Press Conference Quotes

March 23, 2012

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STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford Women's Basketball finished its first full day in Fresno Friday, meeting with the media and getting a 90-minute practice in at Save Mart Center.

The Cardinal will take on No. 5 seed South Carolina Saturday night in regional semifinal action. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:32 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and online at www.ESPN3.com.

After a 10:30 p.m. arrival into Fresno Thursday, the Cardinal opened Friday with a team breakfast and a film session. The team made it out to Save Mart Center just before 2 p.m., when the team's 35-minute open media session was to begin.

Upon arrival, Tara VanDerveer headed to the media room, where she took the dais to address the assembled media. Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike, Amber Orrange and Joslyn Tinkle met with the ESPN crew, including play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch, analyst Debbie Antonelli and sideline reporter Heather Cox, discussing how the season has progressed, the "Nerd City" music video (available by clicking HERE) and many more topics.

Fifteen minutes later, VanDerveer's time on the dais ended, and she headed to the ESPN interview room while Nneka and Tinkle took their turns on the dais to speak with the media.

Meanwhile, in the locker room, players chatted with the media, doing interviews for the local Fresno television and radio stations as well as local Bay Area beat writers from the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, the Associated Press and ESPN.com.

When not talking basketball, players munched on the snacks provided in the locker room, joked around or got taped up by athletic trainer Marcella Shorty.

Soon enough, the media window was closed, and the team headed onto the Save Mart Center court, and the new NCAA floor, for the first time. VanDerveer ran her charges through a basic workout, going over some plays but mostly having the players focus on getting shots up and becoming accustomed to the arena's sight lines.

As the 90-minute countdown ended and the horn sounded, ending practice, the Cardinal exited the court, passing by their Saturday-night opponents as South Carolina waited patiently to take the court.

After a quick second workout at a neutral venue, the Cardinal ended its Friday by heading back to its hotel, with just one more film session remaining before dinner.