That's what we start with from day one. The kids play with a high energy level, and that allows us to do a lot of different things on defense. Our defense is our staple.

Knowing it was Senior Day, Nicolle was emotional in the locker room before the game, but after she hit some shots and got her rhythm, she got that swagger that had been missing for the last few games. When she hits shots from the perimeter like she did today, it makes us a better team.

Our kids know their kids really well and there's no hard feelings or dirty play. It's always just two good teams competing and getting after it.

That's maturity and focus. When a team makes a run at us, I don't want to have to call a timeout. We should have the maturity to fight through it.

I know the kids are disappointed. We were genuinely excited as a program to play them again. I can't tell you how many people came up to me (since the announcement) and said how excited they were that we were playing again.

A couple kids were respectable. They're one of the top teams in the league. If we play our best we still don't necessarily beat them. No one did exceptionally well. It wasn't good enough today.