Dec. 13, 2009
South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley
On whether this was her team’s first “complete” game of the season
Probably so. I think from the first minute to the last bucket this was our most complete game. I thought that our kids played really hard. We had some bouts with turning the ball over, but those are very correctable things. I think we got better. We were a better rebounding basketball team; we were the better team at handling the pressure and the penetration a little bit better. Some young players grew up, and we are heading in the right direction. Even though we didn’t start a couple of our normal starters, we still maintained our same level of intensity, and I was proud of that.
On the shake up in the starting lineup
I just felt like that Ieasia (Walker) and Ebony (Wilson) were giving us energy in practice that I liked. I felt that if they were going to play like that then you’ve got to reward them. We were rewarding them for constantly working out, buying into our game plan and always sticking to it in practice.
On Samone Kennedy hitting the 3-pointer at the end of the game…
Beforehand I just wanted her to get a shot up. We did say prior to that we wanted her to turn the corner and try to get the bucket. She couldn’t do it, and really Samone has hit shots like that before. I was really happy for her, and I just wanted her to get a shot. I told her that the basketball gods were on her side. She has been working really hard, and I am just really happy that good things are happening for her.
Valerie Nainima
On taking over the game from start
I just wanted to go out and execute the game plan. But after the first few shots, every thing started hitting. And because we were playing tit-for-tat with them, I wasn’t going to let them take over. I just wanted to keep us in the game to put us in a good situation in the end to win the game.
Samone Kennedy
On her 3-pointer at the end of the game to secure the win
I really didn’t think about taking the shot. All I knew was as I was watching the ball go out of my hand, I was thinking, `Oh my gosh, they still have time to score. So If I miss this shot, I’m going to hear it big time.’
On feeling more comfortable on taking shots
I’m definitely feel more comfortable. Coach tells me that we need to get more points from the point guard position. As first I was thinking that I need to get my teammates involved and make sure everyone is set up. But she gave me the green light, so I knew I had the wiggle room to take shots and they were falling, so I decided to just take them.
