Baylor, Texas Postgame Quotes
3/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Monday, Feb. 29, 2016
Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)
Attendance: 10,284
BAYLOR POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Kim Mulkey
Opening statementà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"If it ever gets old I need to retire and get out, because that's what you play for. You play to win ballgames, certainly, and you definitely play to win championships. Let me say this before we get carried away, I was so proud of our crowd. I was so proud of the students at Baylor that showed up. It was just a case of if we ever quit turning the ball over we could extend the lead. In the second half, we did. In the first half I thought we got into a little foul trouble and I was mixing the lineup. Kristy Wallace saved us a lot. I thought she was really on fire, hitting some shots, and it's fun."
On what this team could accomplish in Marchà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Connecticut is by far the best team until somebody can beat them. I've watched some South Carolina, certainly. We've played Notre Dame and watched them this year and I think we are one of the top teams in the country. We've been able to stay away from injury. Injury, I'm just telling you, y'all know we've lost some heartbreakers in the playoffs when we had Mellissa Jones injured, and the list goes on. If you can stay away from injuries and you can keep getting production from a lot of people, this team could get to a Final Four. I can't guarantee we will. It's who's playing good at the right time, and as you go further along in the NCAAs teams get better. I know I have senior leadership, and junior leadership and freshmen who are not afraid anymore."
On fighting back after losing their very first conference gameà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"You never compare teams. It's like having a favorite child, you just don't do that. I've coached a 40-0 team, and how many coaches get that opportunity? But this particular team, right off the bat, lost their first conference game. If you would have asked me then if we could run the table and win a championship, I don't think it would have been fair for me to tell you yes. What we did is we took every game like it was the last game that they would ever play. That's the approach we had to take. Then we stayed healthy, and we were getting production from different players. I can think of a lot of words that would describe this team being able to do that, but the one that keeps jumping out at me is just coming through in the clutch. They came through in the clutch, and they have impressed me by doing that. "
On where Baylor should be seeded in the NCAA tournamentà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"We've beaten enough top 25 teams, and if we'd have lost here and made it to the finals of the conference tournament and lost, I still think we would have been deserving of a one seed. I would love to be in Dallas. You saw this crowd tonight, and the women's game needs crowds like that. If it's in Dallas, I can't think of another team in the country that would bring a bigger crowd than Baylor University. We have proven that over, and over, and over each time we have been in Dallas."
Senior Niya Johnson
On if winning a Big 12 title ever gets oldà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"No, it's never old. You just can't take moments like this for granted. It's been a long time coming with this group of girls. I'm just blessed and grateful that I was able to go out there celebrate with them, and it doesn't stop here."
On Kristy Wallace's big nightà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"You never know who's going to give you what on any given night. That's the scary part about it. Like you said, Kristy had a big night tonight. Not only her but the bigs defending Imani Boyette and Kelsey Lang. Just paying attention to the scouting report. I must say Kristy carried us tonight."
Sophomore Kristy Wallace
On her game tonightà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"When I am out there I just want to help my team as much as I can. I'm not a very calm person like that, so I was glad that I was able to come in and get out there and sort of calm the nerves down and get out there and just play. I was glad I could do it along side these three seniors."
On why Baylor doesn't shoot a lot of threesà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Look at our bigs. We have so much talent inside and we just want to feed them the ball because you've seen what they can do with it. It's awesome having those bigs in there and the in-and-out game we have going on ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬" it's just super important to have going on."
TEXAS POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Karen Aston
Opening statementà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"I would say congratulations to Baylor, first and foremost, and second of all, it was just not a good day for us. We played hard in the first half, but shot the ball really poorly today. Credit to them and their defense."
On difference in the third quarterà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"It was a 10-point game at half and I don't think that it should have been. We missed a lot of easy shots. Energy was good. We turned them over, but didn't capitalize on it."
On worry about carryover from Saturday's Big 12 gameà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"That's my responsibility, so no."
On why team didn't respond tonight like they have beforeà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"It just was not a good evening and they were good."
Sophomore Brooke McCarty
On how team will respond this weekendà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"I think we are going to come to work the next day we have practice. I know this is a tough loss, but it's never been our mentality to dwell over a loss for a whole week, and so we just have to come to practice and keep working hard. "
Senior Imani Boyette
On what was missing tonightà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"They played great. They made shots, they moved the ball well and we couldn't really connect."
On lack of passion in the second halfà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"I'm never going to question my team's passion because we are here. They played hard and it got tough out there and we didn't respond the way we wanted to, but I'm never going to question my team's passion."
