Oct. 31, 2006
Evanston, Ill. -- Head coach Beth Combs joined Sara Stutz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) and A.J. Glasauer (Freiburg, Germany/Theodor Heuss-Gymnasium) at the 2006 Big Ten Basketball Media Day held in Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 29.
Quotes courtesy of the Big Ten
On expectations for the upcoming season:
"We our in the third year of our program, and our expectations are high. We are looking to make the NCAA Tournament, and we are not going to be satisfied until we get Northwestern back. We are confident about where we are right now. We have a great group of leaders that know what to expect and what is expected of them. It's an exciting time for us, and we're really looking forward to tipping it off."
On off-season preparations:
"It's a tribute to the players that you have as far as what they do in the off-season. The summer is when you really develop your game. They worked with our strength coach, with trainers on their own, and they really took it upon themselves to make this thing happen. When they came to me in September, they were already over the conditioning hump, and we were able to move right into the season."
Leaders on the team:
"A.J. Glasauer is the team's only senior, and is the captain this year. She is an incredible athlete and ballplayer, and she is willing to take responsibility for herself and her teammates. Our leaders have a confidence that we haven't seen until now."
On what Northwestern needs to do to improve:
"We all need to work together and trust each other. We talked about knowing how to beat worst case scenarios, so that we will be ready for them if the happen. We have 11 young women who can make their mark on the game."
Northwestern opens its season on Friday, Nov. 3 when it takes on the Chicago Challengers in a 7 p.m. exhibition game at Welsh-Ryan Arena.