Washington vs. St. Louis Postgame Quotes
November 25, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2006
General Comments: I thought we showed pretty good improvement from our last game at Eastern Washington and our road trip. I like the fact that our matchup zone really caused a lot of problems for St. Louis. I thought that having the luxury of mixing up the zone and our player-to-player kind of put them on their heels tonight. We had a chance to get into the passing lane and get back to our running game. That is what I am most encouraged about, that we showed improvement, made some stops and had a chance to run. When we can get out there and run like we did we're kind of a fun team to watch.
On forcing 27 turnovers: We kept mixing up the defenses. I thought we got a stagnant in our player-to-player. Our defense created our offense for us and at times I think we got them back on their heels. They weren't sure whether we were in man or zone and they had some shot clock trouble. I just like the fact that we stepped up and played hard. When they made the run we showed our experience and that's what you are looking for with the upperclassmen.
On what still needs to improve: We're not there yet. Our pressure on the basketball is not where it needs to be. We are still fouling in the middle of the floor and not handling the pick-and-roll very well. There is a lot of room for improvement. I like that fact that, as early as it, is we were able to get our matchup going tonight. That is the first time we have used it this year and it gave us some good looks going the other way.
On what was better than in the first three games: I thought these guys showed great strides. We moved the basketball and cut harder. I thought we spaced the floor much better then we had in our first three games. I thought we shared the basketball much better. It is a work in progress, no doubt about it. We aren't just going to score fastbreak baskets all the time. We are going to have to play half-court defense. We are still turning the ball over way too much. So it's not where it needs to be, but when it is I think you are going to see us shooting around 50 percent and you will see the assists come up a lot higher than the 12 we had tonight.
On Andrea Plouffe being day-to-day: I liked her day-to-day today. In the past she has had a lot of knee surgeries. When she first got here she didn't play hardly at all her first year. She has a lot of pain in the knee area, but she shows great warrior attitude. It's swollen and it's sore. It feels a lot like tendonitis where it hurts just to push off or walk. We elected not play her at Eastern to let her calm down. That gave her five full days to have treatment. The way she played today was similar to how she played at Purdue. Hopefully we'll have her back again tomorrow.
Washington Player Quotes
Guard Cameo Hicks
General Comments
"Like June said, we shared the ball a lot better. We moved around, and got some good looks on offense. I think that is what this team could do night in and night out. We can score a lot of points--we have a lot of weapons. We just need to share the ball, and get down on our fast breaks."
On breaking 1000 career points
"I had actually forgotten about it before today. Then one of my teammates asked what that meant, because my family was holding up all these numbers, and I was like, `Oh that's right.' But it wasn't on my mind at all."
On their defense
"I agree with June. That is what we are expected to do--make teams shoot low percentage shots, and to get turnovers. Also, one thing we pride our defense on is pressure on the ball, steals, and getting out on the break, and that is one thing we have kind of gotten away from. We did a better job, but like June said, it is not where we want to be in my opinion. It looks good, but we could be better."
On the physicality of the game
"They were definitely physical. You can tell that they really wanted this game. Coach Gray is a good coach. She coached here a few years ago, and we knew they wanted this game, and they would get it at all cost. They were a little bit physical, but it was just one thing we had to deal with. I think we did a great job with dealing with the refs tonight. The refs did a great job. We have a tendency to get involved with the refs when they make a call against us, but we did a good job with that tonight."
Forward Breanne Watson
On the confidence boost
"Tonight was very important. We went into Eastern Washington thinking it was the biggest game of the season. Obviously no one wants to start the season 0-2. So that was a huge game for us, and to come home and win tonight like we did, and play as well as we did, it is definitely an energy boost and hopefully it will keep us going for a while."
On if there was doubt on making shots
"I don't think we had any self-doubt. We definitely started off the season rough. We didn't shoot the ball well at all. At Eastern it did not look any better, but we got the win. Tonight I think we got a little bit more comfortable in the second half, and that is when we started to take the lead, and we felt more comfortable--our shots kept dropping. I think we just need to relax a little bit."
Forward/Center Andrea Plouffe
On the physicality of the game
"It was pretty physical, but it is going to help us in the long run. Pac-10 has some big girls, so it is going to just make us tougher later on in the season."
On the confidence boost
"It is good. I am more happy that we came back as a team, and we started do what we know how to do. Like running the floor, play good defense, and stuff like that. I think this was good for our team, because we were in a slump."
