Jan. 30, 2011
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Auburn Locker Room
Head Coach Nell Fortner
Opening statement...
"I'm just happy to get the win. It wasn't a pretty ball game. I never felt like we got into much of an offensive flow. I'll give South Carolina some credit, they shut down some shooters, and really got on us tough. But I can't complain about the win. It just needs to be a little prettier than that."
On the second half...
"We just weren't playing smart. We needed to do specific things better and I think we just bared down and got a little more focused. Morgan Toles stepped up and played well and Jassany Williams came in and got huge rebounds for us at critical times. If someone were to ask me how many rebounds she had, I would say 10, because those rebounds were so huge and important. We had to have them."
On Morgan Toles in the second half...
"South Carolina just wasn't going to let Alli Smalley or Blanche Alverson touch the ball. We had to take shots. Her 3-point play that un-tied the game was huge and probably the play of the game. It was a critical time of the game"
On preparing for Kentucky...
"I know it's going to be a tough game. They have great fan support and they are playing well right now. We have a lot of film to watch and a lot of preparation to get ready for them."
#1 Morgan Toles, G, So.
On what she saw in South Carolina's defense...
"Usually when we run on ball screens, it is to look for the shooters on the outside, but they had them all covered up. I just kept it and kept going."
On scoring the last nine points for Auburn in the game...
"I knew we weren't hitting a lot of shots. We weren't really getting a lot of good looks either. Coming off the on ball screens they were covering up the shooters, and left me open, so I just took it."
On having to wait a week to play after the Tennessee loss...
"You always want to play games. Like Coach Fortner was saying, `would you rather be practicing or playing games', and I would rather play. After a long week of practice, I was excited to get back on the floor again. Also, we lost to South Carolina twice last year so we want to get this win."
On the team regrouping before the Kentucky game...
"Kentucky is a tough, physical team. We played them last year, and they get in your shorts. It will be an exciting game, and I'm excited for it."
#5 Alli Smalley, G, Sr.
On South Carolina's run to tie up the game...
"We weren't playing with a lot of energy when they made the run and came back on us. They were knocking down shots and we weren't. We weren't hitting anything. We knew that they had the momentum going their way, so we knew we had to make some stops, and we did to keep it tied."
On the instant offense from Morgan Toles...
"Anytime we needed a big basket, she came through. Before the half it was huge, because that put us up by seven going into halftime and that is always good to have that momentum. Down the stretch, she scored the last nine points in the game, and that is huge. She was scoring some huge baskets and knocking them down, but we are used to that from her."
On the team regrouping before the Kentucky game...
"We really need to get tough in the next couple of weeks, because we have a lot of road games up ahead so we have to be road warriors. We have to come ready to play against some tough teams."
South Carolina Locker Room
Head Coach Dawn Staley
Opening statement ...
"It was a very good game. We put ourselves in a position to come back and win the game. Unfortunately we missed crucial free-throws and lay ups and that was the game. Also, Morgan Toles made some plays at the end of the game."
On Morgan Toles' performance ...
"We did not do our jobs. She was relentless at getting to the basket. I thought we stayed pretty tight to the players that we wanted to keep the ball out of their hands, so we put it in her hands. We did not do a good job on her defensively at the end of the game."
On the new arena ...
"It is very nice and they get a definite home court advantage. It is quaint and every seat is a good seat. It is a fan-friendly place."
On second-half adjustments ...
"We just had to relax a little bit. I thought our defense was good during the first half, but we could not get to a good start offensively, which has been our nemesis on the road this year. We came and put ourselves in a position to win and our offense failed us again."
