Post-Game Quotes
November 30, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2008
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Washington Head Coach Tia Jackson
Opening Statement: "Great job by Clemson. They came in here and competed, and we knew that. We talked about Friday's game being the battle of Seattle, this one was definately the battle of wills. At the same time, midway through the first half, it was the battle of numbers. We've lost two of our starters in Laura [McLellan] and Heidi [McNeill], and I give my hat off to these kids; they came out and competed. They still came out and competed, and I'm very proud of my team. We definatley wanted the outcome to be in our favor, but unfortunatley that didn't happen."
On if fatigue was a factor: "All the black jackets you saw sitting on the bench were four posts--four posts. And if you didn't notice, little 5'11" Lydia was trying to get around 6'4" [Whitney] Hood, [Jasmine] Tate, all of their posts. That's asking a lot. I had Michelle [Augustavo] playing a post, Sara Mosiman playing one. Our kids went out and gave it everything they had with what they had."
On Laura McLellan's status: "She's with the doctor now, she sprained her ankle, but you saw how gingerly she was walking out there. I did not want to chance it, we have a long season right now and I did not want to chance it with one game."
On Heidi McNeill's status: "She took a really really bad hit to the groin, and she's very, very tender; it's hard for her to lift her leg right now so we're just taking it day by day and we'll see what happens."
On Mackenzie Argens' status: "Her knees. I think I've said it again and again, Mackenzie's never been 100%. So when you get a kid trying to get out there and compete at a very high level at less than 100%, your body's going to feel some trauma there."
On what allowed Clemson's run in the second half: "Lack of numbers on our part, players playing out of position, and they're a very good defensive team. I'm not saying it's everything we could have done right, but they were doing some things right, too. They were very, very aggressive defensively, and, honestly, it was about us getting good looks, we didn't nail them. Michelle was on fire, and I call it 'riding the horse,' and we kept riding that horse, and there were some looks we got that didn't go. They went on a 21-something run in three minutes."
On where to go from here: "Good question. We've had players play out of position before, we'll get them reps at that. We've got one day to get ready for Pepperdine. I definately have to give them a break after this game right? I'll give them the day off tomorrow, so we'll have one day to prepare for Pepperdine, and we've just got to get them reps, so they can feel confident about the position that they're in. Understanding that they're going to have strengths because they are the quicker player at that position."
On Mollie Williams' performance: "Mollie is a, kind of one of those hidden gems, and when we found her and she agreed to be a part of this family, we knew were signing a tremendous upside in her talent level. She's extemely coachable, and does everything you could ask. I'll say Mollie run through the wall and she'll ask how many feet do you want me in it. She's really one of those kids that will give you everything you ask, and she's playing out of her mind right now."
Senior Michelle Augustavo
On team hitting a wall in the second half: "It was a little difficult because they went on that run. We felt it a little bit, but we tried to stay positive and keep fighting because we weren't going to give up by any means."
On playing well vs. Clemson in her career: "Honestly I have no idea. People ask if I just hate the color orange or what's the deal. I just try to get out there and do the best I can and for whatever reason I happen to play well against Clemson."
On her offensive performance in the first half: "Well I can thank my teammates for the. They were nailing them on the screens and I was wide open. Clemson wasn't switching so you can hit them once on a screen then I am going to be wide open. I thank my teammates for that."
On missed shots before Clemson's decisive 17-2 run in the second half: "They felt great coming off and they just didn't go in. They were in-and-out. Like Coach [Jackson] said, she would take them all over again. I just got to keep shooting. Like I said the other day, that's my role and if I don't fulfill it, I'm not doing much for our team."
On what led to Clemson's run: "I have no idea. I think their defense was excellent. We looked at the stat sheet and we only ended the game with 11 turnovers so I can't say that were being careless. They just stepped it up a bit. They are athletic so they just get out, throw it and go. It caught us on our heels for a minute or two and that really turned the game around."
Freshman Mollie Williams
On her expanded role on the team due to injuries: "It's pretty much growing, but I think I can take it because I have my teammates that have my back. We are always encouraging each other so it made it a little bit easier."
On how she can best contribute to the team: "Right now, I think it's my defense because I have a long wingspan. It really helps out a lot so that I can get over to different places. Later on, I think my offense will come in more as I'm learning more things and learning the offenses and things like that. But right now, it's my defense."
On what position she wants to be in: "As of right now, I like the four. I like to be able to face-up because I'm not really a back-to-the-basket post because I'm not that big. Later on, as I get more experience I think I could play the three a little bit but I'm not sure, so I'm sticking with the four."
On Clemson's run: "I think that we just ran out a gas. At the end we picked it up a little bit because they couldn't stop Sami. It was just because we ran out of gas and we had to get our gas filled up again. It was a little bit too late. We have lost some bodies. It didn't help us as much as we needed it too. Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. Unfortunately, this time it didn't go our way."
