University of Connecticut Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UConn 106, Temple 45
2/18/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Tonya Cardoza, Temple Head Coach
The team has now lost 11 of 12 but is very young, what do you hope they are getting form this season that will help Temple next year and as the team grows?
Just the style that we want to play. Just playing hard no matter what and then for our younger guys just gaining experience. I think as we've been going along over the last couple of weeks I definitely see something different in them. They're playing harder, they're understanding, they're more comfortable and that's probably the biggest thing. We haven't won a lot of games but hopefully it's going to help in the future the experience that they've gained.
What is the toughest part of playing this particular UConn team?
I mean they're just really really good. Seven deep and [freshman guard/forward] Megan [Walker] has come along and that just adds to it but that starting five, there's no weakness out there. I mean in the past since I've been doing this there might be one guy that you can say, oh play off of her. [Senior guard] Kia [Nurse] her first year maybe it was, oh play off of Kia. [Sophomore guard] Crystal [Dangerfield], her first year, play off of Crystal because you have to double team other guys. Well now there's no one that you can help off of and it's just hard to defend them. I mean the way [head coach] Geno [Auriemma] runs the offense, the players are precise, [senior forward] Gabby [Williams] is an excellent passer, they're all really good passers and as soon as you think that you've done something well, they find something else.
Geno's former players/assistants are now 0-36 against him as a head coach, what will it take to break that streak and how soon?
I don't know. I mean, it's going to take a lot. Maybe the flu, if everyone gets sick maybe that might do it. I really don't know. Me, Jen, Jamelle, who else is out there? I don't know any of us close to doing it.
Geno Auriemma, UConn Head Coach
On the crowd:
"This has been one of the best years we've had in the past ten years and fans come, they love watching the kids play and they stay until the end. It's kind of made our program what it is all these years. Nothing changed in that regard we have some great passionate fans."
On Kia and Gabby being 24-0 at the XL Center.
"They are both in a pretty good place right now. They are looking forward, not necessarily looking forward to the end of the season because it's going end, but they are looking forward to how it is going to play out and what is going to happen They want to make sure, obviously, that it is going to go well. Between now, today and Monday night, when it is senior night up at Gampel, I think it is going to be great. We will have a big crowd Monday night and those two obviously have had tremendous success here. Individually, you know, and with our team. They have been pretty steady for sure and they've been pretty good."
On contributions from the bench:
"We are always trying to see where else we can make some improvements. I think we know what we have with our starting five, we know. I feel like this was Z's (Stevens) better games, where she got a lot accomplished today. The same thing with that second group. This is one of these few times we really played really really well as a second group. It is good because the kids come to practice every day, work really really hard and you want them to have some confidence and have some fun playing the game. They looked like they were having some fun at the end of the game.
On defense:
"One of the coaches was saying today actually that our first five are pretty good defensively. They understand each other pretty well and they play pretty well together. Certainly, other than Crystal, they have played together a long long time. We generally play pretty good defense. I thought we did a pretty good job Monday night against Louisville. We were really good today, two completely different teams obviously. Our offense a lot of the time gets started from the defensive end and it has been that way for a long time here."
Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn Forward
On the Crowd at the XL Center:
"I think its been kind of crazy how good attendance has been at these XL games and how great our fans have been at showing up to every single game."
On Starting Strong:
"It was really important for us to be out there ready to go today. We have had some really good practices leading up to this game and we are doing a good job of making sure everything is where it needs to be going into the end of the season."
On the Team's Defense:
"Our defense is really what gets our offense going. Everyone will focus on our offense, but the reason it is like that is because of the way we play on the defensive end."
Azura Stevens, UConn Forward
On Her Play Today:
"I am trying to stay aggressive around the rim and exploit the advantage that I have down their. My teammates did a really good job of finding me in good spots today. All I really had to do was make some layups."
On Getting More Comfortable on Offense:
"I am a lot more comfortable now then I was early on. Credit to Chris Dailey, she has helped me out a lot with some new moves around the basket."
