Baylor-Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
3/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 11, 2003
Baylor Quotes
Head Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson
Opening remarks:
"Give Texas A&M a lot of credit. They played hard tonight and took things away from us that they hadn't taken away before. The halftime adjustment was nothing but the team understanding what they were playing for. I challenged Sophia Young at halftime. She is the kind of person where you don't know if challenging her will make her better or worse. Tonight, it made her better. Steffanie Blackmon was a warrior for us, even with the foul trouble. Chelsea Whitaker was a real spark plug off the bench, and brought a lot of energy to the team."
On the status of the program:
"We lost two All-Americans. We only have one senior. Nobody thought we'd be any good. Baylor is here to stay. Tradition comes from longevity, and that's what made tonight's game so important. We leave everything on the floor every game.
On the three-guard lineup in the second half:
"We played a lot of zone tonight. I felt that getting another guard out there would help our quickness on the floor, getting loose balls, knocking balls away. Chelsea Whitaker was very good for us."
On NCAA Tournament hopes:
"The game of women's basketball has gotten so good. There are so many coaches pleading their case right now. The south division in this conference is tough. When a team like ours stays in ballgames and gets some upsets, that helps to grow confidence. The Big 12 is so good that we must get six teams into the tournament - and hopefully Baylor will be that sixth team."
On Kansas State:
"I don't know how we'll guard them. What we have to do is hope that whoever we isolate has an off night. I don't know that I've seen a better 'back-to-the-basket' player than Nicole Ohlde. The way she plays makes others around her better. Kendra Wecker has really carried the load with Laurie Koehn being injured. Wecker is just a tremendous athlete."
Jessika Stratton, Junior Guard:
On the second half:
"I just took my shots when they came. I recognized the open lanes and took them or drew the foul and tried to finish. We got challenged by coach at halftime, we took it as a team, and I took it individually, and we got it done."
On Kansas State:
"Kansas State is a great team, we're excited to get the opportunity to play them again. We need to play hard and hit our shots from the perimeter and the post. They do a great job with finishing and getting fouls, and that will get us shots from the outside as well."
Steffanie Blackmon, Sophomore Post:
On the difference between the first and second halves:
"We didn't have early intensity, Texas A&M came out fired up. We were a little jittery at the beginning of the game, but we got them out in the second half. We came out a lot more aggressive in the second half and started going to the boards."
On playing Kansas State:
"We need to play a lot better. We're looking forward to playing Kansas State again."
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Peggie Gillom
Opening statement:
"I thought it was a tale of two different halves in this game. We played and fought, and we did a lot of things we know we could do. We out rebounded Baylor in the first half. In the second half, we knew they would make a comeback, but we thought we could withstand the pressure. Jessika Stratton had zero points in the first half and ended up with 18. Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young had six and eight points in the first half and they ended up with 22 and 25, respectively. It was just the difference in the game. I thought we came out and played hard, but it was just for one half."
On her halftime speech:
"We kept saying they were going to make a run and we have to withstand it. They made a run and we were not ready. I think we tried, but it just was not enough."
On the difference inside:
"We played really well in the first half. They got more aggressive in the second half. Their intensity rose, and they went to the basket. We fouled and put them on the line, which is something we did not want to do."
Toccara Williams, guard
On the Baylor run to open the second half:
"I think it effected us tremendously. It brought our confidence down, and we just did not react to what they were doing. We never had an answer for them. The momentum shifted tremendously. Our intensity level stayed the same as theirs rose above ours.
On the game summarizing their season: "We started out great, with a couple of things happening. We just never answered the call. That is how the entire season went. We just could never answer their intensity. We stayed at the same level instead of rising above our intensity in the first half."
Lynn Classen, center On the Baylor run to open the second half:
"We just kept backing down every time they had the ball. We just quit our aggressiveness, and we could not keep up with them."
On the lack of inside scoring in the second half:
"I think when we get in a funk, we stop doing what works. Their inside games were tearing us up in the second half. We didn't realize we needed to go back to what we were doing in order to win."
