St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Marquette
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella spoke with the media following Sunday’s 72-61 loss to Marquette.
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella
Opening statement…
“I was disappointed in our ability and effort there to finish the game. I thought Marquette did a good job of doing the things that they do well, and we really didn’t finish. I felt good in the first half even though we were down. We had played without Q [Qadashah Hoppie] for a while. I thought that they took us out of certain things, but when you give up 42 rebounds, the second-chance points are just debilitating. It was hard for us to manufacture points today and I credit them. Now we move on to the next one.”
On why the team struggled to score in the fourth quarter…
“I think we were taking quick shots that affected our ability to score and had some shot selection that hurt us throughout the course of the game. We weren’t able to get the ball to the rim and get inside to manufacture points at the free throw line, so there were a lot of factors in there that didn’t allow us to get points on the board, especially late.”
On what makes it so hard to slow down Selena Lott…
“She took just seven shots in her last game, so people have done it. I think we have done a good job at times, but she plays really hard. She plays with a certain intensity that you need to have, and she is a veteran player. She can do a couple different things from a scoring standpoint and she was aggressive today. We were not up to the task to match that intensity and she was able to score in ways that we were not able to help ourselves.”
On the team’s transition defense…
“You have to have a mentality where you have shot balance and you are recovering and have a point of attack in transition defense where you are able to dictate which side you want the ball on. You would think if you aren’t rebounding, you would be able to get back, however, we didn’t do that today. They ran their lanes and they played hard. We allowed vision and I thought we struggled to match and communicate in the half-court as they got over, so that is a tough way to play.”
Opening statement…
“I was disappointed in our ability and effort there to finish the game. I thought Marquette did a good job of doing the things that they do well, and we really didn’t finish. I felt good in the first half even though we were down. We had played without Q [Qadashah Hoppie] for a while. I thought that they took us out of certain things, but when you give up 42 rebounds, the second-chance points are just debilitating. It was hard for us to manufacture points today and I credit them. Now we move on to the next one.”
On why the team struggled to score in the fourth quarter…
“I think we were taking quick shots that affected our ability to score and had some shot selection that hurt us throughout the course of the game. We weren’t able to get the ball to the rim and get inside to manufacture points at the free throw line, so there were a lot of factors in there that didn’t allow us to get points on the board, especially late.”
On what makes it so hard to slow down Selena Lott…
“She took just seven shots in her last game, so people have done it. I think we have done a good job at times, but she plays really hard. She plays with a certain intensity that you need to have, and she is a veteran player. She can do a couple different things from a scoring standpoint and she was aggressive today. We were not up to the task to match that intensity and she was able to score in ways that we were not able to help ourselves.”
On the team’s transition defense…
“You have to have a mentality where you have shot balance and you are recovering and have a point of attack in transition defense where you are able to dictate which side you want the ball on. You would think if you aren’t rebounding, you would be able to get back, however, we didn’t do that today. They ran their lanes and they played hard. We allowed vision and I thought we struggled to match and communicate in the half-court as they got over, so that is a tough way to play.”