March 12, 2014
Recap | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship March 12, 2014
Game 3 - (2) Western Kentucky vs. (7) UL Lafayette Post Game Quotes
Western Kentucky Quotes
Opening Statement from Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard: "This is all about survive and advance, and I'm just super proud of this group. We fought, and I give Lafayette a ton of credit. Those young kids shot the ball incredibly well, they guarded, they rebounded, they did a lot of things right. Their head coach has done a lot of things right with them; they had a great season, but I'm just so proud of this group that we were able to figure out how to make some big plays, some big stops, and free throws at the end to win this game."
Question for Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard: Question... Where do you think the game went after you changed to a Box 1 defense in the first half, and was there any reluctance in going to that? "I think the biggest thing with us is that, through the whole year, we've made a lot of changes defensively; this group knows me and this staff, so I'm not reluctant to do anything with this group, because we practice a lot of different things. We're very comfortable in our 1-3-1 defense, but they were making big shots on us, so we had to switch it up. As a coach, however, that's what you have to do. You have to prepare for the different things that are going to be thrown at you, and we try to put to put them in those situations in practice. I'm just proud of our group of players; I knew that we were going to continue to keep grinding and keep playing. I was just hoping that we could get our hands up and they wouldn't shoot 60 percent from the three-point line again in the second half. Even though it was mainly just one player shooting them, she was shooting them for 22 and 24 foot; she's an incredible player and we know that. That's what we talked to our team about, and that's why we really tried to get our hands up and why we made the switches on defense, to keep them on their toes."
Question for Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard: Question... What are your thoughts on moving on to Friday? "We're going to sit, get back, and get prepared. It's going to be a good ballgame this next ballgame, so it's going to depend on who comes out. What we are going to do is try to focus on us and what we can do to get better; making sure we execute in every facet of the game. We didn't turn it over a lot, we took care of the ball a little bit, we rebounded, but we're going to have to guard. I know that's one of the things we are going to have to come out and focus on, so that's what we will be practicing."
Question for Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard: Question... What are your comments on Chastity Gooch? Will you need more games from her like this one to win the championship? "We've needed it all year; she's put this team on her back. That's just what she does; she just plays so hard, and her teammates have a ton of confidence in her. Chastity had 21 points and 14 rebounds, but this was a huge team win. We had a lot of people step up and make big shots. Lockhart, Johnson, and several other people made some huge shots for us. Chastity played very well, but this was a team win. She normally averages a double-double for us, so we depend on her to do that, but we also talked about how everybody else was going to have to step up, and they did."
Question for Kendall Noble: Question... Did you ever think they would stop making shots, since early on it seemed like they couldn't miss? "It didn't seem like it, but we finally decided to zone guard. We got our hands up, got in their faces, made the shots tough, and they finally started missing, we started getting rebounds, and converting on the other end."
Question for Chastity Gooch: Question... Did you feel like you couldn't be stopped tonight, especially in the second half? "Yeah, my team just kept feeding me the ball. Coach told me in the first half that I was kind of rushing my shot, so I just tried to slow down and gather myself, and that's what helped me in the second half."
Question for Kendall Noble: Question... Can you comment on Chastity's performance down the stretch? "We knew that they couldn't stop Chastity. We were trying to feed her the ball every time, and whenever we got her the ball she was able to score. That's what we did, and it worked well for us."
Question for Chastity Gooch: Question... Can you comment on your thoughts on the semifinal game on Friday? "We're going to have to focus on defense a lot more; Coach has been stressing to us that that's what's going to win us a championship, so we're going to focus on defense; keep practicing hard."
UL Lafayette Quotes
Opening Statement from Head Coach Gary Broadhead: "I was just impressed with the way our team played. It was the Cajun way. We did it the best that we could. (Western Kentucky) just out rebounded us. We played a really good Western Kentucky team. I was excited for our kids to have this opportunity. I believe Western Kentucky took the lead with a minute, 24 seconds remaining. I thought our kids played hard. We fell short a little bit, but we have everybody coming back so we're excited about what we're trying to do one step at a time in Lafayette. To me it's just the Cajun way. I love my kids and the way they played. I thought our game plan worked really well. We just fell a little short and we are a little short. We're ready to get back to work tomorrow."
Question for Head Coach Gary Broadhead: Question... What were the differences in the first half and the second half? "I thought we played really well. In the second half, we quit attacking and a lot of that is my fault. We set up in a different offense. For some reason, we were walking the ball up the floor (in the second half), picking the ball up and putting ourselves in position where we could be trapped. In the first half, we didn't do that at all. I'll take the blame for that. I felt that if we had kept on attacking, it would have help us get through (WKU's) runs. We missed a few shots and took some bad shots. Most of our turnovers happened in the second half. When you're playing small, you have to play aggressive and I didn't think we were aggressive enough and started to get a little bit tired and ran out of gas."
Question for Head Coach Gary Broadhead: Question...What were your thoughts on Western Kentucky's change in intensity and style of play and how did that affect the game? "I thought Western Kentucky was doing a good job (defensively) in the first half. We were just able to come off screens. It's hard to notice, but when we are in that 1-4 high set, we are actually passing into the post and running screens away while Sylvana is coming. We were doing the same thing in the second half. We just didn't take it to them."
Question for Head Coach Gary Broadhead: Question... What is your evaluation of where the program is now? "When we came to this program, it wasn't about building. It was about tearing in down. I talk a lot about that with our kids. When you are recruiting, you don't really know what you are going to get until you start working with them. I think we did an awesome job recruiting the kid that's going to work hard. I like the kid that comes in everyday and works hard and doesn't back down. I think we have a good core and if we can just stay healthy. I know in our locker room we've got everyone from the coaches to the players believing in what we are doing."
Question for Sylvana Okde: Question... What was working early on for you? Was it something you had seen in scouting? What was going on? "I was just excited to get back at it. We came into the game on a five-game losing streak against (Western Kentucky) and we all felt as a team that we were ready to take it from them. I started off playing at the top of the offense and they moved me down to the corner. I knew it was time of me to make some shots. It wouldn't have worked without the passing of Kia (Wilridge) and Jaylyn (Gordon). It was a team effort."
Question for Sylvana Okde: Question... What changes did Western Kentucky make defensively late in the first half and in the second half? "I think we just lost it on the offensive side. We had a couple of unforced turnovers and I think that just hurt us a little bit. We fought through it. Our defensive rebounding also hurt us. We weren't boxing out enough. (WKU) was just going over us and making layups. I think that was the difference. In the first half, we kept working hard and didn't let them get those rebounds. We kind of lost our edge in the second half."
Question for Sylvana Okde: Question... How frustrating were the second-chance rebounds by Chastity Gooch and Western Kentucky? "We talked about it in the locker room and I just felt it was about effort. If we had just dug a little bit deeper and maybe pushed her deeper under the basket so she wouldn't have been able to get the rebound."
Question for Sylvana Okde: Question... With everyone expected to come back, what are your expectations for your team next season? "I'm excited. We aren't losing anyone and we have three or four great freshmen coming in. Our freshmen this season have also really grown and improved so much and with five sophomores, five juniors and one senior next season, I think we are going to dominate the conference. Western Kentucky is out now and this is our conference. We are going to run through it if we keep our heads on straight."
