Player Postgame Quotes
Women's Basketball Player Quotes
Syracuse vs. Notre Dame
January 30, 2010
Carrier Dome
Senior Forward Juanita Ward
On what she took away from this game:
"I take away that we are a good team. They were a little bit more focused at the end of the game."
On the play of the team during the second half:
"Emotions were high. We were playing against a great team. We came together as a team and fought to the best of our abilities. We try to go out there and execute everything Coach (Hillsman) asks us to do. I think we gave it our best, we gave it our all."
On what this game came down to:
"When you play against a team like this, you have to be on top of your game. It shouldn't come down to those last possessions. We just have to stay focused. It was a big game, we had a lot fans. We just have to maintain and stay focused."
On how the game would be if they had made more free throws:
"I think the game would have been a whole lot different. We practice shooting free throws. We just weren't knocking them down. I think people stepped up at times, and we missed the opportunity."
On the last play of the game:
"The play was designed by Coach (Hillsman). I did exactly what I was told to do."
Junior Guard Erica Morrow
On how frustrating it has been the last two games, losing close games:
"It's very frustrating. When you look at the two games we lost, they were by two or three points. This one was against a great basketball team, which is the most frustrating thing. This is frustrating, but at the end of day, we're 16-5 and we got a lot more basketball left to play. We can't get too down on ourselves; we just have to correct our errors."
On the energy the team brought into the second half:
"The energy plays a big part of it, but I think it was us trying to buckle down and trying to make plays. Notre Dame, they are a great team, ranked No. 3 in the country. You have to make plays if you want to beat the top teams. We just needed to make plays and drive to the basket."
On her three-point struggles in the second half:
"One thing with our coaches is we try to shoot the open threes. I felt that all four of my three attempts were open – in a way, wide open. They were just hitting the back of the rim for me. It just wasn't my night."
On playing more aggressive after a scoreless performance last game:
"I was a little more aggressive, but I was trying to relax a little bit. I was trying to relax and let it come to me, not try to force it. There are other players on the team. When I'm not on, we got fifteen other girls."
Senior Forward Vionca Murray
On what they have work on:
"We've been losing our last couple games by two or three points and when you look at how many free throws we missed, we'll do those in practice. We'll practice them more everyday."
On how physical Notre Dame played:
"We knew they were going to be a physical team. The key was to be tough and go up strong. We prepared for that. We had the ball and we just had to hit the shots."
