University of Houston Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: Houston 88, ETSU 69
12/10/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EAST TENNESSEE STATE BUCCANEERS (6-5) at HOUSTON OUGARS (8-2)
Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017 • Health & PE Arena • Houston
HOUSTON HEAD COACH Ronald Hughey
Opening Statement
"Hats off to a pretty good ETSU team although we didn't receive their best game today. They are much better than what they played like today, but I'm proud of the way our young ladies came out and accepted the challenge. Having a Naismith Watch List player like Tianna Tarter on the roster means ESTU has one of the most outstanding players in the country. We were able to take advantage of them early, because of the pressure we applied. As a result, we were able to take them out of their normal rhythm. We also made some key shots early and it sealed their fate."
On Houstons playing style disrupting ETSU's rhythm
"The answer is yes and no. Watching their team film against Notre Dame and Washington State, I noticed they play extremely hard through pressing and being more active with the ball offensively. I'm not sure if it was a combination of us pressing them early and getting them out of their rhythm, or them trying to get us out of our rhythm by neutralizing what we do. Our goal was to make shots and get into our rhythm before they started trying to press us. They never truly found their consistent flow and weren't able to challenge us."
On Jasmyne Harris' performance
"I thought Jasmyne did a pretty good job of finding her teammates, creating lanes and capitalizing with some assists. This eventually opened the game up for herself. When she gets into the flow of helping her teammates shine, she does rather well. She did had four or five turnovers, but each time she was looking to get the ball to one of her teammates. We can live with those."
On team improvement
"We still need to work on our composure throughout the entire game. We also need to cut down on the fouls, as we were called for too many touch fouls. Turnovers have to also be a key point of emphasis to improving as a team. Yes, we are creating turnovers, but we are also giving the ball away. We need to get better at taking care of the ball. Our overall practice still needs some fine tuning as well. We haven't practiced like champions yet. There are times when we are close and then there are other times where we are way off track. "
HOUSTON SOPHOMORE GAURD Angela Harris
On biggest difference between this season and last season
"This year I feel like we are more engaged on defense. From last year to this year, the players haven't drastically changed and we've grown a year older as a team. I can see that we are more focused on playing defense this year than last year. It's more beneficial for us to play this aggressive style of defense and force teams into mistakes. I think forcing turnovers is what's fueling our offensive game."
On possible "chip on shoulder" mentality because of preseason conference rankings
"Of course. We always play like we have a chip on our shoulder. When I was in high school, I was always told I was too small, so that is something I carry on my back daily. I feel the need to play every game to prove myself. Being ranked as the second to last team in the conference rankings is disrespectful, because I felt like we made great strides from last year. We were able to secure a win in the tournament and beat a team that was highly ranked."
