Kansas vs. Mississippi Postgame Quotes
March 19, 2006
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Kansas Postgame Quotes
Ole Miss 78, Kansas 76
March 19, 2006
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
On the game:
“We made a run out of the locker room to start the second half, stretching the lead to 50-36, then they made a run with lay-ups and by hitting the offensive glass. They then gained confidence and starting hitting some pretty tough jumpers. I thought we played very well for 30 minutes and then we lost focus and intensity. This time of year we can’t make excuses, you have to have answers. We didn’t have an answer for how hard they came at us off the dribble. We did a very good job of rebounding in the first half, but in the second half we didn’t match their intensity on the boards. We weren’t going to win a track meet or a high jump contest against them. We needed to make contact with them and be tough and we didn’t do that.”
On Marija Zinic:
“I think where she has improved so much is her willingness to go to the offensive glass. She has improved as both an offensive and a defensive player. She needs to get better at her offensive footwork and simple things like keeping the ball high when she gets offensive rebounds. She is really focused on becoming a better basketball player and that is why she has produced as of late.”
On Shaquina Mosley:
“I think she did a lot of good things in the first half. She got a little fatigued in the second half. I thought she handled the ball well, she made some good passes, and her shots were on balance.”
On the progress made in year two of the Bonnie Henrickson era:
“I think we have things moving in the right direction. I don’t think we had the year we were capable of. If we played like we did the first 30 minutes tonight I think we could have made the NCAA Tournament. We just couldn’t maintain consistency. We have made progress, but still have a ways to go. I like our young kids’ attitude and excitement. I like the excitement they have to get better.”
Senior Forward Crystal Kemp
On the frustration of being up 16 points and losing by two:
“It was really frustrating, especially when they took it out of bounds and went the full length of the court a couple of times back-to-back. That was a mental lapse on our part, especially on defense.”
On her game:
“I became more aggressive in the second half and the guards were finding me a little better. I was posting to the ball a lot stronger trying to work harder in the last stretch.”
Senior Guard Erica Hallman
On freshmen Marija Zinic and Ivana Catic:
“The have bright futures ahead of them. Marija really came on strong to end the season. Ivana has pretty much been solid the whole year. They have a good group of seven or eight people coming in, so they’ll be just fine.”
On her final shot of the game:
“I caught it and shot it and it had a little too much on it. It didn’t even hit the rim.”
On the season:
“We had some good moments and some bad moments. I’m going to remember all the good ones for sure. I don’t regret anything that happened while I’ve been here and enjoyed the most of my time here.”
On Ole Miss’ Armintie Price:
“She’s very good and really aggressive — I think she took 24 shots. She was relentless on the boards and was tremendously athletic and very quick and she got a lot of shots off and was able to get them down.”
Junior Guard Shaquina Mosley
On getting to the postseason:
“It was really special. We wanted to show everyone that we deserved to be there. Coach Henrickson told us to go out there and play our game, run on them and don’t play not to lose.”
Freshman Forward Marija Zinic
On her recent gain of confidence:
“I’m trying to be more aggressive when I have the ball and attack the ball at any time.”
On her freshman season and the last few months:
“I enjoyed playing with Crystal and learned a lot from her and the other post players. I made a lot of adjustments because playing back home is so different from playing here. There were a couple of things I was struggling to adjust and I think I’ll have more confidence for next year.”
Mississippi Quotes
Mississippi 78, Kansas 76
March 19, 2006
Mississippi Head Coach Carol Ross
On the game:
“Obviously we are excited to get March Madness underway. This was a typical postseason game with two prideful programs battling it out. It was a game of runs. We sustained ours long enough to get out of here with a win. We are happy that we are the first team to go on the road and win a WNIT game so far in this young tournament. This also is the first time that Ole Miss has won a WNIT game. It is also the first time that this group has won a postseason game. We are excited for a lot of reasons but none more so that defeating a good Kansas team.”
On Kansas:
“Coach Bonnie Henrickson does a great job year in and year out everywhere she has been. You can tell that she is building a good solid program here at Kansas.”
On the second half:
“I think that we just played tougher, more aggressively and more determined. Our defense created easier baskets for us. We opened up the court like we wanted to do for the whole game. We play better basketball once we get in the open court.”
