Coach Moore met with the media after the 61-53 win over Seton Hall.
Opening statement...
Obviously, we got a long ways to go, a lot of stuff to clean up, but I am proud of the effort in the second half. I think we gave up 20 points in the second half and only eight in the fourth quarter. So, again, great effort from that standpoint, and it's going to be nice.
It's been a tough week. We had a lot of kids with stomach virus. We've got final exams going on, so it's good to get the win, and hopefully they have some time to recover here before we start ACC play.
Coach, do you have any updates on Adelaide or Lorena?
Yes, Adelaide, she was having some issues with respiratory, breathing and all, and then just when she's getting better from that, she got the stomach bug that everybody seems to be getting. And so that's going on there.
And then Lorena, we're just going through a time right now where, she's kind of suspended for the moment, and we'll kind of see where that goes.
It's indefinite. It's an indefinite suspension (Lorena Awou).
Yeah, whatever you want to say.
There's no set date to return. Wes, the sickness you mentioned, you had two players that didn't start as well, Samuels.
Yeah, Khamil didn't practice all week. And this morning she came in during shoot-around and had an IV. And then, of course, Adelaide was still out. Qadence missed a day or so of practice as well because of it. We had coaches that were out for a couple of days as well.
So, tough time. But, again, glad we could rally and find a way to get it done. So, again, the players did a great job of shorthanded and all. They still found a way to get it done.
Is Lorena's suspension team related or is it?
Coach's decision.
You guys have a conference game coming up. You got the sickness. You got some issues. Where do you think right now you're at? And where do you think you got to get to the next week?
Yeah, again, we're jumping into the ACC, going to Miami, that's a tough place. We're going to have to continue to grow. And, offensively, still don't feel like we're clicking the way we need to. And we got to make sure we don't get away from getting the ball inside. We got to get post touches some and be able to score around the rim some.
Defensively, we're still having breakdowns on the scout. Certain players taking away certain things, and we're not doing that. We knew, for instance, Eads, we knew as small a point guard as she is, we knew she goes to the offensive boards hard. And we stressed that all week. And she went and got four offensive rebounds, led them in offensive boards. And she's probably about, what? Five, six, maybe.
So, just little things like that. Taking away a person's dominant hand, things like that. We're just getting confused on how we're playing pick on the ball. We might be switching with one person, and we might be doing something different with the other. And we got to think the game. And we can't just roll the balls out there and play. We're not at that point where we can do that right now.
Coach, we've talked about how young of a team this is. Has anyone stepped up? As a leader?
I think it's tough. Again, you'd say Zoe maybe. But Zoe's not really vocal. That's not her thing. So, again, that's part of it probably. We're still, you know, with no seniors on the roster, we're still probably lacking a little bit in that area.
And I think we're going to have to do it by committee. It's going to take the whole team buying in and doing little things. And, we've got great coaches. We've got great coaches on the staff. They've got to help with that some, too, and bring those kids along from a maturing standpoint.
As you mentioned, Khamil didn't start. Maddie Cox comes in. She gets 10 first rebounds. She's got the impact that she had.
Yeah. I mean, again, I'm proud of Maddie. She came in this year from the get-go with a lot more confidence, a little bit more toughness. I think that's what happens when you get a couple years under your belt. But, yeah, I mean, we're proud of her and what she's done. And when she gets opportunities, she's taking advantage of it. And, obviously, as a coach and staff, we have a lot more confidence in her and trust her to do the right thing. She is one that knows what's going on and is like a coach on the floor. So, again, she's somebody that does try to do some of the leadership qualities we're talking about.
Can Zam [Jones] provide some leadership too? I'm sorry. I'm sick, too.
I mean, again, yes, she does. She's a competitor. But she's a sophomore, too. I mean, you got to, you have to have been in the program a little bit. I think Zam tries. Like I said, she competes. She doesn't back down. So, that's part of it, having that.
And she knows the game pretty well, too. So, it's just like I said, it's just a matter of everybody buying in, though, because you can play great defense. And four spots. And then the ball's going to find that fifth one and make you pay.
Is this a win? I don't know. Seton Hall's 5-1. Obviously, you start rooting for these teams once you play them. You want them to do better. But is this going to be a value win, you think, at the back end of the year?
Yeah, I mean, I think so. I think they're picked third in the Big East, I think. So, you hope that they – and, I mean, I have a lot of respect for Anthony Bozzella the coach there, and the job he does. So, I think they'll continue. They'll continue to get better. And, obviously, they've got some kids from Power Force out of the portal that are, doing a good job for them. So, yeah, I mean, I think they'll continue to do well.
Khamil has kind of it seems like she's kind of settled into her role the last couple of weeks. How has she grown in this program and how significant has she been?
Yeah, I think it's been a real transition for Khamil. I mean, I think she, was real comfortable at her prior school and now you come in and get dropped in here and it's almost like being a freshman again. You're the new kid.
But I agree, she's progressed. And, like I said, she was sick all week and took an IV this morning. And so I appreciate her being willing to do that and, take it – try to help the team in whatever way she could. And turned out we needed her. I thought she did a nice job. So, we had her out there.
