Dec. 5, 2011
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Box Score
Head Coach Bobbie Kelsey
Opening statement:
"Well, we're happy we won. That was a close one and we pulled it out. It very easily could have gone the opposite way. But we're happy. Can't you tell?"
On the low rebounding numbers tonight:
"We worked on it practice, boxing out and turning the correct way. Sometimes you turn to box out but you don't turn the correct way and the player just goes around you. That team, they understand the importance of rebounding. That's probably the only reason they're going to stay in a lot of games. They're not great, great offensive players. That's one way to make a team pay. They don't box you out, you go get it and put it back up, and keep putting it back up until you get fouled. It's a little disheartening to know we worked on it and we just didn't execute it."
On Ashley Thomas:
"I'll say about Ashley, she's a competitor. Vocally. Taylor [Wurtz] is a competitor too, but she's not very vocal. Ashley, to her credit, she really got us going. She was in one of those huddles and I didn't have to say anything. She was in people's faces. She did give us that life we needed. She has fire in her. Anybody that plays with her or watches her understands that. I don't have to sit and get a flint and wool pad, she already has it. That's the kind of people that carry you over in these kinds of games."
On the improvement of shooting percentage from the first to second half:
"I think we were getting the same shots. We were getting bunnies in the first half, they just didn't go in. In the second half, I think we just concentrated and slowed down, and really tried to use the backboard and things like that to help yourself. The rebounding is what really concerns me because we can do a lot better, we just didn't show that."
On the defensive play on the last couple of possessions:
"I think we did a pretty good job. I think they had one clean look and didn't knock it down. At the end, we just switched (on) every screen. They went small and we went small and it worked for us because we just switched."
On what she's seen in the team in the last two wins:
"Nothing really different. Like I said before, this team really sticks together. They don't get down on each other, and it's easy when things aren't going your way and I'm yelling at them too, they could easily turn on each other. That's the one thing about this group that I really like and enjoy coaching. When I'm getting on them and things aren't going well, they stick together.
"I think it really showed tonight that they can persevere and get through a tough stretch. That team was scoring a little bit and we were matched a few of those baskets, but I have faith in them that they will stick together and work it through. We do need to do a better job in a lot of little areas, because the little things add up. The rebounding, again, is something we're going to address, because if people look at the last game and this one, and they'll say we don't box out, rebound. They'll say send five to the glass, don't worry about giving up a layup because we're going to get the ball and score. So we need to take care of that."
Saint Louis University head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller
Opening Statement:
"We don't do moral victories at Saint Louis University, so all of my kids, they are pretty upset right now, as am I. We came here to win a game. We didn't come here to almost win or to put up a good fight. We came here to win and we didn't do that so we are disappointed. I am proud of the effort of my players. I know any team coached by Bobbie (Kelsey) is going to be a tough team, and I knew we were definitely going to have our hands full, especially our post players. The only way I could be more proud is if we actually won tonight."
On out-rebounding other teams:
"It's a combination of both (telling my players to crash the glass and instincts). We pride ourselves on our rebounding. The last couple of years, we have been consistently high in the A-10 in offensive rebounds. Part of that is because we are such bad shooters, so we have a lot of opportunities to get them. But it's definitely something we pride ourselves on and we talk about it every day. We haven't been out-rebounded this entire year, so that's one of our major goals. 21 offensive rebounds is not too far off our average."
On Wisconsin's improved shooting percentage in the second half:
"I think it was Wisconsin. They did a much better job of going inside in the second half and they exploited the size differential. Their post players are bigger than ours and very skilled. Those were some very tough turn-around shots that (Anya) Covington and (Ashley) Thomas made. I thought Taylor (Wurtz) got going in the second half and we lost her a couple times. We had a little bit of trouble on some screens in the second half."
On Saint Louis as a team last year compared to this year:
"We are 2-6 now, but we were really bad last year. We were bad. We also, self-admittedly, had a poor game plan. They played a different style of play. They played that sagging man or whatever that defense was, the pack. So we over game planned for that. We didn't give ourselves enough credit last year. That's something I said after that game that I would never do that again, and we're always going to play our defense and our offense. That's what I was adamant about doing tonight. They are also a different team. They had those two big post players last year. Last year, I thought they were very good last year. I can't remember their names, but they killed us. We are a much better team this year than we were last year. Our record does not reflect that, and I would hope that you guys could see that we are not a 2-6 team."
