Quotes From The Huskies' 63-46 Exhibition Win Over Western Washington
November 03, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 3, 2010
Washington vs. Western Washington
November 3, 2010
Hec Edmundson Pavilion
Washington Coach and Player Quotes
Head Coach Tia Jackson
On general thoughts on the game
I think I had a few interviews before the exhibition game and I think the common theme was to make sure that we learned a lot tonight, kind of give a good assessment of where we are, kind of get a good taste of what we're doing well. Things are carrying over from practice to games. I think, more than anything, our effort was tremendous. We have this term about 50-50 balls - anytime there's a loose ball going on - and I think the last time we started counting, midway through the second half, we had ten. So, just a really good job of taking ownership of the effort out there and I'm really proud of the focus from the three-point standpoint,t as much as they got hot, they typically hit seven a game. We did a good job of keeping them under that. I'm very proud of our defensive effort in that regard. So, of course, we saw some things that we need to pick up on, but we also saw a lot of things that we did well.
On things she'd like to erase about the game, especially the first half
First game jitters. A lot of fouling - that was just jitters. Just getting out there and we're all so excited. I had one of my freshmen, Mercedes Wetmore, say during shoot around, about midway through, we typically have the point guards at half court with me as we're executing our five on the offense. She walks over to me and says "I'm so excited. Can I say that?" I said "Absolutely, absolutely." So there were a lot of jitters, myself included. So I just think once we got those out, just figured out what we were doing well, we were able to go out and execute in the second half.
On their defense
Absolutely, when we stay aggressive, it's fun basketball because it's opportunities for us to get easy baskets. I think the rebounding effort on our team was huge, and that also allowed us to get steals. There was also an opportunity where we got a lot of defensive boards, and we were able to capitalize on those.
Sarah Morton
Senior point guard
On the team's excitement for the first game
We were just really excited to get out there. We were all pumped up. Just playing together, finally, with our uniforms on, under the lights, was just a little jittery. I think, for the most part, we handled ourselves pretty well.
On leadership now that she's a senior
It was fun. I really enjoyed it. I love it because my players respect me, so that's easy to be able to lead and be confident while leading, because of the respect that my players give me.
On loosening up after a few plays
We definitely get a lot more fired up when we get a stop on defense, when we get hustle plays like that, like 50-50s, that definitely amps us up.
Mollie Williams
Junior forward
On the difference in being a starter
I think the only difference is I get to be on the court when the buzzer starts. That's pretty much the difference. Starting, for me, is just getting to be out there and have your name called, but it's the same thing - you've got to go hard, as hard as you do if you're coming off the bench. One of the biggest differences is you have to have more focus, because you're out there first and you have to show the people who are on the bench coming in for you how to keep tempo and go in and what is expected for our team.
On how she was able to stay aggressive and get offensive rebounds
I think it's like a phrase Coach Jackson gave me when I was a freshman that I should go after the ball like it has money on it. So I think it's one of the things we're all picking up now, with 50-50s, going after offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds. That's our ball so we want to go get it.
On what she did in the offseason to get the starting position
Just working hard, making sure I was in contact with the coaches and my teammates and making sure we knew exactly what we wanted to do to start off the season, from last year, from our success at the end of the year to now.
