Murray State University Athletics
Weekly Press Conference
12/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Quotes from head coach Joi Williams during the weekly women's basketball press conference at Pagliai's restaurant on Dec. 15 in preparation for the Lady Racers' home game with Chicago State on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Regional Special Events Center.
Opening statement:
"We're coming off of a loss yesterday at Troy State. We started out not really hitting any shots from the outside, and with our kids and the games we've won, we have opened up by hitting some shots and gained energy from that. That's not an excuse for us and it doesn't need to be, but I think that our kids need to learn to get over that hump. If shots aren't falling, we've got to find another way and do it through defense. Yesterday, our interior defense was not very good, and then, we didn't do a really good job on the perimeter either. We're back to the drawing board in some ways, and we certainly have a lot to work on as we prepare for Chicago State coming up on Saturday."
"Chicago State is extremely athletic. We're going to really have to execute and take care of the basketball to have some success. We do have a lot of time this week to try to get better and work on some things defensively, and that's what we hope to do."
On the Lady Racers' rebounding struggles against Troy State on Sunday:
"We were there for the rebounds, we just didn't put our bodies on anybody, didn't box out and their kids could jump a lot higher than we could. I've told our kids time and time again that just because we are in good position doesn't mean that we're going to get the ball. We really have to back up and box people out, and then go get the ball. We've got to learn our lesson, and unfortunately, we had to learn the hard way yesterday."
On the search for a consistent scorer on this year's team?
"I am looking for that consistency. We don't have a lot of kids that can really create a shot off of the dribble. Most of our scorers are outside shooters, so it's really tough for us at times. We're still searching and trying to figure out ways that we can get them open so they can just shoot the ball off of a pass or coming off a screen."
On finding the right combination of players to win tough games:
"We're trying to find people that will fight. I told them yesterday that we've got to be warriors, especially on the road because it's tough to win on the road, no matter where you are. You have to really fight and battle for wins on the road, and to be honest with you, the kids just aren't used to that. They're used to just going out and when you see that you're losing on the scoreboard, that's what the outcome is going to be. I know they want to come back, but it's just a matter of them not having the experience of ever doing it before. As a coaching staff, that's what we're trying to let them know. (At Troy State) We were down eight points with three minutes to go, so we had plenty of time to win that game. We made some mistakes and just didn't do it. We're trying to find people that just want to go out and play hard every second they're out there."
On Saturday's opponent, Chicago State:
"They're very, very athletic. We're going to have to slow them down in some way. Fortunately, we're playing at home so maybe we can get some of our fans out there. More than anything, we just have to execute and we have to do things fundamentally correct. Chicago State will be more athletic than us, so we can't go out and try to beat them with our athleticism. They have some freshmen that are pretty good, they have a new coach and they're playing with a lot of confidence. As I said, we're going to work really hard this week in practice and put ourselves in a position to have some success on Saturday."
On the team's confidence level at this point in the season:
"It goes up and down. I think, overall, we have gained some confidence and I think they do feel a little bit better about themselves. As a coach, I can't give them a false sense of confidence. I'm pretty tough on them, but I do try and find some positives. They're getting more confident, but they're not going to gain a lot of confidence from games like the one we had yesterday. But I do think that our players see that they made a lot of mistakes (against Troy State) and there were a lot of things we can correct and do better. So, I think the confidence is getting there, but that'll be a season-long task for me."
On how things have gone early on compared to her expectations:
"I knew that we probably wouldn't be real, real consistent at this point and that we'd be doing a lot of learning. We have lost a couple of games that I think we should've won, but I think we are at a good spot. I know things happen for a reason and I'm just hoping that the losses we have and the way that we've lost will teach us a lesson because they were all under our control. Outside of Arkansas State, I don't think we've lost to anybody that was just flat out better than us, and we were still in a position to win that game. I try to draw some positives from that game because we showed a lot, from the opening tip to the last horn. If we can continue to keep that game in our minds, I think we'll be alright."
