Murray State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Week In Review
1/28/2008 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Murray State women's basketball head coach Jody Adams addressed the weekly press conference on Monday. Here are some quotes from that conference:
Opening statement:
Following the SEMO game, we took Sunday and today off. Our starters are playing a lot of minutes, and need some rest. Our subs came in this morning and worked out as our starters watched film. That was probably the toughest loss we've taken; certainly the most disappointing one for me as far as the things that I saw in this team. The bottom line is: we got out-boarded by 20, and when you get out-boarded by 20 and the other team gets second shots like that, it's going to be tough to hang with a team like that, as good as they are.
I was disappointed in our ability to compete and to battle after losing the 15-point lead in the first half. This was a tough one for us. We've got to rebound quickly to go on the road, beginning with a tough environment at Austin Peay.
About upcoming games against teams that are trying to overtake MSU in the standings:
I don't look past the next game, but I do know that they are there. It is the middle of the pack that is chasing you to get in among the top four, to host the first round of the OVC Tournament. We're still working to be our best towards the end of February into the OVC Tournament. That's most important. We've got to sharpen our mentality. We talk about toughness, doing the little things, the details. I think that, at the end, the tough teams and the detailed teams will be the ones competing in the finals of the OVC.
About Austin Peay (upcoming Thursday opponent):
We did a decent job with Austin Peay on the boards, but going to their place and playing a team that really wants to beat somebody at home -- they want to protect their home court. They got one here recently (against UT Martin on Jan. 17). They are a scrappy team; they are a tough team. They're not going to lay down. No one at this point is going to lay down because we're Murray State. It goes back to us. I think our focus has to be on us and the changes that we have to make as a team and as individuals.
About APSU's Janay Armstrong, who had 18 points and seven rebounds in the teams' last meeting:
She's a player like Missy Whitney (of Southeast Missouri). You can't guard her with one; it's going to be team defense. We're going to have to provide help on Janay Armstrong, like we tried to do on the interior with SEMO. She's a great player. She puts up a lot of points; in the amount of minutes that she plays, she's very productive. She'll be a tough one for us; hopefully, we'll be ready for the battle.
About Jacksonville State (upcoming Saturday opponent):
I think that Jacksonville State poses some problems. They're athletic. They play with abandon. They're going to get out in the passing lanes and pressure you. They're a fearless team. They're going to get second shots, and part of their second shot is their best shot. They're going to be a team that has a lot of fight and a lot of hunger to them. They're tied for sixth right now, just a game-and-a-half behind us in fourth, so they're fighting to get in among those top four teams. We play them at home, and that should be a home-court advantage, but right now, we're trying to make adjustments mentally.
On the team's chances of winning the OVC regular-season title, now with four losses:
It depends on how this team plays in this last month of regular-season basketball. We talk every day with the seniors: "How do you want to go out?" Then, you talk to the rest of the team about helping the seniors have a special year. This is our chance. It's a great time for us to compete for that. I think it will be tough. It depends on if we switch over to a different mentality, and not the mentality we should against SEMO. I didn't see much fight in our team, pretty disappointing in a coach. Hopefully, they saw that in film today, and it will drive them as it has driven the coaching staff.
On the way the team reacted when SEMO head coach John Ishee was ejected from the game Saturday:
I've been trying to get a grip on the mentality of this team in the short time that I've been here, and -- having been with them in certain situations when their back's against the wall or when they're up by 20 or down by 20 -- I don't think we relaxed with the lead at that time. I don't think that's our players' style: "Oh, we've got it made." For whatever reason, we stopped doing the things that we had been doing. We stopped rebounding the ball, and when we're rebounding, we're productive on the offensive end. We're playing great defense, getting good deflections and productive on the offensive end. When we don't and we give up easy shots, high-percentage shots, second and third shots, we're not productive on the other end. We are best when we're pushing the ball, when we're attacking the rim, and we do that off of deflections, off of steals and rebounds. Ashley Hayes has to rebound for us; Alaina Lee has to rebound for us; Angela Brown has to rebound for us. That's the bottom line, whether it's the first five or you're subbing in: you have to rebound the ball.
To me, that's heart. That's just getting in there and fighting. It's work. It's hard. It's hard to win; it's easy to lose. We go back to choices all the time. Champions do things the hard way; they do it the detailed way. Details are hard. Being sloppy and messy -- that's easy. It depends on what our choices are going to be down the road.
On Shaleea Petty's play as a scorer:
I need her to be a scorer, no doubt. That's something that "Lee-Lee" has changed this year. She has begun to look for her shot more. Her shots didn't fall the other night. Looking back at her shots, she took good shots; they just didn't fall. Amber Guffey's are not falling right now. She's right on target; they're good shots. What Amber did -- which is very intelligent -- is she got to the free-throw line. She knows how to draw the foul, how to get somebody in the air, and she got to the free-throw line for us (17-for-19, setting a women's arena record). That's a sign of a player who understands, who gets it, when the shots aren't falling. We do need Shaleea to score the ball for us.
LAST WEEK'S NUMBERS (two games played)
Ashley Hayes: 46 points (23.0 ppg), 14 rebounds (7.0 rpg), FG: 20-39 (.513), 3-FG: 6-13 (.462); tied a career-high with 27 points against Tennessee Tech, a game in which she scored her 1,000th career point
Alaina Lee: 32 points (16.0 ppg), FG: 12-22 (.545), 3-FG (4-6 (.667), 5 assists (2.5 apg); tied a career-high with 17 points against Tennessee Tech
Amber Guffey: 31 points (15.5 ppg), FT: 17-19 (.895), 15 assists (7.5 apg); set a women's arena record with 17 free throws against SEMO; tied a career-high with 10 assists against SEMO; scored her 1,000th career point in that game; became the first MSU women's player to score 300 career free throws and hand out 300 career assists
Angela Brown: 15 rebounds (7.5 rpg)
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Murray State Racers (13-6, 7-4 OVC) at Austin Peay Lady Govs (5-14, 2-8 OVC)
Thursday, Jan. 31, 5:15 p.m.; Dave Aaron Arena at The Dunn Center, Clarksville, Tenn.
Jacksonville State Gamecocks (9-12, 6-6 OVC) at Murray State Racers
Saturday, Feb. 2, 5:30 p.m.; Regional Special Events Center, Murray, Ky.
