Dec. 3, 2008

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Auburn Head Coach Nell Fortner

Opening statement...
"We knew it was going to be a good game. We knew North Carolina A&T was a nice team. They shot the ball so well, but luckily so did we."

On first half pace...
"I don't know why, but we could not guard them in the first half. They had a hot hand. Again, we were just lucky we were shooting the ball well. I don't know that we've come up against a team in a long time that shot the ball that well. From the three in the first half and everywhere, we just couldn't do anything about it. We were able to stay close because we did shoot the ball as well as they did."

On defensive adjustments at half time...
"We played more zone in the second half. We were trying to trap a little bit out of the zone and that kind of slowed them down. Then they came out and didn't really shoot that well. We were trying to protect shots more and get a hand in their faces. We were trying not to let them drive as much and close up the lanes so they couldn't drive to the basket."

On quick tempo throughout the game...
"They didn't have a problem keeping pace. I do think we wore them out the second half though. They lost their legs a little bit because the shots didn't drop quite as much as they did in the first half. I thought we pushed the ball better in the second half and got some easy baskets on the fast break."

On points off the bench...
"We have to develop that bench going into conference play. I was trying to give them some playing time with the starters and get them a little more acquainted with the game we play."

On only making only seven turnovers...
"I thought that was a key stat; 17 assists and only seven turnovers. I was very pleased with that. In practice we talked about the importance of taking care of the ball and we have to get better at that every time we step on the court."

On overall performance...
"They [North Carolina A&T] came out and they were ready to play. They came out with good pressure, so it was a great game from the beginning to the end. We just had to come out and match their intensity and that's what we did. We wore them down and took over there towards the end."

On changes made at halftime...
"We played a lot more zone in the second half than we did in the first half. We used our endurance and wore them down. I think that they got more tired in the second half and they lost a lot of their power. So we contested their shots a little bit more and took it from there."

On improvements to be made...
"Definitely defense. Our defense still needs a lot of improvements. We need to work our defense and keep getting in the gym and shooting."

Auburn's Travesha Jackson, forward

On overall performance tonight...
"We started off a little shaky tonight. I think we were taking the team [North Carolina A&T] lightly. They came out and jumped on us, but we got into the locker room and came out in the second half with a better effort."

On second half improvements...
"We tried to contest their shots. We tried to make them miss more. We still need to try to prevent the penetration."

On a career-high 16 points tonight...
"I was just letting the game come to me tonight. I was weighing my options and things just worked out for me."

North Carolina A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs

On the game...
"I give Auburn credit. They did a good job and didn't get away from the game plan. We did a great job in the first half and all we had to do was keep doing what we were doing, but we kind of got away from some things, and that's the game."