University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn vs. Vermont Postgame Quotes
12/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2009
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Head Coach Geno Auriemma
On disparity between expectations and what happened against Vermont
"Well, I thought they were going to be somewhat difficult to guard because of their style of play. That seems to be the new wave now, you know, and I think it's probably the way it's going to go. The rules are such that if you go near anybody and you touch 'em, it's a foul. So, teams are saying 'OK. Let's not run anything really complicated. Let's just get the ball, start dribbling, lower your shoulder, and go towards the basket. It's going to be a foul. Or they're gonna have to let you go.' So, you know, we knew that was going to be a little bit of an issue, but we did such a good defensively and then once we started to get out on transition early on, that kind of changed things. It makes it much more difficult if you're that kind of team that likes to use up a lot of that time and then all of a sudden, you have to - you're looking at a 20-point, 25-point deficit and now you're trying to hurry up. And, so, I thought defensively, we played really, really well again. And our offense was good. It wasn't great. It was good. "
On Kelly Faris' contributions on the court
"Yeah, that's what I said. I said before the season started, I said Kelly's gonna play well. And I said she's not gonna have bad games. And it's hard for her to have bad games. A bad game for her - a couple days ago, she had eight rebounds and seven assists and four steals and whatever else she had. So, Kelly does the same things that she does in practice and she does those things every night. You know, she makes the right pass. Every time we run something, and we need a pass to go someplace for a layup or for a jump shot, she's usually the one that we put in the spot that's going to make that pass. So, she can help you. As soon as she got in the game, she got a strip and then we got a bucket at the other end. You know, she's gonna be one of those players that, as a freshman, is going to do a little bit of everything well. And then as she gets older - sophomore, junior, senior year - she'll start adding to that and she's going to be a great player. She's already a very good player. I'm thoroughly pleased and happy with everything Kelly's done so far. She knocked in the first 3 that she took. She does things that aren't easy for people to do, much less freshmen. I mean, you know, you look at Heather and you see how nervous she is. And then you see Kelly and how un-nervous she is. It's typically for freshmen to be nervous. But Kelly's not like that."
On concerns about Caroline hitting her head
"I guess she landed on her head, on the side of her head or something, she got hit. I don't know. They said she landed right on her head. And to me, that's just God's way of telling her 'What the hell you driving in there and five people standing in the lane?' Maya just threw you the ball in the middle of the floor. Maya's running the wing on the right side and you're in the middle of the floor. Maya just threw it to you. All right, that's two of our players. Where's the other three? Well, one was running this lane, the other was running that lane, and another one was trailing on this side. So, instead of catching the ball and going, 'Oh, I just got it from here. Let me fire over here and we get a layup or a jump shot.' No. 'I think I'll go back this way and drive it through three people."
On if that was what he told Caroline after she got injured
"Yeah. That's exactly what I told her. I knew she couldn't get hurt 'cause she don't listen to anybody and she don't hear a word you're saying. There's no way you could hurt that head. Impossible."
On the run after the first TV timeout
"You know, we're kind of a - we're kind of a funny team in some ways because, like the players that we have are pretty good at pressing, you know, and disrupting people and creating some turnovers. Vermont's not easy to press because they play with almost five guards. I mean, they've got five ball-handlers out on the floor. So they're not easy to disrupt. But we have a team full of players that can be disruptive. At the same time, we can't sub players in for them that can be just as disruptive. So, while we're doing it, we have to get it done. We can't just wait for the wear-down effect to take over. We have to - those five or six minutes that we're still fresh and we're still going and we can press you and we can get you a little bit going fast, we have to take advantage of that. And that's why you don't see us pressing later in the half or in the second. We just don't have enough in us. But, I thought today was kind of like some of the games we played over the weekend. It was effective and it got us some easy buckets and it got the game going the way we wanted to play. And we converted. You know, sometimes you get fast break opportunities and you don't convert. We converted. And that's - we talked about that before the game started, that we wanted a lot of points out of transition tonight."
Senior, Tina Charles
How does it feel to pass Jamelle Elliot on the all time rebounding list?
"Being that it is Jamelle, I will probably call her tonight and she will probably be upset but that is beyond the point. It is a great feeling especially because Coach Auriemma says that I don't get rebounds so at least I have that accomplishment to prove to him that I do rebound."
Can you talk about how you came out tonight so hot, especially offensively?
"Coach wanted to put an emphasis on Maya and I rebounding in the low post in order to have Tiffany and Kalana run the fast break. The more rebounds we get, the better outlet passes Maya and I can make and therefore the more points we can score."
Junior, Maya Moore
Can you talk about the stretch after the first television timeout until the rest of the first half and the level you guys played at offensively?
"Our transition game offensively just sparked us. Kalana and I were up top and whenever they were having trouble, people were collapsing and getting into the passing lanes. It really built our momentum and we were able to play at a high level. "
What are the keys for having such a balance offensively?
"Running hard, cutting hard, and making yourself available. Mentally being a step ahead and knowing where to be on the court and that just comes from practicing it over and over again so that we get a feel for each other. Then people are just making good decisions and playing unselfish basketball."
Head Coach Sharon Dawley
Do you think the final outcome of tonight's game was caused by them playing well or your team not playing as well as they are capable of?
I think it was a combination of both. We played scared tonight and they are a strong team. We were not moving well without the ball and at times looked as if we were in awe out there.
Why do you think your team looked scared out there considering you start four seniors on your team that have played them before?
You are playing a team that is beating teams by over forty points. It is scary walking into that to begin with. We are still starting a freshman and our first player off the bench is also a freshman so they were still trying to adjust to the game. UConn destroyed Texas and that has to make you nervous even if you try not to be.
Senior Guard #3 Courtnay Pilypaitis
Do you think this UConn team is better than when you played them last season?
I think they are better. They lost Renee Montgomery and you think that they would struggle at the point guard position but Tiffany Hayes does a great job at the point for them. They are all around solid and do not make mistakes. Anything you force them to do they excel at.
