St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 70, Hartford 45
12/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2011
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St. John's Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico
Opening Statement:
"I was really happy with our effort tonight and I think that everyone can see that we are improving and we are very young. It is a process. We are getting better and better. Hartford is a quality team, usually an NCAA tournament team. So this was a good win for us tonight and we played really well and we played hard throughout."
On rookie Amber Thompson's career-first double-double:
"I've been watching Amber play for a really long time. She was a teammate of Nadirah's [McKenith] so I've watched her through the years and she had tremendous upside. We knew it was going to be a tough year, a transition year, with Amber getting used to playing at this level. Backing up Da'Shena [Stevens], she would have a chance to get her feet wet - let things come to her a little bit easier than they have. We had to stick her in the fire right away without Da'Shena and she has had some ups and down. Tonight you saw what she is capable of. She's going to have some great games and disappear in some games, but that's what most freshmen do. She's been spending a lot of extra time in the gym, but a lot of it is confidence and her getting touches. Tonight, we were able to get her the ball and she was able to make things happen. She made things happen even more on the offensive rebounding end of things and that is something our team has really been lacking. She is getting better and better and she has a great career ahead of herself."
On the progress of Da'Shena Stevens rehabilitation:
"Da'Shena went to the doctor Friday (Dec. 2). The doctor said things looked good and we are going to start gradually working her back in to workouts and practice. Right now she's doing some stuff at practice, no contact or anything. She's trying to really get her condition ramped up. She's going through drills, just not any contact. In the next couple weeks we're going to progressively work her back into practice. Wishfully thinking, we'll have her back by our Christmas tournament."
On Thompson and sophomore Mary Nwachukwu filling the void left by senior forward Da'Shena Stevens:
"A lot of people thought we were coming back this year with a great group. They don't realize how inexperienced we are right now. We started out without our best player, our senior, our leader, our captain a preseason all conference player who has been the glue to our program for the last four years. That was a significant loss. Now we have a freshman in Amber, and a player who sat out all last year and probably played 50 combined minutes at Boston College in Mary. So we have two inexperienced kids trying to make up for everything that Da'Shena and Coco [Hart] were for us for the last three years. It's been a difficult time, but a learning time. We're taking the hit for it now, but come January and February those kids are going to have the experience. When we work Da'Shena back into the mix those kids are going to be a great combination."
Freshman forward Amber Thompson
On her performance today:
"I felt like I was playing good, but I feel like I could have played harder than I was playing. I missed some layups, but I felt good and my teammates were helping me out."
On her acclimation to the college game:
"Just being in the gym and working hard. It helps me get better day-by-day. My teammates and coaches continue to talk to me. They know what I'm capable of and talk to me constantly. They tell me to do what I can, and not worry about what I can't."
Hartford Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti
On the Hawks overall performance:
"We were pretty tough and made some plays in the first half, but that series at the end of the half took the steam out of us. We had a two-on-one break botched, and then they hit a three, so instead of it being a five-point game, we go into the locker room down 10. St. John's came out and they were clearly the more aggressive team in the second half. They do a great job of playing to their strengths and getting the shots that they want. They were really disruptive to us defensively. I don't think we had a great second 20 minutes."
On performance of Amber Thompson:
"[Thompson] is a great offensive rebounder. Bottom line, she's really tough to keep off the boards, but part of that is their guard penetration creating a lot of rotations of defense that leave her free to get those second-chance opportunities. We did a bad job scout-wise on taking away her strengths, but she was very aggressive. She did what she was out there to do, which is to rebound and get garbage points and get herself fouled and bring energy to the team, and she did a great job of that."
