Nov. 23, 2008
Box Score
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Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
On the late run by George Washington to cut the lead to 11 …
“I was worried at that point because we had just had a very poor possession.We haven’t been in a situation where we were up like that before and I wasworried my team was letting down a little bit. Those were key plays and were criticalpoints in the game. George Washington probably thought they had a little openingthere but we were able to close the door.”
On Carly Ormerod’s three-pointer out of the timeout in the second half…
“We had just gotten three offensive rebounds and on the first two we didn’tget much offense from, so I called a timeout so we could get the ball to somebodywho knew what we needed to do organization-wise. We wanted to get Carly an open “three” ordump the ball down to Dunlap for an open look. We knew what we wanted to do and whenher “three” went in the air I was hoping it would go in because it wasa key shot in the game.”
On Eleia Roddy’s play …
“She made some tremendous plays on the boards and our team dynamic changeswhen she is in because she is so physical and tough. Teams have a hard time gettingthe ball from her when she goes up for a rebound. She was also huge from the free-throwline today, 8-for-8. That was a great way for us to get points today, from the free-throwline and I was very impressed with our free-throw shooting.”
On outrebounding George Washington …
“It was just people working and playing hard. Brittany Edelen got three onone possession today and I told Victoria Dunlap when she came out of the game thatshe was a warrior today. Eleia Roddy played well too and a lot of our players attributed.I was very pleased with our rebounding.”
On how he thought Kentucky’s press looked today …
“We played this team a year ago and got into a half court game with them andthey were very hard to guard. Jessica Adair is such a powerful force in the postthat we were trying to speed the game up some and try to eat some clock so they couldn’tget into their set and get comfortable. It was another big key for us getting a wintoday.”
On Amani Franklin’s play today …
“We need that kind of performance from Amani and I thought she bounced backafter making bad plays today. I also tried to change my approach with her a littlebit by coaching more and not yelling as much. I tried to explain better what sheneed to do. She had a terrible foul in the press late and she was able to come offand take instructions well. As you can see, she is a very good athlete and good shooterand talented basketball player. If we can get her mentally ready every game she willbe a good player for us.”
On if his thoughts of the season so far …
“We played three games that we could have won and three games we could havelost. We had a terrible performance against Michigan and came back and have now wontwo games against two good teams. As you see our team develop, we need to find outwhere are strengths are and where are weaknesses are so we can correct them. Thesethree games have allowed us to do that early in the season.”
Kentucky Players
#34 Victoria Dunlap
On rebounding…
“My mindset for rebounds is to go in and attack the boards. I want to be aggressive.I was focused on seeing the ball and going to get it. Nobody was boxing out and Coachhad told us to work on that. Going to the board and getting rebounds was what I triedto do.”
On the team’s mindset for this game…
“We were definitely playing for revenge since they beat us last year. We playedfor payback to let people know we are coming out this year to play and to battle.”
On UK’s defensive mentality…
“Jessica Adair had 29 points last year. We knew she was going to make shots. It wasn’t going to be easy for her. We were going to battle with her and make sure she earned what she got.”
On pressing more this season…
“We like it because we practice it every day. It’s an energy boosterfor us.”
On the help of her teammates…
“We have an outside game so we don’t have to battle by ourselves. Wehave guards working and getting some shots up. We just have to work on our inside-outside game and it will get better throughout the year.”
#25 Amani Franklin
On Coach Mitchell’s influence on her game…
“I think it’s a great challenge for me. Coach (Mitchell) knows I canbe a great player and he just wants me to show it. I think tonight I did. I haveto go out there and step up to the plate to show that I want to play.”
On the team’s free-throw shooting…
“I think it was big. We practice free throws all the time in practice. We dida great job stepping up tonight at the free-throw line.”
On the mentality of her game…
“It‘s a confidence booster. I keep taking more (shots) when I make myfirst shot. It worked out well for me today.”
On coming back to beat a team they lost to last year…
“Last year, we lost by 10 on the road to George Washington. I think we cameout and played hard. Our defensive pressure caused them some trouble. We went outthere and pulled out the win.”
On running the press…
“It is fun because we work on it all the time. We have one of the best pressesI’ve seen so far. If we keep up with that pressure we can create lots of turnoversand convert it to offensive plays.”
On starting out the season slowly…
“I was in a funk. A lot of it was mental. My shots weren’t falling soI wasn’t shooting. It got me down but this game helped me out a lot. I’mlooking forward to this week when we get to go back to my home in New York.”
#1 Eleia Roddy
On defeating George Washington…
“I’m happy we beat them. This game was payback. I didn’t get toplay against them last year because I was injured but we lost by 10.”
On the help of her teammates…
“It takes the pressure off and makes us more of a legit team. We have weaponsinside and out. It’s more of a balanced team. That’s the kind of teamsyou see in the NCAA Tournament.”
On being in foul trouble…
“I knew I had to play smart. They were calling close fouls and it made me realizeI had to go out there and get busy in the second half. I had to play smarter. Thatwas my mindset for the second half.”
On playing a bigger team…
“Having 20 more rebounds than George Washington shows what our mentality isduring the game. We want to be a rebounding team. To play in the SEC you have tobe able to rebound, offensively and defensively. We want to keep that going no matterwhat team comes in and who they have. Their big girls showed us we had to box outand get more boards. We definitely focused on shutting down Jessica Adair who had29 points against us last year. She only had one field goal today with less thansix minutes to go in the game. I think we handled her well.”
On the team’s free-throw shooting…
“All of us made most of our free throws tonight. That made us very happy becausewe have been working on that during practice.”
George Washington Head Coach Mike Bozeman
Opening Statement…
“First and foremost, I want to say that Kentucky played well and I give themcredit. We are operating with a lot of young kids and this road trip here and atWestern Kentucky was their first time out at the Division I level. Also, basketballwise, we did not travel to kind places. The team has to understand that we aren’tjust on the road, we played at a Southeastern Conference school. We are learningvaluable and priceless lessons on these road trips. We are learning as we go. Weneed to grow and learn how to play away from home.”
On getting outrebounded 50-30…
“I told the team in the locker room that rebounds are hustle plays. The reboundingmargin was a sign that Kentucky wanted the win more than we did. That is anotherlesson to learn, and we have to understand the effort that it takes to win on theroad.”
On playing Jessica and Jazmine Adair together…
“We will start to play Jessica and Jazmine Adair together more, or that isour intent. Today, the plan was to start using them together because Jazmine canguard smaller players who are quicker, which opens up more size for rebounding. Withthat in mind, we did get outrebounded 50-30.”
On playing against Kentucky’s press…
“We worked on the press break as late as today in shoot-around. That is somethingelse the team has to learn to execute. As a coach, it is hard to know that you havegiven the players the information, tools and knowledge, and not see the execution.Today we did not execute what we prepared to do. But, we will get better becausewe have everything we need to be successful. From the managers to the coaches, wejust have to put it all together.”
