Jan. 11, 2007
South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt
January 11, 2007
Post game quotes
South Carolina Head Coach Susan Walvius:
“This is a tough loss and a tough one to swallow. We were up 13 with eight minutes to go and had opportunities and missed free throws and lay ups, it comes down to that sometimes. We didn’t play smart down the stretch. We had some good individual performances and some good defensive performances by some players but we didn’t do the things we needed to at the end of the game. At the end of the game, it seemed like no one wanted the ball in their hand. We need to find a way to do things at the end of the game to win.”
On the loss:
“This one was tough because it was at home. We went on the road and played teams like Stanford and Kentucky. When you have the opportunity t against a team that is ranked 14th in the country, all you have to do is get stops and protect the ball. I was really surprised because we do have some veteran guards, but we still make some young mistakes.”
On the advantages:
“We play a lot of players. By doing so, we keep out players fresh. We were running transition in the beginning and that worked well for us. What we are looking for is two or three players who will go out and play consistently for us. That will be helpful in the long run to win the close games.
USC Players
Stacy Booker:
On the loss:
“This one hurt more than the last one. It was like we were not as aggressive on our press break and made some mistakes. We let this game slip out of our hands.”
Lakeisha Tolliver
On the guarding Carla Thomas:
“She’s strong and takes up a lot of space, which makes it a little difficult to get around her. She has inside and outside game, so you have to find ways to get around her.”
On Vanderbilt’s guards:
“I don’t think their guards bothered us, it was their press play that got to us. I think we handled their guard play and their defense. It was mostly their team press that got us.”
Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb:
On the game:
“I think our kids showed a lot of poise. We missed lay-ups we don’t miss and free throws we don’t miss but they just kept playing and really stepped up during crunch time. We picked up the pressure defensively and that made a big difference in the last ten minutes of the game. We just tried to keep them off balance towards the end of the game. We don’t press much, but in tonight’s game we didn’t have a choice and I think our kids handled it well.”
