Syracuse Postgame Player Quotes
Kayla Alexander, Freshman, Guard
On how it feels to be called amazing by Coach Quentin Hillsman:
“It’s a big compliment, but I just have try to keep working hard.”
On her thoughts about the first game:
“It was good to get the nerves out. I think I can do better than what I did today. I am going to keep working hard and improving throughout the year.”
On the competition:
“I think the girls are a little bit better here because the girls are older and stronger.”
On the lack of emotion on the court:
“I just wanted to get out there and play, I am not going to lie. I just needed to get out there and get my hands on the ball. I am excited.”
Tyler Ash, Sophomore, Guard
On the start of the season:
“I tried to focus on going out there and playing harder. I think this year I am more comfortable than I was last year. I am a lot more confident.”
Erica Morrow, Junior, Guard
On advice for freshman center Kayla Alexander:
“To keep scoring and keep getting rebounds. Like Coach (Hillsman) said, she did an excellent job for it to be her first game. She did way better than I did my first game. She can keep going up from here.”
On Kayla Alexander being a big target down the court:
“It definitely helps. She is much taller than me. It is a big help. I know a lot of plays we can just toss the ball up there and we know that she will go get it. She is tall, she is athletic and she is long. She is the perfect center.”
On Kayla Alexander’s impact in the 2-3 zone:
“It helps us guards a lot because we know that just in case we get beat, Coach might not take us out because we had somebody else that will block the shot behind us. She is a big time defender. She gives us a post presence. We obviously had one before, but we have Kayla and Vionca (Murray). They are so interchangeable down low. It helps us out a lot.
On her performance in the first game:
“I think I played kind of bad, but like I said I am happy with the ‘W’ and I am happy my teammates played great. They kept encouraging me to keep shooting and we just stuck together as a ball club and I think that is important. So, I was not too happy, but I am happy with the win.”
On the change from the first half to the second half:
“I think we had to lock down and focus. It was kind of a fast paced game in the beginning and we weren’t in spots at certain times. I think we had to lock down, focus and just do the little things. We were focused too much on trying to get steals and doing the big things. We needed to box out, rebound, get all the hustle plays, focus on our defense and our game prep and just to lock down everything that we had to do. That was the biggest change. It wasn’t anything too much, but just the little things that Coach needs to communicate to us.”
On having so much depth behind you:
“Like Coach said, I only played 28 minutes. That’s great, I am happy. I am not out there playing 36 minutes. We have a long season. I am just glad, like Coach said, that we played everyone on the roster. I am glad that everyone can come into the game and contribute. Regardless of scoring, rebounding, hustle plays, defense, offense. I am glad that we have a team of 13 girls playing that are active and that are great basketball players.”
On playing in the Dome:
“The Dome is a great place to play. No matter if it is 100 fans, or 1,000 fans. It is a great place to play. I think it also gives us an advantage because a lot of teams are not use to playing here. They are not used to having a lot of space around them. Playing in the Dome, I love it. I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else in the country.”
