Quotes

Feb. 27, 2008

Recap | Final Stats | Notes |

Postgame Quotes<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Texas 57, Kansas 53

Feb. 27, 2008

Kansas Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson

On letting a nine-point lead slip away:

“One of the bigger problems for us was that we started to turn the ball over. Then we would rush to the offensive boards like fullbacks and then give up lay-ups on the other end. We just have to be smarter than that. We also need to work harder. It is just disappointing that our offense couldn’t get out of the 50’s again.”

On the 18 KU turnovers:

“We just have to make better decisions with the ball. Last year when we went to Texas and won, we turned the ball over 13 times. Tonight we turn the ball over 18 times and we would probably be a lot better shape right now if we had those five extra possessions.”

On Danielle McCray:

“She had a tougher time scoring in the second half, but they were doing a good job of guarding her in the post. We set up some things for her, but she turned some shots on the baseline. A few times down the stretch I was telling her to pull-up instead of going all the way to the basket, but she will learn that as she continues to grow. Both her and Brittainey Raven played very well in the first half, but struggled to get touches in the second half.”

Sophomore guard LaChelda Jacobs

On the last possessions of the game:

“The second half has always been our Achilles heel. There is something about going into the locker room and taking a break at half time that we have yet to figure out. We cannot come out in the second half and make turnovers. The big thing was they beat us in transition layups. We cannot do that against IowaState. We have to find a way to win.”

On Kansas’ frustration:

“We are definitely frustrated. But we were in this situation last year. Now, it just comes down to finding a way to win. Going up to IowaState we know the atmosphere will be hard to play in, but I think we can handle it and get a win.”

On getting to the NCAA Tournament:

“(The NCAA Tournament) is still our main goal and our main focus. We are pushing for that goal and nothing else.”

Sophomore guard Sade Morris

On Kansas’ turnovers:

“Every mistake we made, they made us pay; but when we made them make a mistake we couldn’t make them pay. That was the difference tonight.”

On making it to the NCAA Tournament:

“We still have our eyes on the NCAA Tournament. We cannot just forget about our goal because we are not doing well right now. We cannot just give up. Yes, the road from here on out is going to be tough to make it to the tournament but we still have to keep playing. We have two games left and then we have the Big 12 tournament. If we can get a couple wins and go on a run in the conference tournament, we’re fine.

Texas Head Coach Gail Goestenkors

On Texas’ play in the final minutes:

“I thought we became much more aggressive both offensively and defensively. A lot of times our defense ignites our offense. We got out in transition a little bit better than we had been doing all game. I think that the reality was that if we lost we felt that our NCAA bid would be close to nil. It hit home for us. We talked about that in a timeout. I told them that you just have to lay it all out there right now. You have got to fight for what you want. I thought the team responded.”

On Kansas City native Erneisha Bailey’s play:

“In particular I thought Ebay did a great job (down the stretch). She wasn’t productive in the first half or in the second half and I told her that if you don’t defend and rebound then I’m not ever going to play you again. And she responded. She’s strong physical, athletic player, but sometimes we don’t see that.”

On scoring 21 points off turnovers:

“We need to rely on our defense and we need to come away with some steals. We average over 10 steals a game, but a lot of times we don’t convert. I thought we did a better job of converting off the steal.”

On Danielle McCray’s play:

“Danielle is a tremendous player. We lost her so many times in the first half. We were in our zone and trapping, and we lost her. In the second half, we went with our man-to-man defense much more and we did a better job of keeping track of her. She’s the total package. She can beat you off the dribble and she can hit the three.”

Senior Guard Erneisha Bailey

On trying to reach the NCAA Tournament:

“I’m the only one on the team that has ever been to the tournament, so I know what it feels like. I didn’t get to play that much, but the fact that we were in the top 64 teams in the country is amazing. We all feel that we deserve to go, but it’s just doing the little things.”

On playing close to home:

“It’s always fun. It seems like we have home-court advantage when I come to places like Missouri and Kansas because I am so close. It felt really nice.”

Sophomore Guard Brittainey Raven

On handling the offensive load:

“I’ve been trying to focus on creating for my teammates, so I decided that I would penetrate and find the open person and make the defense make a decision. I just did my best to try to read where the openings were and get my feet set and my shoulders squared off, and I was able to knock some of those shots down.”