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Jan. 29, 2015

Recap | Final Stats

Head Coach Joanne Boyle

Opening statement:
“I am just really proud of the team and the fight we had in us. We needed that. We needed a gritty game to know what it felt like. I thought we really played down and dirty tonight, especially down the stretch and that is what got us the game.”

On play calling with Mikayla in mind:
“We were trying to run one particular play and just didn’t get it. I was just trying to think outside the box and find what we could get for her. A lot of those shots came from broken plays, as well.”

On the role of the guards:
“We need to play multiple positions. We break things down in practice and people practice multiple positions, so that is not really a factor. All three guards can handle it. They are all break you down guards. We keep the offenses simple so they don’t have to worry about much, but we tried to spread the floor and do a little dribble drive to let them attack the rim. At the end of the first half, I thought we were getting some points off of that.”

On Sarah Imovbioh:
“When other post players are tired she can do some damage, but when they are fresh and she is nervous we tell her to face up, skip the ball, and reposition herself. Some of those assists come from Sarah to our guards to get better looking shots for them. I am happy when we play team basketball, share the ball, and play an inside outside game. I think we are harder to guard when we do that.”

On the energy:
“I am glad it was a gritty win and not a pretty win. I needed them to feel that way, especially in those last five minutes. We need that. I told them in the locker room that whatever is in here, we need to bottle and bring it on the road. It cant be a one and done situation. They got to feel what it is like to battle in a game. I thought we did a great job of boxing out and making our free throws, all of the `little things.’ Those made the difference in the game.”

On being dependent on the three point shot:
“I think we are going to grow from them. We need to work with Sarah Imovbioh on facing a little more and getting her comfortable. We have plenty of weapons, and Sarah will show back up, we just need to get her confidence going. If we can keep shooting in the 30s, we will always have a chance. We also had some good minutes from our bench in the first half, so some players were fresher down the stretch.”

Guard Faith Randolph

On the win:
“I think we changed our mindset. We have been in situations like this before but we came together and decided we weren’t going to let this happen again. We all came together and got the stops we needed to get. It is a sense of urgency and I felt like we had at towards the end of the second half”

On getting the ball to Mikayla Venson:
“Just feed the hot hand. It is easy. Mikayla Venson was feeling it, so give her the ball and let her go to work.”

On looking forward to Clemson:
“This just gives us confidence and momentum going into Clemson. Anytime you are on the road against an ACC team, it is going to be battle. We just need to bring this effort and this urgency, and grind it out for 40 minutes.”

Guard Mikayla Venson

On the defense:
“Luckily I was just hitting my shots today. I think the offense came and we got our shots and hit them, but we had grittiness to us in the end in our defense and that is what made us get shots. We got defensive stops and came down and transitioned. At the end of the day it was all about defense and playing together as a unit.”

On the pass to Breyana Mason:
“I didn’t want to force my shot up. I was being contested and I saw Breyana Mason in the corner. I had confidence that she would be able to knock it down and she did.”

On her first block:
“Coach Kim [McNeill] called me over and told me it was my first block. I was just happy to contest that shot and not let her get it off.”

On the challenges of being on the road:
“Just keeping up the energy and getting everyone involved and focused. We emphasize being a road warrior, and we need to take that to the next level. We need to continue to have that grittiness and take it one game at a time.”

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