USF Women's Basketball
USF vs. St. John's
Jan. 10, 2009
USF Head Coach Jose Fernandez
On the game against St. John's...
I thought that overall it was a great team win. So many players contributed to this win. In the first two conference games, we talked about Shantia, Janae and Jazmine, our three leading scorers haven't been shooting the ball well. Tonight, we had other kids step up in other areas. Jessica Lawson's play in the final five minutes of the second half and overtime was big. I felt she asserted herself in the post. For us to be successful we need to have those three perimeter guys score.
On what he told his team at halftime...
They were shooting the big numbers in the first half. They shot over 50%. We shot 33%. I simply said that we have to defend. At the rate we were playing offensively, we were getting good looks. The ball just wasn't going in the basket. We just needed to defend.
USF Guard Shantia Grace
On making clutch shots down the stretch...
It is a lot of pressure having to make free throws down the stretch. I hit a couple free thows to give us the lead. It was just a lot of pressure. It is either you take your time and make it put your head down and miss. You have to just stay positive.
St. John's Head Coach Kim Barnes-Arico
On the game:
“It was a great game. I thought it was an unbelievable game, the two teams played extremely hard and that is what the BIG EAST is all about.”
On USF's come-from-behind victory:
“I don't think we maintained our lead. I thought they did a great job of bouncing back. They kept on playing and knocked down big shots when they had to and we weren't able to every really put them away.”
On Monique McLean's season-high 30 points:
“She is unbelievable. If she's not one of the best guards in the country I don't know who is. She does that night in and night out and she has shown that all through this season. She has just been a great player for us.”
On the game plan in the final minutes of regulation:
“We just knew we needed to make a couple baskets and get some shots. We needed to get the ball in Monique (McLean's) hands with an opportunity for something to happen. We did that and we were able to get her to the line and she did a great job of putting the ball in the basket.”
Monique McLean, Sr., Guard
On her 30-point performance:
“I just came out focused and ready to go. You have to be ready for every game in the BIG EAST and unfortunately it didn't end the way we wanted to.”
On USF bouncing back from a consistent first-half deficit:
“We just tried to play hard and I think that helped us out in the beginning. Then we had a few stretches where we didn't get out on shooters and were turning the ball over which resulted in them getting the lead.”
