University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn- Rutgers Post Game Quotes
2/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2012
Recap |
Box Score |
UConn Gallery 
|
AP Gallery
UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma
Do you think your team's defense is often underestimated?
"I don't think you can have anywhere near the success that we've had without being able to play the kind of defense we play. I think [defense and success] go hand-in-hand. You have to be a good defensive team every year and we might not get the credit that some other team's get, because we don't talk about it or have any fancy names for our defense."
Did you have a sense that your team outworked and outhustled
"It's hard to play against
How do you feel the team responded to
"Early on [
Sophomore Center Stefanie Dolson
Do you feel like you outworked them tonight?
"Yeah, I think so. I think we came out with a great mentality tonight. We played really hard. Great defense. We executed well on offense. We still had a few more turnovers than coach wants. We came out and played extremely hard."
The defense has held these great teams to under 45 points, has that been a point of emphasis all year?
"Yeah, I think defense for us every year always has an emphasis on it. We had a couple games where coach wasn't pleased with our defense so I think we've definitely been stepping up our defense to prove to him and everyone else that our defense is the best in the country and we can just buckle down and not let people score."
Kiah Stokes has played very well the past few games, what do you attribute that to? Where have you seen a turnaround with her?
"Probably in practice. I think a little switch went off. She's been working really hard in practice, going harder. I think she has a different mentality during practice and just playing extremely hard. I think it just translates onto the court in the past couple of games."
What was the difference in that 17-0 run in the first half?
"I think we were just taking good shots. Coach always says we either get a good shot or we turn the ball over. I think we did a good job in that stretch of not turning the ball over and getting good quality possessions, as he always says. Just knocking them in I guess. I don't know, our shots were just going in tonight."
Freshman Forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
"Coach has been on us being smart with the ball and making sure we get a good shot every time up the court. I think we did a good job of actually getting off some and making sure we had good possessions today."
Defensively you held them to three assists. That's happened a few times lately, what's the key to that?
"It's a lot of aggressiveness on our part. We have to make sure we are taking some risks, we have to make sure we're getting in the leads and being as aggressive as coach is asking us to be. Rutgers you would think is a lot quicker than us. Usually, coach is saying we can't keep a guy in front of us but I think when you attack first and hit them first as he says, you get them on their heels and a little nervous."
Do you think you outhustled them tonight?
"I think we did a really good job of getting the loose balls. We did a good job of making sure we were on the boards hard. I think they did a good job of trying to get in but they couldn't get into the flow of things. They couldn't get their hands on balls like we were."
On the three 3-pointers you hit during that big first-half run:
"It felt good to actually hit some, it's been a while for me. I was open and they left me open a couple of times and the guards did a good job of penetrating and kicking so I just had to make sure I made them."
Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer
It was 6-6 and you were playing pretty good defense. Then it seemed like in the blink of an eye UConn went on a 17-0 run. Is that just an example of how explosive UConn is?
"There's no question that they are explosive. I think that some of that has to do with substitutions on our part. You just don't come in right, and ready. I thought that we were initially playing hard. I don't know what to say. I hesitate to say that we didn't play hard. I know that we didn't sustain for as long as we needed to. I think we initially did, but I don't know what I was looking at for sure. Were we intimidated? Were we hesitant? I'm not sure. I put those freshmen out there and I wanted to see what kind of look they got. It is a big difference to play at your home and you play them versus on the road. We struggled a bit identifying and doing some things that we needed to do. But make no mistake about it, UConn can go on that kind of explosive run. We tried to recognize that and really make a conscious effort to stop the run, because they can score in flurries."
How do you feel the younger players are doing trying to run the point in Khadijah's (Rushdan) absence?
"It was a struggle. We know what Khadijah has meant to us. In several games, just by herself, she's blocked shots, rebounds, come down and make foul shots. She has the heart of a lion. She, as well as Mo (Monique Oliver) has been one of the most consistent players on our team. Unfortunately for Mo, she has to wait for other players to give her the ball. Khadijah, she makes everyone else go. Some of them look like they are so shocked and stunned because they are used to dribble penetrations and kicks where they get open looks. They are used to a point guard that puts them in the exact spot for them to use their strengths. Instead, we are wasting clock and then we are in a hurry up kind of situation."
Can you talk about UConn's defense and the problems they pose?
"They do a great job of switching. The coaches are really determined to see every play through. I am too, I just get upset more. I get upset with everything that happens when we don't handle…A lot of people don't give them credit for their defense. We're not the best shooting team, though, so I don't know if we are the team that you should be measuring it by. There are a lot of team that they have played that are used to scoring in high numbers that don't. They play out the passing lanes and pressure the ball. They play personnel as well as anyone I've seen. If you shoot the 3, you better make sure that the screen is there. That someone else has a shot, it's not an accident. They do a great job."
