Mizzou vs. Florida Post Game Quotes
1/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Florida Head Coach Amanda Butler
Opening Statement...
"I really admire Missouri and Robin and the way that they've handled all of the adversity that's been thrown their way this year. I think they've responded with a great deal of toughness. Hopefully we can take a page from their book because we're going through a bit right now with having some people out. They're just a great example of how you pull it together and you figure out how to be the best version of yourself when you're missing some key pieces. I have to give them a lot of credit for the way they played the second half. They shot the ball with a great deal of confidence; they just do what they do and we just had key defensive breakdowns and really struggled offensively to a great shooting team on their own court."
On her general thoughts on the way her team played...
"We shot poorly and that's, unfortunately, not a new trend for us. Which is why it's so important that we don't have those defensive breakdowns, specifically as rebounders. If you're not going to shoot well, then you have to have a heroic effort on the boards and we didn't have that. You can't always count on your shots to fall, especially on the road, but you can count on the way you defend and the way you rebound and that was not enough for us tonight."
On what may have caused their defensive breakdowns...
"They have a fantastic system and do a great job of getting their shooters open. They understand very well who they want to take those shots and where they want them to come from. Without having the benefit of watching the film and just commenting on the fly, I think we had some communication breakdowns. You have to be flawless in your communication, especially when you have four, sometimes five, guards out there."
On how to prepare for their next couple of games after this loss...
"There has to be a lot of positive talk. We have to constantly be talking about what we do have, what makes us good, and when we're playing well, what that looks like. We have to figure out how to push that to the forefront and not react to what makes our opponent a good team."
MISSOURI HEAD COACH ROBIN PINGETON
Opening Statement...
"The first thing I would say is I am really, really happy for my players. We have been through a lot this season with our injuries and they have worked so hard in the offseason. It is hard when things don't pan out the way you planned for. So to see the way they have just continued to stay the course, their resiliency and their toughness, I think we have had a lot of team talks. We have had a lot of individual talks. We have watched a lot of game film and challenged them going into this game to give their absolute best and not play in fear of anything and to play in supreme confidence because they have earned the right to."
On the adjustments made at halftime...
"We said we definitely wanted to go out there and throw the first punch. We wanted to be the aggressors and throw that first punch. I really liked our dribble penetration in the first half; I just don't think we did a very good job of delivering our passes. We had a little more dribble penetration then some games we have had, where we are hitting our shooters at their feet or over their shoulder. We want to be intentional about hitting our shooters in stride and I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half. We definitely wanted to set the tone with our defense and be one and done and be assignment correct."
On the role of confidence when the threes are falling...
"I think we are making it harder than it needs to be. It is just a group of young women who have worked extremely hard at their craft and the amount of time they have put in during the offseason matches no other team that I have coached and then you go through the challenges of the adversities that we have had with our injuries. It is deflating so you have to work hard at talking them through what has been going on between the ears and expecting greatness."
Senior Guard, Morgan Eye
On what was working for them on the defensive end of the court...
"I think it was just understanding the importance of each stop that we could get. We wanted to make sure we sat down and talked through the screening action and stayed home on shooters. Then as soon as that shot went up, we wanted them to be one and done. It was just continuing to talk to one another up and down the court and understanding that each possession was important."
On the offensive outburst in the second half...
"It felt really good. We got a shot to go and then another girl got hot and we were just kind of feeding off of each other and, just like Coach said, we need to expect that kind of success because we have put in so much hard work. I think that it is just really good for our confidence moving forward."
On the difference in the second half...
"I think for me that if I got that look, I was ready to take it. I had got an open look right away and I missed it and I got frustrated with myself for missing it, but I think it was just our mentality of: next shot and I am going to shoot it and make it."
Junior Guard, Maddie Stock
On the difference in the second half...
"The energy we had on defense really played into our offense so I feel like that helped a lot."
On how the offense is still so hard to stop...
"I think because we know how to set up our cut and set up our shoulder to shoulder and then stick our shots."
On what sparked the six early threes in the second half...
"At halftime we talked over what we needed to get better at and what we needed to focus on. I think everyone came out with the mentality that we were going to get the first hit and we weren't going to look back."
