We stopped running and played at a slower tempo, which allowed them to sag in and double team.
Uhl has been constant all season. She made a conscious decision during the summer to be a leader on the team. She's been a force down low.
We were a lot stronger underneath this time and had the size advantage. We also were more patient and kept swinging the ball until we had an open look and then finished strong.
We accomplished everything we wanted to and got a little bit of confidence. Everything turned out as well as I could've wanted.
We've seen a lot of great post players this season, but nothing like the tandem we saw tonight. The thing with them is you have to keep a body on each of them and then look for the back-side help.
We've seen a lot of great post players, but not a tandem like that.
She did a good job of staying patient and not getting frustrated. She let the game come to her, which is the mark of a veteran player.
She's a good player. She's going to get her points, we just need to make it as tough as possible for her and contest every shot.
She provides quite a problem for other teams. If they put a quicker player on her, she can go down and post up. If they put a bigger player on her, she can take them off the dribble.
She played like she's an All-Ohio caliber player.
She is so basketball savvy on her own. She does so many things on the floor, she is just that smart.
Mentor was focused on slowing her down. It would be different if she was drawing all that attention and wasn't so unselfish.
I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams that we would be cutting down the nets in my first season. It's a credit to our kids. Their passion, heart and willingness to win is incredible.
Cassie is able to draw so much attention so every game someone else steps up and Brede was that one tonight. We were hoping someone would be on. She had some huge shots for us.
I thought defensively we played as well as I could've asked for. Our focus was definitely on Davis and we did a good job surrounding her.
I think we backed down from them. They became the aggressor at that point, and instead of us responding in a positive way and stepping right back up with them, I think we kind of went into a shell.
Our kids have been resilient all year long. We are really playing well at the right time of the season.
Our inside play was the difference. We were a lot stronger underneath and were patient at getting the ball into our post players. We had the advantage down low.
Our bench is one area we have an advantage. Hopefully by the time the fourth quarter comes around, they will have tired legs.
I think she decided to step up. When she rose to the occasion we didn't have anybody who could step up (and match her).
We noticed in the first game that when she caught the ball, she didn't finish strong. So we used it not only as a teaching tool, but to motivate her. Tonight she played like a D-I player.
That's the kind of effort we needed from her. She was solid on the boards and brought some good energy off the bench.
We were more aggressive on the ball in the second half. In the first half, we let them feel comfortable and they were able to make some shots.
We were able to force them into some quick shots and some travels.
We hoped that our depth would wear them down. The way we were able to sub allowed us to have more gas at the end. Our tempo and our style are conducive to runs like that.
We played one of our worst basketball games that night. After getting out to a 10-point lead, we lost sight of our goals and objectives.
With a 10-year-old of my own who loves basketball, she asks me questions all the time that make me wonder how she knew that. I bet that was what Cassie was doing at her age.
What can you say about Cassie that hasn't already been said? She knows what's on the line and she is type of person that refuses to quit.
We talked (Friday) in practice about playing our style and keeping the tempo.
We weren't ready to win a game like that. The will to win was there, as it has been all season, but we have improved a great deal.
We were really concerned with their transition. We knew they liked to kick it up to (Amber) Witt and let her go. We did a great job of following the game plan.
We are a much better team than the first time (we played Stow). I hope that will show through.
At the beginning of the year, there were a lot of question marks, but she is one of the biggest keys to our success.
Emily has been big for us in every game during the tournament. She hit the big threes, but it was more the timing with those she hit back-to-back in the Mentor game.
After doing that it was pick your poison. We just tried to work the mismatches as much as possible.
As good as Cassie and Jen are, they are even better people. They are humble and soft-spoken but they can dominate games. But they truly believe they can't do it alone.
The bottom line is they outworked us (last time) and we have to step up to the challenge.
The bottom line is Stow took it to us tonight. It showed us how far we need to go to get to where we want to be.
This is definitely the most physical team we have seen in taking the ball to the basket. I was real proud of the way the girls stepped in.
They have been very accepting of me and my family, and it has evolved into a close-knit team and coaching staff. I really think that it has helped us throughout the tournament.
They pretty much run a seven-man rotation and keep their three All-District players on the floor. If we let two or three (players) have big nights, it's going to be tough.
They're a lot bigger than we are and have some nice big kids to pound the ball inside to.
It is sort of weird. In some ways, it feels like we've come full circle.
It makes my life pretty easy. The thing about Cassie is that she can pick up what I'm telling her and pass it along to the other girls.
It takes the right mental makeup to play the point. It's a very demanding position. She has added more consistency to her game. I'm just excited to have her for two more years.
It takes a special kind of kid and requires some mental toughness. Early in the year I was on her more than anyone else, but she responded like a champion.
They just lost her in transition. She had her feet set and had a quick release.
After that first game, we set our goals for the rest of the season. No kidding -- our goal was to play (North Canton) here on March 10. We had to win out. They had to win out. But here we are -- exactly where we wanted to be.
After the Hoover game, we wanted to set our team goals and one of them was to play Hoover on March 10.
I'm the new guy here, so there was no pressure on me. The girls felt the pressure and they're pleased for themselves, but more so for the fans.
In the first half, offensively and defensively we were really tight. Sometimes that happens on a big stage like this. So at halftime, I just told them to relax and just go out and play -- and finally we did.
(Garfield) packed it in defensively and wanted to make us beat them from the outside, so (Uhl) didn't get a lot of touches.
I can really sense the girls' confidence. They feel good about themselves and each other.
I could tell on the bus ride down we were pretty loose. I really believe they didn't feel any pressure. For a trip to the Final Four, I had a pretty good feeling we weren't going to be scared.
You could see their intensity step up right there.
