Student-Athlete Post Game Quotes vs. Cincinnati
Syracuse vs. Cincinnati
Feb. 23, 2008
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.
Student-Athlete Quotes
Junior Guard Cintia Johnson
On defensive mindset against Cincinnati’s leading scorer:
“While I was on the bench, she (Kahla Roudebush) made three 3-pointers. So when he (head coach Quentin Hillsman) sent me in and told me to guard her and told me to not like her touch the ball, not score, and take care of the ball, don’t throw it away and get it to open players. My main focus was to guard her and get the ball to Slinky (Nicole Michael) or Chandrea (Jones.”
On emphasis she puts on her defensive game:
“Yes because playing defense is my strength and taking care of the ball. So when Coach tells me to guard one of their best players I do that. “
On how her defense frustrated the Bearcats:
“Yes they were getting frustrated because they started pushing off on me a little bit. So I knew they were getting mad because I wasn’t letting her touch the ball. They couldn’t get the open threes she was getting before I came into the game.
On keys to playing strong defense:
“Don’t let the players even touch the ball is important. Keep them away from even dribbling. Playing the best defense I can is important because it allows the team a chance to win. I keep her from touching the ball because of all the practice I have from doing drills in practice with Coach Q and Coach Moody. I keep my hands up and attack the screens. It’s not a difficult skill because I was taught that in high school and I continue to be taught that since I have been here.”
On feeling after a strong defensive performance:
“I took a lot of pride in being able to stop their top scorer from continuing to score. We would have a difficult time winning if I wasn’t able to stop her. I wasn’t worried about anyone else. She was the one on fire in the beginning.”
On importance of win
“It was very important because we were frustrated about losing to the two other last place teams this season. We knew we had to come out today and play hard because we knew this win would give us an opportunity of playing in the NCAA Tournament.”
On winning their 20th game of the season:
“It means a lot because we didn’t have such a good season last year. It does a lot for our team and our coaching staff.”
Junior guard Chandrea Jones
On scoring stretch in the second half and pulling away:
“We knew we had to strengthen our lead somehow and do whatever we could to get a big lead.”
On stopping Cincinnati’s momentum:
“We just brought our intensity up. We got together and told each other what we needed to do.”
On being apart of the third 20 win team in Syracuse history:
“It means a lot to me. I know how much it means to the fans and to everybody working in the athletic department. We are looking forward to more though.”
Sophomore forward Nicole Michael
On getting a win going to into the end of season
“It means a lot to get a win. We just have to keep our confidence level up and keep playing hard and continuing to try and get these wins.”
On playing through sickness:
“It’s tough but I’ve played through sickness before. I just have to overcome it now. Everyone is getting sick. The weather is changing so I have to continue to take care of myself.”
On team’s ability to play strong following a loss
“This team is full of competitors. We play hard and we know how to come back when we are down. Importantly, we are aware we need to be focused and play as a team to win.”
On shutting down Cincinnati at start of second half:
“Coach said it was up to us and that we needed to keep working hard and play strong and play how we did at the beginning of the season. I saw more intensity and confidence. We were picking each other up and we didn’t stop playing hard.”
On Cincinnati using timeouts early in the second half:
“I’m sure they were nervous. Any team that takes timeouts during a run is nervous.”
On 20th win:
“It means a lot. We are only the third team to accomplish it. It feels amazing to be apart of that history but we have more games to go to extend that total.”
On difference between early season success and midseason struggles:
“I feel like as a team we lacked the intensity we showed early on. The coaches did as much as they could do so I felt there were a lot of times were we weren’t playing as a team. We didn’t play as hard. We needed to open our eyes and play hard and together as a team once again.
On upcoming games:
“We have Rutgers but we also have Georgetown and West Virginia. These teams are all tough but we have Georgetown next. Rutgers is a good team and we will work hard when we get there. We have to work hard and play together in every game.”
