St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 64, Memphis 60
12/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2011
St. John's Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico
Opening Statement:
"It was a really good basketball game. Memphis is a good team and we knew that they were going to give us a great game. We knew it would be tough without Nadirah McKenith, but everyone stepped up to the challenge. Shenneika had a great game and we saw signs of Da'Shena Stevens doing a great a job, a lot more than yesterday. We got a little sloppy late in the second half, but we have some kids handling the ball that aren't accustomed to doing it for long periods of time and against the type of pressure that Memphis gave us. To credit Memphis, they did a great job, but we made the plays down at the end and got big rebounds and big steals. It's a great win and I'm excited."
On the state of the team heading into BIG EAST play:
"The game would have been completely different if Nadirah was out there. She can handle pressure and she's quick with the ball. Memphis probably wouldn't have been able to do the things to us that they did today - they really exposed us. But, I've said it since the beginning of the year, especially with Da'Shena's injury: 'Let's just take it one game at a time. Let's just try to get better.' I'm happy with how we are getting better and improving. I look back at some of those early losses and I say: 'Okay, Amber Thompson is a freshman and it was her first game. If she was playing then like she is playing now, things would be different.' Keylantra Langley didn't get many minutes last year and Mary Nwachukwu had barely played at Boston College, but they're really learning and improving. Eugeneia McPherson has really stepped up and Nadirah was playing outstanding before her injury. Nadirah doesn't get a lot of credit. If you watched the Baylor game, you saw one of the best point guards in the country go up against Odyssey Sims, who was National Freshman of the Year, and own the first half. We'll get her back in the mix and Da'Shena will continue to work and get minutes - I'm excited about our team. Usually you go into the BIG EAST and you're like: 'Oh my goodness, now the hard part begins.' But, we really haven't all been together and we're just improving and improving so it's an exciting time for me.
On Shenneika Smith's defense today:
"She did a good job on her matchup, Brittany Carter, in the first half. In the second half, we went with more of a zone so when Carter started to go off it really wasn't Shenneika's fault. But I challenged Shenneika with that because she did a poor job defensively yesterday. One of our strengths is her defense. Carter had eight points at the half, but she had to work for every single one of them. I bet out of those eight points, two or three of those buckets were off of the inbounds. Defensively in the first half, we did a great job."
Junior Forward Shenneika Smith
On her defensive matchup today:
"Brittany Carter is a tough kid. I tried to do my best job of staying on that right shoulder, but she can go both ways. I did my best to make it difficult for her and make her take tough shots."
On her confidence level:
"I struggled a little bit with the confidence thing, but I'm trying to get out of that. I shot the ball better today than I usually do. Also, I've been in the gym a lot lately and I would say it's paying off. But with confidence, I'm working on that. I'm taking more shots, I see myself getting more aggressive, and my teammates find me at the right time. So I'm getting a little better with the confidence."
