St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Xavier (BIG EAST Tournament)
Head Coach Joe Tartamella speaks to media following Red Storm's 65-57 win over Xavier to advance to the BIG EAST Quarterfinals
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella
Opening statement…
“I thought we played a great effort basketball game, giving ourselves enough cushion to kind of hold on. Xavier came out in the third quarter and put it on a little bit and we struggled to score the ball. But pleased we were able to grind it out. I think we made the end of game a little more exciting than it had to be, but I'm glad our team stayed together and fought through a game that in some cases during the year we weren't able to come out on top. For the players that got in and were able to make shots today, outside of Leilani [Correa] and even Unique [Drake] at this point, those were big parts of the game for us to be able to win. So certainly very happy with the way they were able to finish.”
On the Red Storm’s early lead…
“I'm always a little bit interested to see how we react once we start that well. I was pleased. It showed they were focused and ready to play. To me, in a stage like this, regardless of your seed, you're in the postseason, so to be able to come out play that way at the start I was really pleased with. They didn't get caught up in the moment and obviously it gave us enough of a cushion to be able to finish. So I was proud of them all the way through and hopefully today will lend us a little bit more confidence going into tomorrow.”
On Unique Drake…
“Again, with Unique [Drake], she's a gifted scorer and we knew that. She’s probably more of a combo than more of a point but she's taking on the role. And I think for her to be able to get fluid with her offense, she's kind of cleared some space in her mind about overthinking and just trusting her instincts. I think that's been the biggest thing for her.”
On the third quarter…
“Yeah, I mean, I never felt that we didn't have control through the game. There's games where you might feel that and even when it's close or even when you're down a lot you still feel okay. But I felt like we still had control of the game, even though they cut it to three. I think to be able to kind of dig our feet into the ground a little bit and be able to show some resistance, again, I thought we did an unbelievable job in the first half doing that -- physically, just communicating defensively. I was really happy.”
On the St. John’s 20 assists…
“Again, the first half, I thought we played as fluid offensively as we have. We're moving the ball. We were finding spots. Didn't matter if they were in man or zone. They played a little bit more man in the first half, as they switched. But I thought -- then to play without Leilani [Correa] for most of that first half, I thought they did a great job. And then we got caught up a little bit maybe in either overthinking it, overpassing it. And obviously they gained some confidence as they were scoring the ball. We can't have that kind of drought, obviously, tomorrow because that obviously would hurt you pretty bad. We have to hopefully continue that movement, be able to do that, knowing that we'll be, I'm sure, pressured pretty hard as they did in both of the games. It's a good test again and a great challenge and an opportunity for our team to get out and play and see where we are again as we move into kind of the latter part of what's left for our season.”
On Rayven Peeples…
“Yeah, you know, quietly I thought did a lot for us. Again, at 23 minutes. And we loved to have her at 25 to 30. And even for both Ra[y]vens. But [Rayven] Peeples I think she could have had even more production with some of the shots she wasn't able to convert on. But she gave us a presence. Her and Raven Farley both did today.”
Opening statement…
“I thought we played a great effort basketball game, giving ourselves enough cushion to kind of hold on. Xavier came out in the third quarter and put it on a little bit and we struggled to score the ball. But pleased we were able to grind it out. I think we made the end of game a little more exciting than it had to be, but I'm glad our team stayed together and fought through a game that in some cases during the year we weren't able to come out on top. For the players that got in and were able to make shots today, outside of Leilani [Correa] and even Unique [Drake] at this point, those were big parts of the game for us to be able to win. So certainly very happy with the way they were able to finish.”
On the Red Storm’s early lead…
“I'm always a little bit interested to see how we react once we start that well. I was pleased. It showed they were focused and ready to play. To me, in a stage like this, regardless of your seed, you're in the postseason, so to be able to come out play that way at the start I was really pleased with. They didn't get caught up in the moment and obviously it gave us enough of a cushion to be able to finish. So I was proud of them all the way through and hopefully today will lend us a little bit more confidence going into tomorrow.”
On Unique Drake…
“Again, with Unique [Drake], she's a gifted scorer and we knew that. She’s probably more of a combo than more of a point but she's taking on the role. And I think for her to be able to get fluid with her offense, she's kind of cleared some space in her mind about overthinking and just trusting her instincts. I think that's been the biggest thing for her.”
On the third quarter…
“Yeah, I mean, I never felt that we didn't have control through the game. There's games where you might feel that and even when it's close or even when you're down a lot you still feel okay. But I felt like we still had control of the game, even though they cut it to three. I think to be able to kind of dig our feet into the ground a little bit and be able to show some resistance, again, I thought we did an unbelievable job in the first half doing that -- physically, just communicating defensively. I was really happy.”
On the St. John’s 20 assists…
“Again, the first half, I thought we played as fluid offensively as we have. We're moving the ball. We were finding spots. Didn't matter if they were in man or zone. They played a little bit more man in the first half, as they switched. But I thought -- then to play without Leilani [Correa] for most of that first half, I thought they did a great job. And then we got caught up a little bit maybe in either overthinking it, overpassing it. And obviously they gained some confidence as they were scoring the ball. We can't have that kind of drought, obviously, tomorrow because that obviously would hurt you pretty bad. We have to hopefully continue that movement, be able to do that, knowing that we'll be, I'm sure, pressured pretty hard as they did in both of the games. It's a good test again and a great challenge and an opportunity for our team to get out and play and see where we are again as we move into kind of the latter part of what's left for our season.”
On Rayven Peeples…
“Yeah, you know, quietly I thought did a lot for us. Again, at 23 minutes. And we loved to have her at 25 to 30. And even for both Ra[y]vens. But [Rayven] Peeples I think she could have had even more production with some of the shots she wasn't able to convert on. But she gave us a presence. Her and Raven Farley both did today.”