Katrina Merriweather recaps the Bearcats 66-41 loss to #11 Kansas State
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00:00 >> Well, I'll start out with,
00:02 they're the number 11 team in the country for a reason.
00:07 We did a great job, I thought, of honing in on number 50,
00:13 and not allowing her to dominate us in the paint.
00:19 And like any good coach does, they pivoted and made some adjustments.
00:27 It became a different type of game plan when 50 was out the game.
00:32 Obviously, our offensive woes have a lot to do with our lack of continuity and
00:37 fluidity with our starting lineup.
00:39 Not having Braylon Milton hurts us, not having another ball handler hurts us.
00:45 She had been leading us in the assist to turnover ratio and
00:48 that showed with our two assists today.
00:50 I think we just move the ball a lot better when she's out there on the floor.
00:54 So we look forward to having her back.
00:57 But we will take the positives away from this and
00:59 then work on the things that didn't go our way.
01:02 >> The first quarter goes pretty well, and
01:05 the second quarter probably goes as bad as 1 out of 16.
01:09 What do you do when it doesn't go in, it doesn't go in?
01:12 >> Yeah, those days are tough.
01:13 And one thing for certain, and I don't know if this is just because I played as
01:18 well, no one feels worse than a poor shooting day than the players that
01:22 are shooting the ball, and I'm confident that they're beating themselves up.
01:28 I think that it's probably more frustrating cuz it's not like we haven't
01:33 competed against this level of talent this season.
01:37 We played some really good teams already.
01:39 So just to not be able to get higher percentage shots and
01:43 then the ones that were, I mean, we missed some layups and those sorts of things.
01:48 So I'm sure they're very frustrated and we'll get back in the gym and
01:51 we'll get to work.
01:52 >> You mentioned the positives.
01:54 Earlier this week, you talked about the rebounding in this team,
01:57 obviously without Destiny, Braylon and Maya.
01:59 You look down and you win the rebounding battle 38 to 36 to 9.
02:03 Just give your thoughts on the defensive aspect there on the glass.
02:06 >> No, incredibly proud of not giving up a lot of second chance opportunities.
02:11 I think that when we focus on things, we're pretty good at it.
02:15 As any coach will tell you, you just can't focus on ten different things.
02:19 And so here we are rebounding and battling.
02:22 And I am looking forward to continuing to grow in that area.
02:27 But I am proud of our effort overall.
02:30 We did have some moments where I felt like we could have gotten some easy rebounds
02:34 and putbacks if we had just given a little bit more effort.
02:37 And that is what we'll be watching tomorrow in film.
02:40 >> How do you replicate that first quarter?
02:42 Because if you can play quarters like that, you're in a lot of games.
02:45 And Wednesday, it's another undefeated team.
02:50 There's K-State, I think there's four other undefeated teams right now.
02:54 >> Yeah, I mean, the Big 12 is a gauntlet, right?
02:57 This year, teams are doing really well.
02:59 We know that.
03:00 But we do feel like because of our height and our size and our athleticism,
03:05 it gives us an opportunity to compete.
03:06 But it's not going to allow us to win if we cannot execute on the offensive end.
03:11 And when we have a player out like we have, it changes everyone's position.
03:16 So now we're running our set plays and things like that, and
03:20 everybody's in a different spot than they've been in up until a day and a half ago.
03:25 So I think that offensively, we're just going to have to work on running things
03:30 that regardless of what our lineup looks like, we can have some more success.
03:35 >> Jillian had a really efficient night, 14 points, 4-7, shooting nine rebounds.
03:39 Just talk about her performance a little bit tonight and what you thought of her.
03:43 >> Jill does what Jill does, and I thought she played fairly well.
03:48 What I'm most proud of her about is when we mentioned to her she had five turnovers
03:51 at halftime and she finished the game with five.
03:54 And that's what good players do.
03:57 You talk to them about some things they can do better, and
04:00 then they go out and they rectify those things.
04:02 So her leadership is critical.
04:06 The way that she finishes around the rim is critical.
04:08 And we just gotta keep her playing well and healthy.
04:13 Because again, she played 12 minutes in our game against Sienna for a reason.
04:17 She hasn't felt the best, but she still came out and she battled today.
04:21 >> You take anything away from, I think the other one's 66.
04:24 So their season low, I think, was 63 or 64 in a win.
04:30 So defensively, you'd like to score more than 41, but
04:35 they scored 79 a game, you held them to 66.
04:38 >> Yeah, again, I think that we followed the game plan.
04:41 And I think we did a good job.
04:42 I know that second quarter when we were fouling quite a bit,
04:44 we gave up some points on the free throw line.
04:46 And we were far more aggressive in that fourth quarter,
04:49 which is why we won the fourth quarter.
04:51 And it just had a chance to shoot more free throws.
04:55 So for me, you're right, we have to figure out how to put together a full 40 minutes.
05:00 And the reality is,
05:01 is that we needed to have done that before we opened in conference play.
05:06 So the sooner we can get to putting 40 minutes together,
05:09 the more success we'll have in this league.
05:11 >> You talked about holding Ayoka Lee to six points tonight.
05:16 What were you guys able to do defensively to hold her to six points?
05:19 Obviously, she entered today averaging 21 and 9.
05:21 What were you guys able to do on the defensive end to really cause disruptive
05:24 for her?
05:25 >> Well, she's really good and her teammates are really good getting her the ball.
05:28 So I felt like our length on the perimeter made it a little tougher to pass it in
05:32 there.
05:33 I think that our post players did a great job defensively staying in front of her
05:37 and not allowing there to be easy post entry passes the majority of the time.
05:40 So again, I think that when we have a game plan and
05:44 we executed those things work, we still are sitting at 41 points offensively.
05:51 And that's what we really have to get to work on.
05:53 But I am proud of our defensive effort for sure.
05:55 >> The three girls that are out, are there any chance they can come back?
06:00 >> Yeah, I'm not sure.
06:02 We hope so.
06:03 And we've been having a next woman up mentality all season.
06:08 We very rarely gone in with all the players that were eligible to play.
06:12 And we just have to figure out a way.
06:16 And that's what competing is about.
06:18 This would be in a bearcat is about.
06:19 We're gonna be tough and gritty and compete every single possession.
06:23 I don't know if it'll be pretty, but it should be gritty.
06:28 And that's where we are right now.
06:30 And when we make shots like we did on the road a time or two,
06:35 it makes it look a lot better, it makes it look a lot easier.
06:38 But when we have a rough shooting day like we did, and
06:41 that is a credit to the Kansas State's defense.
06:44 They do a great job defensively too.
06:46 It just makes it tough to get yourself out of the rut.
06:50 And I feel like that's where we were offensively, just not a lot of energy,
06:54 not a lot of moving the ball, not a lot of attacking and being aggressive.
06:57 So, like I said, we'll take the positives and we'll keep working on those as well.
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