Louisville Postgame Quotes
December 28, 2015 | Women's Basketball
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Head Coach Jeff Walz
(On shooting 15-for-16 from the free throw line)
"I know. I'm sure someone is going to complain about that. I know we missed one. You do realize what happened when we missed the free throw. We pulled it out because that was the end and we got the offensive board. So we didn't shoot it because the clock was running out, but if you score on that - by my math - you're now going to be 17 points with 16 opportunities. That's pretty good, isn't it?"
(On third quarter run)
"We started off extremely slow. We did not defend the first two-and-a-half minutes. Our energy was terrible. They are a very good basketball team. They shoot the ball extremely well. They run good stuff and are very well coached. Finally, we got some urgency to us, finally, and started to play. It's good for us that we held them to 40 percent shooting in the third period because we just can't stop people from making shots. It's the darnest thing I've ever seen, and that's not the word I wanted to use. I've never coached a group that somehow we can't find a way to defend. If you would've told me that they were going to shoot 54 percent and we would win by 22, I would've told you that you were crazy. It's unbelievable. We can't continue to shoot 54 percent ourselves, I don't think, so we have to figure out a way to defend. We have to figure out a way to make it harder for people to score. Now, I will say that our goal was to make them shoot more two's than 3's because they shoot the 3 very well. There were a few layups they made that I was fine with, because we were not going to help off of shooters on the drive."
(On Mariya Moore's game as of late)
"In my 20 years, she sees the floor as well as, if not better, than any player that I have ever coached. She understands spacing. She understands how to get someone open. The three that Taja Cole hit in the corner, she got it down there and just simply dragged it out and brought the defender with her and threw it right back to her. We had that same situation from Mariya earlier in that quarter where she went to the corner on the opposite side of our bench and our guard got it up and never even saw her and Mariya was wide open. Those are the challenges that I am trying to get our other players to start understanding and really start studying the game because you have got to be able to see her and make that happen. We had one situation in the zone where we got the ball in the middle and Briahanna Jackson was wide open on the wing, and instead of just passing, we dribble twice and then pass it and she has to try and make a move with three people on her and she loses it out of her hands. If you simply pass it instead of dribbling, it's a wide open shot. Mariya's ability to see the floor and understand the game is what really separates her with her passing."
(On Briahanna Jackson's worth to the team)
"Just her energy. She is everywhere. She's always on the floor after loose balls. She creates a bunch for us. Her ability to shoot the jump shot is really an asset to us and her right now. Everybody respects her ability to shoot the three, so they are chasing her and she is able to get by them and raise up and shoot that pull up. I was happy that we didn't have to play her 38 minutes tonight. We needed a game where we could play her 25 minutes tonight, which is good, but then I was able to get her some rest."
(On upcoming ACC play)
"I think it's a 4 o'clock game on Friday, and I'll tell you at 6. It's one of those where we don't have much choice. It's conference play and we are starting with Florida State. It's not like we are starting with somebody that is like a nice warm-up game to you. We have to come to play, we have to execute, we have to defend better, and then we have to rebound the basketball."
