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Dec. 6, 2014

Recap | Final Stats

Virginia Head Coach Joanne Boyle

On the game:
“It was a great team win. I thought we had great energy throughout the game. We had to make this game about us, and not just get through the game. I loved that everybody got to contribute and that we got to play at a tempo that was conducive to us and have fun out there. I think that our pressing, which we will practice a lot over break, is good for speeding the game up a little bit. It helps us because we’re small, so anytime that we can jumpstart us a bit I think it helps get our offense going.”

On the role of Sarah Beth Barnette
“Sarah’s role is leadership, because she has been through it for longer than anybody else has. Everybody’s role is different and has been tough at times, but the one thing Sarah has is she is very consistent. I think that’s what makes her a good leader, because you have to be a consistent person to be a good leader. She serves her team all the time, she is always cheering for them, and she is very selfless. It is especially fun and good for a coaching staff when she gets to have a game like this. I’m hoping, and I think there will be more of those as well.”

“I’m hoping that this year can be what this game was today for her. I think she has put in her time and I’m hoping that this game will give her a lot of confidence too. That comes back to our scheduling,; it is good to get everyone minutes in the non conference games so that we are all in a better place for when the conference games roll around.”

On what could have been better in the game
“I think the only negative part of today is realizing that we have to be a better free-throw shooting team. Early in the season we were shooting in the 70 percent range and that has dropped a little, so that is something we have to work on as well.”

On what exam break will mean for the team
“Just coming off of this game and a very challenging practice yesterday that I think had a good carry-over to today, so obviously there is that balance of letting the kids get some time to get their work done and just getting in the gym. It has been all about us, and we haven’t had that during the Thanksgiving time. We have always been packing some games in and it’s been all about preparing for other teams, and now it really is all about us for the next 9 days. It will be a lot of work but it will be fun, and I think that we will come out of this period of time as a better team.”

On Breyana Mason’s game:
“She was very aggressive today. When she takes that it up to that next tempo and pace when she is trying to get to the rim, you can’t stop her and you can’t knock her off the ball and I thought she finished well tonight. Other people have seen that before at JPJ, in the first couple of games she kind of just turns her motor on and she is tough to beat off the dribble at that point.” “We have to consistently challenge her. She will flow in and out of that introverted state, but we need to keep her in a more aggressive mode. I think that pressing and our defense definitely gets everyone going.”

Senior Forward Sarah Beth Barnette

On the big block and the game:
“I just remember that I was help-side, and my teammate needed help, so I stepped over. I didn’t really think about it, other than the fact that we were able to really push in transition tonight and it was a lot of fun. To be able to hit up and know that Aliyah was going to be there to score on that play was obviously a really great finish.”

On being a leader
“I’m just trying to be a good teammate, a good friend, a good leader, and do it by example. I want the best for my entire team and to play as hard as I can when I’m out there.”

On her three years at Virginia
“There are always challenges in whatever you are doing wherever you are, but I’ve had a lot of great people around me and I think that is what has made it so great. I am really grateful for my opportunity here and its been a lot of fun.”

Freshman Guard Mikayla Venson:

On the game:
“As a team we just came out and really played together. Five people got into double digits and that’s because our team was putting each other in great positions. It was really a great team effort and I think that we played our hearts out today. We kind of had a chip on our shoulder today which I think gave us that edge.”

On sharing point guard duties with Breyana Mason
“Me and Breyana talk all the time and give each other advice on what we can do better. I definitely always tell her to attack attack attack. Of course we want to look for our players but at the same time if you see that you are catching fire you have to continue to look for your shot and then its all going to work out from there.”

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