Post-Game Quotes: Oregon vs. Utah
Kelly Graves – Head Coach
On Jillian Alleyne…
“Jill came up big. Man, when she goes up for a rebound, it’s a beautiful thing to watch, it really is.”
On moving above .500 in conference play…
“We tried to talk to the team about, you know, this is fun; this is what you play for, to have a chance down the stretch in big games like this. Our players have never played in a big game in February, really, a meaningful game. So I think they’re having some fun with it, and it’s great.”
“It’ll feel good until about 10 o’clock when I get home, and then we’ll worry about Colorado. I mean, seriously, this time of year you don’t enjoy them too long cause you’ve got to go to what’s next, and we’ve got another game on Saturday.”
On closing this game out after struggling to do so early in Pac-12 play…
“Well, we kept our composure, number one. We got the ball in the hands in our better ball handlers and we got fouled. I think that’s so distant, you know it was a couple of games early, but the reality is we’ve won seven out of eight. So that’s so long ago that we didn't close out some games, I think we’ve been doing great since.”
On Maite Cazorla’s performance tonight after struggling against Utah earlier this season…
“I think they actually played her the same, she just handled it better tonight. She was a little out of sorts down there and got called for three big offensive fouls, and they still pressured her a lot tonight and she handled it a lot better. That shows a point guard who’s getting better and learning day-by-day. She’s been incredible, she had a great game.”
Lexi Bando- Sophomore, Guard
On when the game got close…
“I think we did a really good job of staying calm and composed. We met as a group and we just talked it through. There was a little bit of an argument but we brushed it off and our seniors stepped up. It was really cool.”
Jillian Alleyne- Senior, Forward
On the matchup in the post with Emily Potter…
“The first couple minutes of the game, we were going back and forth scoring. She’s a really good player. She is strong and she has great moves inside. It was fun going against her. I know she is a big deal in Canada… It was really fun going against someone who is a little bit younger, but still has that IQ for basketball.”
On out of bounds play…
“We actually do practice that a lot, and so far I have been lucky to make most of them.”
On how it feels to be playing well as a team…
“It feels good. I think right now the wins are just coming. Team wins are more important to me than the individual records.”
On playing meaningful games in February…
“There is just a really good spirit and a really good vibe around the team right now. It’s all or nothing, and coach keeps saying to play like we don’t have a tomorrow. This was the team we were competing with for sixth place, and it also hopefully springboards us closer to an NCAA berth… Our team right now just has a good state of mind, and we have confidence, way more confidence than we did in the first five games of Pac-12 play, and that is carrying us into each game and we are continuing to be consistent.”
