RUSTON – Louisiana Tech men's basketball head coach Eric Konkol and women's basketball head coach Brooke Stoehr spoke with the media Tuesday.  The Bulldogs and Lady Techsters will both discussed their sweeps over UAB.  They also previewed the upcoming series with Middle Tennessee this Friday and Saturday.
 
Eric Konkol quotes
 
On UAB series:
"First, I want to give a lot of credit to our fans and our student section.  I have said it often, but it felt like each one had a megaphone for as loud as it was even at 15 percent capacity.  I thought our team really fed off that energy.  We had to have a great defensive effort, but most important, we had to take care of the basketball.  We actually won the turnover margin when you combine both games against an elite team in UAB that takes the ball away often and scores as a result.  That was a major factor in the game.  It was a great two wins for us.  Now, we have to figure out a way to keep getting better."
 
On the balance of the team:
"I did go into this year thinking we would have tremendous balance.  I think it says more about just the talent that we have.  It is about the unselfishness of our team to allow that balance to happen.  Each guy wants to be the leading scorer, but because we have a lot of age and experience on this team, we have a lot of guys just motivated on pursuing a championships instead.  We have had many games where a different guy has had a night.  I am very pleased with the way it has turned out."
 
On momentum and confidence going into the second game:
"I believe momentum is a real thing.  The way to continue momentum is to continue executing the right way.  I thought in the second game, we missed 12 shots in a row.  A number of those were from three against UAB's zone.  We did not do a very good job of penetrating that zone and getting it to other spots.  You have to be able to attack, which will open everything else up.  These series have been a real challenge, especially on the road.  These games are tough, to be able to turn it around physically and mentally regardless of the outcome on the first night.  Coming away with the win on Friday night, it does give you some confidence, but you have to be careful for that confidence to not turn into being content or complacent.  You have to have even more energy and more hunger because you know you are going to get that from the other team.  This league is really deep.  We are seeing great teams from top to bottom."
 
On Middle Tennessee:
"They are a team that has had some high moments.  They have experienced a lot of adversity through some injuries and some pauses in their practices.  You take a look at what they have done at home.  Their last home stand, they swept Charlotte who is a very good team.  They went to Marshall this past weekend and scored the ball really well.  They came up short in both of those games, but they showed a lot of things.  They are playing with great balance and they have a lot versatility.  You have to take their record and push it out the window."   
 
Brooke Stoehr quotes
 
On UAB series:
"I think it was a great weekend for us on both ends of the floor.  It was nice to see the ball go into the basket a lot.  I thought we competed well.  We just had a different look about us.  Our group really executed what we asked them to do.  We needed to move the ball, play on multiple sides of the floor, be able to get the ball in the paint and try to get easy shots.  We defended well.  We possessed the ball, which allowed us to get shots, and we rebounded the ball well both days.  In those areas, our team executed well.  Overall, I am really excited about the momentum this group has right now and hopefully it carries over to this weekend."
 
On the team's defensive character:
"I think it starts with our focus towards what our defensive principles are and not getting caught up in our opponent, who they are and what their strengths are.  It is about who we are.  It starts with our interior and works out to our perimeter.  I think we have done a much better job of keeping people off the free throw line this year and then limiting them to one shot.  When we can get all five of them rebounding on the defensive end, it allows us to start our transition.   I think it has been about commitment and them buying into what we are asking them to do."
 
On Amber Dixon and Keiunna Walker:
"We have known Dixon has this ability.  It has taken her a little bit longer to get going and we have seen that over the last month.  Her ability to score in the paint.  She is shooting the three pretty well, especially over the last three weeks, and is getting to the free throw line.  Being able to score at all three levels has been big for us.  We talk a lot about Walker and her ability to get by people.  It is difficult to keep her in front of you.  She gets to the free throw line, and when she does that, we are successful.  We took really good shots this past weekend.  Having not played extremely well the weekend before against North Texas, We saw a good response from her.  I thought both of them were really good against UAB."
 
On Middle Tennessee:
"They are good.  They have the nation's leading scorer.  She is at 28 or 29 points a game right now.  Everything goes through her, but they are very balanced.  They have very capable scorers at other positions.  Their perimeter attack is really solid.  They have a four and a five that can step out and shoot the three as well.  They can spread you out.  They play fast and want to score a lot of points.  It is going to have to be another solid defensive performance by our team.  We have our hands full.  We have to control tempo and force them to guard us in order to be successful."