Dec. 19, 2008
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening Statement …
“We are really happy tonight to get a victory and bounce back after two losses. We needed a win to get back on the winning side and it is great to be able to do that tonight. We have a quick turnaround with a game on Sunday, so we will have to enjoy this one for a very short time and then get back at it Sunday.”
On trying to pull away with a big lead early in the game …
“In the first half I thought that we had a couple of chances to blow the game open and some little things happened where we weren’t able to do that. There were some 50-50 balls that they got and we had some loose fouls that prevented us from breaking the game open. I really wanted to play well today and break the game open early. I thought that we only did that in spurts tonight and not for 40 minutes.”
On the teams rebounding performance …
“Rebounding is an important part of our program that we have always emphasized. It is something that we work on a lot in practice and we have some good rebounders on this team. We need to be able to rebound well and be the best team we can be. Rebounding is a stat that we take a lot of pride in every game.”
On Eleia Roddy’s play …
“I thought that she made some big plays for us tonight especially when we were struggling to score. I thought that in the first half we didn’t get the ball inside to her enough. Her experience, physical strength and ability to score are important for us. She can really finish plays on the defensive end because she is such a strong rebounder.”
On UK’s next opponent, UC Santa Barbara …
“I don’t know a thing about them. I know that historically they are a very strong program who has been good in their conference and made it to the NCAA Tournament a ton of times. They are a proud program that I know will be looking for a win come Sunday. We will get to work on that tonight getting together a good game plan, and put it in tomorrow. It will be a good game.”
Kentucky Players
#1, Eleia Roddy, Sr., C
On posting her third consecutive double-double…
“When I was healthy my sophomore year, I had four double-doubles on the season. I know that I can get more than that this season. I definitely want to surpass that number.”
On playing as an individual, and as a team…
“Individual stats motivate me, but I want to win. If we lose, but I have a good game, I’m upset because we didn’t win. In the last few games we’ve lost, I can see baskets or plays I could have made to help us win. I know I have an effect on whether we lose or win, but I don’t blame them on myself. I know that we lose as a team, and win as a team, just like tonight.”
On improving since the loss against Xavier…
“I thought I was mentally prepared for the Xavier game, but I let the big girl intimidate me. I know I can do better than that, because as a freshman I went up against Sylvia Fowles and held her to seven points. After the Xavier game I revaluated where I want to be and what I want to do this year. I don’t want this year, my senior season, to pass me or the team by. Since then, I’ve changed my mentality.”
On becoming a team leader…
“I don’t believe in pressure and I don’t try to put pressure on myself. I haven’t always been a leader, or a vocal leader. I’m trying to become a better vocal leader and set an example for the team. I realize that my team is looking up to me, so I have to step into that role.”
Alabama A&M Head Coach Altherias Warmley
On how her team played against Kentucky …
“I know that my team has been struggling here lately but the effort was great. We executed our game plan but we just made a couple of mistakes. They were crucial mistakes that once we were within 10 points it kind of pushed us back. But I thought they played hard. It was an aggressive game and we didn’t battle as hard as we needed to.”
On the difference between the first and second half …
“In the first half, we got a lot more opportunities within our offense, and in the second half, I think Kentucky shut us down. We looked to penetrate a little more and instead of getting something out of it, we made a couple of turnovers that never should have happened. Overall, I think Coach Mitchell is doing a great job with the program. I know he’s dealing with injuries right now. It was a good game for us. I feel like we did get better and we’ll take that and move on.”
On the upcoming schedule …
“We have one game before the break. We play Alabama on Monday and then we’ll have a couple days off. We’ll come back and play UAB before we start our conference season the first of January. I think even though we haven’t been successful in the win column with our non-conference schedule, our team has pulled together. We’re young and we’ve learned. We’re ready to take on our next challenge.”
