St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: No. 18 St. John's vs. Southern Mississippi
12/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
St. John’s Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico
On playing back-to-back games this weekend:
“It has definitely been a little bit of a different approach, especially with final exam week and just having the number of days between games that we have had, we haven’t had that since the beginning of the season. It gave us the ability to give them a couple days off and prepare for their exams and to really focus on that and also the ability to get back to basics, which was nice. It’s tough to play two in a row. Anytime you have to it’s pretty difficult and we’ve had a couple of injuries during that stretch that have kind of set us back a little bit with some key players, but hopefully they’ll be able to go this weekend.”
On the week of practice prior to the weekend tournament:
“I just think that it’s the first time in a long time where we have been able to have multiple practices as oppose to just preparing for an opponent. We were actually able to just worry about St. John’s and us getting better. I also think it’s a time where the kids are at the end of the semester, so it’s crucial for them to have a couple days off to prepare for those exams. But those couple days off really allows them to rest their legs and come back with a lot of energy. I’m hoping we have a lot of energy this weekend, I hope we’re excited to play again since it’s been since the last time we played. The competition that’s going to be here is really good and I think that everybody is going to test us.”
On opening the tournament with a tough Southern Mississippi team:
“I think they are really in a tough league and they are really a good team. Obviously we’ve watched them on film and they have done a good job. They’re athletic, they’re quick, and they have some pieces that can really give us a little bit of trouble. It will be interesting to see our matchup, but I think it’s going to be a great game.”
On where the team is at heading into BIG EAST play:
“If I went by today’s practice I think we’re back at October 1st. But, if I went by the past couple games, our assists have really been up. Early in the year we were only averaging about eight or nine per game and the last couple games we have been up around 14 or 15. So our assists have been higher and our turnovers have been down in our last couple of games, which is a goal we have been trying to reach all season. I definitely feel like we’ve been getting better in that area of valuing the basketball a little bit more and sharing the basketball a little bit more. We still miss some finishes, so it’s funny you talk about Nadirah McKenith, and she’s probably one of the best passers in the country but her assists aren’t really high yet, because we haven’t been finishing easy plays. I think that’s going to continue to improve. I definitely would say I’ve seen improvement in the last couple weeks. Obviously, I still think we have a long way to go, but we have definitely shown improvement.”
On Fresno State and UCSB:
“The competition in the tournament is probably the best its ever been. That other bracket with Santa Barbara and Fresno State is going to be really an interesting game. They’re two great opponents, and two great coaches. Fresno has a reputation of being one of the top programs in the country and Cal Santa Barbara has also had a lot of success. So it should be very interesting to see how things go in that first game, but like I said, I think the competition in the tournament is excellent.”
On preparing to play back-to-back games this weekend:
“We haven’t had good success playing back-to-back since last season’s NCAA Tournament. Earlier in the season we also lost playing back-to-back games. It’s going to be a littler different this time because now we know we have to come out ready for the next team. We prepared very well for Southern Miss so tomorrow after the game we will just watch so film on whoever we play Sunday and just come out and play hard.”
On continuing to outrebound opponents:
“Everybody seems to block Centhya “
On managing a busy week with finals and the tournament:
“It’s been rough. We had three days of practice and we actually had Thursday off so today was our day to come in and get everything done. Today we came in and tightened things up to get ready for tomorrow. We’re just going to go out there and play and just go get it.”
On Southern Miss:
“They’re pretty athletic and can match up with us. They have a great point guard that can get up the floor and break the press and they have two great players, so it’s going to be a good game. Two athletic teams going against each other is always exciting.”