Mississippi State Women’s Quotes December 14, 2020 Troy

Head Coach Nikki McCray-Penson “First of all, it felt really good to be back at home after a nine-day layoff. You just never know how the team is going to come out and respond. I thought this team had a really good shoot around. We talked about getting ready to go from the jump because we didn’t play the way we needed to play in our last game. It left a sour taste in our mouth when it came to our rebounding, free throws and turnovers. When I look at the stats tonight, one thing that really stands out is 29 assists on 41 made shots. We shot the ball extremely well. We had 41 rebounds, but we shot it well and didn’t miss a whole lot of shots. There’s still areas we have to get better at. We have to get better at free throws. Three for 10 is not going to win us games shooting it like that. We really concentrated a lot on our free throws. We gave up 20 offensive rebounds. Last year, this team gave up 27. We only gave up eight in the second half, but they shoot the ball a lot. It’s running rebounds that we have to continue to get under control. You have to . Also, transition defense. I thought that because we had different combinations playing, transition defense got away from us. They scored 27 points off points. We can’t let that happen. Overall, a good bounce back game. We know that we still have room to grow. We will continue to get better.”

Q: Are you at a where you’re confident in your teams’ shooting ability? Specifically, three pointers. NMP: “I think there’s certain people on the team who know that’s a strength of theirs. I think there’s people on our team who if they don’t take those shots, then people are going to sag off of them and disrespect them. At the end of the day, it’s a good shot as long as it’s in rhythm, make or miss. That gets us in a position to rebound it, but then you have to self-check yourself and know you have to get in the gym and fix it or do something different. That doesn’t mean you have to take the shot, but you can do something different. I’ve had a player that was not a three-point shooter, and people disrespected her, but she still was able to score and get to the paint. If you’re open, you’re open for a reason. It doesn’t mean you have to take it, but you have to shoot it with confidence. I want every player on our team to shoot the ball with confidence. What I said to them at halftime was when we miss one, two or three in a row, then we have to do something different.”

Q: When Sidney was shooting as well as she did tonight, what does that do for the offense? NMP: “Again, I think she had a great shoot around. She did second guess herself a couple of times. I had to tell her ‘what are you doing because when you’re on, you’re on.’ For her, she has to be ready to shoot open shots. She’s probably one player that can consistently make contested threes. She has a pretty shot and pretty rhythm. When she’s in rhythm, I’m pretty confident that it’s going to go in and our team is confident that it’s going to go in. It puts us in a position to rebound. I don’t want her second guessing herself. I want her to continue to take good shots all the time. When we miss a couple, then that’s when we should get the ball inside to Jessika Carter or Yemiyah Morris and do something different. Tonight was her night. I’m glad we were able to feed her. She was hitting shots.”

#10 Sidney Cooks

Q: You came out and looked confident those first few possessions. You had eight of the first 10 points. Big night tonight, career high in points, how are you feeling? SC: “I’m super happy for the team and for myself. I think I had a really good day in practice yesterday with just focusing on my shot and focusing on my form, seeing the ball go through every time and what to do to make that ball go through the hoop. I think it just transferred over to the court today.”

Q: What does a night like tonight mean to you after a tough two years off the court and with everything that’s happened? SC: “It’s good to be back. It’s good to gain that confidence and know that just because my journey was a little bit different that I can make it happen here. I’m just really blessed to be here and have this opportunity to be healthy and playing. So, I’m just grateful for that right now.”

Q: How big is a game like this for you to see the ball go through and get your form down? Do you think this is something you can replicate going forward and continue with some consistency? SC: “Absolutely. I think, honestly, I can do even better. The ball went through the hoop, but I have to elevate on the defensive end and rebounding. I know that’s going to be my focus because I feel like a lot of people know that offensively I can bring it, but I want to elevate in other areas.”

#5 Rickea Jackson

Q: Were three pointers a point of emphasis against Troy tonight? RJ: “Well, with the way that we were shooting in practice this week, you could tell we were going to have a good game from the three point line. Troy was sagging off of us, so we did not try to force anything inside. We just tried to play our game and not force anything.”

Q: How do you think you guys did tonight from a defensive and offensive rebounding standpoint? RJ: “I feel like we did pretty good. Obviously, we could do better. Troy still had 20 offensive rebounds on us. I feel like the second half especially we contained them on the boards. I feel like if we would have done that in the first half, then they would not have gotten as many as they did. I feel like we are still working at getting better from the rebounding aspect.”

Q: What does it do for the offense when Sidney Cooks is shooting the way that she did tonight? RJ: “It definitely opens up everything. We definitely have confidence in Sidney when it comes to three pointers and making plays. It definitely opens up the floor. We know if the defense is coming down on her, then there is a whole gap out there. It definitely helps on the offensive end.”