Recap | Box Score

Head Coach Dawn On what she said to the team when trailing 25-7 early in the game
Stick to the game plan. We did some things early on at the beginning of the game that were new. We were switching everything. They (LSU) made us pay for it. Fortunately for us, we were able to turn up the heat defensively, knock down some shots and get ourselves back in the game.

On the spark Markeshia Grant brought off the bench
It was huge. At that point you’re just searching for combinations that can give you a little something different. Markeshia was practicing extremely well for the past couple of days. I thought she’d be ready to play and give us a lift, mainly from an offensive standpoint. She’s quick and athletic. I thought we could put her on the ball to speed up the play. She came in and got a steal right away. She set the tone for us from a defensive standpoint.

On Courtney Newton’s contributions, especially in the undermanned frontcourt
I made sure I got [Courtney] in early, so she could mix it up a little. She’s not afraid to mix it up. She made us proud. She’s a player that loves to compete and always has a smile on her face. She doesn’t always get into the games, but every time we call a number she does something good for us.

On the importance of getting this win
It’s huge anytime you can get a win in this conference. I think for us, we want to protect our house. I think we’ve been playing well here. We’ve talked about it the last couple of days. Then we want to sneak up and get some wins on the road. It’s certainly a confidence booster. It’s one that will help us tomorrow practice a little bit better and on Saturday to get ready for Florida.

On the team’s comeback effort
They fought hard. I’m really happy for them. I’m proud…I’m happy to see their fight produce a win.

On the team frequently getting off to slow start in games
I would say it’s from our defense. We’re not putting enough pressure on the ball. From the offensive standpoint, we’re not pushing the ball up the floor. I thought tonight we just pushed the ball. We put them back on their heels for a little bit. That created some more options for us.

Ieasia On what she was thinking at the free throw line at the end of the game
I was thinking, make it, no pressure. Just put it in. It went in.

On how the game changed after the team got behind early
We had to step our defense up and start pushing the ball, because we weren’t playing our game. Once we sped it up, we started coming back. That’s our bread and butter. It helped us out a lot.

On how the team helped on the interior defensively with limited post players available to play
We’re all pretty strong. We play the same no matter what our size is in the post area. We try to do a lot of help.

Markeshia On her confidence coming into the game, especially starting the second half
I had a lot of confidence coming off the bench in the first half. Coach [Staley] started me in the second half, and I kept up the aggression. I had a Coach [Lisa] Boyer attitude. She’s very passionate, and that’s how I was.