Dec. 3, 2014
Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb
On Marqu’es Webb sitting out:
“She hurt her knee a while back and has just been trying to play through it. We thought, with the break coming up, getting through last weekend, the best thing to do would be to let her get stronger and heal because we’re going to need her. I think this is a really good time to see how good we can get that leg back to where it was.”
On what she was looking for from her team:
“Just some energy. Some defensive energy, some attacking. We really wanted to be on the attack early. You saw us pick up man, trap, ball screens. Some of us were attacking more than others and I think we were just trying to bring defensive energy and create some offense off our defense. They play a really tough defense with a lot of junk, a lot of matchup zone, man, switching all the time. You spend so much time trying to figure that out that you really get flat. We really wanted to get in transition and we weren’t able to do that until we ended up going zone. We forced them to take long shots, turn it over, and then we got in transition like we wanted.”
On extending the lead throughout the second half until the final whistle:
“I think we wore them down, I think we did push the basketball. The last ten minutes we really wore them down and I thought they got tired. That’s when we started beating them down the floor. Switching to zone and making them take deep threes, though they hit a couple, they didn’t do the attacking or get to the free throw line like they were in the first half on us.”
On an odd technical foul on MVSU, foul shooting, and fouling in general:
“No, not at this level in a long time. I think we need to shoot the ball better from the free throw line, period. I think you put a little pressure on yourself. In the history of women’s basketball at Vanderbilt, we don’t lose three games in a row very often. We don’t generally lose two. We had lost two in a row so we had talked about how strong we had to come out and I think we ended up getting in foul trouble early which was not the plan, by being over-aggressive. I think an aggressive playing zone really helped.”
On the development of Paris Kea:
“She’s getting in transition, too. With Paris, she’s really good in transition. I think that’s where she’s most comfortable and I think we got her in that in the second half by our defense, our rebounding, and getting some steals and a lot more deflections. Where she’s got to really progress is the half court offense, reading defenses, running offenses, and decision-making. That’s hard to do. It’s hard to go from fast to slow and then be able to run an offense with all the things that we do and all the things that we’ve put in. It’s a learning process and there’s nobody that has more to learn than the point guard and she is certainly doing that and did a great job tonight, especially in the second half.”
On Morgan Batey’s double-double:
“I call her the ‘point post.’ She played one through five today and she was a little more than the glue. She was really aggressive in the post and she handled the ball well when she was in the perimeter. She didn’t take a lot of shots but she did what she does well. She rebounded the basketball, attacked, hit the mid-range, and took care of the ball. Just a really solid performance from her. I just want to see that consistently, all the time now. She’s raised her expectations but she’s deserved it. She’s doing a good job for us.”
Morgan Batey, Junior Guard
On expectations of tonight’s game:
“I think we were just trying to get back into a flow, a groove, after losing two straight in Naples. We just wanted to come out aggressive, and just play together. Those are some of the things we struggled with down there (Naples). The first half was a little shaky, but I think we really improved in the second half. It’s something good to go into the break with.”
On her strong performance:
“I just came out and tried to fuel my tank, defensively getting rebounds, and getting out. As a team we weren’t able to get much, but when we all collectively started rebounding and getting some steals, we were able to get out on offense, get some transition, and that’s hard to guard when we are all getting out there running. That’s just what we are trying to do.”
On the upcoming Finals week:
“It’s my third year doing it. So, I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp on it. Obviously, Vanderbilt is known for its academics. If we just put our time into it like we do with basketball, we are fine most of the time.”
Rebekah Dahlman, Redshirt Freshman Guard
On the continuity on the team:
“Everyday in practice we switch the lineup here and there. I feel like we are learning to play together with each other more and more, feeling comfortable with each other, and trusting each other. I don’t feel like it is an issue.”
On her dominance in the second half:
“In the first half they shut me down, but I have teammates in Morgan (Batey) and a lot of other people stepped up. That’s one thing about this team, it’s not just about one person. On any night, any person could step up.”
