University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn-Marquette Postgame Quotes
3/1/2021 10:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Geno Auriemma
On the game:
I saw it as a tough defensive game by both teams. There weren't a lot of opportunities to run, I thought Marquette did a good job getting back in transition. We got 18 offensive rebounds and they had seven, so they weren't really attempting to offensive rebound. They made it a half-court game and didn't get to push the temp as much as we like. We could not speed them up because we couldn't make any shots either. It just became one of those March defensive fights.
On facing defensive efforts like this in the postseason:
We talked about that with our team, yeah you would love it to be everyone comes down, hit wide open 3s, isn't that great. But the reality of the situation is that generally it's not how the games are played. There have been times where we've looked like that and we've been able to get up and down the floor easy this time of year. But I think most teams right now this particular year are tired. Most teams this year by now are tired. Everybody needs this week off and a break.
On Aaliyah Edwards' game:
How many games in a row now is this that Aaliyah goes for every rebound, working her butt off in there, she's gotten really good at finishing. Her three steals, she's active defensively. If anything, I don't think Aaliyah is getting enough credit for how much she's doing for our team right now. Olivia and Aliyah carried the team, we said at halftime someone has got to step up and now wait for Paige to shoot the ball. So, I think those two stepped up big time.
On having a few days to rest before the BIG EAST Tournament:
Every team is going to be dealing with this. Some teams are going to be dealing with it longer than others, they're going to go to Mohegan [Sun], spend two days quarantined. They're going to be quarantining more than they're playing and then they're going to go home. Other teams will be there for four or five days. So, this week you hope you can prepare to be there for five days and play three games. But then once you go there you've got to cut your brain out of your head and put it in a jar. Then sit in your room, stare at the walls, and then whichever group of kids who can put their brain back in their head out of the jar and then go out and play for two hours. When they're released into the yard, making sure that they get their sunlight, and then we'll get back in. If you can do that this week, your reward is you get to go to Texas and do it again. So normally you would say, 'Can't wait to go to the NCAA Tournament we've got all these plans, can't wait to go to the BIG EAST Tournament, we've got all these plans.' Now you're just going there to survive day to day.
On assessing the team's success and 21-1 record this regular season:
In spite of what everyone else just talked about, we figured out a way to win a championship. You know,I asked some of the freshmen, how many have you guys won in college and obviously the answer is no, so this is number one for them and hopefully one of many. They missed out on a lot of things but they didn't miss out on a chance to win a championship and that still means something. The record itself 21-1, it could've been 17-1 or whatever it doesn't' matter. What matters is we play in the BIG EASTÂ and we won a BIG EAST Championship and that's something to be proud of, even more so because of the circumstances.
On where the most growth has been in the team in the past 2.5 months:
Our freshmen have probably taken leaps and bounds from wherever they were in October and November. So I would say that for me that's been the most rewarding thing, that for them they've made tremendous progress, individually first of all, and in their contributions to the team and learning how to play college basketball. Sometimes, it never happens for young kids like that, sometimes it happens the year after, but I'm pretty proud of them individually and as a group.
Junior Forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa
On the impact of her and Aaliyah:
I think we tried our best to be aggressive and tough, especially on the offensive boards. Definitely just trying to rebound any misses or go after the ball and try to allow for second chance opportunities for our team.
On what the team needs to work on:
Definitely try to go back from this game and any of our other slow-start games, and just kind of see where we're starting off wrong and how to really fix that. Going back in, I think our defense really kept us in the game tonight, but also just going in and seeing what we can do better to execute on offense. When people aren't scoring their usual, what else can we do to make up for that. So I think just going back and seeing, when one thing isn't working, what else can we do, what else do we need to do to continue to get better.
On if the tournament is different this year:
Definitely interesting. Because like you all know, nothing has been the same as in other years. But we have a job to do, going into this tournament and then the NCAA tournament, we're going in very focused and we want to win. So that's something that we have to keep with us, especially with such unusual circumstances.
Freshman Forward Aaliyah Edwards
On her and Olivia's offensive game:
I think we played well, just being an impact on the high-low action. We had an opportunity to hit those 15-footers.
On Olivia's mentoring role:
Coming in this year, the post play was new to me. New position, new role for me. She's been great at helping me with any questions I have.
On the team's defense:
I think our defense is what carried us to our successes in different games. Although we didn't play as hard as we could have this game, the defense did save us. We have to make sure we're locking down on defense every possession.
