Syracuse Post-Game Quotes
Seton Hall at Syracuse
Manley Field House, Syracuse, N.Y.
February 26, 2005
Head Coach Keith Cieplicki
On the Orange defense:
“We’ve really talked a lot this week about our hardness and it seems like at this time of year, it’s a physical, physical game. Every play is physical. We wanted to go out and really play good team defense make people take shots in front of us. I think that we did a decent job on the boards for a long time until that stretch in the second half. I’ll be honest, I impressed upon this team and on the seniors that this is the last time that they’re playing here. Hopefully as the program continues to grow and build they’ll want a piece of this. I want them to have a piece of this. I thought this game was very significant. I told them that. I impressed it upon them all week. I’m really proud of the way they came out and played tonight.”
On what Rochelle Coleman means to the team:
“I think she just has a feel for the game. I think we’re asking her to do too much. She’s handling the ball, we want her to make shots, we want her to tell everyone else what to do, and we pretty much want her to make all her decisions right and then everybody else’s. She really has stepped up to the task. She never gets down. She is always upbeat. I think she always picks everybody else up. I think she’s been a huge key this year to us, playing hard even through the stretches where we weren’t winning, and really trying to get after people.”
On coming out of a rough streak:
“I feel like we’ve played pretty well in stretches. It’s hard when the work doesn’t get rewarded and they’ve worked very hard so I was pleased with the win. I was played with the way we won because I think it’s great reinforcement for the players.”
On whether the excitement of senior night affected the team:
“I hope it helped and again, you never know with senior night. Sometimes people get tight, sometimes people play out of their minds. You just never know. I thought that we were in a good place tonight. We played with good energy. We turned it over a little bit early. There are some things, technically, we would’ve liked to do differently, but overall, we were pretty consistent with our effort.”
On what he’ll take away from the seniors:
“I think all four of these seniors have really been willing to be open to me. I really appreciate that. It has not been an easy situation for them. Any player that is recruited by one coach and has to play under another coach, it’s hard. I really feel that they’ve been willing to grow and change and I’ll tell you what, I feel I’ve been willing to grow and change and understand them. This year has been one of my favorite years of coaching and I would say that these four players have really helped set a tone that has made it nice for us coaches and for the younger players. So I give them a lot of credit for that.”
On how the momentum of the win going into Georgetown:
“We have to play well Tuesday. Georgetown beat Villanova today. They’re playing their best basketball. They obviously played really well here. I think coming off tonight we’re excited. We were looking forward to playing. We have to execute Tuesday and we know that going into the tournament, we should have a winnable game and that’s all we can ask for. We’ll take tomorrow off and then we’ll have a couple days to really get ready.”
On what he attributes to Seton Hall getting back into the game:
“They’re just so well coached. I think Phyllis (Mangina) has done a fabulous job over the years. She gets the most out of every player she has. You watch them on tape, game to game, they’re really steady. I thought they struggled with their energy a little bit tonight, which they don’t usually do. Not that they didn’t play hard, but at times I thought their energy fluctuated and we took advantage of those opportunities. But to her credit and to her team’s credit, they didn’t just lie down and sneak on the bus. I think they made a lot of offensive rebounds. They tried to make plays. It just wasn’t their night. Sometimes I guess it just goes that way.”
Senior Forward Chineze Nwagbo
On her experience at Syracuse:
“Just being able to meet these types of girls this year and last year, over all the years I’ve been here, has been absolutely great.”
On being nervous before the game on senior night:
“I was excited. I’m surprised I didn’t cry.”
On feeling good about the future of the program:
“Look at the players we have left and the players we have coming in. They work very, very hard.”
Senior Guard Rochelle Coleman
On her experience being part of the team:
“I’ve learned a lot, on the court, off the court, just being here at Syracuse and from everyone I’ve encountered on the team and through the program. I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve gained from being on this team.”
On the momentum of this win and how it will help them next week:
“It’s good going into the BIG EAST Tournament to always have momentum and if we get a win at Georgetown, that’ll be huge for us. It also helps us with the standings and who we play in the tournament. Every win, like our last game against Georgetown, is huge and will help us a lot when we go to Connecticut to play in the tournament.”
Sophomore Guard Lauren Kohn
On hitting the threes tonight:
“Before the game, Coach (Cieplicki) talked about everyone coming off the bench and making some offensive plays and that’s just what I tried to do, step up and take some shots.”
