Post-Game Quotes
January 29, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2009
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Washington Coach Tia Jackson
On message to the team following the game: "That the way we lost this game is disheartening. We looked at our keys for this game and out of the five keys we set, we accomplished one. We wanted to limit them on penetration, we wanted to take at least seven charges because we knew that they were a driving team, we wanted to keep them off of the boards, we wanted to run on them because we knew that they have four players who play 36 minutes a game and we wanted to exhaust them, and the one goal we did accomplish was that we had fun in the first half."
On the eight minute stretch in the second half where we had three points: "Shooting 31 three pointers is not us. The defense that Arizona plays is known as a pack defense because they pack their defense into the key, double team the post, and create a lot of congestion in the middle. We wanted to kick it out to the shooters, but unfortunately tonight was not our night with three pointers. We need to learn from that attack the basket, and get to the free throw line. We needed to get them on their heels and then we can kick it out for 15 foot jump shots instead of just quick three pointers."
On the low amount of playing time for Liz Lay: "We were pressing, and with her mobility to press right now she would have been exposed and that is not something that I am willing to do to her."
On Kristi Kingma's ankle injury: "I think that you could see how serious it was. I mean she is in a lot of pain right now. If I had to take a guess on if she would play on Saturday I would say just off of what I saw, no."
On Mollie Williams: "We need to get more consistency from Mollie on both ends of the floor, but I thought that for the few minutes that Mollie was in she played well. She had an offensive rebound, a finish, and got her hands on the ball defensively. We have to see that consistently and not just in a two minute span."
On if the team has lost confidence: "I think that they have lost some confidence, but that is where we come in as coaches, reminding them of what they do well, and I trust myself and my staff in doing that. We need to feel this loss because it is a rough one."
On Arizona State: "Even if we were undefeated we would need to be concerned about Arizona State. They are an exceptional basketball team; they are top three in the conference and have received top 25 votes, and I think they are a concern for anybody they play.
Junior Christina Rozier
On the turning point in the game: "We just have to be better on defense as a team."
On mentality coming into the game: "We never take any team for granted, whether they are No. 1 or 10. You just have to come in and play your game. It's hard to take this loss to a team that for a majority of the game we had and we could have won this game."
On bouncing back from the loss: "We will bounce back from this game. We can't soak in it. We have a game on Saturday, so we'll have to come out on Saturday and take it to ASU. Teams may be taking us lightly because of our record but we need to keep pounding and keep fighting. Personally I know I'm not going to stop fighting. I know I had a lot of mistakes today - shooting free throws and missing lay ups. But as a team, I think we need to keep our heads up and moving forward."
Junior Sami Whitcomb
On what changes need to be made: "I think the changes that need to be made, like what Christina talked about, are on defense. Our keys for every game, we need to focus on areas that we need to take away from other teams. I think it's about discipline in those areas and if we're coming out and not focusing on those things, taking away rebounds and penetration, we're not setting ourselves up for a win. I think it's about coming together and collectively doing the things we need to do on the defensive end and not letting our offensive performance dictate any of that."
On the tough upcoming schedule: "No, I don't think it's a matter of looking at the opponent as much. I'm not really concerned that we're playing the top three teams in the conference coming up. It's more about doing the things we need to do and executing the defense the way we need to and worry about disciplining ourselves where our focus is, and the win will come every time. Until we're doing that, it's not going to happen for us."
