Stanford at Washington
February 24, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2001
Washington Head Coach June Daugherty
General Remarks: "That was the most exciting game I have ever been a part of. What a great college game. Both teams played so well. It was just back and forth. Everybody played so well but I think LeAnn Sheets had an incredible game. She had 13 rebounds and playing the way she did against that tremendous front line. Everybody for Stanford is big. But the rebounds and hustle plays and the defense she played was unbelievable. That is a senior just stepping up and I couldn't be more proud of this team."
On defensive adjustments to defend the three: "We changed up our rotation in the zone to release our guards a little quicker up top which allows us to release the back guard on the right side and that allows the one to pull over and that puts the three on the baseline as opposed to our front-line. Because they were shooting an incredible percentage in that first half we had to do something to at least run at them harder and change their shots. The team had to adjust on the fly and we ran defensive sets we haven't run that much but they stayed focused and they were able to get it done in a tough situation."
On withstanding Stanford's runs: "I thought we showed an incredible amount of poise both being down at the half and being down eight in the second half and coming back. They just kept hitting the big shots but we didn't get out of ourselves or get out of the system. We just kept working the basketball and letting the game come to us. Our guards finished up so strong."
On win No. 200: "It just means I'm getting old. To do it against Stanford because of their great tradition and to do it in front of a great crowd and to do it at home especially with the way this team has fought all year and has turned the program around and especially for the seniors it is great for them. I am really happy for the program and for all the seniors. To play in such a great college game like this is why you come to the University of Washington. That is why you want to play in the Pac-10. To win like we did is everything you work for all year."
Washington Guard Giuliana Mendiola
On the importance of the win: "We knew it was an important game. We are contending for the Pac-10 championship right now. We had to focus on rebounding. There was a huge crowd out there, they were backing us the whole game. This team has played hard all year and luckily, we're winning. With the Pac-10, any day, any game, anybody can beat anybody. We're just going to go out every game and play hard."
Washington Forward LeAnn Sheets
On Stanford's three-point shooting: "They were draining threes like crazy, but at half, we weren't even down by that much. That was a good feeling for us."
On being behind for a majority of the game: "I think we kept our poise. I think we've done a good job of that all season. We've been down and kept our poise and kept playing."
Washington Center Andrea Lalum
On defending against Stanford's size: "We definitely had to be aggressive on defense. They had big girls, they don't start anybody under 6-2. We had to step-up defensively. We know they are the number one rebounding team in the Pac-10."
On defensive adjustments: "We had to adjust our defense. We came out strong the second half and we shut them down. We knew they were out there shooting those baseline threes and our posts were getting out there. They were picking us on that cross court pass and our posts couldn't get out there fast enough. We had to adjust and release quicker."
Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer
On the game: "The game was won in boards. They rebounded really well, and we didn't. That really determined the game."
Any Husky player make a difference?: No, their team play made the difference. They played really well together. They had five players in double figures, they hit their outside shots and their free-throws when they needed too. We shot well from the outside but we never established an inside game and didn't do a good job on the boards and that's what hurt us."
