Everything From Radford HC Mike McGuire After Virginia Tech's Win Over The Highlanders

Radford head coach Mike McGuire spoke to the media after Virginia Tech's 79-47 win over his team.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Radford head coach Mike McGuire spoke to the media following the Hokies' 79-47 victory over his Highlanders. Here's the entirety of what McGuire had to say:

Opening statement:

"First of all, today was a great environment. I really admire what Virginia Tech does to support their women's basketball here. It's just, it's awesome. I think the first 20 minutes, we played well, we missed a lot of layups. Actually, missed layups throughout the whole game. I think they slowly wore us down in the second half, we didn't maintain the same effort that we needed. So, that's unfortunate, but good teams will do that to you. So did not end the way we wanted it to. But a lot of lessons we can take that will help us for Big South play here on New Year's Eve."

On what McGuire will take into Big South play:

"Well, I've seen a lot of growth in our team throughout these 15 games in non-conference. We've learned a lot of lessons that will be valuable as we get into league play. I think there's a few areas that we're going to be really good at, that we were mediocre today. I think we missed 30 layups today is what we counted, which is abysmal. We have to continue to rebound the ball better and then making sure we're taking care of the ball. So, I like our team a lot. This is a hard-working team. This team cares. I think this team can position themselves to compete for a Big South championship, but we have to make sure we're getting better every day."

On what Virginia Tech's defense did to make it a tough shooting day for Radford:

Mike, did the defense do certain things to make it a tough shooting day for you? Well, I thought we got to good spots on the floor. Yeah, we counted. We missed 30 low-paint shots. Obviously, [Kilah Freelon] is a really good athlete, she's long. I do think they had some length at the rim that bothered us a little bit, but you still need to make 18 of those. And that's just, it's unacceptable."

On the stretch to open the second half that turned the tide towards Tech:

"Yeah, I thought we had a stretch, if I remember correctly, we had a stretch of five offensive possessions, and four were a little bit chaotic. So, I think what Georgia [Simonsen] is alluding to is just, the pace of play was quick. We didn't keep our composure and poise enough. I hope that stretch of five possession was was huge, and we lost some momentum."

We're all really close. I'm really excited to go to conference with them, like eight and seven before those losses are made, to see teams. So, you know, you kind of feel like you've got a big self contender on your hands now that non conference play is over.

On if McGuire believes that his team is a Big South contender:

"I do. This team has the right makeup. The way they come to practice every day to improve. I think we have the right kind of player leadership this year. Ellie Taylor and Kirah Dandridge are doing a good job, kind of setting the tone. So that's a positive. We haven't had that for last couple years, and I think we have the depth and the versatility in our roster to be very competitive. So, it is gonna be a very difficult race. I think the Big South is better than it's been the last three or four years. We perform better in non-conference play, which is great. We've needed to do that, but we do have a team capable of competing for Big South championship."

Q: 22 turnovers today for your team. What was Virginia Tech doing in the passing lanes that was making things difficult today?

"Well, I thought they did a good job of just applying ball pressure. Their guards are athletic. Very impressed with their speed on their perimeter. To me, some of those were unforced. I'd like to know how many of those were travels on our part. I thought we over-penetrated some. Some of those were self-inflicted. I don't remember a lot that were maybe deflected on the wing, but just playing with more poise, being fundamentally sound, with how we were playing and also, the decisions that we're making, especially in a crowd. Just thought we did a good job attacking the paint. We just didn't make the right kind of decisions in those areas on the floor."

Q: You referenced shooting inside. Shot 11-for 51 today inside the arc, shot six for 17 outside it. What was your assessment of how your team performed from beyond the arc today?

"Well, that's something we actually talked about at halftime. I thought we were doing a good job getting the ball to the paint, which is what we wanted to do. I thought we were missing some spray-out threes, and I thought we missed some opportunities to take some catch and shoot threes, which this team has been doing prior to today. So, something I want to have more conversation with them about when we get back from the brief holiday break. But yeah, we needed to make more threes to have a chance today."