Post-Game Quotes
November 03, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Washington 84, Love & Basketball 59 (exhibition)
Bank of America Arena; Seattle, Wash.
Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007
WASHINGTON HEAD COACH Tia Jackson
"All in all, a valiant effort for our kids. They went out there and played hard. They were very anxious to get out on the floor, very eager, very hungry. I felt good about that. They showed a lot today about who was going to step up and be ready to get out there and show some action. My hat goes off to Heidi McNeill. She stepped up. From watching her play last year on tape to watching her just now in her first game, it's a vast improvement. Very excited about her. The fouls I'm not very excited about. That's going to be something that we're going to focus on. Make sure that we're more disciplined on defense. I didn't really want to play a zone tonight but that's how it turned out. All in all, the players came out and played hard - they were hungry. Putting up 80 plus points, we want to do that every night."
On the slow start offensively:
"We were getting the looks we wanted, we just weren't hitting them. A lot of that had to do with the fact that it was our first game. Once we hit that first basket, the lid got off. After that, pretty much any shot we wanted we could get."
On the freshmen:
"They responded very well. Katelyn really stepped up, Candice getting to the free throw line and getting six attempts, that shows her aggression. She's already proven that she's a slasher and penetrator for us. We want to look to push the tempo and attack more. Our freshmen were looking to do that. They're not shy. I love that about them. They don't play like freshmen. They're hungry players."
On having a better first half than second half:
"We got a little complacent in the second half. A little comfortable. They said it. I walked into the locker room and they first thing they said was `We've got to make sure we play that way, the way we played in the first half, continually.' I didn't even have to say it, they knew it. A lot of the mistakes tonight had to do with first game jitters."
On the team's offense:
"They did exactly what I asked them to do. We had a couple little wrinkles, but we got out there and pushed the tempo. We were trying to get a high percentage within the first twelve seconds of the shot clock and I think we did that. Our fouls slowed the game up a little bit."
On her first game as a head coach:
"I'm doing the same thing I was doing last year, now I just get to stand up a little more."
On Seattle Pacific:
"It's great for the city. Get some high energy, some excitement around basketball. I think it's going to be fun on Tuesday."
On Heidi McNeill:
"On day one, I told her `You have too much inside of you to be holding it back. She's a great offensive rebounder, I think the stats speak for themselves. And she can shoot from anywhere on the floor."
On the freshmen:
"We've been practicing hard for a while now. We've gotten comfortable with the girls. We have really good team chemistry on and off the court. All of the young girls are willing to listen and learn. They don't play like freshmen. They really stepped up. I'm really excited about this year."
On the best and worst of tonight:
"Towards the end, we let down on the box outs. We could've pushed them a little bit more and had fewer turnovers. Being a guard, that's something I take personally. Overall, I thought we did really well coming out with confidence. We were nervous in the locker room, but we felt comfortable with our offense. Our plays were really focused. When we started knocking down our shots a couple minutes into the game, I think it was our defense that led to it."
On Heidi McNeill:
"Heidi's such a versatile player. She can do anything. She can shoot, she can post up, she's fast, she can run the floor. She's a great player, I love playing with her. Like Coach J said, sometimes she holds back. But tonight she let it out and that's what we need every game."
On her personal performance:
"There's still a lot of areas for improvement. But I feel like it was a coming out game for me. Last year I didn't get to play much and was a bit injured. But I just feel like with this team and the new coaching staff I have a lot more self confidence in myself and in my teammates. I feel good about the whole year."
On expecting these numbers from her:
"I hope so, rebounding wise. I can't control how my shots are going to go in but I can always cross the boards and box out. Hopefully I'll put up a lot of rebounding stats."
"Before the game I was a little nervous. But I knew that the coaches have gotten us prepared for playing in actual games. Also, the team came together. The upperclassmen were very supportive and encouraged me to do as well as I could. It was a fun game. We had a great first half. We slowed down in the second half, but that won't happen again."
