Post Game Quotes vs. South Carolina
1/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2010
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
Alabama Head Coach Wendell Hudson
Opening statement:
"The team is really working hard. You can't take anything away from the way we're playing and you can't take anything away from our opponents. We're working really hard. We're just in a situation where we go through those droughts of trying to score that are almost impossible to overcome against good basketball teams. You cannot go that long without scoring when you have good opportunities. It's not necessarily that we're scoring badly, because you look up there and we've got 68 points. It's when we're not scoring."
On trying to figuring out the right combination of players:
"You've got to kind of mix and match with what you've got. The biggest problem when we go through those droughts is who is going to bring us out of those droughts. You can't go that long. We started the second half down four, we ran a little play and turned the ball over, then they go down and score and we get a wide open shot and we don't make it. Then they go down and make a shot. It was good shot for them, and all of a sudden instead of being down four we're down eight. If you miss another shot then you're down 10. Right then and there is where you're looking for somebody to step up and players to step up and say, 'Okay, we're going to get this done.' Part of getting it done is thinking, 'We're playing pretty good defense, let's get this ball in the basket.' You've got to go to the basket sometimes. I think when we went to the basket really strong the officials made a call and you can score that way if you would do it a little more on a consistent basis."
On the play of Dedrea Magee:
"She's playing an awful lot of minutes. She's back in that roll where we're playing her too many minutes really with the pressure we're asking her to apply from a defensive standpoint and asking her to push the ball offensively. She's playing entirely too many minutes for that type of play. Varisia (Raffington) played 38 minutes, but she's got a different role as far as handling the basketball. For the amount of time that we're asking Dedrea to play at the position she's playing, we're getting about as much as we can out of her right now."
On the play of Ericka Russell:
"I thought the last two or three games she's really played the way she played last year. Defensively, she's doing a lot of good things for us right now. She's shooting the ball and she's a competitior. It's one of those things where you just can't have that four or five minute drought and not get the ball in the basket."
On facing Auburn on Thursday:
"You throw records out of the door and you throw everything else out of the door when you play against Auburn because that's an important game for us of course, and it's an important game for them. It's another conference game. Beyond all that, it's Auburn playing Alabama. When you start talking about that rivalry and all the things that go along with it, you've just got to be ready to play. We'll be out there ready to play. I don't think that's one that you have to get the team ready to go and play."
Senior Guard Dedrea Magee
On struggling on defense with the transition game:
"Everybody was really trying to go to the boards and forgetting about getting back and playing every play. We should have gone back on every play because we knew they were always going to be sending someone back instead of giving up."
On shooting well in the first half and taking good shots the second half that were not falling:
"I felt like we took good shots and after the first half we were just used to them going in and not getting offensive rebounds until the second half. That hurt us a lot."
On what to improve on before heading to Auburn:
"I think the big thing for us to be successful is we just have to play every play like it's the last play and play as a team."
Sophomore Center Carmen McCoy
On guarding Kelsey Bone:
"She is a big girl like me so it was pretty tough, but I just made sure I met her early and kept her away from the basket as much as I could."
Junior Guard Varisia Raffington
On your feelings going into the locker room after the run at the end of the first half:
"It was a big momentum builder for us, and it got our confidence going. I think most of us probably didn't even want a halftime. We just wanted to come right back out and keep that intensity up and keep playing, but it was definitely something good for us. We were ready to come back and build from that and keep things going our way and keep the momentum."
South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley
On getting first SEC win:
"It's a great feeling, especially after losing to LSU and Tennessee, but we knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle coming into a much improved Alabama team. I really like their team. I like that they are athletes and get up and down the floor. I like the fact that they pressure the ball on a consistent basis. They are much like teams that I have coached."
On shooting 60 percent from the field:
"It really didn't seem like it because we were turning the ball over so much. For us, it was one of those times were we needed to shoot the ball well. I thought both teams shot the ball pretty well. I was happy that our team converted when they did. I don't think we ever shot the ball as well as we shot it tonight, especially from the three-point line."
On five players scoring in double-digits:
"If we can get that kind of production every night I think we'll win a lot more basketball games. All of our players have the green light to shoot the basketball when they are open and they took advantage of that. We got some good offensive play from a couple of our freshman players. We had some opportunities for other people to score. Ashley Bruner got some nice high-low looks into the post so we are sharing the ball better and that's a good feeling. It's something we can take into our next game."
