Postgame Quotes: North Carolina A&T at Virginia

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Virginia 88, North Carolina A&T 59
Postgame Quotes

Virginia Head Coach Debbie Ryan
Opening Statement:
“We came back about two days ago and I still felt like there was a lot of residual effect from the JMU loss. We had some people still really wrapped up in it, so I had to do my best to get that over with and try to get them to focus on the next task at hand. Sometimes you just have to shake things up, so we took the players that we thought practiced really well yesterday and started them today. I thought it was a good thing and I think we got good play from everybody because of it.

I think it’s pretty evident that we’re a deep team. We have a lot of different players that can come in and play roles and do different things. I think we’re still finding out things about our team, so we’re still a work in progress.

I was happy with the defensive end tonight; I thought our rebounding was pretty strong. Obviously, our offensive execution was better than it’s been, but we still had 20 turnovers. But, we played a lot of people and I think that’s one of the reasons why we did.”

On having a young team respond like that after a loss like JMU:
“It was great to see them respond like that because they were very upset about what happened at JMU. I was too, because they played such a great game up until the last four minutes.”

On this year’s team:
“When you look at this team, the scoring is all spread out and we play like a team. I’m really proud of our players and how they played. I think they really get it. They know that each player on this team has to do what she does in order for us to win. I think that’s the key to being a really good team.”

Senior guard Paulisha Kellum
On bouncing back after a loss to JMU:
“It was good to see us come out like that and stay focused – that was our main thing. Staying focused and being consistent throughout the game. The coaches stressed being consistent in practice. For us to win today we have to win the day before and the day before that. In shootaround and in practice, we have been focused on our mission. We did a decent job of that today.”

On the holiday break:
“It wasn’t too bad; I think we took the JMU loss pretty tough. We knew we have more games to play. We had to learn from that game, but we also need to have a short memory and move on.”

On playing in the Marriott Cavalier Classic:
“It’s nice that we don’t have to go anywhere. We don’t have to worry about traveling, and the best thing is, we are on holiday break, so we don’t have to worry about schoolwork or classes.”

Freshman forward Jazmin Pitts
On replacing captain Chelsea Shine in the starting lineup:
“It wasn’t too bad – she was still encouraging. I felt bad but I knew once I saw her with a smile on her face that she has my back. And once she went in, she did her thing too. “

On if she knew it would be her night:
“A little bit, but definitely not from the free throw line. I guess I kind of had that feeling.”