University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn-Seton Hall Postgame Quotes
2/10/2021 9:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Geno Auriemma
On the slow start:
"We had difficulty guarding them in the first half. We had a size advantage at some points but it was hard to keep those matchups because we've got 6-foot-2 guys trying to guard 5-5 guys. Offensively we looked sluggish. I guess that was to be expected a little bit. We didn't get started really until the third quarter. Seton Hall really played inspired basketball that first half. They moved the ball, they moved without the ball, they took advantage of some mistakes we made. They're certainly not an easy team to play against. We eventually found our footing. And they're not always going to be pretty. Some are going to be a little more difficult than others. As it should be."
On Evina Westbrook:
"When Evina's going to basket and she's being aggressive and making the defense have to respect her drives, she really opens up a lot of things for us. There's a lot of pressure on our guards to make a lot of shots. She's one, fortunately, who's not going to settle for jump shots. She one of the players that can get into the lane fairly easily. I liked exactly how she played today."
On Aaliyah Edwards:
"You can win a bunch of different ways. You can shoot exceptionally well from the perimeter, or you can rebound the ball really well offensively. It's great if you can do both, some nights you can't. But you know that's what you're gonna get from Aaliyah. She's going to offensive rebound. She's either gonna come up with it, get a piece of it, somethings going to happen when she goes inside there. She's getting better and better and more patient. I just think that she's been exceptional in her 20 minutes every night, I'd like to give her more minutes. And I'm sure, like she did the other night, she'll make the most of them."
On Olivia Nelson-Ododa:
"The thing about Liv is, she had a double-double in the second half. To me that's a great sign. In the first half what we're seeing is that nobody wants to guard Liv 15 feet from the basket. So it's not been easy to try to get her shots inside the lane, so we're going to have to figure out a way to do that. But I thought she played great in the second half. She actually got active on the offensive boards, I think probably all five of her offensive rebounds were in the second half."
On adjustments in third quarter:
We change sides of the floor more often. Paige Bueckers got involved more in our offense, and that got more people involved. When we move, Liv ends up with opportunities. When we stand still, she doesn't. Our movement was so much better in the third and fourth quarters, and that's a big reason why she was more involved in our offense."
Junior Forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa
On the slow first half:
"I think as a team we came out with a slow start. Going into the second half, we changed our mentality, and the entire game changed for us. We don't have any excuses for it. We can't afford to do that once we get closer to the tournament."
On the team's ball movement:
"Once everyone started touching the ball and setting screens, that set us up with more opportunities to score. Once we got everyone involved and started moving at the pace we usually do, things opened up for us."
On her midrange shooting
"I'll definitely take the open shot. We look to move the ball around, and I know that shot will be there for me eventually."
On the team's busy schedule and upcoming road games:
"We have to be mature and focused, and we can't have slow starts on the road. It can be hard to recover when the home team starts doing well."
Junior Guard Evina Westbrook
On coming off a scoreless South Carolina game:
"I was disappointed in myself from the South Carolina game, but I was happy we got the win. Going into this game, I knew I needed to turn it up and bring more energy."
On the slow start
"Us being tired is not an excuse. Seton Hall played Monday as well, and they traveled here. They came out with a lot of energy."
On the team's busy schedule and upcoming road games:
"We have to be mature for this long stretch of away games. We have a young team, but we can't let that be an excuse. The goal for us is to come out every game and play UConn basketball."
Freshman Forward Aaliyah Edwards
On the difference between the first and second halves:
"Our mindset shifted. We started out very slow, and we knew we had to come out with more energy in the second half."
On playing with Olivia Nelson-Ododa:
"I think we have great chemistry, especially our high-low game. It's very effective offensively for us, and we will continue building off of that."
