Post-Game Quotes
February 07, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2004
WASHINGTON
HEAD COACH JUNE DAUGHTERY
General Comments: "That was just one heck of a ball game. It was all there for us. Our character, our gut check. Could we still battle back and believe in ourselves when we were down seven. Those kids answered the bell. In the huddle there was no doubt about what the kids wanted to do. They were fired up about their defense. I think we found out an awful lot about these kids tonight. I'm just really proud of them. It was a great game, and a hard fought win. You guys know about USC and everyone they have played this year. It would have been easier to slip back into the disappointment, but we never felt that way at all. All nine of them were very clear about it in those last few minutes."
On the injury to Breanne Watson: "She's not good. The doctors are seeing her right now and they are going to take her for an MRI. She is over at the hospital right now. All of our experts will take a look at her. Tonight we will take some looks at Oregon and Oregon State and see what rotation for us will work best against those teams. Breanne has eight doctors looking at her right now and her teammates as well. What Dr. Harmon said that they wanted to take her for an MRI. The shoulder popped out but they were able to get it back in. She is taped up right now. "
On Guiliana Mendiola: "I wish I could explain it. I wish I could take some credit. She just overcompensates for not being the quickest or fastest. She understands the angles of the game. She knows what is going on at every tick of the clock. She knows what we need and what we don't need. Her ability to make the decisions she makes is phenomenal. She is a dream to coach because she is so competitive. She has high expectations for herself and these kids. She is not afraid to let the kids know what they need to do. Our young kids have been with her long enough to know that she is a great teammate and she means well. She believes in them. She's incredible. I don't know what words we can use. I think she is the best player that has ever played at Washington and one of the best in the country."
On the impact of the alumni: "These kids had dinner with the alumni last night and they saw people come back from New York and California and other places. It really made an impression on these young kids. There is such a passion about Husky Women's basketball. We had people out there who were 50 and 60 years old playing out there before our game. They told us stories and talked about their friendships. They talked about not wins and losses but how much their teammates meant to them. They wanted to play hard for each other and go out there and enjoy it. That rubbed off on our kids and took pressure off them. They came out with the energy though."
GUARD Cameo Hicks
On Guiliana Mendiola's attitude: "She has barked at me a few times. I knew coming in that she was an awesome leader and a great player. I knew that she knew what she was talking about when it comes to basketball."
On the coaches challenges after the UCLA loss: With the disappointing loss on Thursday, our coaches issued us some challenges. They issued us each personal challenge as well as a challenge to the team. Every person took their challenge and played harder."
GUARD Giuliana Mendiola
On losing the lead in the last four minutes: "I thought we responded pretty well today. We came back fighting and fighting. I was happy that we finally got a win.
On the pride aspect:
"It sure did show me something about our pride. USC has been playing great basketball and did score 70 points on us, which is a lot for our defense. We just stepped up our defense in the last few minutes."
On her play in the last few minutes:
"I don't think that I have to win the game. I had to score though. I was being aggressive in the first half. I did not want to let my teammates down and I was in a position to score when I had the ball in my hands those last few minutes.
On preparing for USC after UCLA:
"Anytime you lose you go back to the gym and focus even harder on the next game. Our coaches really got on us and we knew we had to play hard for each other and play team basketball. We have a tendency to get away from that. Tonight everyone stepped up though. Cameo Hicks played tough and Jill Bell got some big rebounds."
