Post Game Quotes
2/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blai
Opening Statement....
"Right before half when we stretched it out, I thought that was key. Our bench was very good tonight. We started Rachel Mitchell just to get the opening tip. I've never done that before, but at 6'7" I wanted to throw the first punch in the fight. We got the opening tip and I left her in there for a while. She wasn't hurting us, but generally that's not a game that I can play my five players against your team [Missouri] because you do not have a true five. I have to play small ball. As a result, that hurts me on rebounding. It was right before half when we got the steal and the easy basket; that was one of the few easy ones we had. I thought we stayed within our offense. They started guarding Walker a little bit tougher in the second half. She went 6-of-12, but then she started forcing it too deep. I want her to take that step back jumper. She's such a threat that she opens it up for everyone else. Tavarsha Scott-Williams came in because Williams was having problems today. I had to have her in there because her scoring opportunities. She shot a bunch of shots I wish that she hadn't. She just came off of a 25 point game, and she played great. Hopefully she will be ready for Mississippi St. We were able to win without Jordan feeling well and Williams feeling well, and we weren't feeling well because Missouri was playing us very tough. It's not going to be easy. What she [Coach Pingeton] has gone through, four kids out for the year, that's unbelievable. That's tough. When you look at her games, how she played South Carolina, Tennessee, and us, I think they're playing better against the right teams. She's going to get a few more of those. She does such a good job, and they're going to be one of the teams next year to make that NCAA run."
On Missouri's Jordan Frericks....
"She's so strong underneath with the ball. I put Achiri Ade on her. That's my energy player. I think she did as good of job as she could. She's really just a low-block player. She sets great screens, and she's a smart player. I think she's one of the top players in the league. With Morgan, we tried to copy what LSU did. Nobody in the league gets her shot off as quickly as Morgan. She can catch and shoot, and it is gone."
Texas A&M Junior Guard Jordan Jones
On her performance the last two minutes...
"I was just doing whatever my team needed at the moment. Coach Blair told me I had to suck it up. I was feeling a little under the weather second half, but in big moments, big players step up. I just wanted to do whatever it took for my team to win. He ran a couple of plays for me at the end, and I missed a jump shot. He told me to keep wanting the ball, and I got a lay up."
On forcing turnovers... It has a huge impact. Coach told us we needed to make them feel uncomfortable. They're a flow team, and they can shoot in the flow from the three-point line. He told us to be active on defense with our feet and hands and really disrupt them on offense. I think we did a good job of doing that with our quickness on defense. His game plan was excellent.
Texas A&M Junior Guard Courtney Walker
On her mid-range shot....
"Coach was telling me to move without the ball and find open spaces. That's what I was trying to do. Also I knew that if they were trying to overplay then I had other teammates open."
On playing the entire game...
"I felt myself kind of slowing down. I think I had a better first half than I did the second shooting wise. There were some adjustments that they made defensively, but in that cause you have teammates who can step up and do what they are supposed to do."
On Missouri making defense tough...
"The way they spread the floor [makes it tough]. They do what they do very well. They do those cuts and slips. The way they spread the floor and shoot three's makes them hard to defend. You have to go out there and guard."
Missouri Head Coach Robin Pingeon
On the Aggie's defense...
"I am rely disappointed in the turnovers. We had a handful of unforced turnovers , we talk a lot about playing quick but not in a hurry."
On the team's performance defensively tonight...
"We definitely had a couple break downs defensively, but for the most part I thought we did a decent job. I didn't like the loose balls in the first half, we did challenge them a little bit more after half time.
On Michelle Hudyn's first career start...
"I thought she was solid for us. We have to work on defense, but overall she did a great job.
On the performance of Davionna Holmes...
"I didn't know if we were going to play her tonight. I thought she did a good job getting her feet wet and she'll only get better from here".
On Jordan Jones' performance in last 90 seconds...
"I mean they are all really great players out there. I know she poked one away from me late in the game, and we just got soft with the ball. We can't do that against anyone really. We need to have pose with the ball at all times. I mean they made big shots, and that's just the story really."
On Texas A&M's defensive approach
"I think from a shooter's stand point, they chased me hard on screens. So, we were trying to screen and then re-screen because that's when we were going to be open. They are just very physical, I mean that's how almost everyone is in this league, but we just need to have more poise with the ball."
Sophomore Forward Jordan Frericks
On finding openings on the block...
"I mean they are a physical play. I just need to improve on some areas like getting my front foot forward, and stop using my arms mainly. Our players did a good job of getting looks into me, I just need to finish them."
On getting good rebounds...
"I mean that's just my mentality going into the game, to get poise and box out. Especially against Achiri Ade. She is a good rebounder, so I tried to stop her. I sort of slowed down toward the end which shouldn't happen."
