Kansas 54 - Texas A&M 78: Postgame Quotes
March 6, 2010
Recap | Final Stats | Notes |
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Postgame Quotes
Kansas 54 – Texas A&M 78
March 6, 2010
Kansas Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
On the 20 turnovers in the first half:
“We didn’t screen worth a darn, we didn’t get separation, they made us turn it over and we didn’t recover. We just had really bad offensive execution. We lacked discipline, we didn’t handle one on one pressure at the point very well and we made them shoot layups to beat us. We’ve got to get them in half-court offense to give ourselves a chance and we didn’t do that.”
On what the team can learn from this game:
“We’ve got to play tougher, we’ve got to get more loose balls, we’ve got to get better on the glass. I’m concerned that we mess up when we get into a half-court defense, we don’t double when we’re supposed to. We’ve got to get back to focusing and concentrating and executing a game plan and play a little bit harder. Our effort was bad. They jumped on us early and the effort to get a ball or to box-out (wasn’t very good).”
On trying to defend Danielle Adams:
“Well she’s so long. She’s got such big hands and is very, very skilled. Probably one of the most skilled kids at her position. We made it look easy for her though. But, she’s really skilled. She’s so long, you can get caught up in the other words there are to describe her, but she’s long.”
On the senior class as a whole:
“You’re talking about five kids who took a chance on us trying to rebuild the program. They chose to come here to try to be difference makers. That’s not easy when you’re young. For their families to support that decision, it’s not easy either. For that senior class, it should have been different this year. They deserved better than what we ended up with. I’m proud of them; I’m just disappointed for them. They’ve worked hard to earn a chance to have a better year than we’ve had.”
Senior Guard Sade Morris
On her plans for the future:
“I plan to see where my professional career takes me, if I can make a living in the WNBA or overseas.”
On the season:
“It has been a struggle this year and if we want to end up our strongest we just have to keep pushing and fighting. No matter what we come across, we just have to keep fighting.”
Senior Guard LaChelda Jacobs
On the last stretch of the season:
“It has been a little tough, especially mentally. That is part of the game and we as point guards have to be tough through that adversity. Every new game you have an opportunity to get it right.
On if they feel like they have lost the ability to win:
“Never, because we are competitive and we want to do all the things we can to get it right. In the Big 12 tournament, your record does not even matter. So we want to go in there and get a couple of good wins for our program and win the tournament to get a bid in the NCAA tournament. We still have that mindset and going into next week we have to focus. Everybody’s slate is clean.
Senior Guard Kelly Kohn
On senior night:
“Being here for four years you get to see senior class after senior class walk out there. It is always something that you think about in the back of your head. You think that is going to be me one day and I want to stand up there and be proud of what I brought to the program. It is hard everyday to do what all of my teammates do. I think we all understand that. So standing up there and being in front of the fans means everything.”
On her time at Kansas:
“It was definitely a growing experience. I would say that I have learned so much from everyone. I do not know a lot of women that have been through the things that this senior class has been through. To come out and learn something from all of the wins, the losses and the struggles is something I would never trade for anything.”
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game overall:
“We’re 21-3 in the last six games of the last four years. We’re closing pretty well. We’ve been banged up a little, but we’ve had the depth to over come injuries. Kansas was without three starters. You take out the Preseason (Big 12) Player of the Year (Danielle McCray), the starting point guard who had 106 assists in the first 15 games (Angel Goodrich) and Carolyn Davis who would have made a big difference because we were able to score at will inside. I know that’s expecting a lot of Davis to stop juniors and seniors, but at the same time she’s played great. Those two Davis kids (Carolyn and Annette) have been at my camps for years and I love them to death. I was really impressed with (Monica Engelman). That’s the first time I’ve been able to sit and watch her. Sade Morris is a next-level player because she can defend and guard. She made Tanisha (Smith) shoot very poorly from outside today because she was right in her face. We told Tanisha to just get to the free throw line and get some confidence. She got a couple of breakouts. This team is special because we don’t have a lot of egos. We share the ball. Those Kansas City kids (Tanisha Smith, Tyra White and Danielle Adams) all were in double figures tonight and it was special. I was able to keep them fresh and not play them too many minutes and I was able to completely rest (Sydney) Colson and (Sydney) Carter in the second half. I played my little freshman in there (Adrienne Patcher) who needed the time and the confidence. She played very well. I like my basketball team and I’ve liked it all year. We just had that midseason slump like a lot of teams have, but we’ve come out of it.”
On the Big 12 Tournament:
“You have four or five teams that can win it. It also depends on what side of the bracket you are on. If Baylor loses, they are going to slide down to that six spot and I think that is away from Nebraska and us and some other folks. That’s possibly the way to go. It depends, if (Iowa State’s) Allison Lacey is going to be out. I’ve never seen so many critical injuries or suspensions in this league. The teams with the depth have been able to overcome some things. It’s going to be a great tournament and I am looking forward to going to Kansas City.”
Redshirt Sophomore Guard Tyra White
On playing close to her hometown of Kansas City, Mo.:
“It feels good, but at the same time we have to take care of business so we can get a head start going into the tournament. It’s a homecoming game and we took care of business. We got some of the rookies in so they can play and they did a good job contributing for us.”
On the benefit of playing the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City:
“It doesn’t make that much difference. The benefit is that we have a lot of fans from Kansas City and not so much from Texas. People are coming from our families. It’s the same as when we played in Oklahoma City last year. It’s not where we play; it’s where we finish in the tournament.”
