St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Lafayette
Head Coach Joe Tartamella along with guards Tiana England and Qadashah Hoppie spoke to the media following the team’s 76-44 victory over the Leopards.
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella
On tonight’s game against Lafayette …
“I thought that was the most energy we’ve played with. We did a great job disrupting today and I was pleased with the entire effort. We had a long layoff after the first game, so this was a big game for us.”
On limiting Lafayette’s Natalie Kucowski…
“I thought we did a good job of being active. I thought we tried to use our quickness and athleticism to get to her and I think the pressure on the outside helped us keep the ball away from her more than they’re used to. I think all those things considered, I never expected to look at the sheet and say she had three shot attempts in the game but it was a great team effort. As a group, defensively, we disrupted enough to make it hard for her.”
On facing a 2-3 zone tonight…
“They kind of switched up how they were playing it so I think we made enough shots to be able to hurt them in it. At the same time, I thought we did a great job attacking the glass. To have 10 offensive rebounds is a big thing for us and certainly I thought it helped us.”
St. John’s redshirt junior guard Tiana England
On the team’s performance…
“I feel like we started off with a bunch of energy, more than our past game. The whole 40 minutes we played with energy and that fueled our offense.”
On Leilani Correa…
“She comes off the bench and she does what she has to do. She makes tough shots, she’s a great defender. I feel like that was definitely a boost off the bench. She doesn’t play like a rookie. She attacks everyone. She doesn’t care who people are and she doesn’t care that she is a freshman. She plays like an upperclassman and I think that’s great.”
St. John’s junior guard Qadashah Hoppie
On the team and individual performances…
“It started with our defense, honestly. We were pressuring a lot. My teammates found me open in transition a lot today.”
On Kadaja Bailey…
“She had nine rebounds, which is very big for us because we aren’t that big of a team. When our guard rebounds like that, it’s a good thing.”
On tonight’s game against Lafayette …
“I thought that was the most energy we’ve played with. We did a great job disrupting today and I was pleased with the entire effort. We had a long layoff after the first game, so this was a big game for us.”
On limiting Lafayette’s Natalie Kucowski…
“I thought we did a good job of being active. I thought we tried to use our quickness and athleticism to get to her and I think the pressure on the outside helped us keep the ball away from her more than they’re used to. I think all those things considered, I never expected to look at the sheet and say she had three shot attempts in the game but it was a great team effort. As a group, defensively, we disrupted enough to make it hard for her.”
On facing a 2-3 zone tonight…
“They kind of switched up how they were playing it so I think we made enough shots to be able to hurt them in it. At the same time, I thought we did a great job attacking the glass. To have 10 offensive rebounds is a big thing for us and certainly I thought it helped us.”
St. John’s redshirt junior guard Tiana England
On the team’s performance…
“I feel like we started off with a bunch of energy, more than our past game. The whole 40 minutes we played with energy and that fueled our offense.”
On Leilani Correa…
“She comes off the bench and she does what she has to do. She makes tough shots, she’s a great defender. I feel like that was definitely a boost off the bench. She doesn’t play like a rookie. She attacks everyone. She doesn’t care who people are and she doesn’t care that she is a freshman. She plays like an upperclassman and I think that’s great.”
St. John’s junior guard Qadashah Hoppie
On the team and individual performances…
“It started with our defense, honestly. We were pressuring a lot. My teammates found me open in transition a lot today.”
On Kadaja Bailey…
“She had nine rebounds, which is very big for us because we aren’t that big of a team. When our guard rebounds like that, it’s a good thing.”