Feb. 15, 2007
Recap | Box Score | AP Gallery 
MISSISSIPPI STATE VS. VANDERBILT
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2007
POSTGAME QUOTES
VANDERBILT HEAD COACH Melanie Balcomb
On the play of Caroline Williams…
“Caroline, that’s what she does. She’s our three-point specialist. She only took 12, and I thought she gave some up. What I loved is that she played for 40 minutes because of our foul trouble.”
On the early lead…
“This is our fifth game in a row that we’ve come out with an early lead. It’s something we’ve been working on, coming out strong, especially on the road.”
On Vanderbilt defense forcing MSU into turnovers…
“We wanted to play really aggressive – come out and trap and dictate the game. We had 27 points off turnovers and I think that was really good. One of our keys was not to turn the ball over and let them (MSU) get the turnovers.”
On the play of her post players…
“We didn’t play as well down low as we wanted to. We have a really good low-post game and three very capable post players.”
On the bench scoring…
“This is the deepest we’ve been, which was very important when we got in early foul trouble. We didn’t let up at all, or give up the lead, I think all the players that came in did a good job off the bench.”
MSU HEAD COACH SHARON FANNING
Opening comments…
“I was very disappointed in how we started the ballgame. I do not think we had the look it took to compete. I was pleased with the second-half; it seemed like we woke up and were able to compete on a higher level. I thought we crashed the boards better in the second-half, especially on the offensive end of the floor. Turnovers were a big key in this game because we needed more shots, and we kept turning the ball over and hurt us. With a Vanderbilt team of this size, you have to be able to get to the free throw line and we struggled at times. We gave (Caroline) Williams way too many looks, and she is a great shooter and hurt us because of that. They use the shot clock more than any team we have seen thus far, and that began to wear us out. I was pleased the way we finished the game, just disappointed how we started the game. We have to put this loss behind and look on to the next ballgame.”
On Vanderbilt senior guard Caroline Williams…
“Well, Vanderbilt as a team shoots around 50 % from three-point range. We gave them way too many looks from beyond the arc, for a team that shoots this well. Dee Davis runs this team very well, and Caroline Williams knows how to shoot the ball. Those kids have a lot of experience together and they are great athletes and work very hard as a team. You have to be ready to defend Caroline while the ball is in the air, because if you do not get there she is going to fire it up.”
On playing Ole Miss this Sunday…
“I told the girls in the locker room to keep their head up. Any goals that they have set this season are still reachable besides having an undefeated season. We have to learn from mistakes. We have a lot of players going through all this for the first time, with starting three freshmen and a junior college transfer. Vanderbilt is competitive and a very good basketball team that deserves their ranking. You have to play tougher against them. That determination and burn in your heart that can help you win ballgames, and we had that in the second-half but we had already dug ourselves too deep it seems. Right now we have an opportunity to get ready for the next ball game we play, which is Ole Miss at home on Sunday. Hopefully will take advantage of that opportunity and get us a much needed win.”
On the keys to beating Ole Miss…
“In any game you have to defend well, by putting yourself in a position to contest shots. We have to play help defense a lot, because we are not very big. We also have to be able to rebound the basketball, and with that come positioning and blocking out, and Ole Miss rebounds with the best in the league. Also, you have to take good shots. Ole Miss switches on defense, contests all shots, and cuts off drives to the baskets. If we do those things better, and execute on the little things hopefully will be in a position to win a game.”
MISSISSIPPI STATE FRESHMAN GUARD ALEXIS RACK
On the first half…
“They were in a match-up zone and we weren’t moving the ball. We were just standing to one side and we just needed to move the ball more and penetrate more.”
MISSISSIPPI STATE SOPHOMORE GUARD MARNESHIA RICHARD
On the first half turnovers…
“We turned the ball over a lot. They were getting in the passing lanes and making us rush. We just had to slow ourselves down and play our game.”
On playing without Imesia Jackson (due to foul trouble)…
“She is a big part of this team. When she’s in the game she’s fighting, scrapping, hustling and getting a lot of rebounds for us. She provides a lot of energy for the team and without her our intensity level wasn’t there.”
On Vanderbilt senior guard Caroline Williams…
“We knew that she was a great shooter. We just had to try to contest her shots. There were a lot of screen staggers and flares for her. We had to be aggressive, but tonight was her night.”
On Sunday’s game against Ole Miss…
“It’s not going to be an easy game because we beat them at their place and they are going to be gunning for us. So were are going to have to step our level up three times what it was tonight, and be aggressive and play hard.”