University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
December 6, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2005
Postgame comments from UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell and junior guard Ivory Latta following UNC's 77-54 win over Connecticut in the Jimmy V Classic:
Sylvia Hatchell's opening statement:
"The fans here are just incredible. We've been up here a couple of times and they're just first class. They're fans of women's basketball and after coaching for 31 years, I appreciate that so much. The environment here is just incredible.
"I thought my team played well. We've played a lot of games, six games in the last 11 days, so I was a little concerned and I did think we looked tired at times. We played a lot of people, but not quite as many as we've been playing. I thought we had good team effort, spread it out well. This young lady (Ivory Latta) did a good job for us. Erlana Larkins did a good job inside - she didn't score as much as she normally does, but she's a big threat in there. Camille Little played well, La'Tangela Atkinson was 8-for-9 and had a really good game. I just feel like it was a great team effort.
"It's early. I'm sure Connecticut will weather this storm and become a much better team. We probably took them out of some things that they wanted to do. I think they'll learn a lot from this and become a much better team. This program is outstanding and I know that they will take this and build on it. I'm not sure if I'd want to play them again this season! But we had a good night and we're thankful for the win."
What did you think when you looked up at the scoreboard and your team was up by 30?
Hatchell: "I was like, `Oh, wow, run clock, run.' I wanted to get it over. We were in a time management situation those last seven or eight minutes, but I didn't want to slow my team down too much because they're not used to that! But we were trying to manage the clock a little bit and I thought we did and got some good shots. I'm surprised at the score, to tell you the truth. Connecticut didn't have a good night and we had a good night, like I said, I'm sure they'll learn from it and become a much better team.
What were the keys to holding UConn scoreless during the run in the first half?
Hatchell: "Defensively, we do a lot of things out there, according to the situation. I think that disrupted their offensive flow. I think with the pace of the game, both teams were tired, especially down the stretch, and missed some shots. But that's the way we play defensively, we try to get after it and make it exciting. We like going up and down the court - sometimes it's sloppy, but that's the way we play."
On her shooting:
Latta: "I just felt in a groove and my teammates were getting me the ball. Coach was telling us every time the ball went in to Erlana, just move it around so that's what I kept doing. I didn't want to rush any shots, I just wanted to wait and let the game come to me."
Did you hurt your leg?
Latta: "I'm great, I'm great right about now. A little ice will do it and I'll be better in the morning."
What was going through your head when you came out at the end of the game and the crowd applauded for you?
Latta: "I was astonished by that. This is a great crowd and everyone said that coming here to play was going to be extremely hard, but we tried not to let that get to us. I'm thankful they gave me a little bit of applause - I respect them a lot, they do a lot for their basketball team to get other teams psyched out. I think it was a great honor for them to clap for me like that."
Does it mean anything that you did to Connecticut what no one ever has, beat them worse than anyone ever has in this building?
Latta: "It means a lot. It shows our team can do anything, that we're capable of doing anything if we put our minds to it. We've been working extremely hard for this game. We've had three games already this week and then we had to get focused for this one. It shows our team chemistry and it shows that we go out and play hard every single night no matter what team we play. (Connecticut) is a great team and I commend them on everything they do."
What changed to let Connecticut get a little momentum going late in the first half and how did you turn that around at halftime?
Latta: "At the timeout, Coach told us we were taking bad shots and I agreed with her. I just had to get everyone settled down and say, `Look, we've got to settle down, take good shots and everything is going to start coming back to us.' That's what we did coming out in the second half - we just jumped on them and kept going from there."
Did you think your team could do this to Connecticut?
Hatchell: "Well, we play our style and it really doesn't matter who we're playing - our game plan is the same. We just look at what the other team tries to do and we have different things that we do defensively for different situations. It takes people out of their rhythm and flow of their offense. It works for us - some teams are better zone teams or sagging man-to-man, but for us, we go after it.
"To be honest with you, this is my 31st year of coaching and I want to win games more than anything for the University of North Carolina, but the second thing is I want to promote women's basketball. I feel like this style of play is good - up and down the floor, fastbreak basketball. It's good for television, it's good for the fans, and our players love playing like that. I'm just hoping more teams will start playing like that, because I think it's great for women's basketball. You get to see the skill and talent and ability of the players. I just want to promote the game, that's why I appreciate these fans here at Connecticut so much."
