WBB Oregon v Stanford Quotes
Kelly Graves – Oregon Head Coach
On the win…
“Stanford is the standard by which everyone in this conference is judged, and to do what we did tonight I think speaks to the character of our team and how they’ve really improved. They put it together tonight, they kept their composure and they did it. I’m really, really proud of this group. They deserved a win like this.”
On the team’s confidence going into this game…
“I think we’ve been pretty consistent all year long. I don’t think we’ve gotten too high or too low or overlooked anybody, we don’t have that problem. I thought we practiced well the last couple days and we proceeded like we’ve proceeded everyday. I just think there was something special about tonight.”
On what this win means to him personally…
“I would call it a signature win here since we’ve been here. Coach VanDerveer, I have so much respect for her. She is an amazing lady on top of being a Hall of Fame coach. Every year we played them when I was at Gonzaga, and I had some pretty good teams over there, and we could never beat them. So it felt really great to be able to do it tonight.”
On carrying this momentum into the Pac-12 Tournament…
“I don’t think it will be hard. I think they’re going to be excited. Even with a lot of the losses, we haven’t gotten down. Our kids are pretty loose and they play hard and they get along. They’re doing the right thing, so we’re going to do the same thing this week. Now we have some belief that if we put together a great 40 minutes and stay focused and do the right things, we can play with anybody.”
On where the win ranks for them…
“For us being seniors and having this win to close out Matt Knight is a great feeling. We are never going to play there…unless we come back for an alumni game, but we are never going to play there again. To get that win in front of all those fans and our family in the stands…it was an undescribable feeling for all of us. It ranks pretty high up there.”
On keeping momentum going into PAC-12 tournament…
“I think sticking together. There is always going to be a drop-down, but we have all this week to get our heads right and prepare for whoever we have to play. I think we are ready. We are focused and ready to play in the PAC-12 tourney and I think if we keep our heads right, stick together and stick to what the coaches say we are going to be O.K.”
Jillian Alleyne—Forward
On thoughts going into the game…
“I had a good feeling about today. I don’t know what it was, but I just had a really good feeling and our main focus was doing this for the seniors.”
Katelyn Loper—Guard
On where the win ranks for them…
“Me, personally, being a senior I think it’s the best one because I watched some senior games this past week and not everyone was fortunate enough to win their last game and that’s one thing I really wanted to do with my teammates. To beat a nationally ranked team is just so huge, as well. It’s really big-time.”
On summing up experience playing basketball…
“I think it’s the best feeling I could ask for. It sounds kind of cliché, but you said it best…I’ve seen so many places, I’ve met so many people and I’ve had great teammates along the way. For this game to happen and to beat them with my teammates is like a perfect ending and I couldn’t ask for it any other way.”
