Coming off a devastating loss to Stanford in the Pac-10 Tournament championship, the Arizona women's basketball team practiced for the first time yesterday, looking to regain focus as it heads to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats won't know their first-round tournament opponent until the selection show Sunday at 3 p.m.
The Wildcat spoke to UA head coach Joan Bonvicini yesterday to get her take on the team's accomplishments this season, and where it goes from here.
Wildcat: You're coming from the Pac-10 Tournament, where you had already played every team twice, and now you're heading into a tournament where you're going to play someone you probably haven't seen this season. From your standpoint, what are the differences in preparing for this tournament in practice?
Bonvicini: Well, we're excited in a lot of ways to play someone we don't know, because you get tired of playing someone in your conference so many times. Going into the tournament, not knowing where we're playing or who we play - I mean, there's just a great deal of excitement. Everyone is looking for this chance to really do well. For us, obviously everyone was very disappointed in the outcome on Monday night. But I really feel that we have a very, very strong team. I have a lot of confidence in this team.
Wildcat: The team has accomplished so much this season, being Pac-10 co-regular season champions, and yet, going into the tournament, you're coming off a loss that was so heartbreaking. How do you get the team's mental and emotional poise back after a loss like that?
Bonvicini: Well, we've had two days off. (Yesterday was) our first day of practice. I think once they get on the court, they'll be better; but honestly, it's something we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about it actually before practice, about how they felt and what they feel like going in. My thing is that I have to help build them back up, but these kids are very resilient, and all that disappointment we want to take out on our next opponent.
Wildcat: I remember as you and some of the players were headed to the pressroom (after the Stanford loss), you told one of the players, "Get your head up." Is that going to be the theme for the next week: Get your head up, we have a lot more basketball to play?
Bonvicini: Well, that was so early right after that game. A lot of the players were so disappointed, but they'll be fine. I think our big thing is getting back that confidence. This is a whole new tournament. We can't take back what happened, but I think the biggest thing is you learn from it. I've always said it's not what happens, it's how you handle it. We have a really, really good team. The coaches know it, the players know it, the fans know it and I think this is a huge opportunity for us.
Wildcat: I know that after the team lost the championship game to Stanford last season, you went on to the NCAAs and you were upset in the first round. Do you think that the players who were there last season are going to keep that in mind and use that as motivation to make sure lightning doesn't strike twice?
Bonvicini: Well, I think that we learned a lot a year ago. That was the first time for just about every player on that team to go into a tournament, whereas this team - the majority of players have played in the NCAAs. They have an idea of what to expect, and I think the experience of having played will help this team a lot. I think the leadership will help, and the biggest thing is that our staff will just prepare for one opponent at a time.
Wildcat: One of the players who seemed - at least visibly - to be taking the Stanford loss hard was (junior guard) Dee-Dee (Wheeler). She seems like she's been a really good leader.
Bonvicini: She's been an excellent leader. I think she's learned a lot, particularly in the last month. I think she's really done whatever she can to help the team, and I think her leadership will really propel us to doing well in the NCAA Tournament. I think our team is a very difficult team to defend. We have a lot of different weapons most teams don't have. Like I said, it's just a matter of getting us sharp again, working on things we need to work on and just getting back to work.
Wildcat: I noticed that during the Pac-10 Tournament, you played seven players deep. You had the starting five and then (sophomore forward) CoCoa (Sanford) and (sophomore guard) Katrina (Lindner) coming off the bench. Is that something you see continuing in the NCAAs?
Bonvicini: Yeah, I do. I think we'll use other players in different circumstances. I think there's a big difference between the Pac-10 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament because in the Pac-10 you have three (games) in a row, but if you have that day of rest, you put everything you possibly can in that one game because it's either you win and move on or you lose and go home. We want to win and we want to really do well.
Wildcat: I'm not going to ask where you expect to be seeded, but what kind of seed would it take for your jaw to drop and say, "We got a raw deal here?"
Bonvicini: (Laughs) I'm going to be disappointed if we're not somewhere between five and seven, but you know, it's so interesting, the NCAA committee - at times they make you a seed just to even up the bracket, so at times it's not really an accurate seed. They do that because in the women's games, they move people around - for example, if we were to go to Tempe - so that the bracket is even. So, we'll see what happens.
Wildcat: You have a lower RPI this season. Last year, you were in the mid 20s, and this year you're in the low 30s. Do you think being Pac-10 co-champions will cancel that out?
Bonvicini: I think more important is that we won six in a row down the stretch. We played a strong nonconference (schedule). It's just the luck of the draw. You never know.
Wildcat: Do you think some of the seeding is based on team history and how much a team is nationally recognized?
Bonvicini: In a way, yeah. They say it doesn't, but it does.
Wildcat: If the team is able to click on all cylinders and play as well as you know it can, do you think this team can compete with anyone?
Bonvicini: Absolutely. No question.