Nov. 11, 2007

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Kansas 75, Hartford 72

November 11, 2007

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson

On the Jayhawks's three-point shooting:

"I thought we took well-balanced shots.  Our shot selection was good.  With how unselfish our players are and when the shots are coming from the rotation of the ball you really feel good to shoot.  When you shoot the ball really quick after just one pass and you are wondering if coach wanted me to shoot the shot we probably don't make most of those.  Hartford also shot the three-point shot well.  We also shot free-throws as well as I think we are capable of doing.  We showed some confidence and knocked them down."

On the win:

"I think it is a great win for us.  It is a quality win and Hartford is going to win a lot of games this year.  They won 25 games last year, they will win that amount or more this year.  They are skilled.  They have great inside and outside game.  It is a win to be happy about."

On KU's defense:

"Once everyone in the program embraces the idea of turning up the heat defensively and realizes that it is not that much harder to play quality defense, then we are going to be in good shape.  If we run and run then somebody is going to have to eventually call a timeout to stop the bleeding."

On freshmen Nicollette Smith:

"Her basketball IQ is good and I can't take any credit for that because she packed that in her bag when she moved to Lawrence.  Her poise and composure is very good.  Her teammates enjoy playing with her because they know where they can find her.  If she is ready to shoot it and has her feet right she is one of the best shooters that I have ever coached and I think one of the better shooters that I have seen in a long, long time.  She is playing with the same poise and confidence that the sophomores now played with last year."

Freshman forward Nicollette Smith

On the second half:

"We were penetrating a lot more because they (Hartford) had to stay down on me in the first half; they didn't realize that I could shoot it from outside.  Our guards recognized that and they started to penetrate and kick the ball back out." 

On her clutch free throws in the final minutes of the game:

"I had butterflies in my stomach.  I had to take a deep breath and calm myself down.  Free throws have been a big point of emphasis the last couple days in practice since our last game when we couldn't knock them down.  It felt good to get the win."

On her confidence with her shooting:

"I knew I could shoot it all through high school but my coaches and my teammates (at Kansas) have given me a lot more confidence, which has helped me to improve a lot in my shot and my accuracy." 

Sophomore guard Sade Morris

On Kansas hitting 11 threes:

"Tonight was a night when we were knocking them down from the three-point line; some games it happens, other times it won't.  We did a good job tonight."

On becoming a playmaker:

"That is kind of the role that I have accepted this season.  Playing in Australia and practices leading up to the season I developed a lot more confidence.  I'm confident enough to take the shot from the three-point line and to be that playmaker."

On Nicollette Smith's shooting:

"That is what we need from her.  We need a post player who can take it to the rack and who can also shoot it from anywhere on the floor.  That opens it up for the penetrators on the team and it helps our bigs (post players) post up and get lay ups for us.  It makes us hard for our opponents to guard us because they don't know what to do.  It's a huge advantage for us."

Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti

On the game:

"Kansas is a really good team.  I knew that this would be a really good test for us, so that is why I wanted to come out here.  I wanted to get us ready for our tough schedule this year.  They have a lot of really good young players and they are going to have a really good season.  For us to play as well as we did in the second 20 minutes was a good omen for our capabilities this year.  We certainly have a lot of work to do, but we wanted to come out here and test ourselves and measure ourselves against a really good basketball team and I think we accomplished that."

On making a run in the second half to narrow Kansas' lead:

"It takes a lot of energy to fight back, and that is what we talked about after the game.  We waited until the second half to settle in and play good basketball.  When you are down 10, you have to press a little bit to get back into the game.  Kansas is a good team, so for us to expect to go on a run and for them not to come back on us would be silly.  At this point we are talking about confidence and believing that we have a chance to win every game that we play."

On Kansas' defense:

"We expected the physicalness.  We are not usually allowed to play that way in our league, so we actually enjoy it.  It took us a little bit to adjust to it, but they were scrappy and they do a good job of putting pressure on the ball.  They do a good job of not allowing you to see open cutters. We really worked hard to prepare for that all week.  We knew that it would be a challenge to score."

Senior Forward Danielle Hood

On her thoughts in the final minutes of the game:

"Finally we started to play.  That is how we can play, if not better.  We got off to a slow start, but in the second half we showed how we really can play."

On the first half:

"We had too many turnovers and not enough stops.  They have weapons at every position and they were knocking down a lot of three's.  And when that happens, it can put you in a defecit really quick."

On the physical play in the paint:

"It was physical, but I like that because in our conference we are not allowed to play as physical.  As a post-player that is how you want to play."