Coach Bernadette Mattox
“We competed for 40 minutes tonight. We have to do that.”
“I am very pleased with Rita Adams. She understands what we need, and she made some good decisions today. I am also pleased with Shambrica Jones, who gave us some good minutes. She rebounded, deflected, and just got after it today.”
“Alvine Mendeng did an excellent job today. We moved her to the four spot because she needed to be where she could get more touches. I think it is a good spot for her.”
“I think the team is maturing. I have known all along that we can come together and we are slowly on our way there.”
“Our team has confidence in themselves and as we continue to demand intensity from them in practice, they will get better.”
“Our turnovers are down because our players worked very hard on that this week. We are shooting better, too, but we are still giving up too many threes.”
Rita Adams
“Last game, we had lots of turnovers and we really worked on that this week.”
“I thought I needed to step up on the court because when others see me step up, they will too. Then we can play our game.”
Alvine Mendeng
“Coach wanted me at the four spot so I could be closer to the ball and get more rebounds. The team needed more points from me. I am comfortable in the spot.”
Arkansas Head Coach Gary Blair and player quotes
Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…
“I think both teams got out there and played hard today. It wasnt the prettiest basketball game in the world. I was struggling trying toget my team in sync and run what we wanted to on offense. We were not getting very good point guard play early in the game. Bythe time we got to the second half, Amy (Wright) did a lot better job. She has to keep herself out of foul trouble. Both teams need toplay a lot better than that if we are going to go onto that next level with Florida and LSU.”
On the difference in the game…
“I think the big difference in the game was right before half. We stretched the lead to six points. They (UK) had a chance to cut it tofour with two good looks. We made a defensive mistake and they still didnt get that last basket. I was breathing a big sigh of reliefbecause we were in foul trouble.”
On facing UK for the second time…
“I think they (UK) have gotten better and we havent. I thought McDole and Adams’ penetration really hurt us. SeSe Helm is goingto be a great player. We just got chewed up by Cartwell of Alabama and there is no way that Cartwell was as good as SeSe as afreshman. That gives you a lot of hope. She is going to learn and get better. They are going to be a good basketball team. They justhave to be patient with those young kids at Kentucky. Bernadette is doing the best job that she can with that many young kids.”
#22 Wendi Willits
On the importance of the win…
“We needed to get this one, especially being on the road. We needed to come in and get this win going into the Florida game to giveus some confidence. That is going to be a big game, and with this confidence I think we can play with them.”
