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Illinois Player Quotes

Head Coach Theresa Grentz

"Well, next year we should be able to answer the question about experience. They did a great job of battling back. We will just have to build on this going into the summer and get ready for next year."

(regarding UVA's play) "I thought they played great. 41 stepped up and hit some key buckets. Inside, they were able to expose our lack of size. They used their strength inside well."

"I had a fun year of coaching. I enjoyed being with them. Hopefully, they enjoyed being with me. We spent a lot of time building relationships in the summer. It was an enjoyable group to be with. It is a learning process for them. It is a journey. It's trying to understand how much effort, intensity and emotion it takes in the tournament. They asked if it was ok to be nervous. You aren't nervous; it's called electricity. It's that time of the year and they earned that right. The one piece missing on this team is the leader. There isn't a leader. There's not somebody that can calm them down, bring them together."

"No assists - Janelle was doing well with it. Inside, we didn't make any of the baskets coming from assists. You must be able to guard people and you have to be able to execute your offense."

(on UVA runs) - "I hate starting the game. If I didn't have to start the game, it would be great. The spurt comes from the bench. We were down 11 with the starters. It's finding that one person who has enough talent, ability and savvy to get people to work hard. That's what we are missing. That's the hardest part at Illinois."

(on leadership roles) - "I talked to them about that afterwards. Its not always the person who scores the most points. The best player is the one who scores the points. The leader is the one who serves everyone else. They are the one that can get everyone to respond. It might be a surprise. Leaders aren't always the best player. In that locker room, the kid that scores the most points might be told to take a long walk off a short plank."

(on Karen Hagberg) - "Here's the deal. She's one senior. Next year we will have five seniors. Karen was not the one that everyone picked to be a key part. She has stepped up and been important. You'll feel totally different about the game now that you don't have to do all the work. You'll actually enjoy it. They are all back except for Karen."

(Grow into leadership) - "Usually, you can tell, but they also have to be able to grow into it. Nicole Hastings was one of the best leaders I ever had. She was an incredible leader. As a result, that team won. You wouldn't go back to the team and point her out as the leader."

(Turnovers) - "We had way too many. I don't think we played our best ball down through the year anyway. I don't know what happens. I don't think we played our best basketball."

Cindy Dallas

"We had some good opportunities but the thing we have to focus on is consistency. You can't play in spurts. You have to play a smooth game to win."

"I think we were a little nervous because we hadn't played. You just have to get used to it. This game was definitely intense."

(Stopping Virginia runs) - "We just buckled down. I think we got the jitters out of our system and decided to play. The second half, the consistency wasn't there. The roll we had the last 10 minutes of the first half but it kinda fizzled."

Tiffanie Guthrie

"I think it is going to benefit us. We will be able to come back with experience. We know what has to be done, without going into it blind."

(on Janelle Hughes) - "She played really well. She kept running hard and kept working. They didn't really stop her. I thought she played good down the stretch."

Aminata Yanni

(on UVA runs) - "We had to sit back and collect ourselves. We did some good things, but we just had to keep our composure and keep fighting back the best we could."

"We definitely had the NCAA experience. We don't want to put our heads down. We played a good game, fought and played hard. We look forward to next year to keep building."

Virginia Player Quotes

Head Coach Debbie Ryan

"I knew that Illinois was a team very similar to ours. We were concerned about [Angelina] Williams and [Aminata] Yanni. They shot the ball extremely well. They are a very good offensive team. We talked to our players about defensive rebounding. We played fairly good defense in the first half. We came out in the second half and played much better defense."

(on Virginia's balanced scoring) "We all recognized that Cherrise [Graham] was off a little bit. Safiya [Grant-Fairley] stepped up in the game. She was very prepared. Her Achilles was hurting her a little bit. She set the tone for us defensively. Anna Crosswhite is a player you always have to be aware of. She does the things that don't always get in the stat sheet. Players that might not be counted on usually came up big today."

(on second half defense) "We did not play with the normal intensity in the first half. We had them scouted and didn't really change anything in the second half."

(on playing Tennessee) "We will just prepare like we do for any other game. I am sure they spent a lot of time watching film. We aren't a team that does well with a lot of information. It will be difficult here in Knoxville. We played very good teams this year."

(on Cherrise Graham) "She was going a little too fast. Every time she went for a lay up, she banked it off the backboard. Brandi [Teamer] was also a little antsy. She told me today that she didn't want to start. It doesn't matter who starts, it is who finishes. I decided to let her do come off the bench."

(on Brandi Teamer) "I walked in a halftime and said that we can play better. She said that we definitely will play better. She took it upon herself."

(on mid-season turnaround) "It was a combination of things. Players have grown up. We have moved one player to a different position with Graham. We've worked on team chemistry and they've helped each other get better."

(on LaTonya Blue's defense) "Illinois is extremely athletic. We had some matchup problems with them and Blue moves to whoever is hot."

(on Brandi Teamer not starting) "I wasn't worried about Brandi asking not to start. I wasn't concerned. We have played from behind in a lot of games. We had a little bit of experience. To be able to walk into the locker room and know that the players aren't looking ahead. I knew they had things under control."

(on previous first-round losses) "This team isn't that old. The second loss, the whole team got to play in that one. We were a very young team. They were very focused this time. They said we are definitely not going to look any further than Illinois."

(on importance of NCAA Tournament experience) "Experience matters. Illinois will benefit from it tremendously. They are a great offensive team. They also took us out of our offense at times. They will benefit from the first round loss a great deal."

(on Virginia's pressure defense) "We press everyone. We decided to press before we knew who we were going to play. When we saw that they would turn it over, we kept it on longer than normal."

Brandi Teamer

"Safiya did a great job of taking care of the ball. She did a good job of distributing the ball. Crosswite also stepped up when we needed her. It was a tough battle out there. "

(on coming off the bench) "I felt like today I would give more energy off the bench. I didn't have the greatest season in the beginning. I did a lot better off the bench. I could watch and observe. It makes a big difference."

Anna Crosswhite

"I think that I was in places where my team needed me to step up. Brandi wasn't there early. I was lucky to be open when my teammates found me. I am just glad that we are still playing."

(on maintaining lead) "We had more determination in pushing the lane. Far too often, we let leads go. We are learning from those mistakes."

(on brother Ian losing in first round for Oregon in men's tournament) "Watching your brother throw an airball on national television is tough. You don't want that feeling three years in a row of leaving in the first round."