Postgame Quotes: Mizzou 89, 52 Western Illinois
11/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Mizzou Quotes
Head coach Robin Pingeton
Opening Statement….
"Thanks for coming out. I appreciate you guys being here. I'm really pleased with our effort today. I thought we did what we were supposed to do. It's been a challenging week, and to see the way our players have responded, I'm really proud of what we got done tonight on the court. Certainly we still have to get better in some areas, but if you look at where we are after the two exhibition games, I think we've made some great strides, as well."
On today's focus……
"Toughness is a thing we really try to focus on, and we really try to challenge them. I think as a coach you always want to make practice more challenging and uncomfortable than what you're going to see on game day. There's a fine line there when you are coaching female student-athletes. For them to embrace the challenges that were in front of them and handle it in a way that they did, I think it speaks volumes on the leadership, the voice that's in that locker room, and the commitment level of this team. It was a rough week. Actually, we let them go a little early one of the days at practice because we didn't feel like they were dialed in at the level they needed to be dialed in at. At the same time, as their head coach, I know how bad they want it and how hard they've worked this off-season. To make sure that they're not outcome based in their thought process, we've really made sure that they're dialed in on the process and one possession at a time, and what that looks like and what that feels like. We'll continue to talk to them, continue to challenge them and stretch them outside their comfort zone. I anticipate as we go through this season, every season is unique, but there's going to be some bumps in the road. There's going to be some challenging times, but it's going to be really exciting to see the growth in this team from the beginning of the season to what we're looking at in March."
On Morgan Eye's shooting….
"For her to have to sit out the few weeks that she did, and just be able to come back and build on that confidence while playing with a brace on. Two days ago she tweaked her hamstring. What that tells me is how tough she is. Her focus is like no other student-athlete that I've ever coached. She is so dialed in when she steps into this arena regardless if it's film session, practice, a walk-through, scouting report. It's pretty special. I think it's a direct reflection of why she has the success that she has."
On Eye's senior leadership….
That's what we expect. I challenged her the other day as a senior too. I feel like the last couple days she's really stepped up her game in regards to having that voice, and having the tough conversations and holding people accountable. That is so important, but that's not in Morgan's DNA. She's such a sweet girl and she's all about relationships, so to really challenge her teammates and hold them accountable at times can be really challenging. She's done an outstanding job with it, and I know that she has the full respect of every teammate in that locker room."
On needing today's game after the two exhibition games….
"We've had some practice days, they haven't all been bad. I think they understand the process, they really do. A game like this certainly doesn't hurt, but it's not like we went in the locker room and we were jumping off the walls. I think this is what they expect from themselves. Day in and day out, this is the standard they hold themselves to. I was really proud that we put 40 minutes together."
On the team's performance….
“I think it was really good. We talked all week about controlling the things that we can control and a big emphasis has been focusing and concentrating on one thing at a time. I think we really came out and did that here tonight.”
On tonight' defense…
“I think it was just us being intentional about it and talking about it. We made sure we were staying focused and playing correct. Getting so many stops in a row was an example of us playing a game within the game. We were just giving each other constant reminders about that the whole game.”
On developing consistency…
“I think when you look at the things we did today as far as being intentional, giving each other reminders, we need to make sure that carries over into practice tomorrow. We need to focus on the little things to take it one game and one practice at a time and narrowing our focus.”
On the opening run…
“I think it was really big. We just talked about how Jordan came in and knocked down two free throws at the beginning. Juanita hit a couple of big threes at the beginning there. We talked so much about making sure that our defense was feeding our offense. We were assignment correct, talking on defense by calling through screens and calling out shooters so what helped fuel that run was our defense.”
On playing a full 40 minutes…
“Kind of piggy backing off of what Mo said, we had a lot of emphasis on defense in practice this week and just rolled with it. We were just rolling and knocked down some big shots.”
On Morgan Eye's shooting…
“It's amazing. I've never seen anything like it.”
On Morgan Eye's shooting…
“I've been watching her for the past few years and I still can't believe when she knocks down shot after shot.”
On establishing the post…
“I think we had good positioning and then our guards were making good passes.”
