Chattanooga Basketball Postgame Quotes
Samford at Chattanooga
McKenzie Arena – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Saturday – Feb. 22, 2020
 
Head Coach Katie Burrows
 
On shooter better after a poor start
"We had a couple good possessions in the first quarter that kind of got us going, but it took a little bit. The whole game: when we start trying, as individuals, to put the weight of the world on our shoulders, that's when we get in trouble. When we play as a team, and we reverse the ball, and trust the process, and trust the movement, that's when we're a pretty good ball team. That's how we ended up with five in double figures, because we shared the ball.
 
"Fortunately, we were able to get Lakelyn [Bouldin] some looks early and she was hot. It opened up opportunities for others because they couldn't help off of her because if they did, she was going to bust another three in their eyes. We were fortunate that we were able to get more production from other folks.
 
"It was a fun game, probably more so for the fans than for me. It's fun now, I say that after a lot of games. It's fun now, not during. We came out of that media timeout in the fourth with 4:19 left, and I thought this is going to be the longest four minutes of my life, and it was, but I'm proud of our bunch and sharing the wealth. I told them I don't care if we don't get another player of the week honor, I like seeing this stat sheet. You don't even have to watch the game to know this was a team win."
 
Can you talk about the way you guys are finishing games now?
"In another timeout, we were down 42-40, and they had just made a play, and we were a little frustrated. I said, 'Guys, this is right where we like to be. We have a flair for the dramatic. We like to make a nice comeback and get after it.' It lightened the mood a little bit, and they went out and took care of business.
 
"We had some ups and downs and bumps in the road, some things that went our way and some things that really didn't, so we were able to hang in there. I've said before that our kids are never going to go down without a fight. Because of their fight and their resilience, they're able to hang in there and pull those out at the end. We hit our free throws; that was big time. Abbey started out rough, and that's my fault; I got to tell her. I was talking to Chris Goforth yesterday and said something about her shooting 90% in conference play, knock on wood, well there ya go, I jinxed it. I'm proud of the overall. When we get in those situations, they don't panic. You can see it on their faces. They're nice and calm and cool, and just get after it. I don't worry in those instances.
 
On turnaround from a 1-13 non-conference season to now around the top of the SoCon
"Satisfying, but satisfying for me to see that they are reaping the benefits of all their hard work. It doesn't have anything to do with me. I mean, I love winning. Nobody steps foot on a court and says, 'I'm excited to lose today.' Everybody is out there to win. When it seemed like we were in our darkest moments…we had a little bit of a lift there at Liberty and played a heck of a game, shot it well, thinking okay, now we've got a bit of an opportunity, but then we went backwards, backwards, backwards, but the girls were fully engaged in practice every day. They were ready to learn, asking questions. I challenged them all over Christmas break. They could've just tucked tail and just quit, and it would've been a miserable year all the way around, but we are getting a little redemption here now, and it's more about them. I don't care about me; I'll be fine. I'm excited for them."
 
Are we going to try to have a lighter schedule next year?
To be determined. I don't have contracts back yet, so I can't talk about them. We're going to play competitive teams. We're not looking at three or four SEC or ACC teams, that's for sure, but it's still going to be competitive, and it's still going to be difficult. I don't want to back down from a challenge. The ones who came before me set a standard, and I don't want to falter from that, but you do have to be smart. I have been very careful with who I am scheduling.
 
On the starters playing so many minutes and finishing strong
"They must be made of, I don't know, be bionic women, because we wear them down.
 
"We were actually thinking we needed to turn up the heat, put a little pressure on. We were denying a lot more on reversals, lots of ball pressure, things in that respect. I think they were having a lot of fun with it, so we will probably continue to do that more, but early on, with that, we were starting to get tired, but they got that second wind and were able to push through it. I think it's because we are so much tougher mentally than we were early on in the season, and we were able to push through that. They're going to be broken down tomorrow, so we won't be practicing, but I'll have to evaluate them Monday morning to see what we can actually do, but they are having to put in a lot of time for me, because I trust them, and they're getting it done, so why would I change things now? "
 
On the effect of the 3-overtime win at ETSU
"It was definitely a confidence boost for us to be able to fight through something so tough in such a critical time. That was the first round of SoCon play, so to be able to come through that with a win, and I would tell guys in interview that two and a half months ago we would not have pulled that win out; we were not there yet.
 
"It was another confidence booster to get those two wins on the road last week and come into this week. We had our moments where we didn't look so hot, but overall, I was pleased with the way that we're performing, and if we continue that, we will be tough to beat. You asked about all those minutes, but eventually we're going to have to win three games in four days, so some people are going to have to start stepping up and producing. I think they will. You just have to find the right moments, and that's on me to get them in there and get those opportunities for people to get their legs under them a little bit better."
 
 
Lakelyn Bouldin, Sr., G
On finishing games now as opposed to the start of the season
"In the first part of the season, we just needed to get over that hump, and I think that we've gotten over it for the most part. We get a lead and still let them come back, but as far as finishing, we're doing a much better job. We're well on our way to getting over that hump."
 
On improving the shooting after a slow start
"I think we just had to move the ball more and not get stagnant on offense. We got our ball reversal and more touches, and we were hard to stop on the offensive end. We got several high-low looks, especially with NaKeia [Burks], just moving the ball and reversals."
 
On the seniors having just one game left at home
"It's kind of bittersweet. Not looking ahead but not looking at the past, just being in the moment, trying to enjoy everything we get. We're having fun right now, not thinking about 'Oh, this will be the last one' or whatever, just trying to get wins right now, and that's all that matters."
 
Abbey Cornelius, So., F
 
On the four straight wins
"It feels good. We have a lot of confidence, but our goal is not to just win four in a row but to win the conference championship and make it to the NCAA."
 
On hitting the free throws down the stretch
"I know I can shoot free throws; we work on it a lot during the week at practice, so I just take a step back, take some deep breaths, and knock em down."
 
Lakelyn: "She's got ice in her veins."