POST GAME QUOTES: Houston 81, ECU 65
2/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON HEAD COACH Ronald Hughey
Opening Statement
"It was good to see the girls come out with a lot of energy and passion. I don't know if it was because this was the last game at Hofeinz Pavilion or because the alumni were here; but whatever it was, I hope we can bottle it up and continue to play with it for the rest of the season. I'm just proud of where we are right now, mentally and physically. I'm happy to see them come out with a win."
On sending the seniors out with a win
"It was nice. When I started recruiting those young ladies they had a lot of choices. They chose to come help rebuild a program when they could have joined a winning one. That's a hard choice. It takes a lot of faith and honesty by coming to a person and saying, 'Okay. I'm going to help rebuild.' My hat is off to Kierra Graves and Jacqueline Blake for coming here and doing what they could to leave a legacy and rebuild a program."
On the effort from the team today
"It was relentless. One word. Relentless. Jasmyne (Harris) and Chyanne (Butler) continuously attacked the basket, and Angela (Harris) got down and made the right reads. She didn't make every shot, but she still attacked downhill. Serithia Hawkins had 11 rebounds. Playing through Jackie (Blake) in the paint was good for us. We haven't had that post presence all year, and now that she's down there we could spread out and give her room to work. It was really refreshing."
On how the team pulled away in the second half
"They stuck to the game plan. Usually we get off on a tangent and try to do our own thing, then come back after that doesn't work. Then they're say 'Coach, what can we do now?' It's too late then, we've already dug ourselves a hole. Today they stuck to the game plan, continued to trust the process and it lead to a win."
On trusting the process
"It's about confidence and building on what we did today and to go back to what we did in film sessions and act like we're still 0-0. We want to be 1-0 at the end of the day and that's the same mindset we're going to keep. That mentality is something you can't relinquish. You've got to keep that at the forefront of their heads because they live on (their cell phones). They live in the moment. They can't see tomorrow. Everything is today for them. We want to try to do what we can to keep the success, the work, all of the determination, effort and all of the good things that have happened right there in the forefront of their minds."
On what it means to have coached in Hofheinz Pavilion
"DeJuena Chizer told me during my first game walking down the tunnel that we're walking into a place where dreams have been built in Hofheinz. When I was getting ready to coach my first game, I walked in, looked around and stared at all of the banners and the seats while thinking about all of the different people who played here. I had no idea that in three years on February 25 that it would be my last game in the building. I just wanted to have a moment to myself when I came out and sat on the bench. I looked around and just wanted to take it all in. It's just tremendous success, energy and enthusiasm in this building and it means (a lot) for so many different people. I wanted to be like the guy who came in and wanted a seat. He came in and started unlatching a seat last week. I wanted to be like him and go get a seat."
On the alumni support
"The first year we did this we had 10-15 come back. Last year we had 20-30 come back, and this year we had 65 alumni. (We do this) for our young ladies to know that there are people who came before you who blazed a path. They took a 20-hour bus ride and had to get off and play, practice and get back on the bus to drive home. I took them up to Garrison Gym to see that and they asked 'what did they do here?' I told them they played games there. They looked at me like I was crazy. Things haven't always been the way that you see them. Those people who left a legacy are now here to tell you about those stories. I need you to understand who they are and what they built in order to give you a stepping stone to where you are now. That's the main purpose of having an alumni weekend. We always want to be upfront and do everything we can to treat them as well as possible."
