excited to get this win and have the opportunity to be in this facility. We'll have a lot of UConn fans, and we'll have our little small group. And it's kind of the same thing -- us against the world sometimes.
Q. You talked a little bit about the defensive effort and Bailey today, but how do you hope that translates going into tomorrow to set the tone against UConn?
COACH DUFFY: It has to be 100 times better, probably. I think the most difficult part about UConn is their size and physicality. Dorka and Edwards leading the way with that.
And when we're 6'1" and physical, they're 6'4" and physical or 6'3" and physical and just pound you. We have to get some quick recovery.
I thought the last time we played them we had some pretty good position defense, but it's going to have to be five people defending, turning it up another notch. Obviously with Fudd back, she gives them a different kind of outside threat as well. We'll have to be better. We'll figure it out tonight and early tomorrow and then go have fun and play.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports