University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn-Vanderbilt Postgame Quotes
11/17/2018 8:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Geno Auriemma
Opening Statement:Â
I'll say what I said in the locker room. We have an opportunity every game to get a little better than we were the game before, and this was the second game we played and I thought we were better today than we were last Sunday. We have three players we know are really, really good, and when those guys are good we are really good. I don't know that you could play better than Napheesa and Crystal did today.
On the bench players:
For me thinking ahead, and trying to project the next couple months out, we need Olivia [Nelson-Ododa] to get really good. The more minutes she spends on the court, the more things she gets herself involved in, the better we will be down the road. She gives us a dimension we don't have. I think she is the key to our bench. We need to get her on board and get her feeling really comfortable out there.
On Napheesa Collier:
I keep thinking every night Napheesa is going to get a double-double. If every player worked as hard as Napheesa out on the floor, they would be a lot better than they are. There are very few players in America that have Napheesa's motor. She goes after every rebound; she's constantly trying to get involved in every play. There isn't a time where she runs down the floor and says she needs some time off. She was great today. Sixteen rebounds. That's pretty damn good.
Vanderbilt Head Coach Stephanie White
Opening Statement:
"I'm proud of our kids, this was an opportunity for us to bring in a young team in our building process to experience what it takes to achieve and sustain excellence. There's a commitment to playing together, there's a commitment to the details, there's a commitment to knowing and understanding your role that UConn has been doing for decades. You can watch it from afar but there's nothing like experiencing it on the floor. I'm proud of the way our team battled, we were exposed in a lot of areas that we can go back and work on. But overall I think the experience for our kids was a good one."
On her impression of this UConn team:
It's not the depth you're used to seeing, it's a big three and everyone else is learning what their roles are. I think the thing that will always separate them is the swag they step on the court with and just the expectation to win. And two, understanding their role in the system. I think Crystal Dangerfield is one of the most improved players from freshman year to now in the country. I think they've done a great job developing her game. You can see it in her confidence level in the way she's playing and the way she's distributing. Obviously Katie Lou [Samuelson] is one of the best shooters in the country and we tried to force her out of her comfort zone and she still found ways to beat us. They have players that don't have the experience, but they're gaining that every day in practice. I think they're going to be fine, they've got the pieces, now they just have to get their feet wet.
