|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 8, 2014Karen AstonNneka EnemkpaliChassidy FussellImani McGee-StaffordOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA Texas – 82 KAREN ASTON: Extremely, extremely proud of our basketball team for a lot of reasons. First of all, we haven't won a tournament game in a while, so that was our first goal of the week was to win a tournament game, and we did that tonight, and really, really proud of our composure. I thought that at halftime they really reset themselves, which is a sign of a team that's beginning to have terrific chemistry and growing up. By the time our coaches got in there, they knew exactly what they needed to do, and really all we talked about was slowing down. We were playing way too fast in the first half, and I thought the beginning of the second half was probably the difference in the game because it gave our team some confidence, and we took it from there and really played solid defense, I thought, the entire second half. Q. With about six‑and‑a‑half, Chass, how big of a shot was that at the time? CHASSIDY FUSSELL: It was a really big shot just to give us the lift. We were in a drought really. Karen called the play, and we just executed it really well, and Nekia set a really great screen, and I hit the shot. Q. Ladies, how does it feel to come in here and get this first victory against a rival team like Oklahoma? IMANI McGEE‑STAFFORD: I've never won a Big 12 Tournament game. Last time I was here we lost, so it feels great because it's a new experience, and on top of that, it's OU, so it's great. Like before the game, OU fans were posing in our pictures with the horns upside down, so it's a real rivalry, and I think I finally feel it because I'm not from Texas. It's great to win against a rival, and we've just got to win again tomorrow now. Q. Nneka, coach said you guys huddled at halftime before the coaches got there. What in particular was said between you guys? NNEKA ENEMKPALI: It was a refocusing for us. We've been in that position before when we played them at home. I believe we were down about 12, and we just needed to come together and realize that if we play our game defensively, offense will come, and eventually things will be put together and we'll come out with the win. Q. You guys played really good defense. You held them to 30 percent shooting on the night, especially Ellenberg. What did you do to keep her so busy all night? CHASSIDY FUSSELL: In the first half they came out 50 percent from the three‑point line, so really it's another thing we talked about at halftime was just playing defense and getting back to our character and what we're about. Q. Coach, you split with West Virginia in the regular season. What is it going to take for you guys to come out victorious tomorrow? KAREN ASTON: Well, first of all, we need to get back to the hotel and get our legs in some ice and get prepared for a really, really good basketball team. When you play West Virginia you know first of all that they're going to play terrific defense and you have to match their competitiveness defensively and on the boards, and I think that it has been two really good games against them just like it was against Oklahoma, so I expect it to be competitive. But it's a quick turnaround for us, so it'll take some real focus on our team's part, but they're really, really good. Q. Were there any adjustments made as far as Oklahoma making all the three‑pointers in the first half? Did you say anything, do anything in the second half? KAREN ASTON: We made a few adjustments during the second half. We switched some screens which we didn't do much of in the first half. But I really thought it was our attention to detail a little bit better, specifically at the 4 position. I thought Kornet‑‑ well, not just Kornet, but Sharane Campbell both hurt us in the first half at the 4 position hitting the threes, and we really needed to pay a little bit more attention at that position. But I thought that we also learned a little bit from our loss at Oklahoma because we were in some of the same situations, late‑game situations, where defensively we didn't do a good job at Oklahoma. We didn't hedge, we didn't switch when we needed to. So I thought that our team probably learned from that experience and made sure that they made the adjustments necessary. Q. Not really from an Xs and Os standpoint, but just you guys came out strong, quick, scored points fast in the second half, and before OU knew what was going on their five‑point lead was now a deficit. Did you tell them to come out that fast? Was that a focus, to start fast? I know you want to score every trip down, but it seemed like they weren't matching your intensity coming out of the half. KAREN ASTON: The only thing we talked about was winning the first four‑minute game because I think every coach talks about four‑minute games and trying to win them, but we focus a lot on winning the possession game, and the last two four‑minute games of the first half, we lost both of those, so we really didn't talk about anything other than this is one four‑minute game and we need to win it, and not getting past that first four‑minute game, and I thought they really focused on that and executed some things really well early in the second half. I thought our bench was really good today, too. Everybody that went in the game gave something, and it's really what our team is all about. We don't have a superstar really, so it was a team effort. 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
|