Jan. 19, 2008

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Kansas 66, Missouri 60

Jan. 19, 2008

Postgame Quotes

Kansas Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson

Her thoughts on the game:

"I thought our intensity to start the game was fantastic. We have been pretty consistent in coming out of the gate strong and we were able to extend that at times in the first half. Give Missouri credit. Everybody in this league is going to make a run and we knew they would too. We needed an answer to stop the bleeding and we finally got that."

On the second-half Missouri run:

"We were getting good looks on the offensive end, but we missed some shots in the paint. It's not like we became passive. We just turned it over and missed a couple of layups. We finally settled down and Sade (Morris) hit a little mid-range jumper. That allowed us to take a deep breath and calm down a little bit."

On the crowd:

"Overall it was an absolutely fantastic crowd. That was a lot of fun. We appreciate that."

On the play of forwards Porscha Weddington and Krysten Boogaard:

"We have been talking to both of them about keeping it simple. We want them to do what they need to do to get the ball deep in the post. Porscha (Weddington) doesn't need to be fast or fancy because she is very athletic. She just needs to go up. I thought Krysten (Boogaard) got great position and we were able to get the ball into her. She is going to get fouled when she plays that aggressive and confident."

On the team's first Big 12 victory:

"This win gives us confidence. The kids have been resilient. We talk about how there are not a lot of teams that are going to win in Lincoln (Nebraska) and there are not a lot of teams that are going to go and win down in Baylor. Those are good basketball teams. These are not excuses. It is about not panicking and not losing self-confidence. We should have got a couple of those and we should have played better in the loss. We are so resilient and we can find a way to hang on and keep getting better."

Sophomore guard Sade Morris

On Kansas' first conference win:

"It feels nice.  I know we struggled a little bit.  We played well at home, but have not done well on the road.  We knew coming in today that this was a great opportunity to prove to ourselves what we can do.  Everyone was excited and feeling confident about how practices have been going the past couple days.  We were ready and we came out today and did what we had to do."

On the difference in today's game from earlier conference losses:

"We are tired of losing.  I don't know how else to say it.  Everybody on this team is sick of saying this is not the season we planned on.  We had to turn around a make a difference and I think that is what we showed today."

On Krysten Boogaard:

"We always try to establish our inside game so that it accommodates to our outside game.  Krysten was posting up well tonight.  She showed our guards her body and her numbers and we did a great job of getting the ball to her."

On playing on the road:

"We just have to stick together.  Things are not always going to go our way and we are not always going to have a fan base behind us; there are going to be times when we have no one else to rely on but each other.  I think we learned that.  We know we have to stick together and be encouraging to one another and help each other, even when we are not playing great." 

Senior guard Ivana Catic

On the win:

"It's a really great feeling to finally win a conference game, and of course because this game was against our rival, Missouri, it was an extra-special win.  It feels really good and we feel we have a good chance of hopefully getting another win on the road on Tuesday." 

On Kansas' inside game:

"That is something we worked on for two days.  We really tried to emphasize getting the ball into Krysten (Boogaard) and getting our post players looks inside.  Our guards have to do a better job of finding Krysten inside and she has to continue to do a better job of getting into position."   

On playing on the road:

"I think Krysten is a big part of our team right now.  The two games we have played away have helped her to realize what playing on the road is like.  I think it will help us at Colorado.  Playing on the road should have a less and less effect on us as we continue to play throughout the season."

Missouri Head Coach Cindy Stein

On the game:

"This was a tough game for us.  I should say that it was a really tough first half.  I would compliment Kansas on their defense.  I have been very impressed with their defense.  I'm impressed with their defensive intensity, and the things they try to do like taking people out of rhythm.  They definitely did that to us in the first half.  We came back in the second half and played a little bit more settled.  It came down to execution at the end.  We have to hit our free throws and get some better boards.  We cannot get out-rebounded every game and those are things that we are working on."

On Krysten Boogaard's big first half:

"We knew that they would try to go to her.  We needed to keep her off of the block.  It was just lack of execution on our part.  We did a lot better job of that in the second half.  Maybe we were too obsessed with (Danielle) McCray.  We wanted to make sure that we challenged her a lot."

Sophomore Forward Amanda Hanneman

On playing in Allen Fieldhouse:

"It was a good experience.  I had a lot of people come from home.  This is a great place to play.  The gym, the atmosphere, and the people are just so loud.  It's just a good experience."

On the game:

"I think we should have the same amount of energy as we had in the second half (for the entire game).  We need to come out with that fire from the `get-go'.  We have to hit our free throws too."

Freshman Forward Shakara Jones

On scoring inside:

"That was our key.  I wanted to post up really hard, get open and find the ball.  My teammates gave me the ball so they helped a lot."

On the game:

"I believe if we played the first half, the way we played the second half, we would be set."