George Washington University Athletics
Temple Post-Game Quotes
2/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2007
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NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
#9/9 GW 56
Temple 53
Post-Game Quotes
GW Coach Joe McKeown
Your thoughts on the team going undefeated in conference play.
"This team is special. It's the ultimate team. It's very balanced, and there's great chemistry. There is no one player averaging 20 points a game, although Kimberly Beck is an All-American point guard. Everybody plays off of her. That makes the team very special."
What will you do to correct the rebounding disparity?
"If we can get healthy and have Jazmine and Jessica [Adair] on the floor at the same time, we'll be a lot bigger. We played small a lot today, and I think that hurt us. But we have to do things better at all spots on the court....It was frustrating to watch, but it was a lot of little things. We'd go for the ball, but not put a body on them first. That's probably the biggest thing we have to clean up."
Jamila Bates and Whitney Allen gave you a spark while your other scoring players were struggling. Comment on their play.
"Jamila was highly recruited, and we were excited when she signed with us. She's had a tough two years because not a lot of things have gone right for her. We started her early in the year against Arizona and TCU, and she struggled. And with Jessica and Jazmine improving, we kind of got away from her. But she's been working in practice, and today she did the things we thought she was capable of in November. That'd be a big plus for us if we could get that kind of scoring off the bench. We call Whitney our `Junkyard Dog.' She just does everything....Her value doesn't show up in the stat sheet."
Junior guard Kimberly Beck
What was going through your head when you made that spin move on Maddox and hit that shot?
"Nothing really profound. I knew that the shot clock was running out and I had to get a shot up. They set me up and I shot it. And it went in."
How satisfying is this victory?
"It's a win, but we know we have to clean up a lot of stuff this week to prepare for the A-10 Tournament. But we'll take this win. It was a great win and well-fought. You couldn't ask for a better Senior Day for Kenan."
Junior guard Sarah-Jo Lawrence
You had a great first half, then struggled in the second. What was the difference?
"They did a good job defensively. They were denying a lot harder, and they just cut me off. So it was really better defense in the second half."
Why did Temple have such a big rebounding advantage?
"It seemed like every time a shot went up, five players were already in the paint crashing. We didn't have all five of our players as close all the time. They were really keying on rebounding.
Senior guard/forward Kenan Cole
Did you have jitters starting out today?
"We had such a great atmosphere today, such a great crowd. With it being Senior Day and everything, I think I came out with too much energy."
Temple Coach Dawn Staley
If you'd taken care of the ball in the second half as well as in the first, would we have had a different outcome?
"You have to take the good with the bad with our team, and I'm glad we came back and took better care of the basketball. But there are other ways that we could have won this game... You look at the stats--we should have won this game. But you need to put the ball in the hole; we didn't do that, though we had ample opportunities."
How much have the Adair sisters improved?
"They have improved. They take up a lot of room and force you to move around and maneuver. They change shots in the paint. I thought we did a tremendous job of attacking them offensively and putting them back on their heels. We didn't see them as much because we got them in foul trouble, and that's what you have to do to get into their bench."
How does this GW team compare with the one you faced in last year's A-10 finals?
"They're older as a unit. They play well together, and they know how to play and work with one another. When you're having a season like they're having, you have to keep it going...Hopefully, we'll meet them down the line in the next week or so."
What did GW do to make up for the rebounding disparity and give you trouble?
"They made some key buckets in the first half. We had the ball in the hands of the people we wanted. You have to expect they'll hurt you at some point, but the game plan was executed to perfection; we just couldn't hit buckets and free throws."
Were both teams tight in the first half?
"Yes, we could feel it. We said that the team that gets rid of the jitters first will jump out to a lead. But we couldn't dig it out. The free throws are glaring; we had ample opportunities to capitalize, and we just couldn't get it done. I was hoping that they'd just get us one."
