Louisville vs. Xavier
November 20, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 
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Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz
(On defensive pressure in the first half) "I thought we did a good job of mixing things up. We did a very nice job of being there on the catch. We tried to not give them open looks, but at the same time we have to do a better job of rebounding. That was really a concern of mine. But for the most part there I thought we played pretty well for about 12 minutes in the first half and 12 minutes in the second. So we have to figure out a way to get those other 16 squared away."
(On closing out on the 3 point shooters) "Moss is a great 3-point shooter for them. We tried to close out tight on her to make her drive on us. The rest of them we were just trying to close out our normal way and we did a great job of that. They are not great 3-point shooters except for Moss. So we wanted to make them beat us from the 3-point line."
(On the new line up) "We are trying to do the best with what we have out there. Tia was a very good shooter for us and a 3-point shooter that now we don't have. She was a great defensive player. She always came up with three or four steals for us. Bria Smith has done a great job defensively for us. We are excited about that but we are going to have to find someone to step in and take Tia's 3-point shooting. Mo went through our shoot around this morning. She will practice some tomorrow, so I'm hoping to play her between 10 and 18 minutes on Tuesday. It's just a slow process to get her back and going."
(On whether injuries benefit other players with playing time) "I mean that's what every coach says,so sure it can be but I would rather have Mo healthy. It is giving a lot of them some opportunities to step up and play more than they would have. There is going to be more expected of them. Now it's just a matter of who will accept that and who is willing to take these extra minutes that are there, and run with them."
(On the three freshmen) "Our three freshmen have done a very nice job. The most important thing to me is that they just have to continue to be coachable. It's a big change. You are going from playing high school basketball to major college basketball and if they are willing to continue to be coachable it will allow us to help to continue to improve as the season progresses. We just have to continue to work on Bria's shooting, but she made two nice shots today. She is just so explosive off the dribble that it makes it tough for opponents to guard her. Sara has got some great moves. We are just really working on her touch. It has to be a little softer touch. She has to put a little more arc on the ball. When she shoots her bank shot around the basket, she has to shoot it higher off the glass just to give her a better chance for the ball to go in. She competes and plays hard. She stepped out and hit a three today. So there is a lot of things to be excited about for sure. Jude has to keep doing what Jude can do. I mean Jude is out there competing and she is fighting. I have to have her be a leader for us. She has to be the one that gets everybody going, because she can play that way. She can play extremely quick. She has to defend for me and get the ball to the people who can score. And I'm really working with her on just getting her feet set when the ball in thrown inside out to knock down some shots."
(On how quick games early can help you prepare for tournament games) "Well I don't think it really affects anything later in the year. As a player I think you love it because coaches we love time to practice. But we can't come out tomorrow and really kill them. So as a player I'm hoping they are excited to come out again on Tuesday and get the chance to play. What we have to do it get better at what we didn't do well today. We have to do a better job of boxing out at the free-throw line. It has been four games now that we have just been getting abused on that. We also have to get a little tougher physically and mentally"
Xavier Head Coach Amy Waugh
(Opening Statement) "It was a tough game for us offensively. You have to give Louisville credit, they came out from the tip and mixed it up defensively on us and caused some problems for us offensively."
(On Louisville's defense early) "It was a mixed combination. They pressed us a little then they went to a zone when we couldn't make a shot. I honestly believed we took some great shots, we just couldn't make them."
(On the Cards compared to last season) "Louisville has a great basketball team. They are going to be very successful this year. They are a little banged up right now, but they have some young kids who are playing a lot of minutes for them. They will continue to develop as the season goes on and they are going to be great for Louisville for the next four years and that will help them a lot this season."
(On losing four starters) "It's a great experience for us; we play a lot of young kids who haven't played before. We are going to be battle tested, playing at the KFC Yum! Center and then we have Stanford on Friday. This is a learning experience for us and a process that is going to take all season long. We are going to continue to work and improve as the season goes on."
(On the late come back during the second half) "My kids show that we are going to fight and we are not going to quit. That is a positive, and we are going to continue to build on that."
(On the KFC Yum! Center) "It's a phenomenal building, they have unbelievable fan support. They probably have the best fan support in women's basketball for how many fans come out and show support. It was their season opener; they had a great crowd like always. It does help them and it just adds to what Louisville has to offer."
