Quotes Following Tulane's 62-42 Win Over Mississippi State
Nov 16, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2010
TULANE QUOTES
Head Coach Lisa Stockton
Opening statement
"The last two games haven't started well. I don't know the reason - I don't know if it's nerves or what it is. I felt that in the second half, our defensive intensity was the best it's been in scrimmages or games. I thought we took them out of their offenses a lot. We had different players playing their leading scorer, Govero. I thought Turtle did a great job on her. She had that defensive assignment. It was nice to see us get some offense from our defense, which was really one of our keys last year."
On what the mean can win in the long run
"I think every time you have some success in a game against a quality opponent, you feel better about it. They're developing that chemistry and they're developing that trust. I think our identity has to be defense first for us. We've got good scorers, we just don't have a lot of depth. We're going to have to stop some teams. This is good for us. I think this is a good win and hopefully this will make us better."
On Tulane rebounding the ball
"We missed so many shots in the first half, but that's because our shots were so bad. But we went and got them and that was good. Brittany Lindsey hit the boards really hard, and Whitney Bibbins gives us that, too. I felt that coming out of high school, one of the things she was going to give us right away was rebounding and she's shown that in the first two games."
On moving Whitney Bibbins to the post following Brett Benzio's injury
"We put her in the position tonight - and she really doesn't know the position - but she did the job because she has great instincts. She has good instincts to the ball and she got two quick baskets right after we moved her in. She's so versatile and it's nice to have her on the floor."
On the performance of Tiffany Aidoo
"It was good to see her just relax a little bit. In the first game, she was a little tighter offensively. Tonight, she just let those 3s go and she looked like the Tiffany from last year. That was good to see."
Senior Forward Brittany Lindsey
Overall thoughts on the win
"Our shooting percentage was pretty terrible going into halftime. To be that bad and still be up by five really says something about the way we were playing. Our focus was more on locking them down defensively and then just making shots and taking good shots. Especially after we got up by 16, there's no point in taking rushed shots and giving them the ball back."
On what the win means to the team so early in the year
"This is a huge win and is a big confidence booster. It just lets us know the type of players and the type of teams that we can play against. The team as a whole, just stepped up tonight and played a really good game."
Senior Forward Tiffany Aidoo
On if tonight's win will be a confidence booster for the team
"It is. I think that really helped us boost our confidence. I know we were kind of struggling. Heading into that first game against South Alabama, we were struggling in practice with limited players and scrimmaging against each other full court. I think this is a big win for us and a huge confidence booster."
On Tulane starting off slow offensively for the second straight game
"I have no idea what the problem is. Last year, I could have sworn we were a first half team and we came out kind of slugging in the second half. This year is sort of the opposite but hopefully we can get it together and play hard in the first half so we don't have to keep coming back like this."
On her performance against Mississippi State
"I just came out to play. I know in the first half I was so off. I missed a lot of shots and I was kind of frustrated I didn't quit. I just kept playing and the defense really got us back in the game. I think we got a steal, got defensive rebounds and were able to run the floor. The other team really crashed the boards so we had the advantage of running down the court. That really helped us offensively."
MISSISSIPPI STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Sharon Fannin-Otis
Overall thoughts on the game
"Tulane is a very good basketball team and you have to give them credit. They have some great experience coming back and they play exceptionally hard. They play harder as the game goes on and they play well together. We got frustrated but that was due to how they played us. I have to give credit to them. They put it to us and hopefully we'll learn from this and get better for the next basketball game."
On Mississippi State playing without eight graduating seniors from its Sweet 16 team of a year ago
"We have nine new faces out there. We've got two players - one that started the majority of the season and one that came off the bench - so it's a real learning experience for us in a lot of places. You're looking at an NCAA team that got there without one of their starters (Brittany Lindsey) and now she's back in the lineup. They're still playing without one of their toughest athletes out there (Danielle Nunn). They're going to be a very good basketball team. They are a very good basketball team and they're going to continue to get better."
On what Mississippi State takes from this game
"What we have to do is just get better. We want to be the most improved team in the league by the time the year is out and we have a ways to go. This is a good challenge for us. When you have a loss, you have to learn from that. You have to give credit to (Tulane). They executed well. They played extremely hard...they kicked us on the board and got to the free-throw line. We didn't get to the free throw line so toughness had a lot to do with this game and they were the tougher team."
