St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. No. 1/1 Connecticut
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella spoke with the media following the team’s 77-32 loss to No. 1/1 Connecticut
Opening statement…
“Obviously not a great effort from us, but UConn did a lot to take us out of what we were trying to do. They made us uncomfortable and put pressure on us, and we didn’t respond. Certainly, I am a little disappointed in the way that we finished out the game. I thought that we played a little better there in the third quarter but scoring three points in the fourth is not the way to finish the game. I thought that we started the game with a little bit of energy, but they did a good job of taking us out of it. They are a good team for a reason, and quite honestly I thought that they played harder.”
On how UConn was able to slow the game down while St. John’s was on offense…
“We were trying to get into our rhythm and do what we had worked on, but they sped us up pretty well. At times, I thought we were going to try and mix defenses when we could, and we gave them too many easy ones there on plays where we were trying to take away easy layups and force them into the mid-range game and we did that at times, but not enough. We didn’t score enough, either. We didn’t play well enough to force them to tighten up offensively, and they were playing as well offensively as I have seen in years, and that is a credit to how good they are.”
On how they were able to slow down Leilani Correa…
“Anyone who is playing against them, and I have seen this for 20 years, if you play well against them in a game, they are going to key in on you and take it to heart to try and shut you down. She knew she wasn’t going to have it easy, and I thought that they did a good job. This is part of the process for her, learning how to respond and attack games like this where the opponent plays with physicality and things are being taken away from her. I thought they did a great job defensively and there are things that she can watch to be able to grow from this.”
On Paige Bueckers…
“I have seen some great players from UConn as freshmen. When you talk about the things she needs to do and her efficiency, she probably could have taken 20 shots, but instead took ten and made eight. I probably haven’t seen someone like that in terms of the ease that she plays with at her own pace and the things that you hear about from her Coach. I have seen Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart up close and personal, and this team is different than those. When you look at what she has to do for them and the confidence and swagger that she has in these two games I have seen her, she is pretty special.”
“Obviously not a great effort from us, but UConn did a lot to take us out of what we were trying to do. They made us uncomfortable and put pressure on us, and we didn’t respond. Certainly, I am a little disappointed in the way that we finished out the game. I thought that we played a little better there in the third quarter but scoring three points in the fourth is not the way to finish the game. I thought that we started the game with a little bit of energy, but they did a good job of taking us out of it. They are a good team for a reason, and quite honestly I thought that they played harder.”
On how UConn was able to slow the game down while St. John’s was on offense…
“We were trying to get into our rhythm and do what we had worked on, but they sped us up pretty well. At times, I thought we were going to try and mix defenses when we could, and we gave them too many easy ones there on plays where we were trying to take away easy layups and force them into the mid-range game and we did that at times, but not enough. We didn’t score enough, either. We didn’t play well enough to force them to tighten up offensively, and they were playing as well offensively as I have seen in years, and that is a credit to how good they are.”
On how they were able to slow down Leilani Correa…
“Anyone who is playing against them, and I have seen this for 20 years, if you play well against them in a game, they are going to key in on you and take it to heart to try and shut you down. She knew she wasn’t going to have it easy, and I thought that they did a good job. This is part of the process for her, learning how to respond and attack games like this where the opponent plays with physicality and things are being taken away from her. I thought they did a great job defensively and there are things that she can watch to be able to grow from this.”
On Paige Bueckers…
“I have seen some great players from UConn as freshmen. When you talk about the things she needs to do and her efficiency, she probably could have taken 20 shots, but instead took ten and made eight. I probably haven’t seen someone like that in terms of the ease that she plays with at her own pace and the things that you hear about from her Coach. I have seen Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart up close and personal, and this team is different than those. When you look at what she has to do for them and the confidence and swagger that she has in these two games I have seen her, she is pretty special.”