Villanova - 73, Providence - 65
THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from Coach and then take questions.
DENISE DILLON: Yeah, happy to be up here with a win, but as I said, a lot of credit to -- I said it to the team, to Providence. They left it all out there in their final game. You talk about opportunity to play and leave it on the court, and they certainly did. So credit them for a great game, execution, and making us work for every ounce of it.
THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions.
Q. Jasmine, you had 24 at the half and then you finished with 31. At what point in the game did you feel the momentum shift for you? Like, what was working for you really well tonight?
JASMINE BASCOE: I think I just did a decent job of just taking what they were giving me, not forcing up too many shots. They're a really, really good defensive team, and so we knew it was going to be tough. But like she said, we respect them a lot, so I was just ready to play. I mean, I just, yeah, took what they gave me and I was happy with that.
Q. Wanted to ask, Villanova is one of those organizations where, you know, a lot, you guys have a lot of follow, people travel and you guys have a lot of legacy. Tonight, Maddy Siegrist there, front and center. What does it just say about overall the support you guys, you guys receive, and more so just kind of what this means to everyone. Because, to be completely honest, Maddy had no reason to come out to Connecticut, but she's there, Saturday night, to cheer on her alma mater. What does that mean to you guys, and just what type of energy does that put into you guys too?
DENISE DILLON: Yeah, I'll let the players speak to that, but it is, just seeing our fans out there, family, friends, just a community. People like good basketball and they're coming out. But Maddy -- because she hasn't left campus. She's there. When she's not playing for Unrivaled or the Wings, she is, she's with us there on campus. So we know we have that support. I'll let them talk to you about that a little bit.
DENAE CARTER: I think it's great having our fans support us everywhere we go. Being able to bring the Finn to Mohegan, I think that's great for us. We have so much support. And, honestly, just seeing them in the crowd really boosts our energy. I think we feed off of them and feed off of their energy as well.
JASMINE BASCOE: Maddy is a massive supporter for us and I would say we all have a relationship with her outside of basketball as well, which makes it mean so much more to us. She's just obviously a great role model for all of us, but she's just a good person. So just her being here, like, I'm not surprised at all. She supports us all the time. She will send you a text after a game. She's just a genuine, really good person.
Q. For any of you three, what did you think of Kennedy Henry's performance tonight? She had the double double, obviously made the All Defensive team as a true freshman. How have you seen her kind of grow over the course of the season?
DENISE DILLON: Yeah, well, Kennedy, she had a big assignment tonight and initially got a little frustrated, worn out. She regrouped and showed us what she was capable of. She's had a tremendous freshman year. I know if she was sitting up here right now, she would give credit to the two to my left for just that. Kylee Watson as well, taking her under her wing as a freshman, but these guys on the floor with her most of the time just making things happen. She's shown what she's capable of, just tapping into her ability, but she can do a lot of things on the floor, very versatile and it fits beautifully with what we do. So it's nice to see her get it together and get those stops, get the rebounds, scoring. She did a lot of everything for us today.
JASMINE BASCOE: Yeah, she got the freshman steals record for Villanova, she actually beat me, which I'm very happy about. I'm not complaining at all. But, I mean, that's effort. That doesn't just happen. That's not luck. That's effort. She gives her all every game, and she's earned her spot as a freshman for sure. And she's a great teammate, we love playing with her. And, you know, she's very versatile. So, not only can she defend, she's great on offense. So we love creating for her as well.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about what it feels like to be playing in March and getting a big win at this time of the year, for both of the players.
DENAE CARTER: Yeah, it's really big for us. We talk about it in the locker room. We just got to get it done. Got to turn the switch, flip the switch, and be competitive every time we get on the floor. We talk about it in our huddles, when you're out on the court give it all. Coach Dillon says, you can't bring it with you, so we really pour that into each other, and I think right now is the biggest time to prove it to each other.
JASMINE BASCOE: You don't know, every game could be your last, and we don't want our season to end, ever.
Q. This was a game of runs. Providence went 19-2 at one point. You guys went 16-0 end of the third quarter, into the fourth. How do you kind of stay poised in a game like that when one team's pouring it on and then the other is?
JASMINE BASCOE: Yeah, we've been in that situation a couple times this year. So we know if we settle down, trust ourselves, we'll be fine. Yeah, they're a great team and we just knew if we believed in ourself, like I said, and just did, played Villanova basketball then we would be all right.
DENAE CARTER: Yeah, I feel like as a team we do a really good job of resetting as a group. And when teams go on those runs, we're able to come back together, take a deep breath. And it's really not just the five on court, I think it's our whole entire team. They keep us composed. We have a defensive assignment every game, so I think reminding us throughout is really big for us.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports