Story Links

Virginia 88, Morehead State 43
Feb. 4, 2008
Postgame Quotes

Virginia Head Coach Debbie Ryan
On the performance of the bench players:

“I thought we played the bench quite a bit tonight and it really helps to
get some people some meaningful playing time. They really made a difference
in the game. One of our goals was to hold them under a 50 percent scoring
percentage and I think we did a great job of that, especially with our
reserves playing. We had some goals and we did what we were supposed to do.”

On the start of the game:
“We started off a little slow, a little sluggish. I probably substituted a
little too soonI should have let them play through it. But it was players
like Enong Stovall, Britnee Millner, Abby Robertson and Kelly Hartig that
really pushed the game to a 10-point lead. I thought they did a really good
job of playing off the bench and playing with a lot of energy. It really
helped to kick-start our team.”

On 3-pointers:
“I feel, as a coach, that threes are about rhythm. I know that we practice
it a lot and we have some great three-point shooters on this team.
Confidence is half the battle with the three, as well as being in rhythm.
Our players know when they’re going to get threes and they know when they’re
going to be ready. So when they step up to stroke it, they make them. I
think Sharne Zoll has become a very good three-point shooter. She doesn’t
take many of them, but when she does, you know just it’s just money in the
bank because she’s always down and ready to shoot it.”

On perimeter defense:
“We’re beginning to reap the benefits of having spent so much time on
perimeter defense at the beginning of the year. Now we’re beginning to see
some of the product of what we were trying to build back in September and
October. I really feel like we’re doing a much better job. But, we didn’t
defend as well as we could have. We gave up four threes in the first minute
of the game and I was really angry. I think we straightened that out in one
of the timeouts and they only scored one more the rest of the game.”

Virginia Guard Britnee Millner
On coming off the bench to play against Morehead State:

“It definitely is a boost for our starting five to go out there and take care of business. We know that we can go out there stress-free and work on what we need to work on to help the team. We really focused in on defense this year, so we want to make sure that, when we come in after the starting five, we keep up the same intensity level.”

On her switch to the point guard position:

“Well, I practice a lot more in the point guard position and my teammates help me a lot by either helping me with the play call or Coach Ryan yelling from the sidelines. I feel like I’m starting to improve more due to my coaches and my teammates helping me out.”

Virginia Guard Monica Wright
On the lead against Morehead State:
“Coach always talks about doing your work early, and then being able to stay disciplined throughout the game, throughout the minutes, and to stay focused.”

On the performance of her fellow teammates:
“We definitely got excited when Tara McKnight and Britnee Millner got out there, and took care of business. We just like cheering for our teammates and seeing them do well because they deserve it.”

On the friendship with her teammates:

“That’s the best part about it. That is what brightens my day if I’m having a bad day. Coming into practice and fooling around with these girls. It is definitely has been a good season and spending time with each other has been fun.”

On the strategy for this game against Morehead State:
“Coach really, before the game, wanted us to focus on respecting the team and focusing on what we needed to do to get a good lead. We definitely came out wanting to play good defense and intense defense so that we would be able to get a good lead. Just respecting the opponent and being disciplined were the main things that we wanted to focus on.”

Print Friendly Version