Texas Tech vs. Arizona Postgame Quotes
November 22, 2014 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2014
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
TEXAS TECH vs. ARIZONA
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
NOV. 21, 2014
Candi Whitaker
Lady Raider Head Coach
Opening Statement
"Happy to get a win, Arizona is a very athletic team that pressured us and got us out of a lot of our execution. It was good for us to go against that and see it. I'm proud of how we finished again. In the last eight minutes I felt like we really started to pick it up, make plays on both ends of the floor, rebound it better and obviously make good decisions in the last two minutes."
On the defense performance
"I thought we improved and that our zone defense was the best we had seen. We are starting to understand coverages a little bit better. We had a little more movement while the ball was in air instead of reacting to the pass so much. So I thought that gave us some relief to go to and did some nice things there. I thought we played harder in our man. There's a lot still to fix because we obviously gave up to many offensive boards in both defenses. I think I saw improvements in a lot of areas."
On coming back and getting the win
"I think they never lose faith in each other and their ability to make plays. They just kept grinding, d kept chipping away and we had people step up and hit big shots. It kept us in the game where the lead didn't get away. It was always close enough to still stay in and make a run."
On too many jump shots and not charging the hole
"I do. I think we got out of sink a lot; pressure will do that to you. We were dribbling a lot and not executing. We were just going off on a tangents on our own or quick shots just because `I got in my hand and I'm going to quick release with the pressure that's coming at me.' You've got to do the reverse when you have that much pressure on you. The little things become that much more important that we use such as set screens, and read, and have more of a presence about us. We've got to get better at that."
On Kelsi's performance
"Kels came up with big boards. We continue to rely on her to do a lot of things. I thought she played well. I would again like to see her finish more. I thought she had some opportunities at the rim and that we've got to see go down."
On Minta's five assists and zero turnovers
"Its really good and surprising just with all the pressure around her. Its difficult as a point guard to absorb that pressure and also communicate with your team to get them in the right place when their not. It's a hard role and it's a great job by her to have that kind of stat line."
On the upcoming game
"It's really important to take care of our bodies here and be smart about practice. We need to move on and we've talked about that after every win. No matter if we win or lose its over. The next day we can't be celebrating; we've got to move on in order to get prepared for our game on Sunday."
On what she expects from Morgan State
"They are very, very athletic. They have a big time scorer so we're going to have to guard the bounce better than we have and do a good job of containing. I assume. I never move on (before playing the first game). I haven't watch film yet, but statistically and from what my scout assistant tells me those sorts of things."
Senior Forward
On what turned things around in the final minutes
"I think the stat that was the most glaring was our rebound count, we out rebounded them 21-8. Getting on the boards and getting stops, defensively. It all starts with a stop."
On her 701 career points at Texas Tech
"I didn't even know I had that many, so no. I just go out and play hard for my team every day. That's not something I look at or really care about. As long as we are winning, I'm fine."
Sophomore Center
On how to the defensive performed
"It can always be better but we worked hard, and we did what we had to do to win."
On what improved since the last game
"I'm going to say energy. The first game we kind of started off lackadaisical but now we are starting to pick it up and work really hard. We are also starting to come together as a team, and the chemistry is only going to get better."
