Story Links
Postgame Quotes
Virginia 82, St. Francis (Pa.) 66
Jan. 5, 2008
Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan
Opening statement:
“I felt like the start of the game was a little uninspired. I think we were a little out of sync. I don’t blame the line-up, I think the players needed to be a little more focused. I do think we did a better job against the zone tonight. We didn’t play very well defensively in the first half and I was disappointed with that.”
On Aisha Mohammed posting a double-double:
“Aisha needs that starting role to get herself on track. She’s one of those rhythm players. Tonight she was pretty good, she remembered things and didn’t make as many mistakes. The longer we have her in practice, the better she’ll play.”
On the second half:
“The first four minutes of the second half were great. After that, I felt like we again got some not-so-very-good performances. Jayna and Ariana played pretty well in the second half, but I didn’t feel like we had inspired play at times. Give St. Francis a lot of credit. We want to be playing a little better when we head into the Wake Forest game and then on to North Carolina. It’s all correctable, we just need to figure out where some of the energy is going to come from off the bench.”
Virginia senior center Aisha Mohammed
On earning the start:
“It kind of made a difference for me. Sitting on the bench, you cannot warm up. For me, starting is really good, it can involve me.”
Virginia sophomore forward Jayna Hartig
On the announcement that Enonge Stovall is no longer on the team:
“Coach E had a quote before the game: ‘Adversity brings out hidden talents’. We are a family, and it’s hard to lose one of your family members but you have to bring each other back up. It makes us stronger in a way. We’ve lost a lot but there’s so many people to surround you and everybody has to get through it.”
On the start of ACC play:
“I think we’ve had a few lessons in this preseason. In the ACC, you have teams coming at you every night. We have to prepare and bring it everyday in practice.”