Quentin Hillsman Postgame
Syracuse vs. Villanova
January 31, 2009
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.
“It’s one of those days, I guess. We ran into a buzz saw. We ran into a team that really just shot the ball really well. I thought they really, really shot it. They made some contested ones, and they made some open ones. They just really got it going on us and they made shots. We got back into the basketball game pretty good in the first half. In the second half, we cut it under six. We had some spurs where we cut it down, but when you play against a team that really passes the ball well, and you’re scrambling and chasing them, you’re going to have some problems. That was the coin flip – either we could keep them in front of us and really guard the contest shots, or we get to the point where we’re scrambling around and trying to get to spots on the floor where we can get the ball out of their hands and reverse the ball, and get shots in the corner. They did a very good job of reversing the ball, and sometimes when you start running around and getting yourself out of character and trying to get back in the game, go for steals, and be more aggressive – you get burned. We had to get to a point where we started scrambling. They did a good job of spreading the floor, moving the ball, and it was a great game by them. When you look at the offense – Harry [Perretta] has an offense, it’s called the ‘Villanova Offense’ – it’s his thing, and they ran it well. The thing about it is, it’s hard to get in practice and simulate that because they run it. Harry does a good job with his kids and he gets shooters. I thought it a good game. We were prepared for this game. They didn’t do anything we weren’t ready for, they didn’t do anything we hadn’t seen. They just came out and made the shots. When you have a team that makes shots at that rate, you’re going to have a problem unless you can outscore them, and tonight we couldn’t get that going. Talk about about [Chandrea Jones] and [Nicole Michael] – they were 4-20. When you have two players that are 4-20, and Erica [Morrow] is out, you have a problem. I thought Marisa Gobuty came in and played a strong game, and our goal was that between a couple players, to find Erica’s 16 ponits. And between Lina (Lisere) and Missy (Maria Gobuty), we would be 5-15. We had our other two players just score their average. [Juanita Ward] got her average, other players scored their average. We were right there. They had 69, we scored our 71 points that we aveage, and we win by two. But it was one of those things where when they start making those threes, you start getting out of character and scramble. They just made a lot of shots early.”
On Erica Morrow:
“She’s actually feeling a lot better. At some point, we want just want to win basketball games, but health is more important than basketball. Maybe she could have, maybe she couldn’t, but we weren’t going to take any chances. She had a chest contusion, so we’re talking about a chest injury. That means she got hit in the eye, the throat, and the chest in one possession – it’s besides me how you’re hit in three places in one possession, but she did. You have that, you have to air on the side of caution, and that’s what we did. We didn’t regret one minute of it because health is more important than anything in this world.”
On the game:
“We missed looks in the paint. We took 10 threes, out of 50 field goal attempts. We took the ball to the basket, we weren’t out there shooting a lot of threes. Our game plan was to play as we always play, and to attack the paint. I had on the board at pre-game, 10 threes or less, and they took 10. We took the ball to the basket and we played inside the arc and in the paint, and normally those shots fall. We had 16 offensive rebounds, so we did a good job in the paint. When you don’t make shots, you don’t make shots.”
On how the offense chances without Erica Morrow:
“It chances because we run a lot of things through her, but we ran the same things through Missy (Marisa Gobuty) early and she was very effective. Once she started being effective and they started recognizing her as someone they could respect on the floor, that’s when we needed Chandrea [Jones] and [Nicole Michael] to step up and do what they’ve been doing all season – just hitting their average, nothing crazy. When [Juanita Ward] got hers, and [Chandrea] and [Nicole] didn’t get going, we had a problem. When they can score their average, it’s a different game. We were going to them, they just didn’t make shots.”
On putting the game behind them:
“We already have. Once I walk out of the locker room, it is behind me. We already talked about practice, we already handed out scout reports for Louisville because it doesn’t matter, there’s nothing we can do to change this. We have to move forward and get ready for Louisville, which is obviously going to be a tough game down there. Obviously they’re going to be pumped up. We beat them here last year, so we have to go down there and play strong and play aggressive and do the things that make us successful.”
On whether Erica Morrow will be ready to play at Louisville:
“I certainly hope so. I don’t know. It’s definitely day-to-day. Right now, we don’t know. She’s been seeing the doctor every day, so if she’s ready to roll Tuesday, obviously she’ll be back in the lineup. If she’s not, Missy (Marisa Gobuty) will be back in there again so we’ll be ready to play.”
