Murray State University Athletics
Weekly Press Conference
2/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Quotes from head coach Joi Williams during the weekly women's basketball press conference on Feb. 24 at Pagliai's restaurant in preparation for the Lady Racers' Ohio Valley Conference home games this week against Southeast Missouri (Thursday, 5:15 p.m.) and Eastern Illinois (Saturday, 5:15 p.m.).
Opening statement:
"Last week was a big week for us. We were able to go to Tennessee-Martin and pull out a win. We didn't play real well at all, but fortunately, when it was all said and done, we looked up at the scoreboard and it was 71-70 in our favor. We did a good job in the last few minutes of that game of holding them off. They made a run, and we stayed pretty poised for the most part. We had a big stop at the end of the game, and I was real proud of our team with the way we pulled that game out. Then, against Tennessee State on Thursday, I thought we played a lot better than we played against them the first time around. We played some really good defense and forced 33 turnovers. I was just really proud of how we came out and played to start the game because we didn't come out and play well early on in the last couple of games before that. Now, we've got a tough week coming up. We're 7-7 in the conference, and we've got a chance to win two games at home this week. I'm glad we're finishing up at home, and then wherever that takes us, we'll see."
On what the Lady Racers need to do differently against Southeast Missouri to avenge the previous loss to them:
"We need to show up first of all. We went to Southeast Missouri earlier this season, but we didn't come out ready to play. We played scared to be honest with you, and our team knows that. Southeast Missouri is very imposing. They've got a very good basketball team, and they've got a lot of weapons. They pressure you from buzzer to buzzer, and that's something that we've struggled with. We just didn't come out and even give ourselves a chance in that first game. I'm really hoping that this time around our kids know what to expect, so we'll hopefully come out a lot more confident."
On the importance of the Lady Racers' final two regular-season games with the OVC Tournament starting next week:
"I think they mean a whole lot, especially in terms of momentum heading into next week. We want to finish up as strong as we can, and I've tried to emphasize to our team the importance of improving on every possession of every game. We just want to try to improve on what we've done and finish up as strong as we can so we can head into the OVC Tournament with a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence. Confidence is a big key for us. I think if we can play well in these last few games, it's only going to help us wherever we have to go for the tournament."
On whether she thinks it's important for them to finish with a .500 record in the OVC in her first season at MSU:
"I think that it would be great for us to finish at .500. We've already won three more conference games than they won last year. We were 4-12 last year and we have an opportunity to be 9-7 at the end of this week. I think .500 would be great, but I'm shooting for 9-7. If 8-8 is the best we can do, then I'll take that. Either way, it's a huge improvement to double the number of wins from last year, and if we can continue to build on that, that's always a positive. I think our kids will feel pretty good about that too."
On what she's learned about the OVC in her first season as a coach in the conference:
"While I was at Florida, I remember we went into Cookeville and played Tennessee Tech and we came out with a loss. The OVC has some very fundamentally sound basketball. One thing about this conference that jumps out at me is that there's some outstanding shooters. I'm used to the SEC where the basketball is very physical and where there's a lot of power. The OVC is a little different in that there's a lot more finesse, but there are some fantastic shooters. Overall, it's been exactly what I expected with very good competition every night out. One thing that's made me feel good is that our team has been able to compete with everybody in this league. I know that as we build this program and bring more kids into the mix, I feel very good about what the future looks like."
