Geno Auriemma Road Quotations

I was afraid of that. We came off some of the games we just had and we were feeling pretty good. We're playing a game where their No.1 player is hurt, and physically we're not 100 percent coming out of the road trip. You put all those things in the mix, it made for one lousy game.

Playing at Louisville, at DePaul, at Villanova, at Notre Dame, at Texas, and we're going to go to Rutgers... I think we've had the toughest stretch of anybody else in the league. And for us to play well and to win, that's a huge step for us because I don't think this group really believed last year that we could win on the road against good teams.

We have won some big games on the road against some good teams, which has given the group the confidence that you need to play in these games. I don?t know that we went in feeling like we were good enough to win this thing last year. I think maybe we thought we were, but I?m not sure we really believed it.

This was probably the biggest win we've had this season because of all the things that go with it. Conference game, we're still in first place, on the road against a team that's going to be there in the end. It may not seem that big right now, but come NCAA Tournament time, some of the things we learned about ourselves tonight will really come in handy.

You don't go in thinking how many can we win by and that's not the point of the game. The point of the game is if we do what we're supposed to do, we're going to win. But as you look at the game, you try to find areas where you know down the road are going to help you. The fact that we didn't turn the ball over (is good). We, for long stretches, got the right shot at the right time. We executed some things pretty well.

It's still very fragile, I think, but the experience we've gotten playing on the road is going to be something we can draw on. I would like to think all these games will come back to help us.

Any time you go on the road and you have to make plays to win and you do make them, it's a huge confidence booster.

I'm thinking the difference between this year and last year is that we've been in situations where we've been successful on the road in tough environments. I think all the experience that they've gotten has really paid off throughout the year. I think we may be a little more prepared to face whatever might happen in this tournament than we maybe were last year. It might be a little bit of a confidence thing. They probably do, right now, have a lot of confidence. If they don't by now, they never will.

I know she wants to play, and as long as the game is being decided, she wants to be out there. She is a senior and I feel like I owe it to her. At the same time, I don't want to do anything to jeopardize what is coming down the road either.

I never know what to think anymore. Last year we go up to Notre Dame and spank them all over the court and then they come here and beat us. But I do think when you go on the road and play really well, that's a good sign. That's a sign that you can handle adversity and focus on what you need to focus on.

If you want to win the conference, every road trip is important. It is not just all pomp and circumstance on the road now where you just show up, go to a great dinner the night before, roll in and win by 30 and leave. Those days are over. There are some tough kids in our league.

If you want to win the conference, every road trip is important.