North Texas at Washington WNIT game
March 14, 2002 | Women's Basketball
March 14, 2002
Washington Head Coach June Daugherty
General Comments: "One down and four to go and we are excited to come out and play as well as we did defensively tonight. I think everyone that has been following us all year will see the changes that we made defensively we were able to affect them and their tempo a little bit. We were able to keep Mitchell from getting going especially in the first half. Obviously with her averaging 20 points per game that was a big key. The team did a great job of mixing up the defense and showing some different sets that were very effective."
On the second half: "They had a lot of seniors in the lineup and a lot of them on the bench. During halftime we said that no lead was safe. They certainly came after us and were a lot more physical and a lot more aggressive especially in their press. It caused us a few problems but the good news for us is that we were able to get back in there and start playing hard to get things turned around."
On moving on: "No matter what tournament you are in it is either lose or go home for spring break and I think the players definitely have to learn how to deal with that pressure both on the academic side and on the basketball side, these guys are heading into finals next week. It is kind of like a bowl game any time we can get this extra work together and extra games in competition then we are certainly going to take advantage of it."
Emily Autrey
On rebounding: "We know that rebounding is always going to be a key for us. This year we have been up and down in our rebounding and so we knew we needed to focus in a little bit more on that. They had some good posts inside we just boxed out and did a little better on the boards today."
Giuliana Mendiola:
On sitting out the first half: "It was difficult to be on the bench. Obviously I wasn't used to it. I knew that I could not focus on whether or not I was playing I just knew that I needed to cheer for my team and do whatever I could from the bench to help our team."
Sarah Keeler:
On her performance: "I knew that Andrea may still be a little tentative on her ankle so I just wanted to have the mindset that I need to go out there to go out there and get the team going. I wanted to make a statement tonight that I can play out there and that I am finally starting to come into my own."
North Texas Head Coach Tina Slinker
On Washington's first half defense: "The size of their zone and the fact that they mix their defenses well took us off guard a little bit. We tried to prepare for it because we knew they ran the match-up game but it took us a half to get comfortable and we didn't hit our shots early. It took us an adjustment of trying to draw fouls. But not being able to get any scoring from your post players takes your guards out of the game. We worked hard to try to go inside but that is where we missed our shots. Washington does a great job in their zone. They have the size to mix it up and they do a great job with their personnel."
On missing easy first-half shots "I don't want to make an excuse but our post player Shannan Stephenson that was 2-11 is one of our leading players and she came in injured and hasn't practiced since our last game so for ten days she really hasn't even been on the court. That really hurt us. Our other kids came in and did a good job but we really needed Stephenson tonight and she just wasn't able to do it. She is a tremendous scorer. She had 27 points in our last game and not having her tonight was definitely a factor for us."
On coming out strong the second half: "At halftime we talked about the fact that we didn't want to lay down and die. We had a choice. The second thing was that we wanted to penetrate a little more against the defense and I thought we came out and did that pretty well. Vilma Grismanauskaite came out a lot more aggressive and helped us have an inside-outside."
North Texas guard Jalie Mitchell
On the end of her career: "I am proud that we had a much better second half and proud that we didn't come out and lay down. We fought back. It is the end but I am proud of my team and how we came back."
