St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 55 NJIT 37
12/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2012
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QUEENS, N.Y. -
St. John's Head Coach Joe Tartamella
Opening Statement:
"This was a good win for us to get us back on track. Obviously, we've had a couple tough losses in a row, so to get a win today is important. We talked a lot about protecting our homecourt and being able to impose our will while executing on both ends of the floor. Once again we were without someone on the floor, as Mary Nwachukwu was out tonight. She'll be back real soon, but other people always have to step up."
On the improvements the team can make going forward:
"The biggest thing for us is just being consistent in practice. We started to get there and have a more consistent number of players in practice, which is always important. Our preparation and focus are the things that we've talked about the most in the last few weeks. It was disappointing to us in our last game at Quinnipiac, where we felt our defense let us down, which was surprising because we had practiced very well. In the upcoming days, we'll have to work on our focus on concentration on both ends of the floor."
On the contributions of role players heading into BIG EAST play:
"Getting Sandra [Udobi] some time tonight was important for us. It was an opportunity for her to play and show what she could do. This was the most minutes she's played this season. Amber [Thompson] played 36 minutes tonight and last year she would have hit a wall a little bit earlier, but this year she doesn't show that as much. Sandra gave us a big lift - especially when we had some foul trouble on our guards. Sandra's a good player. We're trying to get her to move along quickly. It's been hard to get her feet wet throughout the early part of the season, but she's going to be really good for us. We're going to need everybody for BIG EAST play. We're going to need every single person on our roster to give us a contribution at some point in time. For Amber and Sandra to have a good game tonight is important."
On preparing for Delaware and Elena Delle Donne:
"You try to do the best you can. We've played against Brittney Griner, the players on UConn and Stanford in years past and there is really no way to duplicate what they can do. You prepare the best that you can and try to make it as difficult as possible. You gameplan and scheme to find things that will work for you in the game. Players like Delle Donne and Griner, you try to do the best you can to limit them because you're never going to stop them. More importantly, it's about having a great team effort and making sure you're not only limiting her but playing solid defense throughout the game against the rest of their team."
Sophomore forward Amber Thompson
On how she can improve her game:
"I feel like I have to rebound, be more physical in the paint and play defense without fouling. That's what's most important."
Senior guard Nadirah McKenith
On what she sees from teammate Amber Thompson:
"Amber has great potential, the only thing she has to do is keep working hard, and she can go out on any given night and get us a double-double. She just has to stay confident, and go out there rebounding and stay out of foul trouble."
Balancing scoring while being a team player:
"I have to pick and choose the times where I need to score. I have to get my teammates involved first. Once I get everyone going, it opens up an opportunity for me, and gives me the opportunity to score".
On the importance of defense:
"I think it's very important for us to play good defense. Our great defense will lead to our offense. We are a great offensive team; we just have to limit teams from scoring. We just have to buckle down and defend."
Thoughts on freshman guard Aliyyah Handford over the last five games:
"Aliyyah is a great player; she runs the floor, I think she's one of the top people in her class to run the floor like that. Once she gets out and goes, I know I can automatically lead her to the basket with a pass and she'll catch it and finish."
