Louisville vs. Gardner-Webb
December 10, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 10, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz
(On Antonita Slaughter) "I don't think there is much I can say if you watched her. She played hard and came into the game with a purpose and competed. She did exactly what I've been asking her to do for the entire season and finally, I think she realized I wasn't going to play her unless she went out and competed. It's not all about her making seven threes, it's the fact that she got six boards and four were offensive boards. I thought she was everywhere on the offensive end and defensive end. I was really excited for her, hopefully this will carry over because we have a big game on Wednesday against Cincinnati."
(On this week's practice) "We did a lot of rebounding drills and defensive drills. We put the bubbles up on the baskets so you can't make a shot and we just worked on boxing out and rebounding and we will continue to do that because we have to get better."
(On the team's weakness) "Defending the dribble drive, that is still a concern of mine. We have to get our guards to do a better job of stopping the ball from going to the middle of the floor. We get beat to the middle and then a post player has to step up and help. Then when they shoot I have a guard responsible for boxing out a post player, because the post had to step out and help. We get beat on the weak side a lot. It all comes down to the fact that the guard who is guarding the ball can't keep them out of the paint. For us to really become a good basketball team we have got to continue to work on that, and that's my responsibility."
(On BIG EAST play) "It's going to be a battle. Our game on Wednesday night is going to be a very good basketball game. Cincinnati is 7-1 right now and they have two guards that are playing extremely well. The Hollins kid who transferred from Michigan and Revis have been playing great. She is shooting about 39 percent from the three point line. So we are going to have our hands full. We are going to have to come out prepared to play especially at their place."
(Is BIG EAST as tough as last year?) "Yes there is no question about it. There aren't going to be too many ball games where you can just plan on showing up and think you are going to get the win. We are going to have to come prepared to play. Hopefully as we grow and mature as a team it's going to be something that happens every night."
(On starting Asia at the four spot) "I was trying to get some more rebounding and more aggressiveness on the defensive end, and I thought she did those things for us. Asia is a hard working player. She will get out there and defend for me and that is what I need her to do. I'm trying to find the right combination. I am not looking for just everybody that can score, but I have to find somebody that can guard the ball and somebody that can defend and rebound."
(On his feelings on the team) "I'm excited about this team but we are young. We are trying to find out who is going to be our leader, who is going to step up and be the vocal one. We really miss Tia Gibbs, so that has been tough. That is one thing I could always count on from Tia. I'm trying to find out who is going to be the one that demands us to compete everyday in practice. Once we can get that established I think we can be a great basketball team."
Sophomore Guard Antonita Slaughter
(On when she knew it was going to be a good day) "We had a really good practice yesterday. We brought a lot of energy and now we are just going to keep going forward. Coach said today that it's a new start to our season. After I hit the first one it was a relief."
(On what she thought of her performance) "I started off the year two for eleven and my teammates always told me to keep shooting. This is the game where I came back and the drought is over."
Freshman Guard Bria Smith
(On team's competiveness) "Practices were very physical this week. We didn't pick up a basketball for offense, we worked on defense during practice. So it was definitely competitive."
(on this week's practice) "They were really intense. We worked on rebounding and defense like and it helped today and it's going to help us throughout the season."
Sophomore Guard Shoni Schimmel
(On Antonita Slaughter's shooting) "It's awesome to be able to see Antonita get out of her drought. It's good to see her shooting again. I know everybody else enjoys it too and we are not just playing for ourselves we are playing for the team."
(On practice this week) "We worked on our blocking out and rebounding and all of that defensive stuff, because after the Kentucky game we didn't do that well. We just carried that over for the next three practices and I think it helped us a lot today. It was different because we were so focused on rebounding and defending and just getting out there and boxing out. That's literally all we did for an hour and a half. I think it's just helping us get reps in and I think it helps our team on the court."
(On what they took from the game) "We just have to continue what we did this week in practice and in the games playing defense and boxing out and all the little things. Offense will come. We just have to work on our defense."
