Jan. 13, 2005
USC Head Coach Susan Walvius
Opening Statement: “I felt Patrice Bryant played an outstanding game for the College of Charleston. Offensively, defensively she competed and she was very vocal which brought a lot of emotion for their team. I like players like that. For our team, it is like what Melanie said about going back to the film and seeing what we needed to do. We have a tremendous height advantage in these games as well in the SEC. We have to feed the post and get easy looks at the basket. I thought Olga and Shannel did a good job. We look to get high percentage shots from our defense in transition and get second chance shots. These things we are trying to grow with a young team.”
About USC’s defense this season: “We are containing penetration better. We are also very prepared coming into a basketball game. Our players know our opposition’s offensive sets and they know their personnel. The credit for preparing the players have to go my assistants to prepare the team.”
About being ready for conference play: “Looking at the Mississippi State game, we got into a tight situation. We need good point guard leadership. We are very young there.”
About Ebony Jones playing in her first game: “She has worked very hard. She was a defensive practice player, and she brings a lot of emotion. She is the voice of the team and the spiritual leader. She deserved to play and all of her teammates felt the same way.”
USC Sophomore Forward Melanie Johnson
About getting back into a groove after the Vanderbilt loss: “It feels good to get back on track. At Vanderbilt, I had a drought but tonight it felt good to contribute to the team. After the Vanderbilt game, we watched film and it gave us a good chance to see what we needed to work on: make easy passes, and feed the post.”
College of Charleston Head Coach Nancy Wilson
Opening Statement: “As far as my team goes, I am very pleased with their effort. If more of our shots have fell in the first half, I believed it would have been more of a game. South Carolina is very impressive with their size and their battle on the boards. I felt like our girls battled hard and we will take this experience into this weekend’s game against Furman.”
CofC Senior Guard Patrice Bryant
About USC’s height: “It was a big factor. It is the biggest that I’ve ever played against. We played hard and we felt like we played with them. Playing a non-conference game like this against a big team gives us a chance to know what we got to do when we play a big team in a conference game.”
