Postgame Quotes
Jan. 25, 2012
Kansas 62, Texas Tech 43
January 25, 2012
Postgame Quotes
Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson
On the play of junior forward Carolyn Davis early on in the game:
“I thought she did not finish well early, so we talked in the huddle and I said to her, ‘You have to finish and take out your frustration at the rim with some contact while you score over them.'”
On junior Carolyn Davis scoring all of her 34 points from the field:
“For her to have 34 and none from the free-throw line is amazing because normally when you look at high volume (points), the ratio is three points for every free throw. When you shoot it well it helps even more, but yes that is pretty impressive.”
On the play of forward/center Shauntal Nobles:
“Nobles is long and lanky like (Kierra) Mallard from a defensive standpoint, but we have a tremendous respect for Kierra. Nobles is someone who has come in and offensively rebounded for them and given them great minutes off of the bench. She is a critical part of what they do and we understood that.”
On preparing for Baylor and Brittney Griner:
“It is important for us to get better and practice tomorrow. We are not going to reinvent the wheel for Baylor but we will have to move some people around that normally post, not that we won’t post Carolyn on Griner, but we have to get her away from the basket. We have played against her, where she will come out and swat a 15 foot jump shot. What Griner does offensively is one thing, but how she impacts the game defensively is equally or more impressive, when you watch film.”
On her team’s 5-2 start in Big 12 conference play:
“We are more mature. We are, I think, playing with a more of a sense of urgency and responsibility. The two losses that we have had here (at Allen Fieldhouse) have been very, very difficult to swallow. From a maturity standpoint, they are very good at recognizing, ‘hey I didn’t do my job and I will throw me in there too.’ I am not an island because we all have responsibilities. From a consistency standpoint, we have been more consistent.”
On whether her team is playing with a sense of urgency:
“Clearly with Aishah from an effort and hustle standpoint. She realizes, ‘hey I need to do my job and there is more focus and attention to detail that she has had in her career. I think that has been contagious because Angel has been locked in everyday. There is not a waiver there, she is who she is and she is consistent and she has been that way since she has been here. Natalie has been (that way) as a freshman and that is probably as impressive to me as all of that because she is just solid.”
On what she said to her team after Texas Tech cut the KU lead to one in the first half:
“I thought at that point in the time out, they were just being physical with us and we were not responding. We were bailing out a little bit with the contact and I thought they were getting into us on the glass, so I didn’t think we were responding to how physical it was becoming in the paint. But then I thought we buckled down and made some tough plays with contact on a pass and then a shot. Then we did a much better job on the defensive glass.”
Kansas senior forward Aishah Sutherland
On beating Texas Tech:
“The win feels great. It gives us confidence for our next game, and now we have to focus on Baylor.”
On beating two ranked teams in the same year:
“We have a great team this year, and we are ready to beat any ranked team that comes to us. We have the talent and that can make us go far. Beating ranked teams will help us do that.”
On Carolyn Davis:
“She is making a great impact. She is able to score over everyone and get to the rim. That’s great for us.”
On preparing for Baylor:
“We just have to prepare to get around (Baylor junior center) Brittney Griner. They have her and a good guard (Baylor sophomore guard Odyssey Sims), and we have to be able to space them out.”
Junior guard Angel Goodrich
On beating Texas Tech:
“It means a lot, especially coming off of a loss. We were disappointed in our last game, and it was good to come back to where we are used to playing. It felt really good, the way we came out.”
On the fast start to open the game:
“It helped a lot; it always is good to get off to a good start. When you come out sluggish, you feel like you aren’t able to get anything going. Coming out like we did tonight felt nice.”
Junior forward Carolyn Davis
On scoring 34 points:
“I think it’s a credit to my teammates for passing me the ball, and Angel getting it to me while I’m open helped me get easy buckets.”
On if she is ready for Baylor center Brittney Griner:
“I am; she is tough, very unique and difficult to play against. I think we have a great game plan and we’ll be fine. I have grown my game to where I’m more confident to play her.”
On tonight’s game helping her confidence:
“It helps a lot to be this offensively strong. Being able to go against (Griner) next gives me a lot of confidence, and I think I will do pretty well.”
Texas Tech head coach Kristy Curry
On being happy with her team’s effort:
“When you outrebound them 42-36 and you have 17 offensive rebounds, that stat shows how hard the kids played. They just couldn’t make a shot. That’s the frustrating part. To see them trying so hard, whether it was at the free throw line or the basket, we get three more shots than they do and just miss so many shots and eight free throws. I don’t think it was a lack of effort. You have to credit Kansas. Anytime you shoot 48 percent, you’re going to have a chance to win a whole bunch of games, so credit KU. I certainly don’t want to say we just didn’t shoot it well because I’ve had that happen. People come in and say ‘they lost to Texas Tech because they just didn’t shoot it well.’ The bottom line is that Kansas played great tonight. They defended their home court like you have to do in this league. You credit them, and also take away the fact that I’m not disappointed in our kids’ effort.”
On Kierra Mallard’s absence on the defensive side of the ball:
“We continued to teach during that game that it’s very important to understand that you cannot give up dribble penetration, and you have to have great help. I thought there were a few times where (Kansas forward Carolyn) Davis) is so tough to defend, no matter who you’re trying to defend her with. If you give up dribble penetration and you don’t have great help and great ball pressure, you’re going to have some problems. That’s where we broke down. I was really pleased with Shauntal (Nobles) and Ebony’s (Walker) effort. You just credit Davis. She did a great job tonight. Her team did a great job getting her the ball.”
On concern with Davis’s matchup:
“You’re always concerned because she’s shooting 64 percent from the field. When you give her layups, and those are hard to miss, she does a great job with that. There are times where they’ll turn the corner, and they know they may not make the shot, but they’re going to throw it hard off the glass just so she can go get it. They have such a great understanding of each other. (Kansas guard Angel) Goodrich understands very well. She’s back and healthy. (Kansas forward Aishah) Sutherland understands well. It’s just from them understanding and their maturity playing with each other.”
On reaction after the game:
“One of the kids spoke up and said ‘guys, we’ve been here before.’ We’ve had the low point before. We bounced back. We have the opportunity going back to Lubbock to be 5-5 after three games. We’ll be right back in the thick of things. They understand that. We’re staying positive. (We) just need to keep shooting the basketball, and getting there every day. You’re going to practice like you play. We had two very good days of practice. We just didn’t shoot it as well as we wish we had on the road tonight. Credit KU.”
On if KU’s defense disrupted shooting:
“I don’t think so. We had a couple of quick shots in the second half. We were trying a little bit too hard off one pass. We missed eight free throws, too. You just want them to relax, let the game come to them and not try so hard sometimes.”
On what she said to team after KU’s opening 12-2 run:
“Win the next four minutes, and understand that’s how you have to play the game. Just to keep fighting, and do the things that we know we can do. Stay positive, and stay together.”
Senior forward Jordan Barncastle
On what to take away from first half:
“I think it shows we’re willing to compete, and we’re going to give energy and effort each possession. In the second half, things didn’t quite fall our way offensively, but we bounced back, and we’ll try to do better next time.”
On what changed in the second half offensively:
“Shot selection and percentages. We just weren’t hitting. Sometimes that happens. (we need) short-term memory and to move on to the next one.”
