Jan. 9, 2011
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Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening Statement …
“That was a tough game today. Georgia played terrific defense, especially in the first half. Their 2-3 zone really bothered us and we are struggling offensively right now. We need to get to the practice court and see if we can address some of those issues. Georgia earned that victory today with some really good playing and good coaching. We will have to try to see if we can get some things figured out here.”
On if the offense is just up against good defenses or just stalling …
“Yeah, we are not making really good decisions at the point guard position. I think we played a little bit better when A’dia (Mathies) got there so maybe that is the answer. Maegan Conwright just really struggled today and Jennifer O’Neill couldn’t stay on the floor because of foul trouble. Crystal Riley didn’t defend very well. We have a lot of problems there and Georgia really exploited us there with our decision making. I think that it is decision making and the only way to fix it is to do a better job. I have to do a better job of coaching them in practice. Evidently I have not been coaching them very well offensively right now because we are miserable offensively.”
On making the run to come back and tie the game but never being able to get a lead …
“We got down and every time that we had a chance to get control of the game we would make a defensive breakdown. There were definitely some times were we had some energy on defense.”
On missing some easy shots and getting some unlucky bounces …
“That is the way it goes. You have to do a better job on days like that to tighten up your defense. There were two or three times where the shot clock for Georgia was down under five but we made bad mental errors. If the ball is not going in you have to find other ways to win.”
On the mental breakdowns …
“We don’t do a very good job on figuring out who is hot for the other team. That is my fault, not the players fault. I have to do a better job as a coach of knowing who has the hot hand. It seems like someone always jumps up and does something like that. She (Khaalidah Miller) made four 3-pointers last week so we told them she could make threes. Early in the game it was really poor defense letting her get into a rhythm. It was disappointing but what a good player she is.”
On the home winning streak coming to an end …
“I am just really proud of that team last year winning 17 in a row. They did a great job and the home court meant something to them. They were a huge part of the streak. My hat is off to last year’s team and hopefully we can get another streak going on Thursday.”
Kentucky Players
#34 Victoria Dunlap
On their offensive struggles…
“We have our moments where we are just not all focused and we don’t all know what to do at the same time. That is something that can get better. That was probably the main thing though. In the first half, we weren’t executing the way we should have been, and that kind of put a damper on the game.”
On if they felt like they were in control…
“Yeah, especially when we got the spark of tying the game. I think there were a couple of times on offense and defense where little things happened where we were missing assignments on the shooters and on offense we weren’t executing the right way. The little things like that make games like this crucial.”
On Amber Smith’s absence…
“She is definitely a big part of this team. Her leadership and the way she was able to move around the floor was big for us. The people we have out there are getting better. She is in practice every day talking to them, trying to make them understand what to do. There is not much we can say. We have to play with who we have now, and they will get better.”
#1 A’dia Mathies
On their offensive struggles…
“I think just like (Victoria Dunlap) said, we have some good plays, and then there are other times where some people don’t get the plays. I think it’s something we have to adjust to, and we have to get it right. I think once we do that, we will be fine because our defense for the most part was pretty decent today. We just have to put the ball in the basket consistently.”
What she saw in the last sequence…
“First, I was trying to get my balance because I got tripped. I was trying to get the ball down the court. By the time I got my balance, I was trying to attack the basket. The first time I really looked up, they had people in my face guarding the basket. I knew that time was running down, so I took a shot and unfortunately it didn’t go in.”
Georgia Head Coach Andy Landers
Opening statement…
“I thought both teams played really, really hard. Kentucky, third game this week, it’s tough, we’ve done it. A year ago we played seven games in 13 days. It’s a tough thing to do but it’s a part of it. Regardless, I thought Kentucky played well. I thought Kentucky played hard. I thought they did a lot of what we did; they turned us over we turned them over. They got to the offensive boards very well in the second half, but we seemed to have an answer. We had the resolve today to stay the course and hang our hat on the defense. I thought the kids were very, very good defensively. I thought Porsha (Phillips) was great with (Victoria) Dunlap. I thought Meredith Mitchell was great with (A’dia) Mathies. I thought we kept the 3s in check, and at times, really important times, we were able to deflect or steal and create offense with the defense that made the difference.”
On freshman forward Khaalidah Miller’s big shots in the second half…
“Well, she ended up with a lot of shots. She ends up with a lot of shots because she doesn’t screen for anybody else. So you’re going through the offense and you’re screening, she makes sure nobody else is open because she won’t screen for them. As long as she makes those shots we’ll be OK, but if she ever starts missing those shots, she’s going to have to screen for somebody else.”
On if he thought if Kentucky could have gotten a lead it would have been a different kind of game…
“I didn’t feel that way, so if you felt that way you’re going to have to write whatever you’re going to write. I felt like we were here for the end result that we got. I had total confidence that the kids were going to stay the course even when they were running out of bounds with basketballs, which was mind blowing to me. Every time we left the huddle, and even when it was close and tight, and they had grabbed a little momentum for a moment, our kids were smiling. I mean really, they had smiles and they laughed as they left the huddle, which meant we’re not tightening up, we’re not going to cave in, we’re going to fight the fight. We didn’t know how we were going to do it, we had two freshmen guards on the floor at the end running out of bounds and not screening for anybody, but they got it done.”
On if he was surprised at how loose the players were at the end…
“Well, I was concerned because we kept shooting ourselves in the foot. I mean, we had 28 turnovers, and in fairness, Kentucky forced at least half of those, and in fairness, in any given game you mess up four or five more, so you have 17 or 18 (turnovers), we do. Today? Today? We looked like wide receivers in football trying to stop the clock. We’re catching balls running out of bounds with them. I mean the things that we did today. That’s what had me concerned. I was just afraid that a couple of them were plotting to find more ways to lose than we were going to find to win.”
