University of Houston Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: Houston 72, Tulane 48
1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Tulane Green Wave (11-11) (3-6) at HOUSTON COUGARS (17-6) (6-3)
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018 • Health & PE Arena • Houston
HOUSTON HEAD COACH Ronald Hughey
Opening Statement
"We wanted to come out and establish that the last time we played them we didn't get off to a great start. Tulane does a great job of mixing up their zones, three-two, two-three, sometimes it's hard to recognize it. They did a little bit of that in the first and second quarter and had us thinking more instead of moving the ball and moving our feet. The way we were able to get out in transition was to get stops and get rebounds. We wanted to push it down the floor before they could get set-up and be able to take some quick shots that some people think are ill-advised shots, but they're shots that we practice every day. We practice punch, go down, pass it and first person shoot it. Angela and Jasmyne are three-point shooters, Dorian is a three-point shooter, Momo (Serithia) Hawkins is a three-point shooter, Mimi (Octavia Barnes) does one dribble and pulls up, Mariah gets to the basket, and Dionna shoots it. They stick to their role when we do our punch situations."
On the performance by Octavia Barnes
"It was tremendous. She had a different feel about herself today. Coming over, she had her earphones on, she wasn't laughing, and she wasn't talking. She had a different focus when I went into the locker to talk to the players before the game. She usually gets a little upset, because she sits alone before she goes into the game in the first quarter, she wasn't even upset about that. The first time she touched the ball we were talking to her about being aggressive and attacking and she touched it, shot it and made it. That put her in a good rhythm. Defensively, she has energy just like Jasmyne, AD (Angela Barnes) and Momo, so we want her on the ball, trapping, and being able to recover. She played 26 minutes, but she could've easily played 36. She's one of those players that we can plug into every spot on the floor, from the one to the five. I think we had a couple of possessions where we put her at the five today. She's tremendous for us and for us to go as far as we plan to go, she's a huge key to that."
On finishing the second half of the season strong
"It's a one-game week, we want to be 1-0 every week. We want to stay with the double H's, humble and hungry. We don't want to look down the line, look at social media or at the conference standings. We just want to play the next team that's on the schedule and be focused enough to do that. We never put an expectation or a goal on how many wins we want to have for the season. We're just going out and playing. It's a journey, the journey is going to lead to a destination and that's where we're going to go. Wherever the journey takes us, that's where we'll end up at."
HOUSTON SOPHOMORE GUARD Angela Harris
On what it was like playing today
"I felt like today we played great defense and that's what led to the win."
On using the comeback at Tulane as motivation for tonight's game
"Most definitely. We felt like that game we didn't play our best. We felt that as a team we were better than them and let them take a lead they should never have had. We felt that today was our chance to make a statement, last game we didn't play our best."
On success using full court pressure
"We practice full court pressure at the beginning of practice every day. We do pivot drills and one-on-one against the guys at the beginning of every practice. I felt like going against the guys has helped me this year, guys are faster and that has translated to our game, to where I'm able to play full court defense and defend my man."
On Julia Blackshell-Fair's game tonight and her defense
"Julia is a great help and I'm glad that she's back. Those games we were missing her showed on the court. Not only does she give me a break when she comes in, but she can come in and guard the other team's best player. She really helps us on the defensive end."
HOUSTON SOPHOMORE GUARD Jasmyne Harris
On what it was like playing today
"We played great defense and fed off of each other's energy. We passed the ball great and got good looks."
On success using full court pressure
"We didn't play to our full potential last time against Tulane, this game we had to prove to them that that's not us."
On doing anything different on offense compared to last game at Tulane
"We did transition better, getting the rebounds and pushing the ball. We beat them down the floor and made our shots."
On Julia Blackshell-Fair's game tonight and her defense
"Julia is a great player, she gives her all every game no matter what."
