Postgame Quotes
Feb. 22, 2009
Kansas Postgame Quotes
Kansas 58, Iowa State 47
Feb.22, 2009
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
On the game:
“I couldn’t be more excited about the event, how meaningful it is, and our opportunity to share in it. We had great energy in here once the tip went up and there was great energy before the game even started. I told our kids if we would fight like most of these people in here are fighting, we would have a chance today. I thought our kids battled and competed. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
On Kansas’ defense:
“You have to make rhythm and timing teams play too fast, because these guys in rhythm are as good as anybody in the country. I thought our kids were great, we four-player switched. Porscha did a nice job in the four-player switch, guarding some guards. Our guards did a great job of defending Nisleit on all of the post ups. You gamble with that if you are going to four-player switch, but I couldn’t be more proud.”
On Danielle McCray:
“Danielle let the game come to her and went and rebounded the ball like a mad-woman, which I love.”
On hitting free throws down the stretch:
“Dede makes all her free throws; Krysten makes all her free throws and in what you would anticipate was a one or two possession game, that’s how you win. You have to knock down free throws and make the most of opportunities and I thought our kids did.”
On defending Iowa State behind the three-point arc:
“We weren’t’ going to match them three for three. I think we are a good three point shooting team, but we didn’t want to get into a game where we had to make threes to stay in the game. I said it has to be tough twos, every shot needs to be contested, every three has got to be rushed, and I thought our kids did that.”
Junior forward Danielle McCray
On her strong game:
“I felt really good about it. I felt like if I could get involved on the defensive end, then my offense would come. Obviously defense wins games. I think I made a point and a change today to make defense my priority. We all did a good job of staying focused the whole 40 minutes. With Iowa State you can be up by three and then down nine in a minute, so I think we did a great job of staying focused, talking, communicating and rushing them the whole game.”
On being able to finish the game after trading baskets:
“It was the whole atmosphere and the energy in the building. The crowd was helping us and when you have that fan support behind you, you get your teammates involved, you talk on the court and it makes you want to do that much more.”
Sophomore forward Nicollette Smith
On why today’s game was an improvement:
“I think we’ve grown from each game. We are able to fight through the whole game, be tough through the whole game. Finally in this game we held our lead. With Colorado we weren’t able to hold our lead, but Iowa State is a top 25 team and we were able to hold our lead and I think that shows maturity.”
On the atmosphere:
“I think that definitely helped us. It always gets us fired up when people come out and support us. Bonnie told us in the locker room before the game that people came here that are fighting breast cancer right now, so we need to go out on the court and fight for each other.”
Junior guard Sade Morris
On sealing the game with rebounds and free throws:
“I was just playing basketball. You could say that because that’s when the game was crucial. They were going to the boards. They needed offensive rebounds and kick it to the three to get back in it. It made it that more crucial for everyone to box out and get a rebound.”
On a crucial play in the last minutes:
“I believe the shot clock was running down and I had the ball in my hands, so I had to make a play. I had to get to the basket somehow, but I also had to watch out for them sitting away and trying to take a charge.”
Senior guard Ivana Catic
On making free throws:
“Bonnie always talks about making free throws and getting rebounds. When you go to the line the clock stops, and when you’re up you don’t want the clock to stop. But if it does, you better make sure you make the best of it. We got some extra free throws in and some extra shots in. At this level that can be very important. Everyone deserves credit that stepped up and made free throws.”
On defending three pointers:
“That was our biggest emphasis while we prepped for them. I heard Bonnie talk about the two threes that we gave up. It could be that easy for them to get back in the game and gain confidence. I feel like we did a great job of disrupting them, making them rush and throwing them off balance. I think that disrupted their rhythm.”
Iowa State Coach Bill Fennelly
On Iowa State’s offense:
“Five-for-30 (shooting in the second half). You’re not going to beat anybody shooting 27 percent from the field (for the game). We’ve struggled with that all year, and it cost us today. We had plenty of shots today that we needed to make. You can’t win going 5-for-30 from the field in the second half. Danielle McCray had a great game and they were just much more aggressive and quicker to the ball than us. (Today’s game) was without question the worst game that we’ve played all year. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”
On if Kansas’ defense affected Iowa State’s offense:
“Yes, I think that was part of it. But they’re not guarding lay-ups or from the free throw line. We’re down two and the next four shots we get are two wide open threes and two lay-ups and we miss them. It was a combination of their good defense and our bad offense. Kansas played with a lot of energy and it was the kind of game that we always play with them—grind it out and hard to score. We had a few more defensive breakdowns today than we’ve had in the past, which cost us at critical times. Our defense had some issues today, which is uncharacteristic of our team. But our offense was pitiful. You have to score in this league and we did not. We only turned the 12 times, but going 15-for-55 (from the field) will not get it done.”
Junior Guard Denae Stuckey
On playing close to home (Stuckey is a Kansas City native and sister to Kansas football player Darrell Stuckey):
“It’s always good to play in front of family. I’m four hours away from home, so it’s always nice to come close to home to see some of your family because you don’t get to see them much over the course of the season.”
On Danielle McCray:
“She is just an all-around good player. She can shoot. She can drive and she’s a very smart player. She plays hard and with a lot of heart so it makes it really tough.”
