Dec. 20, 2009
Postgame Quotes
Vanderbilt 84, Tennessee State 47
December 20th, 2009
Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb
On having eight players:
“I think the tough thing was that we had a suspension when one player was hurt and one was sick. We came together, and we handled the adversity well. It brought us together for the good, for the positive.”
On taking away practice uniforms and closing team out of locker room:
“We want our girls to get to the level where they’re working hard and understand what is expected. They have to earn what they are given. It is a lesson of discipline and learning. They have to appreciate what they’re given. This team is responding really well.”
On this year’s effort vs. TSU to last year’s:
“We did much better job this year. Jess (Mooney) is ill, Hannah (Tuomi) is playing on one leg. They all had a good effort. We were coaching today, but we can’t coach effort. They brought so much to the game today. They were where they needed to be for each other. We made corrections, adjustments, and we were able to bring them to where they needed to be.”
On having 25 assists:
“We were working hard to be more unselfish and do something for someone else. We just worked on the little things for each other. 25 assists really show how our team is supposed to look. We had a whole week with the team to work for each other. It was all emotion and it looks like how it was supposed to look. It has been happening in spurts all season.”
On the upcoming break:
“The only thing I am worried about now is letting them go home! We have been working hard, but the timing of this break is hard because I really liked the practice time we had and we got better every day. You saw that and now we have to let them go home and eat cookies and lay around. We have two practices after break and then we play ETSU; two more practices and then Notre Dame; two more practices and then Ole Miss. We’ll be fine, but it’s hard to recover, so we just need to look forward.”
Tennessee State Head Coach Tracee Wells
Opening Statement:
“I was pleased with my team’s second half effort, defensively and offensively. If we had executed in the first half the way we did in the second, it would have been a different game. Our freshmen certainly got a good taste of big basketball.”
On defense:
“We didn’t do what we were supposed to do. Defensively, we did not stick with our game plan and they capitalized on our mistakes. That is what a good team does.”
On slowing down Vanderbilt’s shooting:
“We knew who the shooters were and we just had too many times when we got them wide-open looks. We gave them those early 3-pointers and it got their confidence going. We weren’t able to slow them down, but they certainly slowed us down.”
On having more players on the bench than Vanderbilt:
“I wasn’t even concerned about getting them in foul trouble. We had 13 bodies and they had eight. Unfortunately we were not able to play against a smaller, in terms of players they had available, team and that’s hard for us.”
On learning from the loss:
“We have so many things that we can recognize and do better. We worked on guard-to-guard screens and post-to-guard handoffs. We had a few possessions of some good defense and we will be breaking this game down and preparing for our conference season.”
Vanderbilt forward Hannah Tuomi
On playing with two players down:
“It wasn’t easy, but you always have to push through. We have adversity and we have to see who is the strongest. It was a challenge, but we overcame it and came out with a win. It was good to know we are tough enough to push through.”
On injured knee:
“My knee feels better, but still a little sore. It certainly is better than it has been the past few days.”
On getting practice gear taken away:
“You have to work for things, you can’t just be given things. It definitely woke all of us up.”
On the upcoming break:
“We can’t let this break affect our focus. I’ll make a few snowmen and snow angles, but we’ll all be in the gym over break. You don’t want to overdo it, but you don’t want to just sit around either.”
Vanderbilt guard Jence Rhoads
On playing more to a Vanderbilt level:
“We have been having better practices, more energy, and more communication. We were able to carry that over to this game. Hopefully after the break, we can carry that on.”
On getting practice gear taken away:
“It was kind of an eye-opener, especially to the freshmen. It just shocks you, but we know we have to work harder.”
On three freshmen being suspended:
“I think the freshmen are sorry and they knew it was the wrong time to violate team rules. They’ll learn from it and be excited to come back and play again.”
On the upcoming break:
“We just need to keep working harder and get better. We’ve been getting better in practices this week and we need to carry that over. We have to keep the team in mind while we’re at home.”
