POSTGAME QUOTES: Houston 64, St. Edward's 32
11/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
2016 HOUSTON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL QUOTES FOR THE ST. EDWARD'S GAME
HOFHEINZ PAVILION • Houston, Texas • Sunday, November 6, 2016
HEAD COACH Ronald Hughey
Opening Statement
First, I would like to thank everybody for being here. It is really good when you can come here and see fans. Thank you for believing in us and coming out to see what we're going to be like this year. These two on my left and right (Chyanne Butler and Mariah Mitchell), if they play the way we practice, we can have a good season."
On defensive effort
"Not very happy. We were okay. We can pressure a lot better than that. We can also close out gaps, sprint the floor and recover, rebound on the defensive end a lot better. There are so many things we can continue to get better at.
They played with energy and effort the entire time. Last year we had drops in intensity, and we will not have that this year. One of the things I want to commend them for is communication throughout practice, games, and every scrimmage. That carried over to this exhibition. That's what we'll be stressing a lot. We're anticipating having a good season in regards to communication. That's a big piece in developing a team to make it to the NCAA Tournament."
On the freshman
"A little nervous. We knew it coming in. I always tell them they'll have opportunities often and early. They had good composure. They attacked the rim and tried to follow the game plan. They sprinted the floor hard. They are still trying to understand everything we do at a pace and keep their focus. Overall, I'm pleased with the way they came out."
On how many players will play
"It's on them. If we get into a rhythm with seven or eight players, we'll play seven or eight. If we get into a rhythm with ten or twelve, we'll play ten or twelve. We want to be relentless in everything we do. So, if everybody comes together and understands it's not about them it's about the team, we'll be able to have a lot of depth on the bench and cause havoc when teams come here to play.
You must be tough. Tough teams battle at home. We showed resiliency today. We had some spurts where we didn't convert on some baskets. We had drop offs in simple things like getting to the ball. Those things will be corrected this week in practice. Overall, the depth of our team will be our strength."
On senior center Jacqueline Blake's injury
"She's afraid of needles. She's going to need a shot and stiches. She got a little cut, but I'm pleased with how she attacked the basket and got rebounds. We ended up with 49 rebounds. We may have done that twice all last season. It's good to start off with that intensity going to get rebounds.
We need to take care of the basketball, we had 24 turnovers. Some of those were hurried and unforced, some were charge calls. We must recognize when someone is sliding into us and make the next pass or pull up for the shot. This team has every opportunity to step up and be one of the best that's ever been here. We're fresh, young, enthused, energetic, and relentless. When we get out and run the way we practice, we will see some things we've been trying to see these past few years."
Junior Guard Mariah Mitchell
On her thoughts on how she played and how the team played
"For myself, just shooting the ball consistently. My teammates and coaches gave me the confidence I needed to make big plays and knock down the shots that mattered. For the team, there was a lot of positive energy on the bench, and that came out on the floor as well. Great job from my team and the coaching staff."
Junior Guard Chyanne Butler
On her thoughts of the game
"We did okay. If we keep making steps and progressing over the season, we can be a great team and get to where we want to be. This is a great start, but we have a lot to work on."
