|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 1, 2012Adrienne GodboldJolette LawLydia McCullyINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Michigan – 68 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Illinois head coach Jolette Law and Lydia McCully and Adrienne GodBold. Coach, if you would like to start with opening comments. COACH LAW: Give a lot of credit to Michigan. They set the tone the first half, and we dug a hole for ourselves. We played better the second half, but the deficit was too great to cut. Give a lot of credit to Michigan. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. You guys were at a pretty big deficit throughout the entire game. Lydia, what were your game plans trying to work back into it? LYDIA MCCULLY: Whenever you're down like‑‑ I think as a player you want to try to get everything back right away. But we've been in the situation multiple times before, so you know something has to kind of ease back into the game. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do that today. Q. Adrienne, you got in foul trouble pretty quickly in the first half. What did you do on the bench to try to keep your teammates moving and keep them up when things were going bad? ADRIENNE GODBOLD: The best thing I could do is be more vocal and positive, try to keep everybody's heads in the game. Us being down, it was harder. But we tried. We tried. Q. Both of you guys were in foul trouble. What was that like watching a big game like this sometimes from the bench? LYDIA MCCULLY: For me, I'm not really used to being in foul trouble. So I think I was really frustrated from the bench. But at the same time a lot of the fouls I had weren't the smartest fouls. So I really don't have anybody to blame but myself. ADRIENNE GODBOLD: It was harder watching the game from the bench first half because I haven't been on the bench in a couple of games. So staying positive helped the team. And the fouls that I got were‑‑ I was just trying to crash on the boards. I was kind of disappointed in myself. Q. Lydia, I know this is your last game. Can you talk about the growth you've seen from this team from last year to the end of this year? LYDIA MCCULLY: I don't even think from last year to this year‑‑ I think the program overall has changed. I can't express the feeling of what I feel like now, having a family, as opposed to when I first walked in. I think there's nothing but hope for this team next year because seeing the growth that we did have‑‑ I just know that they can go‑‑ the levels we haven't reached yet. This is a great team. This is a great program. And one day we would be at the top. Q. Adrienne, Coach always talks about the little things, rebounding and turnovers. Where do you feel you guys fell short on, or was it just you weren't hitting on the offensive end? ADRIENNE GODBOLD: Our shots weren't falling, but I'm not quite sure what we fell short of today. I would say we did have a lack of focus in the first half. That's where we dug a hole for ourselves, and it was hard for us to get out. I think it was focus, mainly, for now. Q. Lydia, can you talk about your motions right now after playing your final game? LYDIA MCCULLY: I wanted it bad for the team, more than I wanted it for myself. But it's hard, that last game. We lost. I'm going to miss them. ADRIENNE GODBOLD: I don't think words can express right now, honestly. I don't have much to say. Q. You guys came out‑‑ you had like five straight points in the beginning of the second half, but Michigan kept seeing‑‑ their shots kept falling. What did you want to do on defense to try to get them to miss their shots? LYDIA MCCULLY: Defensively, it wasn't even‑‑ usually for us it's communication. There were loose balls on the floor. They were on the floor; we weren't on the floor. We had mental lapses at times that were crucial in the game, especially coming out of the first. Like I said, we dug ourselves a hole. Whenever you dig yourself a hole, it's tough to get out of it. Q. On a consecutive possession, you guys would have second and third rebounds. You guys were really hitting the glass hard. What does that do for your guys' mentality, in terms of knowing those boards were coming your way? ADRIENNE GODBOLD: In the first half we noticed that we were able to crash and get offensive rebounds. But it gave us energy, getting the awards and the putbacks, helped us with the energy in the game. Pumped us up a little bit, but it wasn't enough. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach. Q. Coach, I know that Karisma Penn had two fouls going down into the first half. Did you ever think about, when the deficit was growing up, putting them back in in the first half? COACH LAW: I thought about it. But I know from experience, especially with Karisma, over the course of the year, putting her back in the game I would rather use her in the second half than put her back and jeopardize her picking up a third. She and Adrienne and Karisma are a vital part of our defensive scheme. And I know that they were going to continue to attack them. And I didn't want to take that chance. I wanted to trust my other players on the bench. Q. Did you try anything different defensively when Boylan picked up her second foul in the first half? COACH LAW: I did. When they brought Jordan in, we decided to back off a little bit, and we doubled down a little bit. We weren't supposed to double team and trap; we were supposed to dig. And Kate Thompson hit some crucial 3s. So some of the things we were supposed to do, like Lydia mentioned, there were some mental lapses; instead of turning our backs to the shooter, we were supposed to just help a little bit because we knew Jordan wasn't a 3‑point threat. But some of our players lost track of their man by trying to help down low on the post. Q. Players like Thompson, and they come off the bench, so how do you prepare for those bench players that, you know, score like 13, 14 points? COACH LAW: We prepare for every person on this team. We do a thorough scouting report. And Kate Thompson, seemed like every time we played them she always comes up big, hitting big shots. So she was no stranger to us. That's why it was no surprise that we actually turned our backs and lost sight of her. But it's unfortunate; you don't really want the bench players to come in and have big games. But give her credit she came in found some crucial shots and hit the wide open shots when they were there for her. Q. What did you tell your team when the lead, when they were starting to thresh the lead and shots weren't falling for you offensively? COACH LAW: Just stay focused. Stay composed. Stay confident. And we have another half. Right now we have to chip away. And we have to make sure we can't turn the ball over. We have to be calm and execute. And there were times we had wide open shots. But some of the people that were open weren't confident enough to hit the shots. But my job as a coach was to try to bring confidence into each of the players and let them know that time, situation, score. Continue to get stops and let's be confident enough to knock down the shots that would eventually fall. Q. Obviously you guys didn't get as far as you did last season. But do you think this team has improved? COACH LAW: Totally different. I think this year we played one of the toughest‑‑ the toughest non‑conference schedule in the country. And even in the Big Ten. So I'm looking at how close we were with some of the top ranked teams. And last year our schedule wasn't as tough, but this year it was a very‑‑ probably I think top five schedule in the country. So when I watched the growth of my team and seeing how much we developed and how much better we've gotten, I'm encouraged. Q. You're only losing a few players; you have to be positive looking forward. You have McGee coming back and hopefully Kersten can stay healthy. Do you feel you have a lot to look forward to next season? COACH LAW: I do. Centrese McGee, she was a starter last year. And Kersten, in out of the lineup, dealing with a concussion. If we can stay healthy, have everyone coming back, and we have some incoming freshmen that will be here as well. This freshman class has gained a lot of good experience. So looking forward to next year, and I think the future looks bright. Q. Coach, you guys played Michigan the very first team of the Big Ten season. You beat them last year in the tournament. They were the 3 seed and you were 11. You went on to beat the likes of Michigan State and Ohio State. Did you have confidence knowing you could beat this team? COACH LAW: Definitely. We came in knowing that we've just got to be the best team on this day. And unfortunately, you know, we weren't the best team on this day. And every time we step on the court we feel that we have an opportunity to win. So we came into this game 40 minutes, ready to play. And it's just unfortunate that our shots wouldn't fall. We dug a hole for ourselves and came up on the short end. Q. Can you talk about the emotions of this game, last game with Lydia, Macie, and Eboni Mitchell? COACH LAW: I was in the locker room trying to hold back tears, because Lydia McCully, Lana Rukavina, Macie Blinn and Eboni Mitchell really set the tone for this team, the culture of this team. Every one of the freshmen, they were in there crying, like you guys, each one of you gave of yourself to help us out. And this year and with the senior class leaving, it feels like a family, the Illini family. And it's special. I'm going to miss Lydia McCully and Macie Blinn and I'm going to miss Lana Rukavina and Eboni Mitchell a great deal. Although some of them may not have played, but it's the little things that they did that most people don't see. They helped me to change the culture to being back with that fighting mentality and that team chemistry concept. And I give a lot of credit to that senior class, because they really, in my mind, left that legacy. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|