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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 2, 2012Amanda ButlerJordan JonesAzania StewartNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE Kentucky – 71 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Florida head coach Amanda Butler, Azania Stewart and Jordan Jones. Coach, if you could start with some opening comments. COACH BUTLER: I just first have to congratulate Kentucky on a hard‑fought battle. They certainly wouldn't go away. We had some moments in this game where we looked like the better team. They always fought back and answered. A'dia is a Player of the Year for a reason. She definitely showed that. I was very proud of our team, the way we fought, the way we played. If we could have done a little bit better job of keeping ourselves out of foul trouble, maybe we would have been the first team up here in the press conference. THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. For the players, when they started making their run in the second half, how tough was it to stop Mathies? AZANIA STEWART: We were trying to fight the momentum that they were getting back. You just go on. Like coach says, Mathies is a good player. We knew they were trying to run their offenses through her. We just tried to switch up defenses, you know, tried to throw different things at them. We had our runs and they had theirs. JORDAN JONES: They're a great team. We knew they were going to go on a run. When we got that lead in the first half, they weren't going to lay down and quit. That's what makes them a great team. Mathies is a great player. We knew it was going to go through her and we got beat by a great player tonight. Q. Coach, what were you all able to do? The last time you played Kentucky, you stopped Mathies. She only had two points in that game. What was the difference with what happened in the second half today? COACH BUTLER: She's playing a little bit more fuller, which is a tough matchup for her. If you switch your 4 and your 3, defensively they put you in some tough spots. I think A'dia could answer that question better than me. I just think she came into this game knowing how important it was. I think she had a lot of respect for our team, knew she hadn't played her best in previous outings against us. She played like the Player of the Year. Our game plan wasn't any different. She made plays and hit shots that in the previous matchups she had missed. Q. Coach, what kind of impact do you think the insertion of Amber Smith in the second half played into the way the second half played out? COACH BUTLER: Well, they have such a versatile group of kid. Having Conwright playing the point sometimes is a great advantage. When you have a kid like Amber, who is a true point guard, known her a long time, really proud of the career she's had, especially as a Florida kid, I think it gives them maybe a little bit more confidence of having a true floor general out there. A'dia's performance was outstanding. They really collectively in the second half all chipped in and did what they had to do, did their jobs really well, Amber included. Q. Coach, how frustrating or big of a factor was free‑throw shooting down the stretch for you guys? COACH BUTLER: It was important. Everything was important. We knew it was going to be a ballgame that would be won or lost by two or three points, one or two possessions. You look at every missed free throw. You look at every missed cue offensively. You look at every foul. Free throws certainly contributed to it. We didn't down the stretch hit a couple of those that we should have. I think we expected to. But I think there's a lot of things we could single out and say, This possession here, this stop there. We just didn't close out the way we needed to. Q. Coach, now the tough part: sitting and waiting. Do you think you made your case this is a NCAA tournament team? COACH BUTLER: I don't think there's any doubt at all. The way we closed out February, I think even this game in the face of losing again by a few points, I think we definitely showed we deserve to be in that field. These kids, there's no question, have got a lot more basketball to play. It would be a travesty if it was any other way. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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