St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: No. 11 St. John’s vs. No. 6 North Carolina
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella and graduate student guard Mimi Reid spoke with the media following a 61-59 loss to sixth-seeded North Carolina on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament First Round.
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella
Opening statement…
“I love my team. We have a lot of players who are struggling right now. We knew the season was going to end at some point. As I told them, I probably won’t have a group that means as much to me as they do. Toward the end, we felt good, and they [UNC] made some plays that finished it. We had a shot at the end, and that’s all you can ask for. We did what we could. We fought. That game was everything I love about this group. At the end of the day, we didn’t make the last play that we needed to, and they did. I don’t think this group should be upset or hang their heads at all. The hurt they have is because they really love each other. At the same time, they represented themselves and the university in the best fashion possible.”
On how the performed this season…
“I’ve watched them do it all year. My message all year was ‘make them care,’ and they did that. You don’t have an opportunity to be in the games we’ve been in this year and come out successful unless you have a team that’s built for these moments. I’m really proud that the entire country got to see them play. It’s fun to watch. They were built for it.”
Graduate student guard Mimi Reid
On the last few minutes of the game…
“This team has a lot of fight and that’s what we have been doing all year, making people care and making people know who we are. In those final minutes, we were pouring positivity into each other, letting each other know the next play we got this and that’s all you can ask for. I think this group is really special, and [Coach Tartamella] led us all the way here. Nobody was there along the journey, nobody knows the adversity we faced along the way. Those final seconds don’t define us. It was one heck of a ride. “
On the turnaround of the team during her four years at St. John’s…
“We had to make an adjustment within ourselves. It was nothing that UNC was doing that hurt us, we just had to adjust, which is what we have been doing all year. We made those adjustments, hit shots, they fell, and run our offense. We just couldn’t let anyone take us off of our game. At the end of the day, the locker room was full of positivity. It was just like go be you and do what you have been doing all year.“
On her and her teammates’ journey at St. John’s…
“[Coach Tartamella] went out and got a bunch of girls with a whole lot of stories and brought us all together. He told us what we were going to do, and we said let’s go do it. We believed in each other and understood each other’s journey. It was the last year for a lot of us, so why not go out on a bang. We had a goal in mind, and it was our duty to prove everyone wrong. A lot of people counted us out. It was our duty to prove everybody wrong, and make people care about us. Tonight and the whole season I think we did that.”
Opening statement…
“I love my team. We have a lot of players who are struggling right now. We knew the season was going to end at some point. As I told them, I probably won’t have a group that means as much to me as they do. Toward the end, we felt good, and they [UNC] made some plays that finished it. We had a shot at the end, and that’s all you can ask for. We did what we could. We fought. That game was everything I love about this group. At the end of the day, we didn’t make the last play that we needed to, and they did. I don’t think this group should be upset or hang their heads at all. The hurt they have is because they really love each other. At the same time, they represented themselves and the university in the best fashion possible.”
On how the performed this season…
“I’ve watched them do it all year. My message all year was ‘make them care,’ and they did that. You don’t have an opportunity to be in the games we’ve been in this year and come out successful unless you have a team that’s built for these moments. I’m really proud that the entire country got to see them play. It’s fun to watch. They were built for it.”
Graduate student guard Mimi Reid
On the last few minutes of the game…
“This team has a lot of fight and that’s what we have been doing all year, making people care and making people know who we are. In those final minutes, we were pouring positivity into each other, letting each other know the next play we got this and that’s all you can ask for. I think this group is really special, and [Coach Tartamella] led us all the way here. Nobody was there along the journey, nobody knows the adversity we faced along the way. Those final seconds don’t define us. It was one heck of a ride. “
On the turnaround of the team during her four years at St. John’s…
“We had to make an adjustment within ourselves. It was nothing that UNC was doing that hurt us, we just had to adjust, which is what we have been doing all year. We made those adjustments, hit shots, they fell, and run our offense. We just couldn’t let anyone take us off of our game. At the end of the day, the locker room was full of positivity. It was just like go be you and do what you have been doing all year.“
On her and her teammates’ journey at St. John’s…
“[Coach Tartamella] went out and got a bunch of girls with a whole lot of stories and brought us all together. He told us what we were going to do, and we said let’s go do it. We believed in each other and understood each other’s journey. It was the last year for a lot of us, so why not go out on a bang. We had a goal in mind, and it was our duty to prove everyone wrong. A lot of people counted us out. It was our duty to prove everybody wrong, and make people care about us. Tonight and the whole season I think we did that.”