Head Coach Jim Foster
Thoughts on adjustments made in the second half
“I think a lot of players made changes. Red defensively upped the tempo. Keiana , as well as Aryanna, played extremely well. Keiana might have had one of those all-time games. She had 13 points, 12 rebounds, six assist, four steals and two blocks. She filled the stat sheet tonight.”
Thoughts on Austin Peay's play
“Our team just played harder in the second half, with a lot more passion, and got it done. Austin Peay was a team that concerned me from day one because they have five people who can score. All five of their players came into this game averaging double figures and were capable of scoring. It's not often that play teams who have five scoring threats out there. Even some of these real good teams don't have five. You just have to watch two or three of them more than you have to watch the rest. You have to watch all five of theirs.”
Thoughts on the game as a whole
“Give the other team credit. They were good. They played a very good first half. We always talk about what we didn't do and when the other team doesn't get the credit they deserve. They did a very good job in the first half. They played at a tempo and we didn't get them out of the rhythm. We need to be more aggressive and more assertive. Finally we got a combination of players on the floor that understood that. But they played well. It wasn't that we played bad. I wasn't happy with our first half, but I'm going to give them credit. I thought they played well. We played very well in the second half.”
Jasmine Joyner, forward, sophomore
Thoughts on the comeback win
“We had to get tougher. That was it. We thought they were going to hand us the ball because of the name. We just had to come out and play more aggressive and tougher. That was mostly it. Once we got that, they couldn't stop us.”
Thoughts on the first half
“We just thought they were going to hand us the ball and we were going to take it with us. Their post player was bigger than me. I was going to play behind her, but she made all her shots. So that's when the second half I kind of had a new mindset. I was going to try to play in front of her and that's where she kind of shut down. Either my team helped me out from the back, I got the steal or she just tossed the ball up there. So I just had to change up on my end, the defensive end on her.”
On the effectiveness of the press
“Yes, it brought a lot of intensity to the game – especially with Red. When she's out there she just brings a whole new energy. I feel like she gets to Chelsey and gives her that intensity. And then if Ary gets hype, you know her sister is right behind her. We have four going and then I get hype. That's what kind of shut them down and they kind of got scared.”
Aryanna Gilbert
Thoughts on not starting
“Coach Foster told me that I needed to get a more offensive mindset and that when I came into the game tonight I needed to bring a spark. So that's what I did. I just did what I had to do to help my team out.”