Al Aldridge Quotations

Wow. She kind of put on a shooting clinic.

Lewis and Clark put a lot of pressure on us and did a great job defensively.

She showed a lot of character and fortitude playing through those ankle injuries, which allowed us to get to that championship game.

She's our heart and soul. The kids look to her for floor leadership. Even for a young player, she has put this team on her back and hit big shots.

She's like an energizer bunny. I thought Angie got a little tired by the fourth quarter, and that was part of our game plan.

She couldn't have played without it. Her ankle looked like a football.

She earned the respect of her teammates through her performance. The team was smart enough to realize they needed her if they were going to reach their goals.

She kept us in the game. I thought she really gave us some life.

I think it caught them by surprise, and they didn't have an answer for it. It got the tempo up to where we wanted it. We forced them to hurry up their offense.

I thought she wasn't playing as hard as she has been against other premier guards.

Merritt and Ashley really got us going in the second half.

We knew she would get in her grill and get it done. Sometimes big kids don't like little kids chasing them around. I thought Angie got tired a little bit there at the end. That was part of our game plan.

We went against one of the best teams we've faced all year, and played one of the best games we've played in many years.

The third quarter was special. (Ashley) doesn't quite have the explosiveness she usually does, but it's actually got her slowed down a bit so she's finishing better.

This is too big a venue to be successful without your top players -- especially her. She's a competitor. If she thought she could keep the roof from caving in, she would try.

I told them they were lucky and fortunate, and they should be grateful Ashley, Amy and Jamey stepped up big in the fourth quarter.

It still doesn't account for the way we played interior defense and the way we played interior offense. I'm disappointed with our effort tonight. We didn't play with much poise. I expected more.

It's a loaded field. There are some great teams.

It's pretty wide open. Everybody had better bring their best game every night. If you don't, there's going to be some upsets.

That's one of the best 1-through-9 hitting teams I've ever seen in high school in my years of coaching.

It was just waiting to happen. But not to that extent.

I know she was hurting. But she wasn't going to let anybody know that.