Post-Game Quotes
February 15, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2003
Washington Women's Basketball
February 15, 2003 vs. California
Player and Coach Quotes
COACH JUNE DAUGHERTY
On game: "I thought this team bounced back from the desert. It's not always easy to come off a game like we played against a very good Stanford team. The game was a little bit ragged, there were a lot of fouls and things going on, but I think the kids responded great, especially in the second half. Looking at this game, I think it's a great example like with Sarah Keeler, a kid that comes off the bench in this program. I thought Sarah turned the game around today with her hustle and her post defense. That kind of effort and intensity inside is going to win a lot of ball games for us. My hat goes off to the gold team, the kids that don't get a lot of minutes. They ran Cal and Stanford sets all week. They pushed the first eight in the rotation. Nicole Castro and Gio deserve a lot of credit for what they contribute to this program and I don't think we hear enough about them."
On energy level: "I think that everybody, myself included got caught up in all the calls. Because there was so much contact, the officials had to make the calls. There was no flow to the game at all. We challenged ourselves to get more energy and start playing harder. They took care of business. Cal's a team that's improved all year, if you let them hang around they can make big problems for you. They lost to Oregon by two, Stanford by three, they're a team that can definitely get it going."
On consistency: "Champions do it. If you want to be a champion, you have to find a way to do it. We've definitely been in the situation before where we beat Stanford and then turned around a lost to Cal. It's kind of human nature. The veterans and the leaders in this program stepped up and took care of business."
On Emily Autrey: "Emily Autrey was a human sparkplug off the bench. She's been in that situation a lot this year. Offensively, when we score in the 70's, it's usually from Emily coming off the bench and giving us a spark."
GUARD GIULIANA MENDIOLA
On reserves: "You don't get to see a lot of what they do, but in our practices they push us around and pretty much take the identity of the other team. It's not like our team wins every time in practice. They battle with us to make every single player on this team better."
On asking for a sub: "I feel fine, it's just something that's been bothering me. If I just rest it up a little I'll be alright."
On physical game: "I usually like physical games, they were definitely pushing me around a little. Like June said, I think I got caught up a little with the refs. Cal has a great defensive team, they were pressuring me the entire game, full court, they didn't even let me get the ball. I have to take my hat off to them. I need to stay poised in those situations, hopefully I'll learn from this game."
FORWARD SARAH KEELER
On game: "Obviously in the first half we came out pretty flat. We addressed that at halftime. I knew that whenever June hollered my name I needed to bring some energy onto the floor. I think what got me really going before I came in was the charge called on Kristen, that got me fired up before I even got in the game. A lot of times, my energy comes from watching my teammates make big plays. It fuels what I can do for the team. I'm not known, like Emily, to come in and have a big scoring game. But if I can get a block or a steal and get people going, I'm doing my job."
FORWARD EMILY AUTREY
On own play: "Coming off the bench I was trying to spark our energy and get us going. Whether it's defensively or offensively."
On hangover from Stanford: "I think it had a little bit to do with that. We just came out kind of dull. We didn't have the fire, the intensity. Whether it's being emotionally drained from the Stanford game or just tired. For whatever reason, it wasn't there. We definitely picked it up in the second half."
On inside game: "I think that's a good test for us because we're not going to always make our shots. Our posts, especially Keeler, played great. We started to get more physical in the second half. We were being totally out rebounded in the first half, but our posts picked up the slack. We need to continue to do that if our shots don't fall."
On bench picking up slack:"Our bench is really important, especially when the starters look a little tired out there or stagnant or whatever. It's our responsibility to get the team going and the energy up. I think we did a great job of that tonight."
