Coach Hillsman Quotes
Opening statement:
“It was a tough way to lose, down the stretch like that. We had opportunities to win the basketball game, we had shots and we just didn't get the ball off the rim the last couple possessions. You can't throw the ball away down the stretch like that and win the basketball game in this conference. St. John's is a good team, and they came out and played really, really tough. Shenneika (Smith) had a monster game. She's a very good player. It's tough that when you look at the stat line, because we did a good job being aggressive and playing at the rim. We only shot eight free throws, and we’re a team that plays at the basket, and that's a big part of our game, so I thought we needed to be a little stronger at the rim. They got into the lane and took a lot of charges and took a lot away from us going to the rim. I give them a lot of credit. To come on the road and win in the BIG EAST is tough. I thought our kids player well, played hard, played aggressive and played at the rim. I give Slinky (Nicole Michael) a lot of credit, 22 points and 12 rebounds. I thought this was one of those games that we needed two or three players in double figures. We always say that if we hit our average, 74 or 75 points, we don't lose. Obviously, if we hit our average, we win the basketball game. I give St. John's a lot of credit for making plays down the stretch and we didn't.”
On the second to last play:
“We were trying to set a ball screen. They got a deflection, and that's a situation that, if we don't turn the ball over, if we throw the ball into the stands, we win the basketball game. The only thing that could not have happened, happened. We turned the ball over.”
On the last possession:
“We didn't have any time outs, and I was worried we weren't going to get the ball in bounds if we tried to get something closer. They could have trapped and we would have had no chance at a shot. I knew that if the ball got in the air, if it was a loose ball, we would have had a chance to get a catch and get a shot, or maybe even, they would run us over and we would get a foul. There were a lot of different scenarios that could happen with that situation. I didn't want to get trapped, throw it away, or get it in, dribble, and take a half-court heave. I didn't want to have to do something that far from the basket. We run that play a lot and we get the catch on every time. We got it at the half and we got it again. So we got exactly what we wanted. We got the catch and we had our best player going to the basket in that situation.
“That's exactly what we wanted, because we knew that if the ball got in the air, Juanita (Ward) could out-jump whoever was guarding her. We got exactly what we wanted. She went to the basket. She got the ball, and if she got one more dribble out in front of her, she probably has a layup, and we're having a different conversation.”
On if it hurt to see Smith playing for St. John's:
“It didn't hurt, because I love that kid. It didn't hurt at all. She's a good player, she's an All-American, and she came here and played like an All-American. Those things don't hurt, when you see a kid have that success.”
On the play of Smith tonight:
“This is her best game she's had all year. She's been aggressive and she made plays off of the bounce. She's a very good basketball player, there's no doubt about that, so this isn't shocking to me, this kind of game, because she's capable of having games like that every night.”
On seeing Erica Morrow turn the ball over late in the game:
“I feel bad for her, because I know she'll get beat up for it. They're going to beat her up for it, and I know she doesn't deserve it. She went out and played as hard as she could. This is a very unforgiving sport. You guys have to write the facts, and the fact is; she turned the ball over. She doesn't really deserve that. She's a tough kid, and if she doesn't come to Syracuse University, I'm not eating right now. I don't have a job right now. I feel really bad for her, because I know how hard she competes. I know how bad she wants to do it for me, so to see that happen and know she's getting beat up about it, it's tough. She tried to make a play. She called a ball screen, she went around the ball screen, and they made a steal. She did what I asked her to do.”
On losing BIG EAST games at home:
“This means we have to go steal one on the road. We have a lot of games left. We can win on the road, win on Saturday, then we're right back to where we need to be.”
On if the loss puts extra pressure on them to win Saturday:
“No pressure. I don't think we have pressure. We'll play as hard as we can. Notre Dame is a great team. The pressure is on Notre Dame. They're number three in the country. We're number 27. We don't have pressure. All the pressure is on them. There's no pressure on my kids. We’re going to play hard, we're going to execute what we do every game, every night.”
