University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn-Seton Hall Postgame Quotes
1/21/2022 9:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Geno Auriemma
On the team's defensive effort:
"Well, obviously, it's a bad match-up for us because they're so small. Our size could be a huge advantage on the offensive end and we tried to make it an advantage on the defensive end and I thought we did a great job not allowing their shooters a lot of space. When they were able to get into the lane, we were able to make them have to make tough decisions on what to do with the ball. Whatever the game plan was – we got it right. Almost the entire game. [...] That doesn't mean that the game can only be played on one end of the floor. It can only be played one way. You got to be able to play basketball in a way that your offense and defense complement each other. I thought we played more as a group, more as a unit, today, then we have. We were much more cohesive today, then we were on Monday. So, I think that's a big reason why it looked so good. Communication was better today and the chemistry was better today."Â
On the team's guard play and improvements that have been seen:
"I think there were some people upset with me that I said our guard play was bad. I mean you watch it; did I say something that wasn't true? If I'm going to tell you how good we are, then I got to tell you how bad we are. Our guard play was bad on Monday. And I don't mean they shot bad, I don't mean one aspect of the game was bad. Our guard play was not up to the standards that we expect at Connecticut. We did a lot of that this week. This week we tried to impress upon them how they are their own worst enemies a lot of times. You know, you're open for a split second and I don't see you and I don't throw it to you but then the next time you're not open and because I missed the first one, I'm going to throw it to you even though you're not open. Or you have your hand up right here and I want the ball right here and you hit her in the side of the head. And that's not just the guards. In general, the communication has not been good. You know, people moving in and out of the lineup and some good passers. But we passed the ball well today. We made good decisions today. Our guard play was really good today. And we shot 6 for 30 from the three-point line. So, you can shoot poorly and still play well. And I think that's what happened today."
On the adjustments the team has made in the past few months and how that affects their team play:
"If we are playing really well and everybody is in sync and all five players touch the ball, that probably means we are going to score that possession. If we are not playing well and we are not in sync, all five players may touch it, but that's not a good thing. Because you have no idea where it's going next. So today, we had a pretty good understanding of where we wanted the ball to go, it was very clear. We changed sides of the floor a lot with the ball. When we get in trouble is when the ball gets stuck. Either in one person's hands or one side of the floor. Today, we did a pretty good job of moving the defense side to side. We didn't do anything crazy. No out-of-control drives and throwing the ball up there. We just played really, really solid. And when you do that, and you're playing solid on defense, you come out with a pretty solid win."Â
Senior Forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa
On playing with three bigs in the lineup:
"It felt good to work the ball around everyone and get people comfortable. I think we did a good job with people finding their places to score the ball."
On playing with Dorka Juhász:
"She's great, Dorka has a great basketball IQ especially when she is in the low post. She scores well and as long as she keeps doing that, I'm going to feed her the ball."
Sophomore Guard Nika Mühl
On bouncing back from the Oregon loss:
"It felt great. The Oregon game it left a bad taste on us. We were in a bad mental state and we told ourselves we can't let that happen again. So I feel like we played like a defensive team and everyone contributed."
