St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 81, Southern Mississippi 50
12/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2010
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Opening Statement:
"I don't know if I've ever been part of something like that. I've had teams where the injury bug kind of hit but it didn't all hit at once and that was something today. I felt we really came out and played really well, shared the basketball really well and had a great first half. I thought some people that don't get a lot of minutes stepped in and did a tremendous job us like Jennifer Blanding. But for us to get hit the way we did was a little surprising. I thought Eugeneia really did a great job for us and stepped up. Shenneika made her free throws and did a great job, missed a couple of cheapies. She should have had at least 20. But overall, I thought our players stepped in and did a really nice job and really contributed good minutes. Hopefully we can bounce back and be ready to go tomorrow."
On the plan for UCSB after all of the injuries sustained:
"Sometimes you're not dealt a good hand and you have to play with who you have and you have to get excited about who you have. I thought Jennifer [Blanding], Keylantra [Langley], people stepped in and stepped up today. We always talk about understanding your role or playing your role, but your role can change at any second. Today, roles significantly changed and those young ladies had to step up and for them it's an opportunity. So I tell them to take advantage of that opportunity and show you deserve to be out there. Tomorrow it will be interesting to see who's able to go. We're going to be down a few at least. I don't imagine Da'Shena [Stevens] can go. I haven't talked to anybody - I'm not really sure about that. I don't know who's going to be available."
On how the injuries kept piling up:
"It was unbelievable. I'm at a loss for words for what to say about it. I was proud of the way they continued to play and I was proud of the energy. We lost Da'Shena really early and to lose her early and still get that lead that we did and then we lost Coco, those kids play over 30 minutes a game for us. When we lose both of them in the first half and continue to play the way we did, and Jennifer gives us the minutes she did in the first half, I thought was outstanding. But then when you start to lose some of the guards... We had eight assists, four turnovers at half, which was nice, and then we finished at 11 and 17. So that goes to show you the difference when you have your primary ballhandlers in there and people that can handle the pressure. They got up and pressured us with four people and two minutes left in the game."
"We just have to come back. Tomorrow might be tough, but then we have a few days of rest before we get ready for Maryland. So hopefully it will give them a chance to heal a little bit."
On what the plan was with only four players able to play:
"I just said, `Try to use the time as best as you can.' Eugeneia was really able to go to the basket against anyone tonight. I thought she was fabulous at penetrating and just getting to the basket. But she was doing it and there was still 25 seconds on the shot clock so I said, "Gina, now we've got to go play defense with four people, so now try to hold the ball.' That last time she drove she drove and she probably could've scored but she pulled it out to try to use some clock. She's really been stepping up and showing some great leadership for us and doing a great job. Just try to be as positive as possible. I think at that point, what are you going to do? I just have to continue to be positive and go with what we have and do the best that we can. It's a long season and we've got to get ready for the BIG EAST. So I'd rather it happen now than happen in February or March."
Sophomore Guard Shenneika Smith
On if the team was worried after all of the injuries:
"Not so much worried. Now we have to really bring it together and play as a team. There were some young kids that had to step up like Keylantra [Langley] and we just had to keep her focused. She had to control the ball because Nadirah's [McKenith] finger. But it wasn't much concern at the time. We just played together. We play together in practice without Da'Shena [Stevens] and Coco [Hart] sometimes and we go over the plays sometimes and we go over plays. We have a way of playing together without them, so it wasn't as much of a concern really."
On the energy that Jennifer Blanding played with:
"That's definitely a positive when a teammate can step up when they're called on. Positives? There's not so many positives right now. There's a lot of injuries. We're just going to have to get into the training room and get better. We'll do that to play tomorrow."
On her injury:
"I hurt my ankle. Right now it's throbbing but I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I'm playing tomorrow."
"It was crazy. I've never seen that ever, but we were able to pull through it. I'm glad that we had such a great lead that it didn't really hurt us. I hope that never happens again.
On the team's depth:
"Coach has always said the strength of our team is the depth of our team and today it really showed."
Sophomore Guard Eugenia McPherson
On playing with four players:
"I was like, `Who's in Coach?' and I just looked down the bench and everyone was icing. We didn't panic. We had a couple of turnovers but I think we handled it well with the players that we had out there."
On if she is in the zone shooting-wise after scoring at least 20 in back-to-back games:
"I just want to be able to step up for my team when we have all of these injuries. If our point guard is out, I want to help my team from that point of view. I just want to continue to help our team out the way I am."
Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
Opening Statement:
"Hats off to St. John's. There is a reason why they are the no. 18 team in the country. I think the one thing that makes their team special is that they play within their game. Meaning, players who are catch and shoot players do a good job at catching and shooting. Their players do a great job of playing their role. They are very tactful in carrying out their responsibility and that is why they are ranked no. 18.
Our team came out tonight and played with a little bit of fear. We did not play with that intestinal fortitude or that fight to make things happen. We played very timed at times. Our point guard play was not very good to start the game. I challenged her strongly at half-time and I thought you guys got a chance to see how good freshman Jamierra Faulkner has a chance to be. The player on our team that I thought showed up with a will and the fight was Rachel Vigers. She took no prisoners and went at everybody. She played with a tremendous amount of heart and soul and she is truly a warrior for this basketball team."