ALBANY, N.Y. — Te-Hina Paopao and Chloe Kitts were at the podium and of course the locker room was mobbed with national reporters, but here are some notes from inside the locker room in Albany the day before the Gamecocks take on the Hoosiers in the sweet 16:
"It's very cool because I know them. It's going to be fun playing against them. It's competition on the court, friends off the court."
On if she faced Meister:
"Not high school, I played against her in AAU. Sara would come to our practices and play against us, too."
On where she's grown this year:
"From the first game in Paris I'd say the most I've grown is defensively. I thought I was ready in that Paris game defensively, but I was not. I did not chase any screens on shooters. But now I will chase over my screens."
On Indiana:
"I don't know who they remind me of playing, but I know most of them can shoot. Probably all of them can shoot. We just have to watch out for that."
Bonus quotes from Indiana's Meister on this:
"I definitely have played against her a couple times in AAU, but I haven't had too many personal conversations with her. But she's really good. She's just an overall great player. She's a leader, she has a great shot, great ball-handling, she's kind of got it all."
"I think it's really fun. I always tell people every game I watch I go, 'Oh, that player's from Minnesota.' I just think it's so fun."
On comparing Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes to Utah's Alissa Pilli:
"I see that. SHe has some excellent footwork. HEr footwork is amazing, and you expect the unexpected with anybody. She plays very hard."
On Indiana's challenge:
"Just stay ready, be ready for everything. It's a Big Ten team. You know they'll play physical, play hard, so just stay ready for anything."
Says she feels "a little different" than she did this time last tournament because of her increased playing team.
"It feels good to be able to experience it playing and just having fun with the team."
"What sticks out about them is they're always moving. They're an active team. We've got to be ready for that. We've got to do our work early with their big, because they go through them a lot. We've got to worry about that really."
On comparing Holmes to Pilli:
"For sure, I feel like they have more of the same footwork."
On comparing this year to last year:
"It feels a little bit different. It's a bit different now that I"m playing, because I contribute to the game. It means more this year."
Tessa Johnson:
On facing two players (Sara Scalia and Lilly Meister) from her home state:"It's very cool because I know them. It's going to be fun playing against them. It's competition on the court, friends off the court."
On if she faced Meister:
"Not high school, I played against her in AAU. Sara would come to our practices and play against us, too."
On where she's grown this year:
"From the first game in Paris I'd say the most I've grown is defensively. I thought I was ready in that Paris game defensively, but I was not. I did not chase any screens on shooters. But now I will chase over my screens."
On Indiana:
"I don't know who they remind me of playing, but I know most of them can shoot. Probably all of them can shoot. We just have to watch out for that."
Bonus quotes from Indiana's Meister on this:
"I definitely have played against her a couple times in AAU, but I haven't had too many personal conversations with her. But she's really good. She's just an overall great player. She's a leader, she has a great shot, great ball-handling, she's kind of got it all."
"I think it's really fun. I always tell people every game I watch I go, 'Oh, that player's from Minnesota.' I just think it's so fun."
Sania Feagin:
On comparing Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes to Utah's Alissa Pilli:
"I see that. SHe has some excellent footwork. HEr footwork is amazing, and you expect the unexpected with anybody. She plays very hard."
On Indiana's challenge:
"Just stay ready, be ready for everything. It's a Big Ten team. You know they'll play physical, play hard, so just stay ready for anything."
Says she feels "a little different" than she did this time last tournament because of her increased playing team.
"It feels good to be able to experience it playing and just having fun with the team."
Ashlyn Watkins:
On Indiana:"What sticks out about them is they're always moving. They're an active team. We've got to be ready for that. We've got to do our work early with their big, because they go through them a lot. We've got to worry about that really."
On comparing Holmes to Pilli:
"For sure, I feel like they have more of the same footwork."
On comparing this year to last year:
"It feels a little bit different. It's a bit different now that I"m playing, because I contribute to the game. It means more this year."
