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Penn State Women's BasketballVs. NorthwesternFebruary 14, 2018
Coquese Washington | Penn State head coach
Q: Coach [Washington], you guys had a rather routine first quarter, and you didn't shoot the ball well. What really happened in the second and third quarter, because it seemed like the offense really stacked in and got you to turn the ball over, didn't shoot well. What was the difference in the second and third quarter versus the opening quarter?
CW: I thought we had a pretty good start with starting the game with Smitty [Alisia Smith] inside. She runs the floor well and probably finishes pretty well for us, and I thought in the fourth quarter, our defense really stepped up. We were a lot more aggressive on the defensive end. In between that, we were trying to find a defense that was going to give us the right combination of protecting the paint and getting out on their perimeter shooters. It just finally came together for us in the fourth quarter. I also thought we had a lot of turnovers in the second and third quarters. We had 17 turnovers for the game, and in those first three quarters, we were just really turning the ball over a lot. They were live turnovers, which can sometimes be deflating. We didn't really respond to when we turned the ball over. In the fourth quarter, I thought we did better defensively. We didn't have as many turnovers, and as Teniya [Page] said, we talked in the timeout about having a lot more energy in the fourth quarter. It came together for us, especially starting on the defensive end.
Q: That's kind of something you guys have emphasized all season, defense to offense, so when you were in the huddle heading into the fourth quarter, is that what you were telling them to just keep pestering, keep getting steals and forcing turnovers?
CW: Yeah, we just got a lot more aggressive. We got a lot more aggressive. We went man-to-man, and we were just more aggressive. We caused some turnovers for them, so it worked out for us.
Q: Once you guys kind of started to get on that run and I think it was an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter, how does that kind of build on itself and keep continuing to compound as you move forward throughout the rest of that quarter?
CW: Positive plays generally can give you an emotional push, and when you can string two, three, four positive plays together, that works. I thought another thing that was really key is that we were getting contributions from a number of different people. Amari Carter made some plays. De'Janae [Boykin] made a play in the fourth quarter. Siyeh [Frazier] was all over the place defensively. Jaida Travascio-Green hit a shot, hit a big three for us, and Teniya [Page] of course got to the free throw line and made some plays. The positive thing was it wasn't one person carrying us. We were getting contributions from everybody on the floor, and when you're doing that, it's hard to lock down and key on one person.
Q: Coach, can you just talk about Siyeh's [Frazier] aggressiveness just through the second half? Like you said, she was all over the floor. Can you just talk about her aggressiveness on defense? Even though she had four fouls, she was still having that same aggressiveness no matter how many times you took her out and put her back in the game.
CW: I thought she was a big spark for us in the fourth quarter in particular. She's one of the fastest players on the team, very aggressive defensively, has quick hands and quick feet, and she was able to jump some passing lanes and get some steals and use her speed to get down and get some layups in transition, get to the free throw line. She drove in and made a fantastic dump play to De'Janae [Boykin], so she just was a big spark for us in the fourth.
Alisia Smith | F | Freshman
Q: Alisia, what was it like to get your first start this year and bring some energy right out of the gate with four points?
AS: It felt really good. I was a little nervous to begin with but after talking to Teniya [Page] and Amari [Carter], I started calming down and my nerves started to go down.
Q: You were going against a really good rebounder in the paint. [Pallas] Kunaiyi-Akpanah had 14 rebounds and 21 points. What was it like going against a player of her caliber?
AS: It was very different. She is very aggressive so it was a learning experience for me going against someone like that.
Q: Alisia, you out-rebounded them this game, especially you had a big advantage early on. How did you and De'Janae [Boykin] and the other post players approach this game?
AS: We approached this game just going up and getting the rebound with two hands and just snatching it and being strong with the ball.
Teniya Page | G | Junior
Q: Teniya, there seemed to be a mentality change from the third to fourth quarter where all of a sudden, you guys were really clicking to the start of the fourth quarter. What changed in between those two quarters for you guys?
TP: I think as a group we were lackadaisical to start the game and it took us a while to realize we were down and everyone's mentality changed. It shouldn't be like that. We should come out ready to play right away but we were able to change our mentality and be more aggressive on the defensive end.
Q: Did coach say anything to you guys to turn that tide around right before the fourth quarter?
TP: She asked us to give a lot more effort than what we were doing to begin with.