Nov. 10, 2007

Recap |  Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

Opening Statement
I am just happy we are here talking about the gutty effort from our team again. I think yesterday I used the word resilient and I definitely think it is appropriate again today. We are able to take hits and keep bouncing back. You know we didn't shoot the ball as well as we did yesterday from the three-point line or the free throw line. We just tried to battle on the boards and battle on the defensive end. I think down the stretch we got some stops and some big rebounds that put us in a position to come out on top.

Q: How are you going to address your players about the Pitt game tomorrow?
A: "Well, you know, I think we are just going to talk about our gameplan. We have a couple players from the Pittsburgh area who are excited to play the game. But once the ball goes up into the air, it is all about execution. So, we will just talk about how to execute better on both ends of the court.

Q: What was the play you drew up at the end of the game?
A: It didn't even work. It didn't come close to working. Actually, the look was for Brianne and she opted not to take it because there was a lot of time still on the clock. We kind of talked about taking the last shot. Either we would we get a great shot or we would shoot at the end of the shot clock and then we would play good defense. I thought it was a wise move on her part not to shoot it. But after that, it was all the players doing the things we talk about, attacking the basket and creating opportunities to find the open person. Tyra is a big-shot player. She got the and-one play earlier. She didn't score a lot of points tonight, but I feel like every basket she scored tonight was a big one. So, we have a lot of confidence that she can make a shot at any time.

Q: Can you talk about the play of your freshmen?
A: Yeah, they looked like second semester freshmen tonight. We felt like the way Janessa (Wolff) played in the first half, particularly, if we could go with our two bigs for stretches, that would give us an advantage. Again, late in the game when we went with Janessa, she made some big some big defensive stops guarding Ashley Spriggs. She got a couple blocks and a couple turnovers by getting big. They are not afraid to get in there and take shots and make shots. Julia Trogele has played a game and a half of basketball, and I say, `Julia you are starting,' about 13 seconds before the second half. She goes out and just plays the game and makes a couple big shots. She got in there and rebounded and defended. The thing we often talk about is that everybody has got to be ready to go in there and step up and has to contribute. This is no star-driven team. We are only as good of a team as when we play together. I think all of our players are ready to go in at any time and give their best effort.

Q: What does a game like this do for Rashida Mark?
A: Anytime you get career highs in points and rebounds, you have got to have a lot of confidence. We need her to have confidence. We need her to feel like she can go out there and play against big, wide bodies or smaller, quicker players. She can be physical, even though she has a slight frame, she can be physical and get the job done for us on the inside."

Q: What does the 26 offensive rebound number for Charlotte mean to you?
A: I am going to tell them to rebound tomorrow because I didn't tell them that today. It was just effort on their part. Charlotte did a great job crashing the boards. I thought we had a little bit of a letdown emotionally after yesterday's game. Hopefully we can bounce back.

#3 Brianne O'Rourke
Junior Guard

Q: Talk about tomorrow's game playing Pitt 2-0.
A: It will be a big game for us. Starting out 2-0 is a great way to begin the season. We came in here wanting to have a great weekend, and it ends tomorrow. There is no greater way to go out with a win. Being an in-state rival against Pitt, we always want to have a good game against them. It's going to be a big game, and we're looking forward to it.

Q: Is it fun to be scoring this much?
A: It's fun to be winning. If I am scoring or if I'm not, I'm just looking for the end of the game to see if we are on top. If my team needs me to score and I'm scoring, that's fine. Every night, a different person is going to step up. Tonight, Rashida had an awesome game. We are going to get points from all over the team.

Q: What is there for you that made your night?
A: We have a great couple of offensives that we have been running and getting the hang of that can be run for anyone. Rashida had gotten three in a row, so we were setting her up. We just look to see who is hot, because all of our plays can go for anyone. That is what is great with our offense. It widens up the middle for us. A lot of our options are going to the middle and making the extra pass. We have been getting a lot better at that.

#1 Tyra Grant
Sophomore Guard

Q: Talk about the last sequence and what you saw when you got the ball.
A: I saw the shot clock running down. We talked about this play in the locker room. We had this brilliant person that drew up this play. Things broke down and it did not work. Then Brianne (O'Rourke) dribbled in like we have always been taught to find the open person. I got it, made sure I didn't look at the person, and I just shot it. Thank God it went in.

#24 Rashida Mark
Junior Post Q: Talk about your night in the paint.
A: Defensively, I was trying to focus on keeping her (Danielle Burgin) off the block because she is such a wide body. Trying to see if I could get a charge, and I was lucky enough to get a few. That was my goal, to stop her. She had 12 points in the first half, and we did not want her to double that or get more. The second half we tried to buckle down and do better defensively. Offensively, I saw the open spaces and went right for it because they were not stepping up. I felt like I was quicker than her.

Q: Are you are more physical player this year and more assertive?
A: Yes, I think it is a lot different. When I talked to my mom last night, she said watching me is like watching a totally different player than what she saw last year. I knew we lost our binger, so I knew I would have to step up in some way and try to be physical because we had lost that in the post position because both our starting post players had left. Great screens by my teammates and being a lot more physical Even with a great screen, if I'm lackadaisical, trying to go, I'm still not going to get it. There needs to be effort on both parts.

Opening Statement:
It's just a really tough loss. I thought our players played really hard and what we didn't know coming into this game was whether our team could put together two halves. We played really well first half against Pittsburgh and really didn't play very well the second. That was a challenge to our team at halftime because we put together another 20 minutes and I think we know a little bit about ourselves after tonight. I think we're capable of competing with top programs. I told the players after the game that we're not in this thing for more victories. I hope they're as disappointed as I am. I'm proud of them, but I'm disappointed for them. We'll just go back to work.

You had 21 second-chance points, you still had 26 offensive rebounds, did you let a few things get away from you down there since you had so many opportunities?
Oh no question. We were just talking about in the locker room. We missed, I have to go back and look at the film, I think we missed four or five point-blank lay ups there down the stretch. Just hurrying, eyes off the rim, I don't know. They were shots that you have to make in games like this and we missed them. We had some second-chance opportunities. Obviously we had a lot of offensive rebounds but we missed a lot of shots too. They played hard. We talked about rebounding before the game and I think they actually met that goal. Definitely too many missed opportunities.

Talk about how you tried to get the ball to Burgin since she seemed to be dominating inside.
We did, a couple of plays down the stretch, we were running a little motion game. It just so happened that she ended up in the high post and probably, if we had to do it over again. We had lay ups. They were still good reads. I don't think I would tell them to not throw it down there to someone who is wide-open for a lay up. I think if we look at what we probably should've done down the stretch, it would be to park her down there and go to work because she was definitely being effective. They made the plays down the stretch. There's no question about that. I told the team that players make plays in games like that and they made them.

You guys played 28 seconds of great defense on their last possession, were you fairly happy that they had to chuck one up until it obviously went in?
Obviously the player that was guarding her was devastated in the locker room. I told her, if we had to that whole scenario all over again, she did exactly what you would do. She helped and recovered and came out and contested the shot. Again, players make plays. [Tyra] Grant wasn't really effective tonight, but she made a play at the end of the game that good players make. Absolutely, I would've taken that whole sequence again.