GW/Troy Post-Game Quotes
12/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2008
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
December 16, 2008
@ GW 63
Troy 61
Post-Game Quotes
GW Coach Mike Bozeman
Opening statement
"At shoot-around today, I issued a warning to my team. I thought the combination of the long break and what I saw as an overall lack of focus made us primed to be beat today. With that warning issued today, I fully expected them to take heed to that and give a better performance. You can't take anything away from Troy. They fought and played admirably. But our effort was not up to par for what I expect as a coach. We were lucky to win that game tonight."
GW got off to a strong start. What happened after that?
"Cruise control. They thought the game was going to be easy after that. In Division I basketball, nobody's going to roll over. This game is a game of runs and peaks and valleys....There was a certain point where they didn't feel threatened and Troy took advantage of that."
You had an unusual line-up at one point tonight. Why was that?
"That was because our rotation is kind of messed up. You take a piece out like Antelia and it's bound to hurt you. I didn't think I was going to use Jamila Bates tonight because she's hurt. That's why she had only three minutes. Our wings -- Kay-Kay Allums and Tiana Myers -- are still freshmen, so the goal there is to get some consistency. That's what I was looking for tonight."
What was the difference in shooting in the first and second halves?
"Coming into the locker room, I obviously wasn't happy with the first half performance. They came out with a little more adreneline pumping, but at the same time, it caused them to execute their shots differently. Troy did a great job of adjusting to Tara Booker and added some more pressure on her shots; she didn't get many open looks."
Do you expect the team to be more fresh against Auburn Friday?
"I do. We had some rust that had to be scraped off with a sledgehammer. It's not a cakewalk with us in finals...I have to show these girls that this will be a lesson in life. They'll have to learn how to multi-task and do a lot of things at once."
Sophomore forward Ivy Abiona
Were there any differences in the first and second halves?
"Partially frustration halfway through the second half because we weren't scoring as much and they were loading up on defense. We didn't play GW basketball tonight. Troy stayed on the court with us. And it could have been a lot different outcome."
Sophomore guard Erica Rivera
Did Coach Bozeman discuss the high number of turnovers at halftime?
"Definitely. He wrote `16 turnovers' on the board and told us we had to take care of the ball. We didn't expect Troy to come out and play strong like that. We just have to take care of the ball."
Freshman guard/forward Tara Booker
You had 18 points in the game, but only six in the second half. Were you more hesitant about shooting?
"I had some pretty strong shooting in the first half, so they started playing me tighter, which took away my shot. I know I wasn't hitting as much in the second half."
Troy Coach Michael Murphy
Opening statement
"I'm really proud of the way my team competed. They had the chance in the first half to fold the tent and go home being down by 14. But we continued to fight and did that the entire game, and gave us a chance at the end. Just came up a little short."
What did you tell the team at halftime?
"Keep playing. That's all you could tell them. I really liked the rhythm of the game the last 10 minutes of the first half. I thought we had the rhythm where we wanted it. We were doing some things offensively that allowed us to gain some confidence. So we wanted to keep playing, and come up the first five minutes of the second half and see if we could make it close."
Senior guard Kylie Morrissy
You helped keep the team in the game. Was there something about being down that motivated you?
"I was disappointed with my first half to be honest. And being a senior, I watched the freshmen hold up the team in the first half, and I had to take responsibility to step up myself. I believe it was two freshmen who gave me the ball during that run on the fast break, and I hit shots for them which was the least I could do for our team for what they did in the first half."
How did your play change in the second half?
"I wasn't hesitant with the ball. I wasn't overthinking. I knew what I could do with that, and just stuck with it."
