Murray State University Athletics
Weekly Press Conference
12/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Quotes from head coach Joi Williams during the weekly women's basketball press conference on Dec. 11 following the Lady Racers' 76-53 win over Arkansas-Little Rock last Saturday. MSU will next play at Troy State on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.
Opening statement:
"Saturday, against Arkansas-Little Rock, we started out a little bit slow and took a three-point lead into halftime after hitting a three right before the half. We didn't play real well in the first half. We came out pretty flat again. We were a little inconsistent, and this time of year, that's to be expected a little bit. In the second half, the kids were able to dig deep down and came out with a lot more enthusiasm and a lot more effort. We went on a big run and hit 10 of our first 13 shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half, which was really a great feat, and we ended up with a good win against Arkansas-Little Rock."
"We're traveling to Troy State up next and right now they're 0-3. They've haven't played since Dec. 3, so I'm sure they've been working on some things in practice. I think they've been struggling to score, but they picked up a little bit in their last game and they're playing a lot of young kids, too. We're hoping to get a road win and it's tough to win on the road, no matter where you go."
On some areas that she's been pleased with through the first six games of the season:
"I think we've improved some with our rebounding. It's something that we've been harping on because you can't run in transition without the basketball, and we've got to rebound it to get it. I've been pleased with how we've progressed with that. I looked at the OVC stats and we're first in the league in defensive rebounding and I'm proud of that. Hopefully, we can keep that up. Our field goal percentage defense is pretty good at 38-percent right now, and that's something that we've really tried to work on as well."
On the play of senior guard Megan Fuqua:
"Based on her minutes, Megan didn't play whole lot last year. But, after watching Megan's work ethic and how hard she competes, I'm really pleased for her and the success she's having so far. I got a stat yesterday that Megan is seventh in the nation in three-point field goal percentage and I'm happy for her. She's not afraid to shoot it. I'm really not surprised because I know how hard she works and I'm happy that her hard work is paying off."
On the areas she feels her team needs to improve in before starting conference play in January:
"We've just got to be able to compete for 40 minutes. We want to put together a whole game. Offensively, we've got to execute a lot better, especially in our half-court offense. We haven't executed as well as I would have liked for us to. We've also got to cut down on our turnovers. Taking care of the basketball is something that we're really going to focus on. We also want to continue to build on our defense and try to apply a lot more pressure than we have been to create some early offense."
On the impact of having a week off in the schedule for final exams at MSU:
"I think it can help and it can hurt. You can get back to basics and work on a lot of things that you need to improve on to make you better. It's also a stressful time for the kids with exams, and as coaches, we realize that. I can remember it vividly and it's not a lot of fun. They're not getting a lot of rest because they're trying to study. We try to keep our practices short and sharp. Hopefully, we can be very good in that time and then let them focus on their academics."
