Exclusive: Coaches give their thoughts on today

Here are a few exclusive quotes from coaches competing in their respective tournaments:

St Joseph’s Cindy Griffin with a funny and blunt quote in a text message to Swish Appeal regarding today’s A-10 Championship:

“WIN!!!”

Maryland head coach Brenda Frese:

”This team has continued to win because of our balance. Night after night, we’ve had different people step up and step up in the same game. Our bench was phenomenal tonight with energy and being ready to play. We’re really excited to have a shot at another Big Ten title tomorrow and we’ll look to bring that effort and that energy.”

ETSU head coach Brittney Ezell on today’s victory and tomorrow’s SOCON Final:

“Today marked win number 20 for a team that has been challenged with a daunting schedule, and has fought through injuries all season. As for the championship challenge, I think we will answer the bell one more time and be prepared to compete. No. 25 Mercer has had an incredibly special year, so it will take a Herculean effort on our part. It’s hard to pinpoint one or two keys to the game. It’s about which team can impart their will on the other. We have more basketball in our immediate future with either an NCAA or WNIT bid, but competing for a conference title is always a special opportunity.”

DePaul’s Doug Bruno on former assistant Bart Brooks and the job he’s done at Belmont:

“Bart Brooks is an exceptional young coach and we got to see him first-hand in action when both our teams competed at the Play4Kay Showcase during Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. His Belmont team went up against some really tough competition such as Stanford, Gonzaga and Florida Gulf Coast and did well. Watching Bart’s team back then, I knew he was going to have a good year. Nothing Bart achieves will ever surprise me.”