University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn-Pacific Post Game Quotes
11/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2011
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UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma
How did the freshmen look today compared to in games past?
"I thought [the freshmen] looked a little more comfortable than they did in the two exhibition games and [against Holy Cross] on Sunday. It is to be expected that with each game we play that they will get better. We are at the time right now where we're hoping to see some improvement."
What was the difference in Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis' play tonight?:
"I think it was a matter of the shots going in. [Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis] was 10-for-12. I don't know if she's going to shoot 10-for-12 every night. It was one of those days where things went her way, shots went in. [The assistant coaches] need to remind me to take her out because once I put her in; I'm reluctant to take her out."
Brianna Banks was a spark to the offense off the bench tonight. Is that somewhere you see her fitting in this year?
"I think so. As we go on and [Brianna Banks] learns the offense, she'll want to pass it to somebody. Right now she is looking to get to the basket after she crosses midcourt. At some point she won't be able to do that so much. Right now, at least we have her attacking the basket at a consistent basis."
On surprising opponents with speed:
"I think they know I'm quick, but they don't know really how fast I can go. So I'm tempted to say they might be surprised if I blow past them a couple of times."
On her performance:
"I was really pleased with my performance today. I think I am getting better every day. So I'm very pleased with how I played."
About her style of play:
"Defense creates offense so I try to use that to my advantage as much as I could."
On Brianna Banks speed:
"Like I said before, she has the quickest first step. Anytime she wants to get to the basket she can."
About Caroline Doty:
"I think Caroline has a great impact. I think me and her really connect on the floor. We really get each other going, especially at the point guard spot we talk about what we are going to do on the floor. It is really helpful to have someone there to talk about stuff and reinforce each other out there on the court."
Biggest difference between game one and two:
"You can definitely tell from Holy Cross on Sunday that today we were just together. We were all on the same page and we just all worked together throughout the entire game. We just never let up and we made sure we ran our offense and kept that high intensity on defense throughout the entire game."
Pacific Head Coach Lynne Roberts
What does the team get out of playing a team such as UConn?
"I think you get the experience of coming across the country and play in an arena that you normally wouldn't get to play in."
What do you tell the team in the locker room after the game?
"I think you have to give credit to UConn. I've never been in a game where either myself or the opponent shot 71 percent for the game. Maybe we didn't defend as well as we needed to, but some of that is that they shot the lights out as a team, and you've got to take your hat off to that and say good job. That's what you tell the team. At the end of the day a good team beat us, but a good team also shot exceptionally well."
How much did the cross-country trip affect the team?
"I don't think it affected them at all."
The program has its 1,000th game coming up next. How do you get the confidence back for that one?
"We're not in the BIG EAST, so we're not going to face another team like UConn. We didn't come out here and our season was dependent on if we beat UConn. We wanted to come out here and get the experience of playing the best on their court and we did that. I thought in the first half we were a little shell-shocked, but in the second half we competed a little bit better. I don't worry about getting our confidence back because our season did not ride on this game. We have a home game on Saturday against a team in the West Coast Conference, which is a conference like ours, and get back to playing the normal opponent."
