Alabama-Kentucky Postgame Quotes
1/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2011
Alabama Head Coach Wendell Hudson
Opening statement:
"We've talked to this team over and over about rebounding the ball. We were going up for rebounds with one hand instead of grabbing the ball, and so many times tonight we threw the ball out of bounds because we didn't get control of it in the air. Those are the little things that we have spent so much time talking about. We didn't shoot as many free throws as we needed to shoot because we turned into a jump-shooting team, but when we were taking the ball to the basket, we were certainly in pretty good shape. All of those things like that add up, especially when you are playing in the SEC against one of the better teams in the country. We were right there with them tonight. We said that we had to come out in the second half and not give up a run right away. When you give a talented team opportunities over and over again they will make you pay."
On the differential in points off turnovers:
"We didn't convert. When we are out there on the floor, we are doing things that we practice all the time. Decision making when the game is going on is completely up to the players. You can't stop them any time you want and talk to them about the situation. You don't have that many timeouts. I thought Khristin Lee really did a great job for us tonight. LaToya King has been struggling a little bit lately with the turnover bug. She's not making those kind of turnovers in practice, but she's getting out there on the court an she's trying to make amazing things happen instead of just making the easy pass."
On the team's improved competitiveness:
"We are working too hard and playing too hard for it not to eventually translate into wins. The foundation of this team, outside of LaToya (King), Tierney (Jenkins) and Ericka (Russell), is really young. Even Alicia (Mitcham), who is not as young as some of the other players, is new to the program, so she needs time to get used to our style as well. That's the growing pains that are present as a young team goes through an SEC schedule."
#21 Tierney Jenkins, Forward
On the rivalry with Kentucky's Victoria Dunlap:
"We are from the same area. We played AAU when we were little kids. Since high school, we've always played together, so we kind of know each other and how we play. It's a bittersweet rivalry because we are friends, but you want to come out on the top end of course."
On the momentum at halftime:
"We realized we had to keep blocking out. I think that's the biggest thing that has hurt us in our past couple games and hurt us tonight once again. I'm not saying in the second half that we weren't blocking out, but a lot of the time we would get the ball and tip it out of bounds. We just never grabbed the ball. We also had a few costly turnovers in the second half which gave them the opportunity to score. Blocking out and turnovers were the biggest things that we have to work on from here on out."
Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening statement:
"That was a great win for our basketball team. I thought Alabama was so aggressive today. They have some really fine athletes and great basketball players. I thought they really played hard. About midway through the second half, we just tried to change our energy and start hustling a little more. I thought Alabama was outhustling us up to that point, and I thought the players changed their energy and worked hard and our defense made some plays coming down the stretch. We were able to pull out a much-needed victory."
On the outside shot helping the Wildcats today:
"It is very good for us. We want to take 20 (three-point attempts), and we like to make seven. We made nine today, so that was really good. I thought that Alabama did a good job of trying to make us beat them from outside. They know how good Victoria (Dunlap) is and how powerful she is inside, and I thought they did a good job trying to take that away. I want to give our players some credit in transition defense. Keyla (Snowden) and some of the kids really ran hard to the corner where they're supposed to, and we were able to attack the basket then kick out and that created some open looks. It was a good job by our players in understanding what we need to do in transition offense."
On outrebounding Alabama by 10:
"It was big (in the second half). We finally got Alabama from getting to the bucket. They were doing such a great job of getting to the basket, getting to the free throw line, getting the ball to (Tierney) Jenkins on the block where she could score. They were just doing a great job of scoring at the rim. We finally were able to stay in between Alabama and the basket and then for a good stretch it was one shot and out for Alabama. We were able to get into our transition game. Rebounding was a huge factor in this game."
