March 14, 2014
Western Kentucky Quotes
Opening Statement from Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard: "We wanted to come out of the locker room and make sure we were aggressive and try to jump on them early. They're a very good basketball team and they came back. It was like blow for blow. I'm just proud of this group because we continued to keep fighting and never once did we hold our head. I'm proud to be their coach and I'm excited for this program that we can get back to the championship game."
Question for Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard: How much did Gooch picking up her fourth foul interrupt what you were trying to do? "Well you know I've been coaching Chastity these last two years and you remember how thin our roster was, so Chastity is used to playing with four fouls. I think every one of the players was trying to make sure that they were doing the right thing. But this was a big team win and Chastity did a ton of things for us and she will continue to do great things. I don't think it effected her, she really just wanted to win like always."
Question for Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard: Are you excited to be back in the championship against Arkansas State tomorrow night? "I'm definitely excited. I'm excited for this group because, again, as we left off of our Arkansas trip that's what we talked about. We talked about being able to take it one game at a time and win games we needed to win so we could get to the championship game. I'm just super excited because that's where we are at right now."
Question for Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard: How big was Kendall Noble down the stretch? "Kendall is like the silent assassin. I mean, you look at the stats and all the way across the line she always does everything. She is very good an deceptive at attacking the basket. We were watching the way that she was being guarded and we talked to her about being aggressive and told her to make sure she was going to the basket. She somehow, like you said, she makes those shots a lot. She'll shoot runners and she knows how to get people off of their feet. She can get to the basket too. We had a lot of people step up for us and when you're in this time of the season, that's what you want is team basketball."
Question for Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard: What were your feelings as UALR kept chipping away and getting back in the game after you took leads? "I was just trying to tell the players to continue to keep playing the game. They're a phenomenal basketball team. Joe does a great job and Taylor Ford is an unbelievable player and Gault is really good. So we knew it wasn't going to be a blowout. We found a way to sit down and guard and do what it takes to win."
Question for Kendall Noble: Did you try and put the team on your back in Chastity Gooch got in foul trouble? "My coaches told me to be aggressive and my coaches told me to attack because good things were happening when I was attacking. That's what I was trying to do and it worked out well for us."
Question for Player Kendall Noble: Can you walk us through the circus shot at the end of the game that ended up being an "And-One" shot? "I really don't know how it went in. I just threw it up and I got fouled and it went in, thank the Lord."
Question for Player Micah Jones: Can you talk about your excitement level being one win away from the NCAA Tournament? "It's been our goal all season, we've talked about getting to the championship game all year. We want to have a chance to win and for our seniors, we want to win for them. This was a huge win. We are going to prepare tonight and go out there tomorrow."
UALR Quotes
Opening Statement from Head Coach Joe Foley: "Well, I think everyone saw that it was a great ball game. Both teams made great runs. We just ended up a little bit on the short end. It was a heck of game offensively for both teams. Defensively, neither team could get many stops. It just came down to who had the ball towards the end. We missed a few layups, including one there at the end that could have turned the tide a little bit, but that's how it goes some times."
Question for Head Coach Joe Foley: Question... Can you comment on the slow start? "Western (Kentucky) came out in a triangle-and-two (defense). I thought that might be a possibility since we had seen them play in a few times in the last couple of games. We worked on it for quite a bit yesterday, but that's what happens in tournament play when you haven't seen something. You kind of expect it and go through it, but you don't really have time to go through it as much as you would like to. It wasn't that (the players) were lackadaisical, they just weren't quite ready to attack it. We had people underneath the basket and just missed some shots. Kierra (Clark) missed a couple. In the second half, we made some changes to how we attacked it and we picked it a part. We got better against it as the game went along, but that's what kind of got us back on our heels. It took (Taylor) Gault and (Taylor) Ford - our top two scorers away which was a good thing on (WKU's) part. If our other three players had been ready for it and a little more used to playing against it, we would have come out much quicker, much better and it probably would have been a whole different story. When you have young kids out there, it's hard to tell them and for them to realize how important it is (in practice). We walked through it several times yesterday, but they didn't execute against it early on. Later we start shooting layups against it. That's what we should have done from the start."
Question for Head Coach Joe Foley: Question... What are your thoughts on the season and your team? "I'm proud of these guys. Over the last three weeks, I thought we got on a pretty good run winning eight of nine. Some of our younger players played well and it was a good experience for them here at the tournament. Naturally, you always want to play in the finals and have a chance to go, but every year this time of year, it stops for somebody and it stopped her for us. Overall, I thought these kids learned a lot and competed well. As you can see, they are as good as anybody in the league right now, so that's a pretty good plus."
Question for Player Taylor Ford: Question... Can you comment on the rough start to the game? "We just didn't come out the way that we should have. We were lackadaisical and kind of wide-eyed. It was just our mentality and lack of concentration."
Question for Player Taylor Ford: Question... Can you assess the season? "For as young as we are, I thought we did a decent job. We didn't reach our potential. We had several games that were good and several games that were just terrible. We never really overcame that. The way we played early in the first half is exactly how we had started in our losses. That's something (the returning players) need to work on for next year."
Question for Player Taylor Gault: Question... Did having to play from behind most of the game effect you guys physically? "Of course we were tired, but that didn't faze me. I was trying to win. It's either win or lose and you go home. It takes a toll on you, but we were trying to win more than anything."
