University of Connecticut Athletics
Quotes
12/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Head Coach Muffet McGraw
Opening Statement
"We played well for 35 minutes. Defensively I thought we had some defensive lapses. Offensively we executed, but I thought we could have played a little smarter. We did a great job rebounding in the first half and not in the second half...We just had a stretch of ugly and unfortunately for us it was the last five minutes."
On if she thought being on the road and being shorthanded hurt her team down the stretch
"Not in a game like this. I don't think anyone felt tired in a game like this. The adrenaline doesn't let you."
On the play of Azura Stevens
"She's a great addition to the team. When we played her in the ACC (when she was at Duke) we did a good job on her but we didn't really have an answer for her today."
Geno Auriemma
On the comeback
"That's probably indicative of the two teams I'm coaching right now. I'm coaching the team that's capable of being down a lot and giving up layups and second shots. We are that team, we put ourselves in that situation because we played against a really good team and we're missing a lot of things. This team is missing a lot of things and we refuse to acknowledge it sometimes and it catches up to you. And then there's the other team I coach, the team that played in the fourth quarter and when it was time to win the game they made the plays to win the game. Things like that fourth quarter remind us of how good our team can be. And they're a really good team. So we can be that good and it was good for us to learn that today."
On Azura Stevens and Megan Walker
"We're used to having post players that are really active and cover a lot of space to protect the basket. That's what we've had for a really long time. It's taking Azura a while to learn how to be that kind of defensive player. We're trying offensively to get her to go to more places to get her own shots. It's taking her awhile but she's getting better every game. Megan has a lot of talent. She can do a lot of things and rebounding is one of them and she showed that today. She proved that she can make plays in this kind of a game and this kind of environment. Hopefully in the upcoming days she can build on that."
On the injuries
"The Gabby thing is kind of off and on. It's something she's trying yo deal with. I wish I had a definitive answer. It affects the way she plays obviously, like it would for anyone else. Lou's problem wasn't what kept her out for 3 or 4 games, It was her ankle instead of her foot. We'll know more tomorrow. She was pretty animated in the game today and she got knocked around a couple of times.She's a fighter, she's a really tough kid."
Katie Lou Samuelson (Guard/Forward)
On the comeback
"We didn't play the right way in the first half. I think we overcame every challenge that was thrown at us. People who needed to step up stepped up and I think we really showed what we were made of and the heart that we had"
Napheesa Collier (Forward)
On the competiveness of the game
"It is always really fun to play a good team. Especially when we have a fourth quarter like we did. I wish we could have played the way we did in the fourth quarter the whole game."
On playing through teammates injuries
"It showed how many different players we have that can step up. Everyone did something that contributed to our win, I believe that is more trust building for us knowing we have so many people we can count on."
Azura Stevens (Forward/Guard)
On winning despite teammates injuries
"I think it really speaks to this program. It is not about who is an All-American. It is about who is ready to play on any given night. I think an example of that is Meg. She came in today and got some key rebounds and played some solid defense. I think it shows we just have to be ready and play our best game."
On in game adjustments on defense
"We started packing it in really well and playing zone. We did a good job of not focusing on players that were not even looking at the basket to try and score."
Kia Nurse (Guard)
On factors of the comeback
"We moved to the zone and tried to keep them on their heels, and we were able to help each other out more with drives and kicks."
On roles everyone played in the win
"I think we are really fortunate to have players who are able to play different roles, and different positions and understand there is an unselfishness to it. When you get down by 10 with seven minutes left we made the right play at the right time and were able to get a good bucket."
