Washington 86, Florida 75
March 18, 2001 | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON
Head Coach June Daugherty
Opening Comments"Florida needs to be commended for the great effort and a great comeback. They gave us all we could handle the second half. Brandi McCain is all that of an All-American and more, she's just an incredible basketball player. She's one of the best guards we have faced all season. This team I tell you, "resilience" is the word. Last year we were 8-22, most people didn't think we had a chance this year, and fortunately for me, we have six seniors, and the rest of the team did believe we had an opportunity to get better, and bounce back and we did. We had two losses at the beginning of the season, and a lot of people thought we were done, but then again we fought back with our resiliency, and we bounced back big going back to Spokane for the sweet 16, and we're real excited about it."
Can you talk a little bit about Andrea's play down the stretch?
"Andrea started us out with the three's like she's done all year, as a freshman playing incredible, got into a little bit of foul trouble, but then when Florida was making their run in the first half, we almost went back to her, but we were able to get it back around eight to ten and then double figures. Then in the second half we just asked her to stay on the blocks and use her size, obviously Florida's front line was in a lot of foul trouble, and we wanted to take advantage of it."
Can you talk about your team's composure able to withstand Florida's late run?
"During that one timeout, we just wanted to remind ourselves that we have been in this situation before. Normally we were the ones coming from behind, but we just had to settle down and have poise, get our composure back, and rest a little bit more on offense."
Megan Franza, Senior
On losing two games of the regular season and coming to play in the NCAA Tournament"It was important for us to wipe out the last weekend of the regular season. We knew we were going and were fortunate enough to be able to lose those last two games and still make the tournament. We were excited to come to the sunshine and play anywhere in the tournament as long as we were in."
On the early start
"We wanted to take charge from the beginning. We knew Florida was real athletic and liked to come out strong. We knew if we wanted to stay with them we had to jump on them early. Andrea (Lalum) was awesome at the beginning hitting those three's as a freshman and then playing like she did down the stretch as a freshmen in March was just awesome.
On going home to play in the Sweet 16 in Spokane
"I would have been real disappointed knowing that the "Sweet 16" was that close to Seattle would have been hard. We are fortunate to be playing so close to home this late in the game. Our fans are loyal and they will be there."
Loree Payne, Sophomore
On the effect of the emotional win from Friday"It provided a lot of emotion, but it goes back to the end of the season when we dropped those two games. We have been able to bounce back all year and maybe those two loses allowed us to bounce back stronger. We were able to stay on top when things went bad. We stay poised. When they made their run we kept our composure and came back strong.
Andrea Lalum, Freshman
On the post play at the end of the game"Both teams were in foul trouble at the end of the game. We were just going back and forth at each other. We wanted to get their posts in foul trouble and use that to our advantage."
FLORIDA
Head Coach Carol Ross
"Washington played a terrific ball game. They are worthy to move on and a great representative of basketball. They have the ability to move on. They threw more at us than we could handle. We got ourselves into a hole, and the hole was too deep to get out. The Gators won't quit and they always find a way to fight back in a game. I admire that of this team and they are great to coach because of that."
What was the importance of Vanessa Hayden's role on the court tonight?
This whole team has a great quality and a tremendous will to win. Things sometimes do not go the way you want. You need to fight back. They leave everything on the court. We have had defections and injuries this year. Whether it's Hayden or someone else they are going to get it done. Vanessa was able to get the advantage inside. She showed persistence. She was tenacious during that run in the second half. Win or lose she and the rest of the team always play with effort and heart.
What was the difference today, against Holy Cross your post players seemed to hurt more than today?
To play in the NCAAs you have to play at an extremely high and competitive level. Maybe we drew too much attention to our ability to play inside so well in the Holy Cross game. I'm sure Washington saw that and stopped us. They were tough on the defensive end against our post players. Some nights you have it and some nights you don't.
Even though you lost today how do you feel about having one of the best seasons in history?
Losing is always hard. But the tougher part is that something really special is coming to an end. It has been such a privilege to coach these seniors. They have been so special to me. That's the toughest part.
Tombi Bell, Senior
On it hurting more because of the closeness at the end"No. It doesn't sting anymore. We still lost. Whether it was by one point or however many we lost by tonight, we are not advancing. It is said best as 'that is the way the cookie crumbles.'"
Her thoughts after fouling out
"I am disappointed, but Brandi came down and hit two three's. I think that my team looks to me and kind of follows my lead. I tried to cheer them on. Brandi came down and cut the deficit by three. But I am disappointed."
On what else they could have done
"That is the game of basketball. There was a lot we could have done, but we didn't. I have to give Washington credit. They are number six in the nation with three pointers, and they played strong."
Vanessa Hayden, Freshman
What she will remember as a freshman"I am going to take playing with Tombi, Tamara, and Misty and remember it as one of the greatest moments of my life. We have been a team through thick and thin and all the ups and downs throughout the season. I have learned a lot from them and I am really going to miss them."
