Postgame Quotes

March 23, 2009

Recap | Box Score | Notes |

Postgame Quotes

Kansas 79, Creighton 64

March 23, 2009

Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson

On the game:

“Creighton doesn’t give up; they showed that at their place by taking us to overtime. It was a good contest; we got the lead up to 18 and wanted to grow it, but they wouldn’t let us.”

On Aishah Sutherland’s career high:

“Aishah finished around the rim and we needed it. She was able to get some and-one’s and add some balance and athleticism around the rim. She was very opportunistic, making a couple of big plays in the paint when we threw it up to her and she got some offensive rebounds.”

On how the Jayhawks attacked the rim on offense:

“We really felt like we needed to be aggressive off the dribble because we felt like that was an advantage for us. We thought they would bring some help and rotate early so we could make the extra pass and try to get a layup. Sade (Morris) was quick with the ball and great in transition. Ivana (Catic) threw her a couple balls up top that she was able to go one-on-one with and finish and draw contact. She was really aggressive early and then I think Danielle (McCray) found some rhythm offensively. At times we executed in the first half, but we didn’t do a great job in the second half.”

On the team’s slow start offensively:

“I think we might have been a little bit rusty. We went through a stretch where we missed a lot of layups when we were trying to grow the lead, but I don’t think it lasted long. I wasn’t really surprised it happened and I was happy we didn’t panic. I thought we were out of rhythm a little bit early on, but we were able to settle down.”

Junior forward Danielle McCray

On the importance of winning the next game:

“It’s very important. We’re out here to win the WNIT and help to build on our success. It’s very important that we don’t repeat last year and lose the third round game. Tonight wasn’t our best game. I think we were sloppy on both ends. We practiced for a week without games and it kind of showed. We just have to bring our focus back for Thursday.”

On making the WNIT tournament:

“We have our confidence back and we are back on the court playing and doing things we love to do.”

Freshman forward Aishah Sutherland

On getting rebounds:

“When I jump I’m above everyone. I can get rebounds if I jump and work hard for them.”

On sitting on the bench versus Creighton in December:

“It was tough sitting on the bench, but I wasn’t working hard in practice. I was still trying to get everything organized with my schedule and was trying to adjust to being a college athlete. I wasn’t expecting to play. Now I’ve developed to play against Division I players.”

Junior guard Sade Morris

On being fired up in the first half:

“We were all ready to play. We’ve been practicing for a straight week. We are practicing to get better, but it is hard without any games in between. It is just fun to play.”

On practicing:

“It wasn’t that bad. We worked on things that we needed to work on. We tightened up our offenses and got better defensively. We took every practice as an opportunity to get better.”

Senior guard Ivana Catic

On being more of an offensive threat:

“Ever since that Nebraska game I paid more attention to how people played against me. At halftime we talked about how they tried to sag off of me and how I had some opportunities to score that I wasn’t taking advantage of.”

On playing with a sense of urgency:

“I want to keep playing. I want to play into April. When we found out we weren’t going to the NCAA tournament, we decided we needed to win the NIT. We just need to take it one game at a time. We can’t look ahead. We need to keep our heads down, have good practices and do well on Thursday.”

Creighton head coach Jim Flanery
Opening Statement:
“The game kind of got away from us there at the end of the first half. They got several easy baskets and it seemed like we missed lay-ups and gave up lay-ups. I thought that was critical. I think we would have been a lot better off had we just been 8-to-11 points down at the half instead of 17. That’s just a tough deficit to overcome. And then (Danielle) McCray made shots at the end of the shot clock and obviously (Sade) Morris was very good tonight. We got it back to nine and I thought we missed a couple shots. Mid-way through the second half I really liked what we were doing offensively, but we just couldn’t quite hit a three or we’d miss a free throw or lay-in. And we couldn’t get the deficit under that and then they finished us off. Those two players were a handful and they got just enough from those other kids.”

On Aishah Sutherland:
“She’s long. She’s a little bit stronger than I thought she was. It’s hard to gauge when you look at somebody on film, but I thought she was a little longer and stronger than I thought. And she was a big defensive presence. We actually did a better job on (Krysten) Boogaard than we did on her because Boogaard is a little bit easier to move. She also finished some shots around the basket.”

On defending Kansas:
“We talked about finishing possessions and I think Kansas does a good job at the end of the shot clock. As structured as they are, they have some kids that can create at the end of the clock. A lot of times you are cheating so much off of (Ivana) Catic and (LaChelda) Jacobs that they get open and make a good pass or hit a shot at the end of the shot clock. It all starts with those role players to put so much pressure on you.”

Guard Kelsey Woodard
On giving up a season-high 79 points:
“I think in the first half that we dug ourselves too deep of a hole. We missed too many lay-ups and then felt sorry for ourselves and continued to give up too many lay-ups. That is what cost us.”