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Gary Gait, Syracuse
On taking on a tough bracket thus far, and being battle-tested heading into the weekend…
“We’re certainly battle-tested. [Stony Brook and USC are] two teams that have just had unbelievable years… We’ve managed to get through a very tough quadrant, and happy to do so and move on to play the best of the best in Maryland.”
On taking on Maryland, Kayla Treanor’s last shot against the Terps…
“You always want to play the best. They have a lot of people’s numbers. People always ask, ‘You’ve only beat them one time,’ but I could say that about almost every team out there. There’s not many teams that beat Maryland, ever… It’s a tough challenge, and we’re excited to have that opportunity again. We know we have to play a perfect game if we want to go out and compete with them, and try to come out on top.”
Is Syracuse at that level with the Maryland’s, Northwestern’s?
“It puts us at that one level before, where we’re an elite program – top four program – but we’re not the best yet. We can compete every year. We’ve proven we can get back here five years in a row, but we’ve never won. I think in women’s sports, I think it’s so key the level of confidence that comes from victory is amazing, and how that confidence elevates a team and way they play. We’ve got to get to that level. Like I said before, we have to play a near-perfect game. We can’t make mental mistakes over and over again. We’ve got to stick to a game plan, and we’ve got to execute, but more importantly – when kids get chances to make plays, they’ve got to believe in themselves enough to get it done on the field.”
On the slight differentiation between a perennial Final Four team, and a team that can take that next step…
“My first year back here at Syracuse, and we go to a Final Four. We kind of snuck in there, but we weren’t at the same caliber as the championship caliber teams – the Northwestern at the time… There’s been a difference between No. 1 and the rest for a while now, and we’ve been close a few times. But we need to step up our game and actually finish one of these.”
