USC at Washington
January 06, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2002
Game Quotes
Sunday, January 6, 2002
USC at Washington
Washington Coach June Daugherty:
On the game: " I am very excited about this win tonight because it proved that our intensity level has risen and we proved to ourselves that we are blossoming against tough teams. Everyone played very hard in every position and I am very proud of this team for battling so hard. I was worried that we would be tired during the overtime but we proved that we had it in us to fight hard. The girls stepped during overtime. Our defense was stellar tonight against a very tough team. We kept them off the three-point line and did a better job on the boards, something we have been working on. "
On junior guard Loree Payne: "I am impressed with Payne's mental toughness to continue to take shots and fight back. I knew her shots were going to fall in the end and they did. She competed harder on defense and ran the floor very well and that is what we need from Loree. She also showed upperclassman leadership tonight."
On UConn/Tennessee Game Saturday (that was not televised in Seattle): "For this town not to televise the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation is a travesty. If you were to go and survey the 3,100 fans that were in attendance tonight they would say that Seattle loves women's basketball. But to hear that there is a lack of interest in women's basketball and that's why this game was not on television is disappointing.
On former Ohio State coach Fred Taylor's death this week: "I would like to dedicate this win tonight to coach Fred Taylor at Ohio State. He coached Mike (Daugherty), and there is a lot of Fred in our program. He would have loved this game tonight because it was a hard fought battle."
Washington Player Quotes
Junior guard Loree Payne
"USC's defense really threw us out of our offense tonight and their toughness forced us to toughen up. I was struggling at the beginning of the game and June had confidence in me to keep shooting and it helps when you know your coach and teammates have confidence in you. The play before overtime was broken and Emily just passed me the ball and I shot it. The next play where I drove to the basket was another broken play. Kristen (O'Neill) set a pick and I drove hard."
Sophomore guard Giuliana Mendiola
"USC is one of the toughest teams in the Pac-10. The best teams bring out the best in our team and we showed that tonight. Their pressure defense on the perimeter allowed the guards to penetrate. I just tried to do what the defense gave me."
USC Head Coach Chris Gobrecht
On whether Loree Payne's final shot in regulation was a three: "I didn't think so. It never even crossed my mind that she shot a three. It wasn't like I thought we lost the game, I thought she just tied it. Usually you have some fear that would stab you if it was close and I thought she clearly dribble penetrated into the area of the floor and pulled up and shot the ball. She headed inward, she wasn't headed out. Usually that means she is not shooting a three. She was heading toward the basket."
On a young USC team: "They are really young. I thought (Washington's) depth helped out but obviously I think if we hadn't lost Tiffany Elmore (to an ankle injury) we would've put this thing away in regulation. That was significant. We were having a tough time keeping the energy level up and when we lost her - that's a kid who plays 30 minutes a game for us and that's our senior and our leader - that kind of sucks it out of you. It took a little bit of our heart and they play with a lot of emotion here. We needed a little more of that and we need to find out how to generate that among ourselves when we are in this type of environment. That is a lesson for our young kids because you kind of see them get off track a little bit, still get distracted, still get hung up on what the bad things are instead of taking care of the basketball game. We should've made stops and we should've gotten defensive boards down the stretch. We do that and this isn't even an issue. One of the hard things with talented young kids is they have to understand it still is about playing basketball well. It doesn't matter how good you are you gotta play the game. The game is about blocking out and passing the ball. You do those things and you don't have to be spectacular."
On Aisha Hollans: "She got tired. She played a lot of minutes and didn't get the rest she gets because of the injury to Elmore. That made her a little slow when she was guarding Payne. We'll kick ourselves about it but we'll move on. We have a great chance to finish well in the first round of the Pac-10 especially since we had five road games in a row. We just need to move on. There is a lot of season left."
On Ebony Hoffman: "I'm not sure what the kid needs but she's gotta learn to deal with this. They were double and triple teaming her but we made them pay. We burned them bad on the baseline so we made them pay for that strategy. But the individual that is being double and triple teamed - even though we are dealing with that and it was not costing us any opportunities offensively - when she is getting handled like that it kind of gets frustrating. She's got to learn to rise above it. It's tough being a great player."
