Jan. 9, 2015
VANDERBILT COACH Melanie Balcomb
Opening statement …
“I think we made a run to catch up. Then, we fell apart under their pressure. Once they saw blood, they attacked us the rest of the game. We could not get it back.”
On the LSU press defense…
“(DaShawn) Harden and (Raigyne) Moncrief played great. They played a lot of minutes with a lot of energy, and they were very aggressive. They created havoc by going so hard and creating. Once the game was tied, they really turned it up defensively especially those two players. They got so many points off that defense.”
On the Vanderbilt mindset moving forward…
“We have to figure out how to be a team. We are very young. We have had eight or nine different starting lineups. We are going to try to get everybody on the same page. That is what we are trying to do is become a team. We have a lot of talent, but we are not a team yet. We need to continue to work on being together, learn how to be cohesive and find players that can work with each other.”
HEAD COACH NIKKI CALDWELL
Opening statement…
“Our team played very well together. They did a nice job of supporting each other from a defensive standpoint. I thought our ability to disrupt a very good offensive team was the key for us. We were able to capitalize off of those turnovers. Offensively, for us to have 18 assists on a night, that’s a positive. That’s a team that is sharing the basketball and potentially not taking their shot and giving someone else a better look. That’s the type of basketball we wanted the team to play.”
On challenging Vanderbilt with the fullcourt press…
“I thought we did it well. It messed up their rhythm offensively by not allowing them to have the full shot clock. I knew that we had depth to do so because we’ve been playing 10 people. We need to really get back to working extremely hard. We did so on the defensive end. We were giving up the ball a lot sooner and not pounding. We were converting because people were running hard and people were trying to get layups. That’s what we were going after.”
On the return of Danielle Ballard…
“It was great having Danielle back with us. She brings a maturity to our team through her experience. Obviously, she is a player that can make plays and make other people look good. I thought she came in and played aggressively by attacking their zone. She has a strength about her with her ability to rebound and defend. It’s going to take a little time. I know the team is excited that we were not only able to get some quality minutes from her, but we got some quality minutes from our bench again. When you look at what Akilah Bethel was able to do, this was one of her nights that she finished. I thought that Jenna Deemer made some key baskets for us to stretch the game. We just have to keep having quality minutes when you come in.”
On passing successfully and getting 18 assists on 24 field goals…
“I saw us be more patient offensively. I saw us reverse the basketball more. We had four to five passes with different people touching the ball. That’s the type of team that we have to play like. We have to be a team that is unselfish. We have to be a team that doesn’t mind giving up your shot to get a better shot. When you have 18 assists on the night and have at least eight or nine people with at least one assist, that’s unselfish. That’s why we were as efficient as we were on the offensive end.”
On Raigyne Moncrief…
“I thought Moncrief played like a veteran tonight. She really tried to establish her teammates, and she played under control. She played with a lot of discipline. When you look at her stat line, she took great shots for our team and not just for her. That makes a big difference. Moncrief with five assists on the night, that’s a player that is trying to give someone else a good look. Defensively, her ability to play the back of the zone and clear nine rebounds for us is huge. We are going to continue to focus on being a team that plays unselfishly.”
GUARD RAIGYNE MONCRIEF
On the up-tempo pace of tonight’s game…
“That’s the type of game Coach Caldwell wanted. We wanted to force steals , put pressure on their guards and make things happen.”
On tonight’s success in the transition…
“We are a transition team so that is what where we get our points. We capitalized on the steals and the fastbreak chances. We tried to play smart off of that and not take any bad shots.”
On Danielle Ballard’s return tonight…
“It was beautiful. I think she is the one who brought us energy and hype coming into the game with the little things she does like push tempo. I was glad to have her back even if she didn’t do as much. I know when the time comes she is going to explode and get back to being Danielle Ballard. She did well today.”
GUARD DASHAWN HARDEN
On the up-tempo pace of tonight’s game…
“Whatever works and whatever is going to help us win is what I like.”
On Danielle Ballard’s return tonight…
“We have been on a little losing streak and not winning games we should win. It felt like we didn’t have our whole team. Having her back is the little piece of the puzzle we need to get going. It felt good to have her back.”