Alabama vs. McNeese State: Postgame Quotes
11/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2010f
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Head Coach Wendell Hudson
On the way his team started the game:
"We came out the first 10 minutes of the ball game, and I thought we played well. We made a couple of substitutions, made a couple of things happen and looked like the intensity level kind of came down a little bit. We kind of fussed a little bit at halftime because of that. If we're going to have a good basketball team, one that's going to be able to compete and compete in the SEC, you can't have that letdown in intensity. We never got it going all the way back up, but I thought the start of the second half we did play better. For about 10 more minutes we played pretty well. We've got to put those 40 minutes together."
On what the team is trying to achieve:
"Consistency. We want our intensity and consistency to be there. I think we're getting there. In the second half we played eight players that we felt like we would go with to identify the group that we will be going with. We need a couple of more people to join them when you play the way we're playing. Overall I thought it was a good game for Kaneisha Horn. She really played well - 15 points, eight rebounds and only three fouls, which has been kind of hindering her. She played better. Tierney Jenkins, she is just Tierney Jenkins. I looked at the stats and thought, 'How did she score 18 points?' She shot the ball pretty well, was 6-of-6 from the free throw line and had 11 rebounds. It's kind of hard to complain about her. The two players I thought that stepped up tonight and really played better were Alicia (Mitcham) and Kaneisha Horn. They really played better than they had the last couple of games."
On having the SEC Freshman of the Week (Jasmine Robinson) and SEC Player of the Week (Tierney Jenkins) the week before:
"You have to earn it. There is a way to qualify for that. You've got to earn it. You've got to win. Your team has to be playing well because if your team isn't playing well then you can't get those honors. We're moving in the right direction. This is a good group of young ladies, and we're looking forward to making the trip down to the Bahamas and competing down there. We've got a really good test right off the bat with Florida State."
#21 Tierney Jenkins, Forward
On the difference between past teams and this year's team:
"The leadership and the newcomers are really the difference. We used to have to stop and teach the freshmen things, but this year they fit right in and did some things better than we were. We all had a common goal. As far as leadership, before it seemed like everybody just wanted to get along, and now we try to get along but we want to win. We will do whatever it takes to win, so even if we get onto each other in practice, at the end of the day we still spend time together and are still a team."
On leadership in the upcoming games:
"We just talked about that in the locker room. We said, 'Yeah, this was a good win but there's no way we can win playing like we did tonight against any of the SEC schools, no matter who it is.' We make practice hard, and we just have to learn how to be tough and prepare everybody that hasn't been here for the SEC. I don't think you can explain it until you get there. These are the type of people that can handle it though."
#40 Kaneisha Horn, Forward
On being first off the bench and getting to see what the other team is doing:
"I really just focus on defense. I try to watch whoever is in before me, see who they are covering, and I just go in and try to do better. I don't really worry about my offense."
Head Coach Brooks Donald Williams
Opening statement:
"We did not shoot the ball well tonight. When you look at our percentages, we were 12 percent on three-pointers, that was not good. When we're not shooting well on the perimeter, we are going to struggle. You have to find a way to score more and get back the ball, and we weren't able to do that tonight against a very good Alabama team."
On Alabama:
"They beat N.C. State which is a very good team, and they were up big at points in that game. You look at their team, and I feel pretty good about where we are. We would have liked to have shot it better, and I would say we wanted to keep it closer and play a tighter game. This is probably the first team that has put that much pressure on our shooters, so they weren't as comfortable and open as they have been the last couple of games. One thing I am excited about is we kind of swung the ball around in the first couple of games, and I thought we took care of the ball a lot better in this game than I thought we would, and I am really excited about that."
On staying in the ball game:
"This is certainly a lot different game than Southern Miss, in that I think Alabama is a lot better. They are good inside and out. Alabama is the whole package, and we are probably going to see them compete in the SEC and have a good year. I think that is an exciting thing. Our kids didn't go away. They fought and in the end even if they didn't make a big run in the second half, I thought we still cut them back down. We kept attacking and that is what it is all about. We played Alabama to make ourselves better, and this is probably one of the best opponents that we will face. We thought that of Southern Miss and we saw Alabama, which was much better. They are the toughest team we have faced so far, and it is making us better."
