Chattanooga Lady Mocs Basketball Postgame Quotes vs. Furman - Jan. 4, 2010
1/4/2011 7:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Chattanooga Lady Mocs Basketball - Postgame Quotes
Furman at Chattanooga
McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, Tenn.
Tuesday - Jan. 4, 2011
Head Coach Wes Moore
On having a comfortable lead:
"I did not know how to act, obviously. Again, it was good to come out and play from the tip. We have dug some holes and had to battle back and fight the whole game. It was nice to jump out and get a good start. Obviously, we had a lot of people do some good things. Kayla Christopher had 30 points, not only that, but 11-for-15 from the field. She hit several threes and was 6-for-8, nice job there. Kylie Lambert had 12 points, six assists and no turnovers that was big. If we can get that kind of performance out of her, then that really helps getting us a second scorer and someone who can really handle it (the ball). Bailey Dewart, again, injured and playing a lot of time in some pain and goes out and gets 11 rebounds off heart. Then, Whitney Hood had 24 points. It was a good team effort."
On the team showing some chemistry:
"I thought that we did a really good job with transition. We have been really emphasizing that in practice. Let's see if we can get some early open looks, instead of having to work so hard for every shot. With Tenisha out in foul trouble in the first half, it was pretty impressive that we played as well as we did. Now, you have a freshman out there playing point guard that has been playing the two-guard about all year and has to play point with Alex Black being out. We did a lot of good things. Have we arrived? No, not quite, but it is nice to get a little bit of breathing room and get a good win."
On the defensive effort:
"We have put up some impressive offensive numbers as far as Whitney Hood scoring inside, our three point shooting outside and even taking care of the ball. This team's assist-to-turnover ratio is probably the best since I have been here, but defensively we are right near the bottom out of 343 Division I teams. We are going to have to change that if we are going to have any hope. Right now, we are like a lot of teams in the country. On nights that we shoot it well, we may survive, and on nights that we don't, we are going to lose. We have got to change that mentality and try to find away on a bad night to grind it out and find away to win."
On the better effort in the first half:
"I agree, for the most part. I thought we did. You have to remember too that down the stretch we had some young players playing and gave up some points late in the game. Overall, I thought it was much better effort and something that we can build on. Again, I know that one game is not going to solve it. We still have a lot of work to do."
On Kayla Christopher and the team being more focused tonight:
"I think it was better. Again, we just have to be consistent with that though. This team does not have a whole lot of margin for error. I am sorry. We are not going to be able to go out like some of our teams and throw the Chattanooga jersey out there and get a win. We are going to have to fight, battle, scratch and claw for every win we get. We are going to have to show up every night."
On being able to sit the starters towards the end:
"It was nice. I still think that we have developed some depth. It will really help to get Alex back. She is going to get another x-ray tomorrow, but we are probably still looking at another week or two. It will be nice to get her back out there at some point. At the post, I still think that we have to rotate Taylor Hall in a little bit more. I have to learn to be a little more patient with all of them and not panic when they make one mistake and try to stick with them a little bit."
On the importance of four-straight home games:
"Four-straight home games is very critical if we have a chance. Again, this team is going to have its ups and downs. We need to hold serve at home. We need to find a way to win these games. It is going to get tougher. UNCG is coming in Saturday and is very athletic and can bring the heat. They will turn those turnovers into layups on the other end. That is going to be a big challenge ahead of us."
Sophomore Guard Kayla Christopher
On career-high 30 points:
"I tried to be extra focused coming into tonight because it was an important game for us. I was just trying to stay focused all day. It is always a good thing."
On getting an easy win:
"It feels really good to have a comfortable lead and be able to relax a little bit. It is something that we can get used to."
On starting off well:
"It was very important. It is always better starting out on top instead of digging your way out of a hole. It gives you a little bit a leeway. It was very important for us to come out well from the beginning."
On the difference in the defense tonight:
"I think that we were very focused before the game. Coach Moore gave us a few stats. We are very far behind in the country in our defense. Before the game we were extra focused on our defense."
On carrying your focus into the game from the pregame:
"It is kind of a mentality. We had the same mentality all day. You know what you have to do, so it is important to get out there and take care of business."
"When you are out there, you focus on getting your shot down, feeling good and having confidence."
On Whitney Hood's presence down low:
"Hood is doing a great job down there. I am pretty sure that everybody in the conference is going to try to look to double her. It is important for us guards to knock down the open shots because whenever we knock down shots. It opens her back up inside. Four out, one in, is the way an offense works. We are executing really well on offense."
Junior Forward Whitney Hood
On cruising to the victory:
"It definitely builds our confidence for the next game. We need to come out with the same focus against Elon on Saturday."
On being a little tired after the 40-point performance against Wofford:
"No not really. I think just like Kayla said we were all focused on this important conference game. We just game out and played hard."
On Furman limiting you in the first half:
"Pretty much, Kayla started hitting threes, jumpers and everything. They went towards her and I was one-on-one to score."
On three-straight wins:
"I think that we are definitely coming together. We still need a little work on defense, but we just need to practice it every day and get better at it."
On the chemistry tonight:
"Game-to-game, we get more comfortable playing with each other, practice-to-practice as well. I think that we are all together more focused because it is conference time and time to get it rolling."
