Postgame Quotes: UT 63, UAlbany 55

Nov. 27, 2015

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Holly Warlick

(Opening Statement)
"It was a great win. Great finish. We're following our same m.o. of being late. We get out ahead and we give up the lead. I thought at the end we needed defensive stops and we got them. I'm really proud of our kids down the stretch for understanding that defense is a priority."

(On this game compared to the last game)
"I thought our effort was better. I thought our energy was better. I thought we wanted to press. We zone pressed them. We man pressed them. I thought we got a little fatigued towards the end when we man pressed. I thought it affected Albany, but I'm really concerned about 21 turnovers. There were so many unforced turnovers, and I don't have an answer for it, really. Quite frankly, I don't have an answer for it. I thought the guards stood in the first half and in the second half we did a better job. They doubled down on our posts and I knew they would, but I thought we got better looks offensively. We need to shoot the ball better. I thought we had better looks, but we had 21 times that it was taken away from us and we don't get a shot off. If I can tell you one thing, you're not going to win a lot of ball games with 21 turnovers. We keep doing it and doing it. We've got to get ahold of that."

(On their zone)
"I though their zone was excellent. That's all they do. It's kind of like our man-to-man. I thought we could have moved the ball a lot better, and maybe pull our post out just a little to get them more touches. When we got touches on the post we got easy looks because we would dive our post in. It's just a matter of us playing a little better together, but we've got to make some outside shots or five people are going to guard out post. We've got to be consistent with it."

(On our shooting and ball movement)
"We've got great outside shooters and I thought our ball movement was better. I thought we got better looks for us. We didn't have to force a lot of shots. We didn't quick shoot the basketball. When you do that and move the ball around you're going to get a shot you want and can make. I thought the majority of the time we got really good looks, and we did shoot better. We've got to knock shots down more consistently."

(On if Kortney Dunbar was hurt)
"She came down on the kid's foot, and of all games we needed her to play a little more this game."

(On what to do differently on defense)
"I thought we picked up the tempo. We picked up the pressure. We got better ball pressure. We talked more. I thought Mercedes was outstanding down the stretch. They were going to (Shereesha) Richards. She's been their go to player, and I thought Mercedes was very, very disciplined, and not fouling. She kept her in front of her with five blocks, and I think a couple of those were down the stretch. They were huge for us. That's just being disciplined. The last few times they had the ball coming down, I thought we were more disciplined, and that's what we've got to be all the time. When you're back is against the wall you've got to make a stand, and make a stop. We did that with our defense, and we talk about that a lot. Defense has got to be a priority. I thought tonight when our back was against the wall that we needed our defensive power."

(On Diamond's charge)
"She's going to do what she needs to do to get a win. Diamond is an excellent defender. Now her first foul was not a very smart foul, but I think for the most part Diamond can be a very good defender. She's willing to put her body out there to draw a charge. I'm good with it. I love it. I love when our kids draw a charge, and I love when they think that defense is important because, tonight it was."

(On Te'a and how to improve the fouls)
"Teach her not to foul. First of all you don't foul a jump-shooter. She's done that the last two games. You just don't foul a jump-shooter. She's just got to get disciplined. It's just discipline and understanding. She's a great defender. She's one of our best defenders on the ball, but she's got to do it all of the time. You've got to do it all of the time. You can't just do it one time, and then come down and not to it three times. I think she understands that. I think she had some fouls that she didn't need to get. That puts her in a hole, so she has to sit. She has to sit and then she loses the flow of the game. She has to come in and she's been sitting a while, and its difficulty for her to come in like that. She's got to understand that she hast to stay on the floor, and she's not going to stay on the floor in the first half with two fouls."

(On winning despite Albany leading in points in the paint, points off turnover and second chance points)
"Our post players have been leading the charge on offense, but today, they didn't. It was huge. They scored 23 points off our turnovers, but I think what I saw tonight was a team that came together. For the most part, we had great communication. I don't think there was much of a misunderstanding in the huddles or on the court. We just had a will to win. In the last four minutes, the commitment to our defensive end was huge. Not too often do we get outscored in the paint and win the basketball game. Our bench scored 23 points, which is huge for us as well. We will take the win. We will learn from it."

(On being better after tough stretch)
"We could be blowing people out and have 21 turnovers, and I don't know if it would affect our team as much. It would affect the coaching staff but not our team. I think they understand their lack of focus and concentration, and they have too many turnovers. I think they understand that is why games are close. We are able to benefit from these games. It is a different style from what we will see in the SEC. They may give the SEC an idea to play the way we've had in our last couple of games. As long as we learn, I am great with it, but we have to get better. Hopefully, that is what these games will do because this was a tough stretch. These weren't teams that we would come in here saying they are easy games. They are respectable teams, who were in the tournament last year, won their conference and took teams to the wire. We knew what we were getting into."

(On going to play a mid-major school on the road)
"I did it for Wichita State because Jody Adams is a former player. I did it for her. I have a tremendous amount of respect for her and her program. It is going to be a difficult game. It was difficult here. I know what kind of coach she is. She will challenge me and our team. It may not look intelligent for us to do it, but it is an environment that we don't always see. Teams get up to play for us on their home court. It is a challenge for us. I don't know if we should continue to do it. We have Wichita State, and I am not really crazy about it. I couldn't believe I had to go back there this year after last year's game. I am getting what I wished for and decided."

(On if Texas will try to open up the floor instead of slowing it down)
"I would be surprised if they didn't. They are kind of like a mirror image of us. They're an athletic team. They want to get the ball in and score quickly. They rely on their defense. They're aggressive. I would be surprised if it was a slow, controlled-tempo kind of game. Now, if we are pushing the ball but not scoring, we are going to slow the game down. Our first reaction is that we are going to go. I would anticipate Texas to do that."

(On thoughts going into the Texas game)
"Our kinds probably understand Texas a little more than they do Albany and Syracuse because we have played them every other year. We seem them a lot on TV. Not that our kids didn't respect the teams that we have played, it is just a different style. I think they understand the sense of urgency to get ready for Texas. A lot of their friends are on that team. I just think they are more familiar with who is on the team and its style of play. It will be a challenge. Right now, in women's basketball, there aren't too many teams that you can play against and beat. I think the talent is getting better. The coaches are getting better. We have to make sure we don't settle."

(On not starting Diamond DeShields)
"I am just kind of taking her slow because of her soreness and injury. She is practicing. I couldn't start a player who hadn't practiced, but now, she is practicing. She is getting reps and practicing like everyone else. That has been my whole dilemma. Could I have started Diamond against Central Arkansas? Yes, but I chose not to because she hadn't put in the time and practice for it."

Jordan Reynolds

(On the Albany defense)
"They really packed it in this game, especially on the post. I think our post only got 10 to 12 touches the entire game. I thought they just did a good job really packing it in. They focused a lot on making us shoot outside jumpers."

(On the upcoming Texas game)
"Texas is a very good team. Every team that we play, we never underestimate them. It's going to be a great game, but we've got to come in ready to play. We can't continue to play like we've been playing. We need to continue to get better. We've really got to slow down, prep, and get ready for a good Texas team coming in."

Diamond DeShields

(On all the close games to start this season)
"Like I say, it's better to work through these things now than in April. We're definitely getting better. I do feel like we got better tonight. Albany did a great job defending us, but that's what we need. They helped us get better. We're just going to move on and look forward to Texas."

(On taking a charge in the final minutes of the game)
"I think that's something to be excited about. I feel like the more I do, the more comfortable I am on the floor. I wouldn't have taken a charge in my first game. I'm getting a lot more comfortable doing things that my body is used to doing - jumping, sprinting. I know on the transition with [Mercedes Russell], I hadn't run that fast in a really long time. The more I do, it's something that I'm really excited about - just pushing myself, stretching my potential every day. [Taking] the charge is growth for me."

Albany Head Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson

(Opening Statement)
"I'm proud. I'm a proud coach. We came in here and my biggest thing was I wanted them to be fearless. I wanted them to be tough. I wanted them to be fighters. I wanted them to not get affected by the crowd. You don't see that type of crowd every day. I wanted them to play like we know we can play. The great part about this game was that we played a high-level team in our fifth game and didn't wait until the end of the year, then it's NCAA tournament. They played great. I thought we did a good job of just staying calm and handling the press, really defending their go-to players, which are No. 12 and No. 21, and not letting them score a lot of points. We did a great job. All I can say is I am very proud. They did a great job."

(On zone defense)
"As I watch the games, and I know Penn State doesn't necessarily play zone all the time, I know Syracuse does, but we tend to play back, especially higher level teams. We knew they were going to pound the ball inside. They're not a three-point shooting team, like us. We really pound the ball into the paint off of the drives. We knew their go-to players were the post players. I though Erin, you know, she's 5'6.5", and we practiced being physical down there in the block. Anytime that 12 (Bashaara Graves) or 21 (Mercedes Russell) caught the ball we were going to double them. We were going to make them prove themselves and we did. 21 only had 12 points and 12 only had nine and those are great players. I thought No. 25 on our team, she had 19 points, Shereesha and No. 12, are like the same kind of player and I thought we did a good job of just shutting down their go-to players which are their post players. Their guards did a good job stepping up and making threes. I know they hit five in the first half." "Erin got a lot of her hands on the ball and she got turnovers. I think we just stayed aggressive and we stuck to the game plan and kind of started pressuring a little bit more on the perimeter to make them throw the ball away. I think that a lot of it was all the little things in the paint. When they drove baseline I knew they were going to drop it right into the middle of the paint and we did a good job of filling in and getting some steals. It was just the game plan and they really, really did a good job of sticking to the game plan."

(On Shereesha Richards)
"It should. That's why we play here. That's why we played here, because I want to be on a big stage for our seniors and our seniors stepped up today. In my opinion, she is a great player and because the name of our shirt, we don't get as much attention. This kid, sorry young woman, is amazing and she is so humble and she is so hungry and she is so tough and she is relentless and she is fierce and she is in great shape. I could go on and on, but she is a dream to coach. I have to turn her down. I never have to turn her up. It's really been awesome, her coming from Jamaica and her playing net ball. She makes us great coaches because we don't have to coach effort. We don't have to make her go harder. We can now teach skill. To have that kind of player on your team makes you a great coach. Now we are trying to really extend her out to be a three. At the next level she is going to have to play the three offensively, defensively she can guard anybody on the perimeter, man, zone, it doesn't matter. I think she is the best mid-major player in the country and I think she is one of the top players in the country but I'm selfish and I think she's great but we're trying to get her a lot of looks and she is. I know that any WNBA team that takes her and gives her an opportunity she is going to go in there and end up starting and playing for a long time."

(On Imani Tate)
"Imani is our second leading scorer on the team. Shereesha and her 20-20 and Imani got 15 and Shereesha got 19. This is the one that really stepped up. We rely on Imani and Shereesha a lot. There's going to be different games where different people step up and so when you have an Imani Tate, Shereesha Richards that are like fearless, they don't fear anybody and they are being super aggressive and they were going into the paint against 6'6" and making shot and doing some amazing stuff. We just have to stay at this level. We cannot lower our level when we go into our next game. We are playing Providence next at home, so we are finally at home. We are not ever at home. We just have to take this. We have to ride with it and get better and better. No. 22 (Heather Forster), the big red head, she is a freshman. I am proud of her. She came in the game and she was fearless. It was awesome. It was awesome to see and I know she is just going to get better and better too."

Albany Guard Erin Coughlin

(On the team's performance and if it will grab people's attention)
"I hope so. It was a lot of fun coming in here and we talked about how we can do it. It doesn't matter about the name on the jersey but more the way we approach the game and if we follow our game plan. Anything is really possible when you do that and if you believe everyone on your team believes it can be done."

(On thoughts when shot clock is expiring)
"I got to shoot this quick, shot clock's going down. When I saw it go in I was just like alright, got to get back on D. We need a stop."