St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Seton Hall
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella, Freshman Guard Leilani Correa and Sophomore Guard Kadaja Bailey spoke with the media after Saturday’s 77-76 victory over Seton Hall February 22, 2020
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella
Opening statement…
“I was really pleased with how we were able to gut this one out. I thought we managed the first half well, to keep it at six and then to be able to play the way we did in the second and into the third. Then we found a way to make some plays towards the end and obviously, big shots by the players in here [Leilani Correa and Kadaja Bailey]. Leilani was terrific and Kadaja obviously hitting two free throws that were huge at the end. Tiana [England] played 40 minutes and had to do a lot for us. To see her with 17 points and 10 assists to finish the game was big for us and we have been hoping to see that a little bit more as we finish the year here. I’m just happy for the players. It’s been an up-and-down week coming off our weekendso to be able to gut this out, this one is for them. I told them in the locker room, I thought they deserved it, the deserved a game like this, where they can feel this."
On Leilani Correa…
“She has a chance to be really special. The fact that she’s been able to find a home here, I think has been important to her and her family. She showed you what she can do tonight and it wasn’t against a team that hasn’t won. We’ve talked about that all year. I probably could’ve let her go for about 40 or 45 in the other game she had 33. She was active, energetic and her teammates trust her and that’s the biggest thing. That’s what you saw this afternoon.”
On Tiana England’s double-double…
“It was huge. A lot of our stuff is going to start and finish with her. We’ve said that all year. She was terrific today. I thought especially early, she was scoring the ball and paced us and kept us in the game. Then she [England] was doing a great job of finding Leilani [Correa] or finding the guys that we needed to get the ball.”
On the final play....
“I didn't know what they were going to do, but we knew that we had some fouls to give. Depending on what the situation was going to be, if we had stopped them, obviously, a different scenario of what we're going to do with fouls to give. We kind of got prepared for that, and then it went the other way. So honestly, it's more about getting the deflection. We didn't want to get the ball in Lewis' [Alexis Lewis’] hands. We were trying to take her away as much as we could and we ended up making a play, so certainly, they were going to get it in and wait if we didn't foul them, so we had to."
Freshman Guard Leilani Correa
On her mindset during today’s game…
“It was really Coach [Joe Tartamella] and my teammates giving me confidence. It was my third time starting, so I knew I had to play a bigger role tonight. Coach ran plays for me, my teammates passed me the ball when I was open, set good screens, so it wasn’t really me, it was a team thing.”
Sophomore Forward Kadaja Bailey
On the team’s defense that caused a Seton Hall turnover to end the game…
“I just knew that it was the end of the game, we were down, and I knew we had to play hard defense."
On what went through her mind at the free throw line…
“I'll be honest, I was very nervous. I've never been in that situation before, but I knew I had to settle down and make these two free throws so that’s what I did. I just took my time.”