Pitt vs. Western Michigan Game Quotes
12/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2009
POST-GAME QUOTES
No. 19/20 Pitt 89, Western Michigan 65
December 5, 2009, Petersen Events Center
Pitt Head Coach Agnus Berenato’s Opening Statement:
“Overall compared to the games we’ve had before that, I felt like we improved and I was happy with our high-low game. I think that we had great leadership from Taneisha Harrison, her and Shayla Scott I thought they were really warriors. Jania [Sims] struggled in the first half. I don’t know if it was the 12 o’clock game or she wasn’t awake, but in the second half she settled down after we took her out. It was really Taneisha and Jania who were fighting for every lose ball and fighting for every rebound and those were the good things that I was pleased about. Pepper, just looking at the stats, she was 5-for-5 and the other night she was 6-for-6 and 7-for-11. I think she finally started feeling a comfort zone with where she needs to be on the block. She’s believing in that she doesn’t have put the ball the ball on the ground, she doesn’t have to take six moves, she doesn’t have to go backwards. She has to catch and score and I think she is getting the confidence. We are a young team, we are a different team. We are a work in progress. I was very disappointed with the rebounding. We went and played the entire game in a zone, which is something we never done. We pressed, and our press was phenomenally successful. But we felt back into a zone and it was the first time we’ve ever done that. So again it was a work in progress. You have to go through it to get better at it the next time.
On scoring comeback of Broncos...
“It was right at the very beginning. We had the first turnover and they hit a three, then they got two, then they got a free throw at the 19:09 minute mark and it was nine points and at 18:44 we called a time out at 40-34. Teams aren’t going to roll over and die, teams are going to play. We’re competitive, it doesn’t matter who we play. Every team we play is a division one team and they have a full team on scholarships. They’re athletes. Their coach went in and probably talked to them sternly and they came out and maybe I didn’t talk to my team sternly enough perhaps. We were very confident, you know, and we came back and I thought it was a really good win with 24 points. It was a great win for us.”
Taneisha Harrison
On describing the team...
“We have to work hard and keep working hard and practicing. Keep doing what the coaches tell us to do. That will make us better. I think looking at the other games that we should of played better in, as many games as we should’ve won by a larger margin, but we didn’t, so we are still practicing and still working hard on the things we need to.”
Pepper Wilson
On height difference between teams...
“Well with any game I always scout the players and scout the tallest person on their team. The last few games we have had the height advantage and that is where us post players really need to dominate. We have to take advantage of that aspect because once we get into Big East play, we will be going against girls more our height.”