St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 63 Cincinnati 34
1/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2011
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Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico
Opening statement:
"I thought it was a great win for us at home. I thought we really defended very well. We are starting to play better. We took steps in the right direction defensively and taking care of the basketball. That's been something we've been stressing all week. We finished with 10 turnovers and only had four at half. Considering what we had last game, that's a significant improvement. I was really pleased with the way we played today."
On the game's atmosphere:
"The energy was great by having those kids there. We were at Columbia last year when they had done the same thing. We thought it was a great idea. It really got our kids energized to play in front of that crowd."
On if this was the team's best overall performance:
"Yes, probably. Defensively, we did a great job. Offensively, we'd still like to get better. We moved the basketball and we hit some shots. We did some things that we had been talking about and stressing. I was pleased. We always want to keep improving and I thought today was a step in the right direction."
On the team's offensive balance:
"I think balance is probably the strength of our team. We have multiple people that could be our go-to player any night. Sky (Lindsay) stepped up and did a tremendous job today."
On if the team is turning the corner:
"I think today was a positive sign. I'd like to continue to improve. I think we all got caught up with what we did last year and our ranking and got away from what got us here. That was working hard, playing with energy and defending. The last couple of games we went back to not pressing and just playing man-to-man defense, and I thought we did a really good job. Sunday is going to be a heck of a task at Notre Dame."
On what needs to improve in anticipation of Notre Dame:
"They are extremely athletic and rebound the basketball well. They run in transition very well. We have to get back defensively. They are really smart and average around 20 assists a game. They make open shots. They aren't going to miss shots. Cincinnati did a tremendous job of moving the basketball, but they are just not at the point of finishing every shot yet. Notre Dame would hit those shots, especially at their place. It's really important for us to challenge them to contest shots and do a good job on the defensive end. They are extremely long offensively, and force a lot of turnovers."
Da'Shena Stevens
On the team's defensive performance:
"I think we came out and tried to pressure them. Their point guard scores the majority of their points so we tried to shut her down. That took them out of their game when their leading scorer doesn't score as much as she usually does."
On the importance of winning at home to gain momentum:
"It's important to get some momentum and get back to the way we were playing. It helps with the things we were learning - our pressure and intensity and coming out with more of a fight. Those things have helped us out the last couple of games."
On the team's offensive performance:
"We were focused on moving the ball more. We've been working on that at practice. People were hitting shots. They tried to double team in the post and I was able to kick it out and Sky (Lindsay) hit some good jumpers to open things up for us."
On the difference between her first and second halves:
"In the first half, I tried to post up. But then I tried to just run. I got some easy baskets and that helped me. When I'm not crowded with defenders, I get more confidence after getting some easy ones."
