Washington vs. Iowa State
March 17, 2007 | Women's Basketball
March 17, 2007
Recap |
Final Stats |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
2007 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball -- Minneapolis First Round
Saturday, March 17, 2007 - Iowa State 79, Washington 60
Washington Quotes - Press Conference Head Coach
Washington Head Coach June Daugherty:
Opening Statement:
"Congratulations, first of all, to Iowa State, they're a team of enormous balance. When you have six kids in double figures, it's really tough for us defensively to match their ability to score from both the long range, and their post players I thought had a phenomenal game. I thought we started out very well, we had some great stops, we were all over the glass, but it seemed like it got away from us a little, right in the middle of the first half. We battled back, cut it down to 12 or 13 right before halftime, down to six in the second half, but Iowa State is one of those teams that is so incredibly strong offensively and they just make the big runs. I think another thing we talked about yesterday is their defense is very underrated. Their kids really get down, they really understand their assignments, and they made it very tough on us to score in every position today."
On the possibility of Iowa State being nervous in front of a big hometown crowd:
"I don't think that -- I thought we were going about 200 miles an hour, the first couple of timeouts, even though we were up in the score and all, I wanted to challenge our team to settle down a bit and be a little more patient offensively, and get back to what we do. Once we settled down, it was good to see, but it just seemed like every little mistake we made offensively ended up on the other end with them scoring. It made it really tough with the runs. But we were really amped up. Part of that is just the NCAA experience. Even before the game in the locker room, the Huskies were really excited, we talked about, it's great to be excited, but to make sure we're focused on what were doing. When we settled in, I thought we did alright."
On mid-game changes:
"The pick and roll was obviously hurting us, and their front line was getting a lot of easy looks. We switched up defensively, we tried to give them four different looks offensively with the pick and roll, to get their guards guessing coming off the pick, and to manage the rotations with both the four and five off the picks. Bill (Fennelly) changed up the alignment of where they typically sit off the pick-and-roll, and it made it tough for our rotations to get out initially. So we went to three or four other alignments defensively to try to cover up."
On Iowa State shooting more three-pointers, along with strong post play:
"That's the balance I'm talking about. Not only are they an efficient team offensively, they're a very good team defensively. Holding us to 60 (points), they've been holding a lot of opponents near 60, the low-60s all year. But the fact that off those pick-and-roll plays, anywhere on the floor their front line is capable of hurting you. Not just inside, but I think everyone saw they were able to dial it up from long distance. It makes it tough because they stretch the floor so well."
On the lack of scoring off offensive rebounds:
"The one side of it was great, early in the game, seeing that energy, seeing the kids get up on the boards, really got us going offensively with the offensive boards. But it was tough to see how many times we came up with empty possessions on two- or three-foot shots."
On her upcoming contract situation and confidence of returning next year:
"All year, I've tried to stay away from talking about my contract situation, and I think I'll continue to do that. I'm sure that's something that will be discussed behind closed doors."
Washington Guard Cameo Hicks:
On being unable to convert close inside shots:
"When you have close inside shots, it's always frustrating when you miss them, but we have to bounce back from that. We know that we're going to continue to go hard on the boards and continue to get those looks. We just have to have confidence that we will finish them."
On playing in front of an Iowa State crowd:
"It was great. We knew that Iowa State would have a huge following coming in, but it was a great atmosphere - just being in this NCAA Tournament atmosphere, playing a great team that had a great fan base. But I really want to commend our fans as well. There was a lot of them who came out here and made the trip, and it was really exciting and we were happy to have them around."
Was playing in front of an Iowa State crowd uncomfortable?
"Yeah, it did kind of feel like a road game, but I wouldn't say it was uncomfortable. We are used to playing in front of great crowds, playing in the Pac-10 and we played a great schedule preseason, so we are used to (playing) against good crowds."
On the Iowa State defense:
"They definitely made it hard on us to get those easy transition buckets that we are used to. They really focus on getting back on defense and like June (Daugherty) said, their defense is underrated, so they did a great job on getting back and stopping our easy looks."
Washington Guard Emily Florence:
On her 2-of-11 shooting performance from the field:
"Sometimes you just have off days. I just looked to pass more and penetrate and get more assists."
On Iowa State's ability to slow down Washington after the Huskies built a nine-point lead in the first half:
"They got a couple of `threes' to go down, and that kind of killed our spirit a little bit. They shot so well during that stretch. They are such a good shooting team. They got the momentum going when we gave up some of those easy `threes'. It got into our head a little bit."
On the adjustments they made at halftime:
"We just talked about how we can play with anybody and that we can make a comeback. We were just trying to make it one step at a time. The focus was boxing out and rebounding. We started off the game crashing offensive boards and getting a lot. That is why we had the lead. That dropped off in the second part of the first half, so that was our emphasis. Box out and get every rebound and we will be right back in the game."
On the ability of Iowa State to outrebound Washington:
"We missed a couple of crucial box outs and that hurt us. We were also doubling on the post, so there was always one of their players free."
On this year's team:
"We had a really experienced upperclass team. There were seven seniors so we had so much leadership. We had so much fun as a team and always worked hard. We had people that we could look up to and we will miss our seniors a lot.
On next year's team:
"We're going to have a good team next year. I am excited already for next season."
