George Washington University Athletics
3/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WOMEN'S NATIONAL INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
March 13, 2002
GW 78 Delaware 71
Post-Game Quotes
Coach Joe McKeown [on the unique lineup] "We had some disciplinary action that we had to take today for some violations of team policies. Some people didn't play and others did not start. And hopefully on Saturday, we'll go back to the line-up we've had most of the year. Hopefully, we learned some lessons from it."
[on Erica Lawrence] "She's one of the most talented young ladies at everything she does that I've ever been around. The hardest thing when you coach someone like that is trying to get her to reach a height that very few people can get to. That's why we battle sometimes, we have great battles, but I lover her to death. She could be Chamique Hotlsclaw if she wanted to...She loves her teammates and wants to win every game she plays. She's got great heart."
[on how GW finally pulled away] "Defensively, we had 3 possessions where we made big stops. When we did stop them, we were able to come down and score. [Cathy Joens] made some good baseline baskets. We got a little tentative when we got up by 8 or 10. We threw the ball away and they made a 3, we got sloppy on their press. It's a little bitter taste the way we let them inch back in the last few minutes, but we closed OK."
"When you've got a lead and you know they have to foul and have to press, you want to inbound the ball, get fouled, make free throws, and stop them. But we have 11 freshmen and sophomores, no seniors, sometimes we make some mental mistakes. That's probably why we're playing in this tournament and not in the other one, among other reasons."
[on playing former A10 rival Virginia Tech in the next game] "It's a great atmosphere for women's basketball there. They've done a terrific job with their program. Transitioning from our league to the Big East, they've stayed strong and successful. I have to give them a lot of credit. It'll be a fun game, and I'm kind of excited about it."
"We walked off the court in Rhode Island a week and a half ago after playing great, our 15th consecutive win. We felt great, we couldn't play any better. I felt we were on our way. Now, I'm shocked that I'm sitting here [and playing in the WNIT]. I felt we could make a run to the Sweet 16, and that we had a dangerous team. But we had a bad stretch of 2 games...I'm a little bitter as you can tell. But the intensity tonight came in spurts. Delaware plays a deliberate style of basketball, so they' really didn't want to get out and run with it. They make you play a certain way. We fell into that a little bit. But then we stepped it up, and I felt Greeba [Outen Barlow] did a good job tonight for a freshman. I'm really proud of her."
Erica Lawrence [on playing in the WNIT] "It's kind of a letdown because it's not the big tournament, but we're still happy to be playing."
[on the difficulty getting a lead on Delaware] "Everybody wants to win, and everybody's going to give their best effort [in the post-season] because it's one and done. But we wanted it more. We've been working really hard in practice and it really showed tonight."
[on her breakout game] "It just happened, and it was about time. I haven't been playing well this season, so why not start now. I thank my teammates, they push me everyday, and they're really good friends. So I have them to thank."
"I think the difficulty was because I was playing more of the 4 position toward the end of the season, I'm more comfortable as a 3. I think I struggled there, but now I'm getting it together at the right time."
Cathy Joens [on breaking the end-of-the-season losing streak] "It's really been an up and down season. We pulled out a lot of games by one or two points, so instead of going 16-1, we could have lost 4 more games easily. I think we do a lot better under pressure, and we know now that we're one and done from now on."
