Postgame Quotes
Feb. 28, 2009
Postgame Quotes
Kansas 70, Nebraska 57
Feb. 28, 2009
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
On Ivana Catic and Aishah Sutherland stepping up:
“Aishah (Sutherland) did a nice job playing around the rim and Ivana (Catic) was in control, showing poise and composure.”
On the team handling Nebraska’s defense:
“They were shooting 64 percent from the field and had 12 turnovers in the first half and were still up by two points. We need to shoot the ball and get more shots. I thought our kids did a nice job handling the pressure. We just had good execution and threw them off defensively.”
On getting stops at the end of the first half:
“That is when you have to rebound the ball. Our offense got into a little bit of a struggle and allowed them to go on a run. However we had two pretty critical kids sitting on the bench in foul trouble.”
Junior guard Sade Morris
On missing the last game against Nebraska:
“I got to travel with the team and I watched bits and pieces, but I couldn’t really handle the game, so I didn’t really watch it.”
On being able to play this time:
“Since it was my first time playing them I felt I had to prove we are a much better team with me than without me. They still played great without me, but with me we have a better chance of winning. So I wanted to go out and prove that I am a key to this team.”
Senior guard Ivana Catic
On increased shooting tonight:
“I usually only take only one shot, or sometimes none at all. There was one shot where the clock was running out and it was off-balance, but I think all of the other shots were good. Bonnie (Henrickson) had plays for us in case they doubled off of me. When you think about it, it’s nothing big. I just took what they gave me.”
On having one turnover in 34 minutes:
“Not committing turnovers was one of our game goals. It was one of the keys. Getting loose balls, free throws, turnovers and offensive rebounds were our main focuses. We only had 12 turnovers, which is one of the better stats we’ve had this year. It is also good against this kind of defense. I think that speaks for itself.”
Junior forward Danielle McCray
On point guard efficiency helping the offense:
“There are sometimes when you just have to rotate, but it helps when they play well. Whenever the point guard is playing well, it helps.”
On running complicated offensive sets:
“We have a lot of offenses. I give the coaches credit because they know what they’re doing, who should come off the screen, who should set the screen and what we should look for. They do a good job of telling us that and it’s all on us as to how well we execute it. If we run a play right, it will get us an easy look. Tonight we did a good job of finding players when they double-teamed. We had some back-door looks when they pressured a couple of times. I credit the coaches. Once we executed, we made them look like geniuses.”
Freshman forward Aishah Sutherland
On being prepared to play in the second half:
“My legs are good from the warm-up we do before the games.”
On coming off the bench:
“While I’m on the bench, I look at the person I could be guarding and measure it up. I can see what I need to do to not mess up.”
Nebraska Head Coach Connie Yori
On the game:
“I thought that the difference in the game was (Kansas senior) Ivana Catic. I thought that Kansas got great point guard play out of her. She kept everyone organized and ran everything well. She is not a kid who is going to score a lot, but I thought she was the difference today. She played like a senior who didn’t want her season to end.”
On Kansas’ improvement this season:
“They are playing well and they are executing. They are running what they run so well and if you have a defensive breakdown then they do a good job taking advantage of that. They have a lot of options within their sets and they get good looks. They continue to get better and that is a credit to their coaching staff and their players.”
On Kansas pulling away in the second half:
“Their execution was excellent (in the second half). They did get a few easy baskets off of our turnovers. It seemed like they came up with every loose ball. They got a lot of hands on balls on defense and that led to some good things for them. I thought that the crowd got into it, but that is typical. I think that they are probably as good an execution team as there is in this league.”
