Feb. 6, 2009
No. 20 Vanderbilt 61 – Mississippi State 66
February 5, 2009 – Starkville, Miss.
Attendance:
Melanie Balcomb, Vanderbilt Head Coach
On Vanderbilt’s season high twenty seven turnovers…
“We did not take care of the basketball and did not check out. We did not executeour game plan. Mississippi State came out really pressure denying and reallyforced us out of our timing, especially in the second half, we had turnovers in thepost because we hesitated so much. They did a great job of taking us out of ourtiming. They were very aggressive and dictated on defense, which we did notdo.”
On Mississippi State’s response to take the win…
“Mississippi State hit big shots. I think on offense they showed more patiencethan they probably did on film watching them. I think it all starts at the beginningof the game when you give Mississippi State confidence at home, and they aregoing to fight back and win after holding the lead for that long.”
Sharon Fanning, Mississippi State Head Coach
Opening Comments…
“During the first part of the game, we wanted to try and pressure and change defenses. Ithought our transition game was the best I have seen in a long time. When I see usahead in rebounds and assist-to-turnover at halftime, I know we are on the right track.Vanderbilt is as tough as anybody in the country in making the extra pass, and they haveso many people who can score. In the second half, we did not defend as well. I think weworried sometimes about calls. You cannot worry about that as a team. You have to playthrough that and rise above that. I feel like we played through all of it though anddeveloped some toughness. We shot 82 percent from the free-throw line and that washuge. We played with great composure, and it was a great win over a very goodbasketball team.”
On playing with toughness and composure down the stretch…
“A team has to embrace certain things. When we embrace those things and work atthem, we execute better. We do have to get better in half-court situations. There are littlethings we need to improve on, but I am so proud of the team’s focus and composure.Right now it is wide open in the league and we have to embrace the fact it is a battleevery game.”
On jumping out to an early lead in the game …
“I think that in the first five minutes you establish the tone of the game. That gives youconfidence, and it helps you score a little more. It comes down to fundamentals though.You have to rebound, defend and make great shots.”
On freshman guard Diamber Johnson’s clutch free-throw shooting …
“If I did not feel like she could do it, I would not have her on the floor. She is learning thegame right now. She is definitely a coach on the floor, and she is going to find a way towin. I just have a lot of confidence in her.”
On the defensive effort her team gave tonight …
“We wanted to try and pressure the ball tonight, and we wanted to get some hands onpasses. We switched up defenses a lot tonight and that really helped.”
Mississippi State Players
Alexis Rack, guard
On the win…
“It was real big, especially coming off the loss at Georgia. It was good to finishthe game with a win.”
On joining the 1,000-point club…
“I wanted to win. I really wasn’t thinking about 1,000 points. It hasn’t sunk in yet. Iheard it when they announced it, but I was focused on the game.”
