Post Game Quotes
1/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2014
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Head Coach Robin Pingeton
Opening Statement
"Well, obviously a tough second half for us. I was pretty pleased with our first half, although there were a couple possessions there where I don't know that we had the attention to detail in regards to the way we were defending out on the perimeter. But pretty solid first half, we let them come down and hit back to back threes when we had that nice little lead, and as we all know, threes can you get you back in the game in a hurry. Second half, we seemed out of sorts. The timing on cuts, the timing on our entries, when we tried to run motion, we just didn't look as sharp as we had been looking. But as I told the girls, this is a tough, tough league, I think it's probably the toughest it's been in several years, from top to bottom. You've got the majority of the schools in this league feeling like they should be in postseason play. We don't have time to hang our heads. We've got to rest our bodies, regroup and move forward. We've got a tough Texas A&M team coming in here in a week."
On how the game went...
"Well they're an awfully good team... I feel like Kenney and Plaisance and even Ballard. She didn't do much but she's such a great athlete. But really, Kenney and Plaisance, those are two extremely talented players, they had a couple other kids that, statistically, hadn't been shooting the ball well, not only from the field but from the free throw line, that stepped up and knocked down shots. I feel like defensively, they did a nice job, offensively we had some breakdowns, they hit some nice shots. I think it's a combination of a couple of things there. You have to give LSU credit. That's a storied program with great tradition and preseason they were picked to finish third for a reason. They played well, we didn't play maybe as well as we're capable of playing. Part of it was them, part of it was us. We knew going into the SEC, it's not going to be easy, it's going to be a dog fight night in, night out. Tonight they got the best of us and we'll regroup and try to find a way to get one against Texas A&M, a very good Texas A&M team. "
On the second half struggles...
"Well it's a combination of a couple things. Again, let's not discount LSU, I mean they're ranked 14 in the country for a reason. Like I said they've got some veteran players that are very talented. So I think you have to absolutely give them credit. I would say for us, we, again, too many turnovers. They had 20 points off turnovers, I think 10 each half. They had some opportunities at the free throw line, they had some open looks that, any given night, they might fall, and tonight they did. You start missing a couple of those and they were hitting some tough contested shots, a little bit of a snowball effect to be honest with you. Down the stretch we really didn't have the poise that we needed to. I told them, with eight minutes left, `we had a lot of time left, there are a lot of possessions left in this game'. We had some empty possessions that, when you're down 12 or 13, you can't afford to do. Again, you hit the nail on the head, LSU played extremely well and tonight they were a better team than we were. "
On the offense...
"I thought Morgan Stock, obviously, hit some big shots for us in the first half. We had some good looks because of the way they decided to defend us, so we took advantage of that early on."
On Jordan Frerick's play tonight...
"Three for seven, five for six from the free throw line, 11 rebounds. Yeah I thought she played really solid. She's so rangy, her wingspan is crazy big. Defensively, she did a nice job, offensively, obviously getting to the boards for us. She's a special player and she's going to have a great career for us. I thought early on she was trying to, on the quick turnaround jump shots, she was trying to elevate over and get her shots instead of attacking the rim. That's what she's got to do against bigger post players, if you don't have an angle to the basket, attack the rim. When she's on the court, good things are going to happen for us."
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Head Coach Nicki Caldwell
Opening Statement
"Well obviously Missouri game planned in the first half and was very efficient in the first segment of the game. They set the tone and they have a very potent offensive team. We mixed up our defenses in the first half and they answered each defensive call that we made. In the second half we adjusted well. I thought our team played and didn't miss as many coverages in the second half. We were able to take away the three from a shooting team like Missouri and force two-point shots, which was a big part of our second half game plan.
On the defensive adjustments made to slow down Missouri's offense...
"In the first half we knew that (Bri) Kulas and (Morgan) Eye are excellent offensive players, so our game plan was to limit their touches initially. But they had other players step up and make big plays, and that is a team that has a balanced attack. We eventually went to our regular `five-matchup' defense, and we lost players in that scheme as well. We finally went to our `man' defense, which was kind of a last resort, and our team found a way."
On the offensive explosion, especially in the second half...
"Jeanne Kenney was a nice adjustment for us. She is someone who has really been in the gym and has put in the time. She did a really great job of establishing our perimeter game. I thought Theresa (Plaisance) stretched the defense and made some nice buckets as well."
Senior Guard Jeanne Kenney
On the competitiveness of the SEC this year
"It just goes to show that it is anybody's game, it's anybody's night. You can't just pin Tennessee and Kentucky at the top. And I think that, especially in this season, it has been proven. Having so many teams in the top-25 and representing the SEC well is something special, and we are really glad to be a part of such a great conference."
Senior Forward Theresa Plaisance
On what makes Bri Kulas so hard to defend
"What makes her hard to defend is, she is just a versatile player with a lot of size. If you put a big man on her, then she has the ball-handling skills to take you to the rim, but if you put a guard on her then she has the low post skills to post up. You can see her game evolve from year to year, which is just a testament to how great of a player she is."
