On the road with the Colonials: Day nine

Good morning from rainy Greensboro, NC. The team just got done with the detailed Rutgers scouting report and film session, which followed a nine a.m. breakfast (no photographic evidence because who really wants their picture taken that early?). It is clear that the squad learned a lot from the November 18 matchup. Tomorrow's contest should be an interesting one.

Everyone departs the hotel at 12.45 p.m. for practice and a media session. I'll be back with more from Greensboro Coliseum around then. Please check back later.

Update, 1.55 p.m. - It was a rainy 15-minute ride from the hotel to Greensboro Coliseum (pictured to the left). The team arrived just in time for its media session. Coach Joe McKeown was up first, followed by Jessica Adair, Kimberly Beck, and Sarah-Jo Lawrence (also pictured to the left). Quotations and other fun nuggets of information to come later on after the squad's practice, which is just getting underway.

For those wondering, the blue NCAA logo at midcourt is now built into the floor. There had been issues of players slipping on the sticker in the previous rounds on both the men's and women's sides, but the staff here installed it into the hardwood yesterday.

Update, 2.12 p.m. - WRGW alum Mike Patrick (GW class of 1966) is here preparing for tomorrow's ESPN broadcasts (he's shown to the left talking to McKeown - I know it's from a distance, but I already went over there and bothered him once, so I felt badly doing it again). We talked to him for a little while, and Patrick said that WRGW started covering basketball during his time with the station; before then, football had been the only thing on the airwaves. He said he made the decision to start broadcasting games after he realized he couldn't cut it as a baseball player. Patrick said he went to WRGW and asked if they needed any sports announcers, and they had him on the air two hours later. He also told us that basketball broadcasts cost the station about $6 per game during his tenure at WRGW. If you've never met him, Patrick is a really nice guy. Thanks to him for taking five minutes out of his busy schedule to give us an entire lesson on broadcasting.

Update, 2.39 p.m. - Paul Marmaro went to cover the Rutgers media session while I watched GW's practice. He brought back the audio from coach C. Vivian Stringer, and here is part of what she had to say about the Colonials: "While Peck has been, Beck has been the point guard, I think that Mary-Jo and the other players are stepping up." Oops!

We'll post the text from the session later.

Update, 2.51 p.m. - GW's practice (pictured to the left) is wrapping up. The players and coaches were extremely focused during the 50-minute session, and everyone seems to be happy with how it went.

We're going to stick around and watch the Rutgers practice, so check back for more in a little while.

Update, 3.26 p.m. - Rutgers is currently practicing here at Greensboro Coliseum (pictured to the left). The team started out loose, sharing a ton of jokes, but now they've buckled down and have started to run through a number of drills. The guards are to our right with Stringer, while the post players are on the opposite end of the floor.

We're going to get some lunch, then we'll be back with all of the quotations from the GW and Rutgers media sessions. Please check back in a little while.

Update, 5.20 p.m. - Here are the quotations from the GW and Rutgers media sessions:

Opening statement by McKeown: "We are excited to be at the regionals again. We were here last year. Coming off of the final 16 with a lot of players back, obviously the goal is to first get to the tournament, and then try to do the best you can. We have a great matchup with Rutgers on Sunday. They are a terrific team. Obviously, they are one of the best teams in the country. it should be fun because it's a team I think we are really excited for."

McKeown on how both teams have changed since their meeting in November: "I think both are battle-tested. Rutgers, who has beaten Connecticut, has had some great wins along the way. In some respects, the game against Tennessee, you could almost chalk that up as a win. They are playing really well. Naturally, they play great in this tournament. Coming off of those two games in California really gives us some momentum and some confidence, and we're starting to get healthy. I think both teams are hitting their strides at the right time."

McKeown on what went wrong in the first game against Rutgers: "It just snowballed. We got off to a bad start and Rutgers played really well. We couldn't get on track. It was just one of those things."

McKeown on his team's NCAA Tournament experience: "The margin of error really narrows when you get to this round. Last year, it was North Carolina for us. When you make a mistake, sometimes in the regular season you can get away with it. When you make a mistake against North Carolina, it snowballs. We preached all year that when you get into the tournament, everyone's good. There's no one playing right now that isn't good. We have to play better, too, and step our game up. Last year, against Carolina, we could never get on track. This time it's about taking care of our business."

McKeown on what makes Rutgers so tough: "Obviously, what makes them so dangerous is their balance, how they can hurt you in so many ways. If you have to double Kia Vaughn, you're leaving someone else open. They remind me of an NBA team in how they get shots off in the last five or six seconds of the shot clock. They're very patient and any number of people on that team can make the shot."

McKeown on the play of Antelia Parrish: "She's a big part of what we do right now. She's somebody who can play a lot of different positions. She can rebound, she can shoot, she can jump inside when you need her, and she is also a terrific passer. She's just an all-around player."

Lawrence on if there is any extra incentive after already losing to Rutgers by 25 points this season: "It definitely offers incentive. We're reminded of that loss, and it's one of those losses that you can't not think about. It gives us incentive to show that we're not the team that everyone saw. That's really not us at all. We're ready to prove that that wasn't really GW."

Beck on what the team has learned from previous NCAA Tournament games: "They are all physical and are all really aggressive. Rutgers isn't any different, so we know we really have to bring it to them and have to be aggressive on the boards and on defense. I think it will help us a lot."

Adair on facing Kia Vaughn: "She's a great post player. I think she's one of the best in the tournament this year. I have to bring my A-game and go at her. Playing against her already, I know what to expect, and it should be a great matchup."

Adair on what the team learned from the game against Rutgers in November: "We have to come out stronger and really bring our A-game and play hard for 40 minutes. We've played against them before, so that's definitely an advantage that we have."

Same question for Beck: "It helps us that we've played them before and we know what to expect. We have to be more aggressive. We got in a little foul trouble down low, but I think we'll be fine."

Same question for Lawrence: "We have to step up and play at a higher level."

Stringer on how GW has changed since the first meeting: "That's always a concern for us, so we better be on high alert because (GW) didn't get here hoping and praying. I think they are focused a little bit more, going inside to the big girl. They were trying to do that before, but weren't as successful...The (GW) players are stepping it up. They are intense. We have to be patient and find the open player. They are also changing the scheme. Obviously, they are comfortable enough in their own system that they can make changes and cause us not to be as strong (as in November). They are a better team (than they were in November). We have to be concerned."

The team has dinner in a little while, followed by an evening of film sessions. I'll be back later with more.

Update, 11.57 p.m. - The team had dinner and a film session, which was closed to the media. The bus departs at 8.15 a.m. tomorrow for a shoot-around. We'll be back in the morning. Please check back then.