March 20, 2015
Dayton Postgame Quotes
Dayton Head Coach, Jim Jabir
Opening statement …
“We want to take the time tip our hats off to Iowa State and coach Bill Fennelly. They are a class act, they run a great program and it was a hard-fought game. And it is kind of nice when you can take a really talented group of players and they give themselves totally and execute the game plan like we did today. It was a really fun afternoon.”
On how efficient the offense was today …
“I think we ran our stuff pretty well today. I’d like to say we do it like this all of the time but that would be a lie. The kids really focused in lately about just doing what we do. It has kind of been our mantra. Do what we do, do your job. And when we execute we are pretty good. And when we don’t execute, it kind of gets muddy. So I thought we really stayed focused today and really executed and made sure we were doing all of the little things well offensively and defensively. I thought we were very efficient in our offense. Ally Malott and Andrea Hoover came up really big in the end. Kelley Austria had a really giant game. Saicha Grant-Allen was really tough down low. Amber Deane made some really nice sliding drives at the right times, so did Jenna Burdette. So we had contributions from a lot of people, and I thought we were fairly aggressive, so I was happy with our efficiency today.”
On his relationship with Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly …
“We have known each other for a couple of decades. I was kind of just starting out and he was kind of a mentor of sorts. We have always stayed in touch and I have a great deal of respect for him. And I don’t like coaching against my friends. You know winning and losing is a really hard thing. I always want to win obviously as much as Bill did but it is just sad that someone has to go home a loser when you care about that guy. And we care about each other a lot, I think. Don’t get me wrong, I will take the win but it’s tough when you play against your friend.”
On preparing for a different team in Iowa State after the Atlantic 10 Championship …
“I think we forgot about GW (George Washington). I don’t think it was something that lingered, it wasn’t a hangover or anything. I think we know that we are a good team. And we know that they do certain things that we don’t handle well and we’ve worked on those things to try make them strengths. So we’ve taken the time between that game and now and have really worked on those things. It was kind of a wakeup call, maybe a good thing. And I just said no one likes to lose but I think if you are going to lose you should use it to get better and I think we’ve been trying to do that.”
Dayton Student-Athlete Ally Malott
On playing Iowa State…
““I knew coming in that they were a little undersized so we really wanted to put the ball inside. I think I got a couple early lay-ups that really helped me find my flow and my teammates found a good job of finding me. Defensively I was on a 4 player, their best shooter, so that was kind of a challenge for me and I had to work really hard. That was a good game we played and I think we played really well today.”
On how she had success…
““I think my teammates found me a lot; I just try and go into every game and just execute the game plan and do whatever my team needs me to do. Coach told me before the game, if I’m being unselfish then I’m being selfish and so I need to look for my shots if I’m open and I tried to do that today.”
Dayton Student-Athlete Andrea Hoover
On the feeling of playing and winning an NCAA Tournament game …
“I mean it was still stressful, no matter if it was a 20-point game or a 10-point game and this game especially was a little bit different for us because Iowa State had shooters everywhere. Really our goal was to run them off the line, and Kelly did a great job of keeping Moody in front of her and that really set the tone for us defensively.”
On winning 100 games along with teammate Ally Malott…
“I actually did not know that stat, thanks for informing me. I haven’t really had time to reflect on it, I think we’re just so focused on the NCAA Tournament and this upcoming game that I personally haven’t really had time to reflect on it and I think that’s something that comes afterwards. Looking back at the four years I’ve had at Dayton, it has been a great experience and I wouldn’t trade anything for it.”
On potentially playing Kentucky on Sunday…
“We played Kentucky I think two years ago and I think they still have the same style, they’re athletic, they have a lot of athletic kids that like to get to the rim and I think it’s going to be the complete opposite of the game we just played. We’re really going to have to contain them and we are just excited for this opportunity to play here and play Kentucky.”
Iowa State Postgame Quotes
Iowa State Head Coach, Bill Fennelly
Opening statement …
“First of all, on behalf of Iowa State University, our team, and our program, I want to thank the University of Kentucky. They did an amazing job. We were told, ‘We want you to feel like you’re the home team’ and we felt that. Thank you for giving our student athletes a great experience. I certainly want to congratulate Dayton. Jim Jabir does a great job with them. We tried everything we could. They’re an outstanding team and one of the better teams that we’ve played. We got beat by a better team today and that’s what you hope for in the tournament. An outstanding team and certainly a team that will continue to play well in the NCAA Tournament.”
On switching defenses …
“It was mainly that we were trying to find something to work better. We really had trouble in the first half when they shot like 57 percent. We got in foul trouble and when we got in foul trouble, we tried some things that we really didn’t want to try. We were trying a little bit of everything and different combinations. That’s a very efficient offensive team. There’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of great things that they do. We tried about everything that we could think of and we practice a lot of different things. Obviously, it wasn’t to be.”
On if there was anything that surprised him tonight after watching previous film …
“To be honest with you, they’re bigger and stronger in person. I saw them when they came out to warm up and I told my son, ‘This might not be good.’ You can see how they move and their skill sets, but sitting there right next to them you see that they’re a taller and more physically gifted team than you can tell on video. That’s where they play. It makes them a very good team.”
On the challenge to overcome the height and physicality of Dayton …
“It was a big challenge. There was always one mismatch on the floor for us, offense or defense. We just couldn’t compensate for it when they throw it to the post or have Ally catch it on the wing. If we switched to prevent one thing, then they would beat us off the bounce or something. It was like there are six holes of water coming and you only have five fingers. About halfway through the first half, I told Joey and Billy, my staff, ‘If we don’t score 80, then we can’t beat them.’ We just couldn’t guard them. We tried. We’ve guarded some pretty good teams. That is a very efficient team.”
Iowa State Student-Athlete Brynn Williamson
On if she leaves this one feeling okay with a better team winning …
“I don’t think a loss is ever going to feel okay. Three careers ended tonight and I think that was the biggest thing for us. As the clock wound down, that’s really the only thing that I thought about. I didn’t think about the score or anything else. I just thought about the last time I’ll wear this jersey and the last time that I’ll play with these girls in this room. It’s been a long four years with Nikki and Fallon, but it’s never an ‘okay thing’ to lose to a team regardless if they’re better or worse. Today just wasn’t our day. Shots couldn’t go in that we really wanted. We couldn’t really guard, but I was just focused on leaving and knowing that I wasn’t going to play again in this jersey.”
On the start to the second half …
“There was a good eight minute stretch where I felt like we were back in November when we all just stood around the 3-point line and waited for Nikki [Moody] to make something happen. That’s led us through so many games and we became so complacent with that. We just stalled and waited. You see spurts where there’s four-minute spans where we can’t be stopped. We get open shots and getting fouled. We’re consistently inconsistent sometimes and that really kills us.”
Iowa State Student-Athlete Nikki Moody
On how difficult they were to stop from a defensive perspective …
“I feel that we just didn’t do our job on defense. They’re all great scorers; however, they can be stopped. I just think that we didn’t buckle down enough on defense to get the win.”
On turnovers …
“We just weren’t executing. They’re a great team and capitalized on us turning the ball over.”
On how Dayton gave them so much trouble …
“They played good help defense. They rotate really well. That’s something that we struggle with – getting the ball to the open player. We’re not getting passes in there fast enough.”
Iowa State Student-Athlete Fallon Ellis
On guarding two 6-4 players this game …
“I’ve been playing against 6-4 girls my entire life and today was a really big challenge for me. Having two girls down there that had eight inches over me, I think there’s really no excuse. As a player that’s been playing for four years now, I think I could’ve done better by defensively using my strengths to my advantage more.”
