Louisville Women's Basketball Postgame Quotes
February 19, 2017 | Women's Basketball
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Head Coach Jeff Walz
(Points in the paint advantage)
“It did. I was really pleased with how we executed. After that first quarter, we looked to get the ball in the paint and we looked to try to attack inside out. We had some great looks starting off the game, but they just weren't going in and that's something that we had watched the NC State game when they played Carolina. They got a little caught up in the open 3s and kept shooting them and they didn't go in, and that's the one thing that we didn't want to do. If the 3s are going in, great, shoot them, but if not, let's go inside out and that's what we did after that first quarter.”
(Impact of Stephanie Watts being out)
“It's a big-time scorer that they lose. I thought Taylor Koenen played great for them. I thought she attacked, I thought she was very aggressive, and she looked to score but it's definitely a tough blow when a player of Stephanie's caliber is not out there. Destinee Walker, as well, who hasn't played in a few weeks, she can shoot the basketball. She was a part of the one USA basketball team that I was fortunate enough to coach as an assistant, so I know she can play too. It's one of those things that you're fighting through injuries and trying to patch things together. We've been there, I understand it, but I thought they competed really hard.”
(On Sydney Zambrotta's 3s at the end of the game)
“It was great. That's one thing that I know Syd's able to do is shoot the 3. I just keep challenging them all that you have to show me in practice that you can give me that confidence defensively you know the assignments, you know what you're supposed to do, because we're getting into the part of the season where one possession matters. You've got to be smarter with the basketball, you've got to know what you're doing defensively, and those are the things I keep trying to harp on and keep trying to work with our team about.”
(On Mariya Moore's early struggle shooting)
“Well, I told her in the first half and that's one thing that's really been a struggle with Mariya when she misses some shots, she gets down on herself and she'll pass things up. I tried to explain to her if you miss a few, don't take the first one in transition. When it goes inside out, then step up and shoot the basketball. She had a few that came off of some set plays where we looked inside, they helped, we kick to her, she's wide open, she's got to pull the trigger. She has to shoot. If you're a shooter, you can't have a long memory because if you continue to sit there and worry about it how I missed this last one, I missed that one, it's just not good for our ball club.”
(Jazmine Jones' progression through the season)
“Jaz rebounded the ball extremely well, she was very aggressive. She should have been 3 for 8 if she makes that uncontested layup there in the fourth quarter. She hit some good pull-ups and that's something that we keep working on in practice. You have to go game speed in practice. You have to go game speed or you'll never make them in a game, so we're going to continue to push that and emphasize that, but I was really pleased with what she did during her minutes.”
(On looking ahead to Virginia and what they need to do)
“Well, we have to be cleaner. We have to be cleaner with the basketball. There were a few times where it was just bouncing everywhere, instead of chinning it and making a good hard pass, passes get deflected. We have to make ball pass fakes. That's one thing about Virginia with the way they play their zone. They spread it out there with that buzz zone. You've got to make ball fakes. If you just stand and stare, you'll throw it right to them. That's one thing that we've talked about, and we'll continue to preach. Hopefully we'll be able to take the game film from here and show our kids 'Hey, this is where we have to get better.'”
(On how close the team is to its potential and what it needs to do to reach it)
“Well, I mean there are spurts where we look really good. We've got to get more consistency. That's the thing for us. We're getting closer. We ended up figuring out a way to score 87 points tonight. But we start off with 14 in the first quarter, that's something that we have to get better at. Now, we had a lot of great shots. It's not like we didn't get good looks, we did. We just have to continue to work on knocking them down. If we can shoot 46 percent and higher, we're going to have a chance to be in a lot of basketball games.”
(On assistant coach Sam Purcell's suit)
“Looks good doesn't it? Looks good. It won't surprise me if he dyes it some other color for the next home game to make you think he's got two suits.”
(On playing in the Play4Kay game and having breast cancer survivors come out with the players)
“I thought it was great. We had gotten that idea from the North Carolina State. I was talking to Wes [Moore], and he told me that's kind of what they did for a game. I thought that was a great idea. It just puts a little special touch on it. I know those five women that had the chance to go out there were really excited and just really enjoyed it. It's a game that we love to be a part of. It's a disease that, I think it's pretty safe to say, it's affected everyone somewhere along their family. We just love being a part of it, hopefully being able to do our part to raise some money to try to help find a cure for it.”Â
Asia Durr and Myisha Hines-Allen
(On Sydney Zambrotta hitting three 3s at the end of the game)
Asia: “That was very exciting to watch. We all got out of our chairs and got hype. She hit three straight 3s in a minute. I was like, 'Wow.' That reminded me of “T-Mac” when he scored all those points in 15 seconds. That was very great to watch.”
(On whether North Carolina not having its leading scorer Stephanie Watts made a difference)
Asia: “I think so, yeah. She's a big part of their team. She's a great player. She's one of their top scorers. It definitely made a huge difference.”
(On what it means to beat North Carolina by 30)
Myisha: “I mean it's big. Just beating anyone in the ACC is huge because every team is good from top to bottom. So just getting a win on our home court is good.”
(On having a 42-16 advantage in the paint and whether it was a point of emphasis)
Asia: “He stressed that a lot. At least, I did because they play mainly guards and their post players are still kind of guards as well, so coach Walz said he wanted us to get a few paint touches as well so that's what we were trying to do.”
(On Asia Durr not making any 3s in the first half)
Asia: “My shot just wasn't falling, but it's OK. I just trusted the process and kept playing hard.”
(On having Asia Durr back in the rotation)
Myisha: “It feels good. She's a great player. Just to have her on the court is amazing.”
(On whether Myisha Hines-Allen still thinks she is playing at the guard)
Myisha: “Yeah, I'm a guard. When he moved me to the four, I said, 'Nope, can't do this.' I'm joking I did. But, I'm still a guard.”
(On going through the starting lineups with those affected by breast cancer)
Asia: “That meant a lot. Just to know they fought hard for their life, you know, that's very special. I felt great. You know, it was exciting.”
Myisha: “Just to see them fight and beat breast cancer and to just be out here supporting us too, it's amazing. I'm glad they came out and helped us.”
(On how emotional it was hearing the stories of the breast cancer survivors)
Asia: “Yes very. During the pregame, it was on the big screen, and I was like, 'Wow that is touching.' I was very, very emotional.”
(On preparing for Virginia on Thursday for Senior Night)
Myisha: “Playing hard for 40 minutes. We showed we had lapses in our game on defense, where we weren't doing what we needed to do. Offensively, we weren't executing or looking for our shooters. I think to beat Virginia, because it was a close game and went into overtime the last time we played them … they just beat Florida State I believe, so it is going to be a great game. It is our senior night, so we have to go out with a bang for our seniors. Just give it our all and play for 40 minutes.”
(On whether the team is watching the conference race)
Myisha: “Every game matters. We have to secure our spot first for the NCAA Tournament before getting home court advantage. Of course, we want the No. 4 seed, so we get the double-bye in the tournament, but if it does not go our way, we are just going to play hard for the games that we have to play back-to-back. We just have to continue to fight, and just play hard.”
(On having nearly 10,000 fans at the game)
Asia: “Our fans our great. Before I came here, that is one of the things that stood out. They are amazing. Just to see the whole gym packed with pink was great.”
Myisha: “I love the fans too. That is the reason that I came here too. You don't see this a lot at other schools that we visit, or when you hear about top schools. Our fan base is just amazing, and we just want to thank them for coming out every game and showing their support and getting loud for us. When we are up, or when we are down, they are a big part of our momentum.”
(On assistant coach Sam Purcell's pink suit)
Myisha: “He is the best dressed coach on our coaching staff. Ira, I'm sorry, but I'm saying on our staff. He has a mean jump shot by the way, Ira does.”
