Mizzou NCAA Tournament Selection Show Quotes
Head Coach Robin Pingeton
On South Florida:
“He does such a great job with his teams. I know they have some perimeter kids that shoot the three ball really well. He has such a great program there so no doubt it will be a tough contest for us. Although, I am somewhat familiar with the program I still don’t have a good gauge of where they are at. I’ve seen them once on television this year but not to where I can study and break them down.”
On the tournament as a whole:
“This is what is so fun about March; the late nights watching film and studying team’s tendencies. We all understand that it is one game at a time. You win and you advance; you lose and you go home. At the end of the day, you want to lock arms and play to the best of your ability and take whatever happens at the end of the game. You have to go into these games playing to win. At this time of the year, you are playing against the best and you have to bring your best, mentally, physically and emotionally. We will go into the tournament with the approach that we will give 100 percent. When the final horn sounds, we want to feel good about the effort we put forth and if we do, win or lose, we can be proud and hold our heads high.”
On the chances of hosting:
“There was an outside chance that we could host but we knew it would be a long shot. We would have loved to have hosted. We knew that was going to be a long shot but how fun is that to be in the mix of those kind of conversations. I still feel really good about where we are at. It’s going to be one day at a time and preparation has to be on point. So far, over the last week and a half, it has been.”
On the crowd showing at the Selection Show:
“I was in a good spot walking into it and then I saw our band and cheer team and Golden Girls and it makes you pretty emotional. It took a lot of hard work by a lot of people from the players and coaches to the staff and support staff, administration and fans. So much goes into building a program and to walk into that room and see it as crowded as it was at standing room only is awfully special and it really means a lot. It makes you a little emotional as a coach in a good way. In those early years as a coach you are trying to lay a foundation and build respect and to see how far we’ve come is really rewarding.”
On Hannah Schuchts returning home:
“For a kid like that to get the chance to return home after coming so far from home to be a part of our family is awesome. They don’t get the chance to see many of our games as they make as many as they can. I can imagine her family is very excited and we are all really close to that family.”
On practice leading into the tournament:
“Our team has been really resilient as a whole after tough losses. We have really bounced back and not had empty losses. Our girls have done a really great job this past week. We practiced Monday through Friday for about an hour and 20 minutes and had a couple weight sessions in there. We took Saturday and Sunday off and came back today and really looked sharp. The intensity of practice hasn’t changed although the length of practice has definitely shortened up. I like where our girls are at with their sense of urgency and the toughness they have shown. It’s been nice to have a week of straight practices. As players, they want to play the next game but as coaches we just want to find more practice time and as the season gets later it is harder to do that. I think we are really in a good position.”
On expectations for the tournament:
“Making the tournament has become our expectation and the standard that we set for ourselves. I’ve always said that nobody is going to have higher expectations than our staff and program. This is what we said we wanted to do and this was our vision for our program. We knew it was going to be easy and that it was going to be brick-by-brick. It’s been 30 years since they’ve had back-to-back 20 win seasons and that is an incredible statistic. It’s been really cool to see the growth. We are going to embrace this year and the journey. We are really excited but we are a long way from being satisfied. We want to compete at the highest level for championships and we still have a lot of work to do. We are still focused on the bigger picture but are really proud of where we are at today.”
Mizzou redshirt senior Lindsey Cunningham
On South Florida and Florida State:
“Obviously Florida State has been a power house the last couple of years. All I really know about South Florida is that we saw them in the Bahamas, we didn’t watch them too much, but we just kind of crossed paths with them there. We are really excited about where we are heading and who is in our little four team bracket. We will take it one game at a time, but I am really please with where we are headed.”
On hearing placement early on during the selection show:
“It is a better feeling knowing you’re in and knowing that your program has had the year where you know you’re in. The suspense of last year was pretty cool, but it was just a lot of build up having not been there is so many years and just going down to the wire. It was a lot of fun last year, but we are just really excited about our name being up on the screen, it is just exciting.”
On going forward into the tournament:
“We have an idea of where we want to go. We haven’t really talked about it too much, but we are going to take it one game at a time. We can definitely make a run here at the end of the season.”
On going from excitement to preparation:
“We have had a week of practicing without knowing where we are going or who we are playing, so for us to just finally figure out where we are heading and who we are playing is a big relief. We know our coaches will get on it and we will get going. We will be excited about this tonight and then get going tomorrow.”
On fuel going forward following SEC Tournament:
“We talk all of the time at the end of a game that as long as we played to our standard, it doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says. We weren’t too happy with the way that tournament ended. Luckily it wasn’t the way our season ended, but we just want to make sure that when our season does come to end, we feel really good about the game we played.”
Thoughts on seeding going into today:
“We heard six or seven, and then people tossed around the idea of getting to host, so that was exciting too, but we knew that was a really slim chance. We’re a six, so I think that is really cool and a testament to what we are getting going here with this program.”
Mizzou redshirt freshman Hannah Schuchts
On Tallahassee:
“I was super excited. I definitely didn’t expect that, but my family is super excited. As soon as it got called, I heard my phone buzzing and they are all super excited. I am so happy, we will have some good fans there and they like to cheer loudly.”
On getting to play at home:
“It is pretty neat. My family doesn’t get to catch a lot of games, so it is pretty cool we are going to them so they can get a chance to cheer. They are really excited, I am really excited, it is going to be fun.”
On their feelings when seeing their name pop up:
Sophomore Cierra Porter: “It’s really exciting. It isn’t as much of an anxious feeling as last year, but it’s still just as exciting. We all shot up and started cheering. It’s just nice to know that our season isn’t over yet. We can still play the game we love and that’s a great feeling.”
Sophomore Sophie Cunningham: “I think it’s a great opportunity. Everyone is going in there 0-0. I think our team is in a really good spot. I think it is a great way to send our seniors out on a good note.”
On getting to play in Florida:
Cierra Porter: “I love Florida, and I love the sunshine. Also, that’s where Hannah is from, so it is really cool we get to go play in front of her family.”
On getting a second tournament experience:
Cierra Porter: “I think it is still just as exciting, and such a blessing. We do have experience; it’s not a new realm that we’re entering. So hopefully we play with more pose this year and make it farther in the tournament.”
On the preparation for Friday’s game:
Cierra Porter: “Coach P. will make sure we’re in the right spot. She will probably be watching film all night to get to know the team we play, and we will just have to get back at it during practice tomorrow.”
Sophie Cunningham: “I think our coaching staff does a great job. I’m sure they are already running up to their office, and scouting them. They do a great job with scouting, so I’m excited to see what Central Florida is all about.”
On practices since the last game:
Cierra Porter: “They have been intense practices, but shorter time. I think it’s been really good for us. I think we’re in a really good spot heading into the tournament.”
Sophie Cunningham: “We have already started practicing. We didn’t know who we were playing, but we were focusing on us this week. We had five hard days of practice. We didn’t take any days off because when our team thinks we’ve worked hard to earn something, we go out there and we play like it. So I think were mentally in a good spot, physically in a good spot, but now it’s nice to know where we’re going and who we’re playing.”
On her take away from last year's tournament:
Cierra Porter: “I think just playing with pose, and not letting the games seem bigger than they are. It’s just another game and a neutral site. We need to go and leave it all out there because any one of these games could be our last and we want to make sure it’s a good one.”
On the large turnout at the watch party:
Sophie Cunningham: “This community keeps supporting us. It’s just so awesome because they are the best six-man in the nation. For them to just always come out and be supportive. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s just really cool to see them continuing to support us during post season.”
On getting to play one more time with your sister:
Sophie Cunningham: “It will be nice, but not just her. All the seniors deserve to go out on a good note, and it’s a great opportunity for that. But it will be really fun to get to finish playing with her (Lindsey) this year.”
