Houston-SMU Postgame Quotes
1/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2011
Head Coach Todd Buchanan
Opening Statement
"Words cannot describe how proud I am of our kids and my staff. I've been doing this for a long time and that was one of the most incredible 30 seconds to a minute of basketball that I've ever been associated with. We've obviously had some big wins in my previous time here, but that's as good and gutsy as it gets. I'm very grateful and lucky."
On what was going through his mind the last 38 seconds of the game
"A lot of things were going through my mind. I thought we needed to keep it together. I needed to keep my poise so they would keep their poise. That is really important because I think they feed off of me and the rest of my staff to a certain point. I wanted to stay calm and collective but stay aggressive. The other thing I told them is that we needed to keep our head up because it was not over. Six points is two possessions, and Brittney Scott proved that real quickly. I'm not sitting here trying to be a prophet but I knew. I knew the talent on our basketball team and their abilities. With Brittney Scott missing a couple throughout the game, I knew she was due and that is why she holds the school record in 3-pointers. She has a ton of heart and has that NBA mentality. She is going to forget things real quick and take it personally, as we all do."
On the steal by Lesslee Mason and Brittany Mason's free throws
"It put us back in the game to actually be in a situation to win the game. Lesslee cuts them off and basically gives them one direction to pass to. Then, Courtney (Taylor) is on the backside and angles up and throws it back at her. She anticipates and grabs it. As far as Brittney Mason is concerned, we could sit here and praise that kid all day. Her free throws were amazing. To have that much mentality and heart and come back and knock them down; that is championship basketball at its finest."
His thoughts about the teams' defense today
"That's how we want to play as far as the style. I want to be aggressive defensively but also offensively. I felt like today we were working the basketball 80 to 90 feet of the floor but we aren't just running, jumping and trapping; we are doing it in a smart way. They know and I trust them to know when to go and when not to go and they have that freedom to do that. In the circumstances that we were in we had to go create offense out of our defense. I want to play like that all the time if we can and certainly when we can."
On the shots the team took during the game
"There were a few where we rushed and forced them. For the most part I felt we were taking good shots. I was displeased with the first half and that some of the calls in the first half affected our game. We can't do that and we need to be better and bigger than that."
On being 8-0 in Conference USA
"It feels incredible but it makes it more incredible because of how we've won the last two basketball games. If we continue to do those things with that mentality and heart we have a chance to finish with a really special year."
On the team's poise down the stretch
"I give a lot of that credit to the seniors we have on the floor. I think that plays a lot into it and also into our roles as coaches. They understand that we are never going to give up. I've told them many times this year that we aren't going to stop coaching so they can't stop playing. I think they feed off of that."
Senior Guard Brittney Scott
On her three-point shot that started the comeback "I knew I wanted to take the shots. Courtney (Taylor) set the screen, I paused for a second and she yelled "shoot it," so I shot it. Neither of them felt like they were off. They both felt good, and it was kind of subconscious. I didn't think about it."
On the emotion senior forward Brittany Mason felt shooting free throws
"She was about to cry and we had to talk her down, because there was a lot of pressure. But she made the shots though."
On what caused the Cougars to trail late in the game
"I think at one point, they were more aggressive than us because we have a target on our back, but I guess we wanted it more in the end."
On hustle plays by Brittany Mason
"(SMU's) defensive method was to sag off (Brittany Mason) and today she stepped up big. She hit a three pointer in the second half, which was one of the reasons we got a spark. She's shooting with more confidence now."
On what it feels like to be 8-0 in conference
"It feels really good. I would have hated to lose this game, it would have been personal, but it feels really good. This was another game where we didn't play our game the whole game, and that's where we've fallen short a couple of times. We're going to get back to playing our game and winning by margins where we feel comfortable."
On coach's words before the 11-point run in the final minute of the game
"Play hard. Keep hustling because the game's not over."
On having all five starters in double figures
"That's why it's so hard to guard us. We talk about that all the time. You never know who's going to catch fire at any moment in a game. (Against us you can't really just say we're going to just shut down this person and be good. We're all pretty much scorers."
Senior Forward Lesslee Mason
On the steal that led to the go ahead free throws
"We were just trying to be aggressive, and I saw (Brittany Mason) open, and I hit her. She got fouled and that was that."
On her thoughts leading up to the comeback
"The game is never over until there is no time on the clock. We had some downfalls in the game but we came through. We kept working hard and made good decisions at the end of the game, and we came out with the win for the second time this week in a close game. We're just really excited right now.
On the hustle plays of Brittany Mason
"'B' gives us all the extra stuff. If we need a defensive stop or a steal, whatever we need, she gets it done. That's what helps. Everyone maintains their role on this team, and that's why I think we are so successful."
On her aggressive play in the final minute
"I was just trying to make something happen, and hope somebody made a mistake. I happened to be right there, and she just threw the ball right to me. It was just beautiful."
Senior Forward Brittany Mason
On her emotions while shooting the go-ahead free throws
"I'm pretty sure everybody in the gym could tell I was nervous. I tried to laugh it off. I tried to take my time, as much time as I could, but once I got the line I was pretty much ready. I was ready to shoot though. I took a couple deep breaths because I knew we needed it."
On playing with more confidence
"I think it's easier to play with more confidence when your teammates and coaches have confidence in you, but I still have a long way to go to be honest."
On any disbelief of the 11 point swing
"I feel we have it in us, because we know what we can do. We knew the game wasn't over, especially after our game against UCF where we were down 3-5 points with a minute left. We knew we needed to keep playing."
