Postgame Quotes: Wisconsin vs. Eau Claire
November 11, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Coach and Player Quotes
Wisconsin Player Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Eau Claire
November 11, 2015
Kohl Center – Madison, Wis.
Head Coach Bobbie Kelsey
Opening Statement:
"Nice tune up again. Another tune up game to see where we're at. I thought they really came out and played with a lot of energy, a lot more than last game, and a lot more enthusiasm and urgency. We went over some stuff that we could control that doesn't take talent to do and they did that.
"It started with Dakota and Tessa and Nicole on the defensive end, and then others came in and did a nice job. There's always something to learn but we're very happy with our effort and our energy.
"They played zone the whole game and that's harder to go against because we haven't seen it and we haven't really practiced it but we pulled some old ones out of the bag and got some good looks off that."
On how she thinks the team performed tonight against the zone, especially the young players who were seeing it for the first time:
"Some of them really didn't recognize where people were. I mean it was a sea of red in the middle where the big is and nobody flashed in there. You've got to recognize that and get in there but the older ones, these veterans know that, so when they came in, you saw it was a little bit different because they found people in the middle.
"You know if you fake to the outside and go middle you can turn and shoot that. A couple people got some looks there and we just have to knock them down. Rosie had a look there and she hit her shot. You've got to work those short corners and the high post and try to keep that ball off the wing."
On how nice is it to see the stuff you work on in practice show in a game:
"It's nice. It makes you feel like you're not wasting your quotes. I'm glad we saw the zone though because now we have some video to look at and we can show them where the holes are and the next time we see it, we can exploit that. With the zone, you really can't cover everything. People are running to spots and running away from spots and if you flash at the right time you'll get it every time and get an open shot. They got some on us. We tried to practice our zone a little bit."
On finishing games:
"We have the bodies to do that now. These guys played hard last year and they gave everything they had and sometimes you need a break, especially a mental break. They're in great shape. Dakota doesn't really get tired and Nicole rarely asks for a sub. I forget she's out there sometimes until she's says I need a break. But they're in phenomenal shape so it's not a conditioning thing. When you play the whole game, sometimes you just get mentally tired and you need that little break to get out and refresh and get some water and get right back in there. A lot of times they're like 'coach I'm ready' so it doesn't take them anything but a minute to get themselves back together. You do need that break sometimes."
On if she feel she has the team where she wants them to be going into regular season play?
"I feel confident. We're trying to give them confidence every day and get them ready and as coaches we have to get them ready and make adjustments as well about how we coach them and what we tell them and how we're telling them. We want them to look confident out there and sometimes we have to adjust our methodology to be honest and make sure that we're not taking that confidence away from them, but also correct them when we need to because sometimes you have to be coached up and be corrected. However, there's a way to do it and there's times to look away and just let them play a little bit and see what they can do.
"I've been working on that because I know I get upset sometimes so I'm trying to smile more so that they can have pictures of me smiling, but they have to give me things to smile about, right? We're all working on getting better in everything, defense, offense, our attitudes, our coachability… every facet because everything influences the game, believe it or not, and I don't want them to look scared and uptight. I want them to look relaxed and refreshed and like they know what they're doing. Sometimes coaches take that away from their kids and we don't want to do that because they work too hard to get where they need to be."
Nicole Bauman
On hitting her shot off her dribble well tonight and if that's something she works on in practice:
"Definitely, I work on that every day in practice, so does everyone else. It's just kind of like, when you get the ball and don't have your shot and you drive, usually if no one steps up you have to pull up, and if they do step up you either have a dish or go all the way to the basket. Yes we work on that a lot."
On what she's looking forward to individually and as a team for her senior year:
"I'd say individually, to play to the best of my ability that I can. But more so as a team, we just want to be more in sync than we were last year. One of the biggest things is finishing games. There were a lot of games last year where we would be in it until the end, and somehow we would just either lose energy or the other team would step up more than we did and we would lose the game. I think one of the biggest things is finishing games for us."
Dakota Whyte
On maintaining an upbeat pace and if it's a pace the team plays best at:
"Definitely. In terms of transition, with their zone it's kind of hard to get that but it's definitely something that we're always going to look for. I think that when you have defensive pressure and intensity, it helps your game, just adding to the next level. I think that's where it started for me, and I feel like it just trickled down to my teammates and we all got to it."
Wisconsin vs. Eau Claire
November 11, 2015
Kohl Center – Madison, Wis.
Head Coach Bobbie Kelsey
Opening Statement:
"Nice tune up again. Another tune up game to see where we're at. I thought they really came out and played with a lot of energy, a lot more than last game, and a lot more enthusiasm and urgency. We went over some stuff that we could control that doesn't take talent to do and they did that.
"It started with Dakota and Tessa and Nicole on the defensive end, and then others came in and did a nice job. There's always something to learn but we're very happy with our effort and our energy.
"They played zone the whole game and that's harder to go against because we haven't seen it and we haven't really practiced it but we pulled some old ones out of the bag and got some good looks off that."
On how she thinks the team performed tonight against the zone, especially the young players who were seeing it for the first time:
"Some of them really didn't recognize where people were. I mean it was a sea of red in the middle where the big is and nobody flashed in there. You've got to recognize that and get in there but the older ones, these veterans know that, so when they came in, you saw it was a little bit different because they found people in the middle.
"You know if you fake to the outside and go middle you can turn and shoot that. A couple people got some looks there and we just have to knock them down. Rosie had a look there and she hit her shot. You've got to work those short corners and the high post and try to keep that ball off the wing."
On how nice is it to see the stuff you work on in practice show in a game:
"It's nice. It makes you feel like you're not wasting your quotes. I'm glad we saw the zone though because now we have some video to look at and we can show them where the holes are and the next time we see it, we can exploit that. With the zone, you really can't cover everything. People are running to spots and running away from spots and if you flash at the right time you'll get it every time and get an open shot. They got some on us. We tried to practice our zone a little bit."
On finishing games:
"We have the bodies to do that now. These guys played hard last year and they gave everything they had and sometimes you need a break, especially a mental break. They're in great shape. Dakota doesn't really get tired and Nicole rarely asks for a sub. I forget she's out there sometimes until she's says I need a break. But they're in phenomenal shape so it's not a conditioning thing. When you play the whole game, sometimes you just get mentally tired and you need that little break to get out and refresh and get some water and get right back in there. A lot of times they're like 'coach I'm ready' so it doesn't take them anything but a minute to get themselves back together. You do need that break sometimes."
On if she feel she has the team where she wants them to be going into regular season play?
"I feel confident. We're trying to give them confidence every day and get them ready and as coaches we have to get them ready and make adjustments as well about how we coach them and what we tell them and how we're telling them. We want them to look confident out there and sometimes we have to adjust our methodology to be honest and make sure that we're not taking that confidence away from them, but also correct them when we need to because sometimes you have to be coached up and be corrected. However, there's a way to do it and there's times to look away and just let them play a little bit and see what they can do.
"I've been working on that because I know I get upset sometimes so I'm trying to smile more so that they can have pictures of me smiling, but they have to give me things to smile about, right? We're all working on getting better in everything, defense, offense, our attitudes, our coachability… every facet because everything influences the game, believe it or not, and I don't want them to look scared and uptight. I want them to look relaxed and refreshed and like they know what they're doing. Sometimes coaches take that away from their kids and we don't want to do that because they work too hard to get where they need to be."
Nicole Bauman
On hitting her shot off her dribble well tonight and if that's something she works on in practice:
"Definitely, I work on that every day in practice, so does everyone else. It's just kind of like, when you get the ball and don't have your shot and you drive, usually if no one steps up you have to pull up, and if they do step up you either have a dish or go all the way to the basket. Yes we work on that a lot."
On what she's looking forward to individually and as a team for her senior year:
"I'd say individually, to play to the best of my ability that I can. But more so as a team, we just want to be more in sync than we were last year. One of the biggest things is finishing games. There were a lot of games last year where we would be in it until the end, and somehow we would just either lose energy or the other team would step up more than we did and we would lose the game. I think one of the biggest things is finishing games for us."
Dakota Whyte
On maintaining an upbeat pace and if it's a pace the team plays best at:
"Definitely. In terms of transition, with their zone it's kind of hard to get that but it's definitely something that we're always going to look for. I think that when you have defensive pressure and intensity, it helps your game, just adding to the next level. I think that's where it started for me, and I feel like it just trickled down to my teammates and we all got to it."
Players Mentioned
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