St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs DePaul
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella and sophomore forward Leilani Correa spoke with the media following the team’s 81-73 loss to No. 22/22 DePaul
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella
Opening statement…
“I was really proud of our team and how we played. Obviously the first few minutes of the game put us in a hole that was certainly a daunting task, but for us to do what we did and fight back is something that I am proud of them for. They have had better practices and they are playing better, so that is great to see. Obviously, we didn’t win the game, but I am excited that we played really well. To be able to come back the way that we did was impressive. Kadaja [Bailey] was great, I thought Raven Farley played one of her best games for us, and Cam [Camree Clegg] came in and leveled us off. We got production from Rayven [Peeples] as well. We turned the ball over in the second half too much, and some of the things that we have been doing with second chance points and rebounds have hurt us, and you can’t do that against a team of this magnitude. But we will build off of it and look to get the next one.”
On the comeback mentality of his team…
“I think that we showed it in the Villanova game. We have showed the ability to do it, but we hope that we can play more consistently throughout the 40 minutes where we aren’t asserting the energy to claw back into games that we wouldn’t have to if we played more consistently over time. Something that we have challenged them all year with is to be tougher, and I think that they showed that today.”
On the play of Leilani Correa…
“She has really taken a step forward in what she is doing out there and it starts with her practice habits. She has been as good as she has ever been in practice over the last two weeks, so it is no surprise what she is doing. To come off the game against DePaul last time where she struggled and do this tonight, you can’t say enough about her. We continue to try and challenge everyone, and she has been scoring the heck out of the ball. She is playing at a high-level and has shown a focus in practice that I have seen consistently and even more than all year.”
Sophomore Guard Leilani Correa
On how proud she was of the team’s effort to comeback…
“I am extremely proud of my team. In the beginning of the season, our mentality wasn’t that great especially if we were down, we would just give up. But we fought back. I thought the defensive side was really great throughout the whole game tonight.”
On what it feels like when she finds her rhythm offensively…
“There is a lot of adrenaline rushing through my body, but it is not just me. It is my teammates, my coaches, setting me up to get open and help execute the plays.”
On her teammates ability to find her for shots…
“I loved their effort tonight. I loved our effort together. We played more as a team tonight. It was one, if not our best game of the season because of our mentality in not giving up and fighting back.”
Opening statement…
“I was really proud of our team and how we played. Obviously the first few minutes of the game put us in a hole that was certainly a daunting task, but for us to do what we did and fight back is something that I am proud of them for. They have had better practices and they are playing better, so that is great to see. Obviously, we didn’t win the game, but I am excited that we played really well. To be able to come back the way that we did was impressive. Kadaja [Bailey] was great, I thought Raven Farley played one of her best games for us, and Cam [Camree Clegg] came in and leveled us off. We got production from Rayven [Peeples] as well. We turned the ball over in the second half too much, and some of the things that we have been doing with second chance points and rebounds have hurt us, and you can’t do that against a team of this magnitude. But we will build off of it and look to get the next one.”
On the comeback mentality of his team…
“I think that we showed it in the Villanova game. We have showed the ability to do it, but we hope that we can play more consistently throughout the 40 minutes where we aren’t asserting the energy to claw back into games that we wouldn’t have to if we played more consistently over time. Something that we have challenged them all year with is to be tougher, and I think that they showed that today.”
On the play of Leilani Correa…
“She has really taken a step forward in what she is doing out there and it starts with her practice habits. She has been as good as she has ever been in practice over the last two weeks, so it is no surprise what she is doing. To come off the game against DePaul last time where she struggled and do this tonight, you can’t say enough about her. We continue to try and challenge everyone, and she has been scoring the heck out of the ball. She is playing at a high-level and has shown a focus in practice that I have seen consistently and even more than all year.”
Sophomore Guard Leilani Correa
On how proud she was of the team’s effort to comeback…
“I am extremely proud of my team. In the beginning of the season, our mentality wasn’t that great especially if we were down, we would just give up. But we fought back. I thought the defensive side was really great throughout the whole game tonight.”
On what it feels like when she finds her rhythm offensively…
“There is a lot of adrenaline rushing through my body, but it is not just me. It is my teammates, my coaches, setting me up to get open and help execute the plays.”
On her teammates ability to find her for shots…
“I loved their effort tonight. I loved our effort together. We played more as a team tonight. It was one, if not our best game of the season because of our mentality in not giving up and fighting back.”