Post-Game Quotes
11/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2010
POST-GAME QUOTESHEET
Pitt vs. Radford
November 21, 2010
Quoting Head Coach Agnus Berenato
Opening statement:
"I thought our first half we played really well. I thought it was the best first half we played in a very long time. I thought that our defense was on all cylinders and our shooting was amazing. We shot 72%, we were four-for-four from the three and we shot 79% from the free throw line. I thought we lost our intensity in the second half, but that kind of came from me because we didn't press. I think that you always have to remember where you come from. We opened up in the first half, we pressed, we threw a couple of different presses at them and it really got us going. I took that off because you have to be better. You have to be good in the half court sets as well as the full court sets. I thought our transition and our defensive effort in the first half in our full court press and half court press were fabulous.
"I thought everybody did really well. Chelsea Cole had a double-double and if you look at our points, we had 77 points and everybody is spread out. That's what it takes to go ahead and get the win. I also thought today was a great opportunity. We had ten people in double-digit minutes - that's unheard of. When you can play ten people like that, with five of them as freshman that's great, because you gain needed experience. Overall, I was really happy with the game"
On the Pitt defense this year:
"This year we have a very agile team, we have a quick twitched team. We're really athletic. We're trying to throw out some more traps and presses and get through with more man-to-man presses. I like this team, I like this team a lot."
On Chelsea Cole having a breakout year:
"I don't think it will be a breakout year for her when she led the Big East in rebounding last year. She led the conference in rebounding, and was fourth in the nation. I think that when you say break out year, she already led the conference in rebounding last year, I expect her to do that this year. I think that she needs to go ahead and up it. Not only lead in the nation, but she needs to try and have double-doubles every game. We've asked her to increase her role. So if you call that a break out, I'm not sure. My expectations are for Chelsea (Cole) to produce not only on the glass but offensively on the court."
On preparing for Duke:
"Patty Coyle has been working on Duke now for a couple of days. They played a game this afternoon and I think they won by 30, but I didn't get a quick look at it. I know that Duke is coming in here and they're ranked top five in the country so it's a fabulous opportunity for us to be able to have a challenge like that, and the opportunity to knock off a top five team.
"The second thing that we have to do, besides mentally be prepared, is I believe that we'll have to be prepared for their full court press. I do expect them to go with the full court press, to go with the match up zone and to really be tenacious on the ball. Their coach, Joanne P. McCallie, is known to be very ball heavy and that helps on defense. Out of 14 girls I would say 10 are All-Americans, so it's a great opportunity for us. I'm really welcoming the challenge. I think it's exciting when you can go and play the best. Duke really has an opportunity to get in the Final Four and win the National Championship this year. For me, I think it starts with your mentality and then handling Duke's pressure."
