Postgame Quotes vs. Villanova
11/28/2009 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Wes Moore
On not finishing at the end:
"We dug a big hole. They came out ready to play and they knocked down shots. You have to give them some credit there in the first 10 minutes of the game or so. Definitely, they took it to us offensively. We were trying to keep up with all the cuts, fades and back screens. Again, it was tough to guard. I am proud of the way the kids fought back. We could have gotten buried there in the first half to be honest with you, but they closed the gap before the half. We came out like we wanted to and got back in it. In the last 10 minutes, they stepped up. We gave up way too many easy baskets on back door cuts. The freshmen guards had a little bit of trouble at times maybe jumping in the passing lanes a little too much and gave up some back doors and offensive rebounds. We finally get a stop or they miss a shot and they come up with a key rebound. Again, the young kids are growing up some, but moral victories are not worth a whole lot."
On Villanova's offense:
"It is similar to some of the Princeton stuff, which is what we are going to see Monday night at Samford. There is a lot of fade screens, a lot of down screens, curls and constant movement. It is tough to prepare for especially in one day. We did not have a lot of turnaround time here to get a better understanding of it. We did start out trying to sag a little bit more and help on the cuts. Then when we fell behind, we just tried to extend our defense and tried to put a little bit more pressure on them. It worked for awhile, but obviously down the stretch, they adjusted."
On the comeback:
"I was proud of them for not giving up and not getting too discouraged. They hung in there and did some good things. Like I said, it still feels like a loss. We have got to find a way to win these close games. We have to get Shanara [Hollinquest] some help. She has carried the load for us, but we are going to have to get a little more balanced in our offense because people are going to try to take her away from it."
On how they guarded Shanara Hollinquest:
"They did a good job. They did a pretty good job too of picking their times. They did not do it every time, so you could not get into a rhythm and know it was coming. Again, I thought that we had some open looks too at times and we just did not knock them down."
On the young players:
"I was more concerned about our defense, but when you look at the totals at the end of the game. 64 points is not a great amount of points, but you have to look at what they do offensively. They use the shot clock, so there will be fewer possessions and when you get an open look, you better knock it down because it is probably going to be 30 seconds before you see it again. Especially when they get a few offensive rebounds, it could be a while before you touch it again."
Senior Shanara Hollinquest
On Villanova using their height advantage:
"They did use their height pretty well tonight. We did not box out well. We did not really take advantage of our second chance points."
On the game being tied at 40:
"We gave up easy layups. Our defense was not quite clicking all the time like it should have. We did not hit some shots that we should have hit. We just could not get over the hump."
On falling into a big hole early:
"That was really shocking because we were out there with our hands up, but they were just hitting them. We can't afford to dig those holes. We just have to pick our heads up and get ready for our next game."
On starting conference play:
"It is very important. Tomorrow in practice, we have to be very focused. Everybody has to have their heads there. We just have to keep pushing. We can't keep losing all of them."
Sophomore Tenisha Townsend
On the Villanova guards:
"They executed their plays really well. They came off the screens and hit shots in the beginning."
On the tough schedule with a lot of games close together:
"It is a quick turnaround. Every game is important, but Samford is a conference game, so it is very important."
