Women's Basketball | 3/18/2016 7:45:00 PM

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STANFORD, Calif. - The San Francisco women's basketball team saw the court at Maples Pavilion for the first time, taking to the hardwood that current USF head coach Jennifer Azzi played on over two decades ago.

Today, Azzi, alongside student-athletes Taylor Proctor and Zhane Dikes, addressed the media on the eve of the team's fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament field. Tomorrow, the 13th-seeded Dons face off against the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal in the first round of the 2016 tournament, looking to survive and advance to play the winner of No. 5 Miami (FL) and No. 12 South Dakota State. Saturday's contest is slated for 6 p.m., on ESPN2. 

Press Conference Highlights -

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Zhané Dikes, San Francisco Guard: 
"[The comeback wins in the WCC tournament happened because of] determination and staying with it. I was really proud of my teammates because no matter the deficit, no matter how much we were down, we continued to fight. But I'd definitely say it was our defensive intensity and effort. We were nitty-gritty after every single loose ball. Defensively is definitely what got us back in each game." 

"We've really just been focused on playing USF basketball. That means passing up good shots for great shots, picking our teammates up when they're down, sharing the ball, playing hard every single possession – defensively and offensively. We know we have a tough matchup – Stanford is an awesome team – but when we lock in and play that USF basketball that I know we know how to play, good things tend to happen." 

Taylor Proctor, San Francisco Forward: 
"Being on [Jennifer Azzi's] home court and coming back to her place is really cool for us to experience with her. But we're playing against the home team, and of course, we're going to do our best to take them down." 

"The first conversation I had with her, I wasn't familiar with Jennifer Azzi. But when I did my research on her and my coach from high school was talking about her, I couldn't believe that I was talking to a Hall of Famer. It was an honor for me, and just being able to play for her has been probably the best four years of my life." 

Jennifer Azzi, San Francisco Head Coach: 
"It's very surreal coming back to Stanford. But more so than that, I'm so proud of the team that I'm coaching. They have fought so hard this season. What people don't realize is that we lost three senior starters a year ago. We finished very strong a year ago as well, but we were a new team this year. It took our team a little while to find their own identity and their own chemistry. And so they've worked extremely hard to get to where they are. The WCC Tournament proved that they have a lot of fight and heart, and they truly love one another, which is one of the things I'm most proud of. Living in this day and age of cell phones and everything that coming at them, to get a group that really connects is something that I'm very, very proud of." 

Locker Room Quotes - 

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Rachel Howard, San Francisco Guard: 
"I think we really resemble the word team. We work really well together. Not only on the offensive side but also on the defensive side. We really have each other's back. There's a lot of trust in the way that we play. That really helped us when each game came down to the wire." 

"There's no way to explain it. As a whole, for each one of us this is what we dreamed about as little kids. Everyone grows up watching the tournament. It's incredible to be a part of it."