Dec. 20, 2006
Coach Susan Walvius:
Opening statement:
“We spent a lot of time this week trying to work through our offense and as you can see, I think our execution was a little bit better. We got higher percentage shots and we finished more shots today. Iva Sliskovic has practiced really well over the last week and the team has really worked on their communication through the week. I thought we took a step today, not perfect basketball by any means but certainly some things we need to work on. I thought we made some progress.”
On the team’s recent emphasis on offense:
“We have had success in the past with our defense and our team is really rusty defensively. I am frustrated watching some of our stuff defensively but we have not spent any time on defense the last two weeks. It has been just execution after execution and it is nice to be able to step out of the floor and execute. It was not always perfect but it was at times today. We have looked at our team and we have not started games strong. It was an area we said we really needed to look at and try to get off to a better start.”
On the improving offense:
“I am excited about it because I know our team is very capable. You cannot get more open looks than we had against Oklahoma. As a coach, you want to have an offense where you can be able to create a good shot for your team and get your team working together and get a high percentage shot. To have them putting the ball in the hole was certainly a confidence builder. Teams typically are motivated offensively. I know the value of defense but when you put the ball in the hole it makes you look a lot better and the fans really appreciate it. So, for those reasons I am very pleased.”
Iva Sliskovic:
On her triple-double:
“It feels great but I have to give credit to my teammates for getting all of those assists. They finished all the shots, so I have to give credit to them.”
On the new lineup:
“We did work the past week, like coach said, on our offense and working with the team. We kept one team at practice and worked on our chemistry and I think that helped a lot.”
Melanie Johnson:
On scoring 16 points in the first half:
“Coach recognized that there was a mismatch and we just took advantage of our size. I had a small guard on me and we have some offensive sets that are designed for that. Lauren Simms was able to deliver the ball and like these past two weeks we had plenty of time to work on our execution and today we got a chance to show how we can really execute as a team.”
