St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 71, Marquette 58
1/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2010
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Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico
On the Marquette win
"I was proud of the way we played. The West Virginia game was a really hard-fought game for us and I was anxious to see how our young kids would respond. I think they did a tremendous job and it is a great win for us and the program."
On the performance of the freshmen against Marquette
"I think it is pretty impressive and sometimes people don't realize, when we have Nadirah McKenith, Shenneika Smith, Eugeneia McPherson, and Da'Shena Stevens on the floor at the same time with Coco Hart, that's three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior. That's pretty exciting for me to see them come out there and be able to do that against a Marquette team with some experienced players."
On keeping Marquette quiet in the second half
"I thought we did a tremendous adjustment on Jessica Pachko and really tried instead of fighting over the top and allowing her to seal off, going from the bottom side, and really trying to work that way. Coco did a great job of taking some charges on her and getting her out of the game. She hurt us early. She was scoring all of their points early, so that was a big difference for us. Angel Robinson's a heck of a player and we were just trying to say 'Contain her! Contain her!' When she needed to score, she tried to get to the basket and it's a tough matchup for anyone."
On switching out Nadirah McKenith to Sky Lindsay at point guard
"Nadirah needs a break every once in awhile and she is a freshman. So I think that sometimes we forget that and I try to get her out a minute here and a minute there to give her a break. She brings so much to our team, but she acts like a freshman at times. I think we just need to give her a rest, get her a minute, talk to her, have some coaches in her ear on the sideline telling her things she needs to look for and things she needs to do and then getting her back out there."
On the game being physical
"The league is ridiculous. I think that's what our league is all about. We are very physical and coming off of West Virginia, like Da'Shena said, was a bit of a wake up call for our younger kids. That's what you're going to experience night in and night out in this league."
Freshman guard Nadirah McKenith
On looking to go to the basket
"Most of the time, that's what I'm looking for, but not all the time. I'm looking for my teammates first. If it's open, then I go to the basket and try to draw fouls."
Sophomore Forward Da'Shena Stevens
On coming out to play after the West Virginia game
"I just had to be active early, whether it was on defense or offense. I tried to slow down a little bit and just play an all-around game. I think that is all I was focused on. I wanted to pick up on the rebounding, just find my teammates also. I just think I had to focus on having a complete game this game."
On teammate Coco Hart limiting Marquette's center
"I think Coco really shut her down. Coco played her tough and she got on her right hand and I think that kind of frustrated her a little bit. Coco really came out and worked on stopping her in the second half."
On winning at home in the BIG EAST Conference
"It is really big and that is what coach stresses to us. It is good to get this win at home because they don't come easy. Like in the West Virginia game, I think it really woke a lot of us up because they play really physical. They didn't come in here scared or anything like that. So to protect our home court in the BIG EAST means a lot."
