Dec. 18, 2016
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Penn State Women's BasketballPenn State vs. AmericanDec. 18, 2016
Coquese Washington | Penn State Head Coach
Q: What did you see off the bench in difference of play between the first quarter and the rest of the game?
A: In the first quarter, I thought that we had some good looks that just didn't go down. I thought we had a couple of good looks in the paint that didn't go down. I thought we had a couple of good open shots that didn't go down. The rest of game we just kept attacking and we kept looking for our openings. I thought we had a few more transition opportunities in the second, third and fourth quarter. Overall, I thought we just had some good looks in the first quarter that didn't fall. Later in the game, they started to fall. Teniya [Page] was really aggressive, and her getting to the free throw line really helped.
Q: What did you see from De'Janae Boykin this afternoon?
A: Number one, she's an explosive athlete. She gives us somebody who can play inside and outside. Someone who certainly helps us with our transition game and gets us going. She's a finisher. She finds a way to finish plays and finds a way to finish shots around the basket which is something that is definitely a benefit for us.
Q:What is it like as a coach to have a player like Teniya Page on the roster?
A: Her will to win is really high. I thought in particular in the third and the fourth quarter she really willed us to a lead that we were able to sustain for the majority of the game. She has heart. She plays hard, and she is very competitive. She hates to lose and she's going to do whatever she can to not let her team lose.
Q: What did you see towards the end of the third quarter and towards the beginning of the fourth quarter when American just kept scoring?
A: We had a number of defensive breakdowns. Our poor communication led to them getting things that they wanted. We just needed to tighten up defensively. They ran some good stuff. They did a good job in the zone of spreading us out, and getting good looks for their shooters who were able to knock them down. So, we had to tighten up defensively, make a few adjustments, make a few substitutions, and get some different players out on the floor to combat what they were trying to do. I thought that that helped.
Q: Coach, 29 points from the bench tonight as a unit. What did you see from that group?
A: I thought we had a lot of energy coming from Sierra Moore, De'Janae Boykin, Jaida Travascio-Green and Peyton Whitted. When those four come out on the floor, it ratchets up whatever we're doing. Especially during a game like today when our starters were a little flat to start the game. Bringing those guys in gave us a boost of energy and got us going.
Q: You mentioned De'Janae [Boykin] and her explosiveness earlier. Is that an added element, or what kind of addition does she add on.
A: I think it gives us another person who can create her own shot. She's a person who can really put pressure on our opponents defensively because of her versatility, because of her explosiveness, because of what she can do off the dribble, what she can do in the paint and what she can do in transition. As she gets more comfortable, I think she's going to add more dimension to what we can do on both ends of the floor.
Q: How important is having that depth, especially as you get close to conference play?
A: I think it's critical going into Big Ten, having some options, having some versatility, and having that depth will really help us out.
Q: Teniya [Page] had 30 points and played really well. What did you see from her?
A: She's just aggressive. When she's aggressive, she's really a tough matchup. I thought the first quarter she was not as aggressive as she needed to be. As the game went on she turned it up.
Q: Were you happy with how the team responded to Americans runs?
A: I thought we played with a lot of poise in the fourth quarter. We didn't buckle under the pressure. I think they came back and took a four-point lead. We just came down and got a couple of big stops. We came down on the offensive end and got some good shots and Teniya [Page] got to the free throw line. I thought Ashanti Thomas during the last five minutes of the game was huge for us. She got a couple of offensive rebounds, a few and-one's and made her free throws.
Q: You have a day in between the game today and the game against Iona. What specifically are you going to look to adjust in tomorrow's practice?
A: With a quick turnaround there's not much you can do on the court. It'll be more of a mental practice and we'll go over and prep for Iona, and figure out what we need do to be successful against them. If nothing else our man defense and being able to contain the ball better.
Q: Do you think the mental practice is really going to help the players? The last mental practice you had between Drexel and St. Peters you scored 106 points.
A: I hope that happens. Don't Jinx us.
De'Janae Boykin | Fr. | Forward
Q: De'Janae [Boykin] it was your first game today, how does it feel to get out there and score ten points?
A: Honestly it feels amazing because I haven't played in like two years so it was a good start for me.
Q: Knowing that you are a part of a bench unit that was able to score 29 total, what does that do for you guys to have that success off the bench and just the depth?
A: Knowing we just have a lot of depth, we have like 13 people that can score and have a chance to come in and play any minute of the game, it's pretty cool.
Teniya Page | So. | Guard
Q: Teniya [Page] on your side, how does that help you knowing that the bench is able to come in and be so successful?
A: It makes me a little bit more comfortable when I'm tired. I know that when people sub in there isn't a drop off from the starters to the people who sub in, so for me it just helps me out a lot confidence wise and I have a lot of confidence in our team already. So knowing that, and De'Janae (Boykin) backed me up, we have a deeper bench and we already have a bunch of depth in the first place, it just gives us a lot of confidence.
Q: What did you see in difference of play between the first quarter and the rest of the game?
A: I think the biggest thing for us was offense, we had to push the pace a little bit more. I think on defense we started paying attention a little bit more than we had, we had too many defensive breakdowns the entire game. I want to say defensively we only made little in-game adjustments, we should have made bigger ones, but that was probably the biggest thing from the first quarter compared to the rest of the game.