Jan. 3, 2010
Vanderbilt 86, Ole Miss 72
Postgame quotes
Memorial Gym, January 3, 2010
Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb
On First Half:
“I felt like we were really patient. We ran our stuff, set good screens, sealed in the post, our timing was good, our spacing was good, and we made them guard. We had 17 assists on 19 baskets at halftime. That’s running your offense and executing it.”
On Tiffany Clarke:
“I need to take her out after her third foul and I need to be smarter about that. We need her on the floor. Hannah stepped up after Tiffany left and luckily, she pulled through. We have to get her smarter. I recruited her because she was physical out of high school and she prefers physical play. Elan (Brown) gave us good minutes too and that’s been a good progression for her.”
On 43 fouls in the game, combined:
“Welcome to the SEC. it’s very physical and it’s a dog fight every night. They were fighting in the paint and being very physical. The refs were consistent in calling fouls on both ends. It’s real important to start off strong in SEC play and we didn’t let them back in. we didn’t let them make that big run and that’s so important because of the mental part of this conference.”
On Hannah Tuomi:
“Hannah is a great low-post threat. She doesn’t get those huge stats, but she got under people. Because of her, we were able to score and she is so important to our offense. She doesn’t get a lot of credit for it, but she is so crucial to our team. We were able to have two different looks on offense with Hannah and Tiffany and it was nice to have them both on the floor.”
On Lauren Lueders:
“Lauren has been having more success and that has built her confidence. She is not being dictated by the defense. She is slowing down and running her own offense instead of being pushed around by the defense.”
Vanderbilt guard Jence Rhoads
On offense:
We were just taking what they were giving us. We were getting wide-open shots and when you’re wide open, you should be able to knock them down. We were doing a good job executing, so it didn’t matter what their defense was.
On assists:
“One of the high points of this game was the fact that we were hitting the open player. We were seeing a good shot, but able to foresee a better shot for your teammate and pass it on. We’re a low post offense and we are all passing off to get more options.”
Vanderbilt forward Tiffany Clarke
On physicality in SEC play:
“I don’t want anyone to take us lightly. It’s motivation to keep getting better and be a threat to other teams. It’s an honor to play as well as I have. I’m more a physical player than other freshmen and I think that gives me a bit of an advantage. I felt like I didn’t actually foul that much, but I have to play to how the refs want me to play.”
Vanderbilt guard Lauren Lueders
On getting first SEC win:
“It’s all about confidence, confidence, confidence. We are the defending SEC champs and we need to try to defend that and get off to a good start. I am feeling good and I’m getting great shots. I’m trying to knock it down when I get a good look.”
On Tiffany Clarke and Hannah Tuomi:
“Tiffany is a force and she and Hannah are playing well together, so it’s good that we’re being so unselfish because it’s giving everyone an open shot. We are doing so well offensively because we have those two inside and they can either shoot it or kick it back out on the perimeter.”
Ole Miss Head Coach Renee Ladner
On First Half:
“Vanderbilt gets all the credit today. They disrupted everything we were trying to do offensively. Coach Balcomb always has her team prepared. We weren’t prepared in the first half and we failed to follow through.”
On Tiffany Clarke:
“She was not a surprise. She is going to be an outstanding player for Vanderbilt. It’s pick your poison. You have to try to guard the shooters or guard the inside and we can’t focus on both. Tiffany is a bit foul prone as a freshman. That was the one thing we were able to do to Vanderbilt, but their other players stepped up.”
On Bianca Thomas:
“It was a struggle for Bianca Thomas all afternoon. She had the quietest 20 points I’ve ever seen. Our kids came down the floor and fired up a shot at the first pass. We just got buried and our point guards had a lot of trouble because Coach Balcomb kept switching up the defense. We found Nikki Byrd down low and were able to get her to shine. Being disciplined is huge in our conference and making the right play at the right time. Vanderbilt has mental toughness and they always make the right play.”
On closing gap to nine:
“We had our moments to come back, but the entire time would combine to lose the pressure on Vanderbilt. We lost our focus and couldn’t keep pushing. A huge key for Vanderbilt was being 9-for-12 at the 3-point arch and we were limited on our 3-point attempts.”