Washington - Oregon State Postgame Quotes
January 20, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2001
Washington Head Coach June Daugherty
General Remarks
"Obviously we are very pleased to get the win. We showed
tremendous poise when we were down by 10 points with about five minutes on
the clock. There was a confidence about the team of 'we're okay, we don't
need to panic here.' Either we got the stops that we needed defensively or
offensively we hit some very big shots against one of the best defenses in
the country."
On breaking two-game losing streak
"We just want to make sure that we don't
get caught up in thinking 'we can't lose three in a row.' That's the worst
thing to do with this team. The thing to do with this team is to stay
positive, let them know you believe in them, they let each other know they
believe in themselves. We talk about going out there and having fun but
playing hard and when we do that I think we are a really effective ball
club. Especially with our upper classmen."
On Megan Franza
"I think Megan Franza is a perfect example of (having fun
and playing hard). She was having fun out there, she played very, very hard
and she was relaxed. She had, I think, her best game of the year. I think
she really had a breakout game and really brought it home for us tonight."
On withstanding OSU's comeback
"Poise was the key tonight and I commend
this team because they didn't want to lose three games in a row in the
Pac-10. Being down 10 against that defense, it is easy to come down and just
throw up shots and they didn't do that . They stayed poised, they stayed
with the offense. I thought our defense really stepped up and had some big
stops in the second half."
On losing the halftime lead
"Oregon State is a very good team and they are
very well coached. They are not going to go away and no team is going to go
away in the Pac-10. We talked about that at halftime. They are very
athletic, especially their guards. Their guards are very quick and they came
out trying to settle down in the second half and they made a good run."
Washington center Andrea Lalum
On this game compared to the game against Oregon
"I came out on fire and
played aggressively and didn't hold back today. I knew we had to get it
going from the tip-off. We wanted to show our team and their team that we
were ready to play."
Washington forward Loree Payne
General Remarks
"I had a lot of open shots and those are going to fall. I'm
not going to lose my confidence at all. People stepped up huge today. Megan
(Franza) came out and had a tremendous game. Our front line played amazing,
they were getting boards, they were getting shots inside. I think everyone
came ready to play. Oregon State would go on a run and our team would come
back. That's what our team is about. It's about poise and coming back from a
run."
Washington Guard Megan Franza
On her game-winning shot
"I knew we had 14 seconds on the clock when we
came out of the time-out. I had a real good mental clock going. I turned the
corner and tried to get the ball high. It went in and we had five seconds
left on the clock, so we just had to play a little defense."
On Oregon State
"Our defense was a huge focus for this team. We knew they
had a couple of scorers in the double-figures. They are an awesome team.
They are really athletic and play good defense."
On team poise
"I think coming off of two losses, where we had given up the
game in the end, it was so important for our confidence after that. If we
lose our confidence, we knew we couldn't win today. I think it was a big
focus for our team. We knew we had given up the game in the end and it is
really important for us to have that fight until the end."
OREGON STATE COACH JUDY SPOELSTRA:
Comments on the game
"Our players were getting a little fatigued and we
waived some substitutions. We allowed some of their shooters to get open too
much. I didn't think we kept track of them well enough."
"Defensively, we let up. It's a game of momentum and if you're aggressive enough offensively, then a lot of the momentum shifts your way."
"We made some great deflections, but never really got the ball. When we did we were able to get fast breaks. But we really needed to keep track of Megan Franza better."
Strengths and weaknesses
"We dug ourselves in a hole early and had to
extend a lot of energy to get out in the first half. Our teams match up well
though. We have a bit more speed and quickness than they do and we look to
score inside. They have very good three-point shooters that can hurt you on
any given night. They live and die from the three point line and drive the
ball inside. They put up a lot of shots so they have to get to the boards
more. We just had to be more aware of where their shooters were."
Comeback
"Five minutes before half time we started picking it up
defensively. In the second half we did a half court trap and were able to
get deflections. That was a big part of where our comeback came from and we
were able to transition offensively."
OREGON STATE GUARD NICOLE FUNN
On the game
"We played hard and deserved to win. We are not happy about
this loss."
