Postgame Quotes
Feb. 26, 2011
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Postgame Quotes
Kansas 77, Nebraska 61
February 26, 2011
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
Opening Statement:
“Out of the gate obviously, Lindsey Moore was good, and they were good early. We struggled to defend one-on-one, a lot of their easy buckets were a product of us not being able to contain one-on-one. I called a timeout and prided the kids to buckle down and guard and keep people in front of them and force them into tough shots, get defensive rebounds, get out into transition, were Angel (Goodrich) is special and Carolyn (Davis) is special. Monica (Engelman) gets out and runs with those guys, and provides some space, because you have to guard her on the perimeter. We had to get the lead and grow the lead a little bit. In the second half, we knew they would go to (Jordan) Hooper, she hits four ridiculous shots in a row, but she does that to everybody, and we knew that they would go to her, just because she had sat and only played a few minutes in the first half. At the 12-minute mark, we haven’t run a 2-3 zone against them, so I told them we were going to have to go to it and walk them through what they are going to run. It was good for us; Moore takes two shots out of the next 14 possessions, and we rotate and we were good. They communicated well with each other, we turn them over, we rebound, they hit two threes, and in the meantime we are able to score so we can come back and play the zone, because if we don’t score we are going to go back in a man. After that our field goal percentage was pretty high, because Angel was dropping dimes for lay-ups and Aishah (Sutherland) gets her hand in there and Monica hits one. So it was our zone and our ability to make shots to stay in the zone. I am really proud of the kids from a resiliency, toughness, maturity, teamwork and confidence standpoint. I think we all talked in February, you either get better or worse, but I feel good that we are getting better.”
On prospects for the NCAA tournament:
“We need to beat Iowa State, and I think that is all we have talked about when we huddle up. It’s all about the next one, and whether it’s me or anyone else, we have to take care of us because it doesn’t matter. We have to win the next one and build from there, and I know these kids will tell you the same thing, because that is all we have been talking about. If we continue this run we enhance our chances to do something special, but we have to keep the run going.”
On winning five out of the last seven:
“It starts with Angel, her motor, her willingness to run and push and allow us to work like that in transition, challenge people defensively, her ability to create shots for people. (It’s also) Carolyn’s ability to catch everything and finish everything around the rim. When the lane is crowded, she kicks it out to Monica who hits shots, and when everyone is guarding everybody else, she goes to the rim and scores herself. She has elevated her game, and elevated the play of everyone around her.”
Sophomore Carolyn Davis
On making a run towards the end of the season:
“We had a tough stretch, lost a lot of games, but I just always knew that we could make a run towards the end of the season to have a chance to get into the (NCAA) tournament.”
On if knowing they have a chance to get to the tournament changed the way the team plays:
“To see the actual numbers and to see that we have a big chance is more of a reason to elevate our game. (We need) to keep playing hard and to keep getting these wins to finish the season out strong. To get a couple wins in the (Big 12) tournament, it all matters.”
On the passes from Angel (Goodrich) today:
“She’s awesome and I’ve been waiting for her to pull some of those out – she hasn’t passed that way in awhile – and I think that was pretty great for us.”
Sophomore Angel Goodrich
On if the way the game at Nebraska ended gave the team more motivation in today’s game:
“Yes it did. The way it ended was disappointing for us. It went into overtime and we let it end that badly, so that gave us momentum. Also, Nebraska not being in the Big 12 next year gave us momentum.”
On running in transition being an emphasis:
“These last couple of games, pushing the ball has been a big thing for us. Especially for me. I love to push the ball, control the tempo and get easy shots instead of running a play.”
On being more comfortable in transition:
“It’s more open and then trying to get the other team misdirected is a lot easier in transition instead of letting them come back and set up. It’s a lot easier and it’s kind of more fun too because you aren’t trying to get everyone in the right spots and trying to get them to move.”
Sophomore Monica Engelman
On if winning big is better than letting it come down to a last second shot:
“They jumped on us from the start and I think we did a good job of fighting back. In the second half it got a little close and then we switched to a zone and made our own little run. We won, didn’t let the lead slip away and it wasn’t a big fight or overtime.”
On not letting them get back into the lead:
“As a team we’ve talked about what we need to do and once we get the lead we need to take care of the ball. I think we just came together and did what we needed to do. We just went from there.”
On not being scared to take chances when the lead gets cut to two:
“Angel (Goodrich) has been doing a great job pushing the tempo and when she pushes the tempo, it forces the wings and the posts to get up the court. I think it starts with Angel and she’s been doing a good job.”
Nebraska head coach Connie Yori
On the game overall:
“Kansas played really well offensively. Obviously we didn’t have an answer for (Carolyn) Davis. She scored in a variety of ways. She scored in transition, on offensive rebounds and on easy baskets. Her teammates got her the ball in the right place and she finished. That was a pretty impressive performance on her part. I thought Monica Engelman played a big part in the game. She hit some late shot clock baskets for them. They are doing a really good job of getting Davis the ball where she wants it in a timely fashion. She has great hands and is a great finisher around the basket. We just didn’t have an answer for her.”
On how Kansas played differently than in the teams’ previous meeting this season:
“They are looking to be more transition-oriented than they were earlier in the season. That was the big thing that we noticed on film and then early in the game today. They have looked to push a little bit more and even on made baskets. That’s something that have not traditionally done. They just get out and run a little bit more.”
Nebraska guard Lindsey Moore
On the game overall:
“I felt pretty good. Obviously when you are making shots you can’t be unhappy with that. It definitely felt good coming out of my hands. We were at one point getting stops, but we just lost it down the stretch.”
On if she was trying to compete with Kansas’ Carolyn Davis to be the game’s high scorer:
“For me it was just making sure that we get buckets and scoring. I didn’t really look to see how many she had or how many I had. The competitiveness in me just wanted to get back in the game. She did awesome and is a great player and will continue to be a great player for them.”
On scoring 17-straight points for Nebraska:
“After the first three that I made on the right wing it just felt good. I got a lot of confidence after that shot. I started to have the hot hand so coach kept running things for me to get a good look or to attack and make something happen. It all started with my three on the wing.”
