George Washington University Athletics
Saint Louis Post-Game Quotes
2/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2008
#17/16 GW 82
Saint Louis 58
Post-Game Quotes
GW Coach Joe McKeown
Opening Statement
"Somebody told me we set an attendance record this year, and I think it's exciting for our players. The biggest difference over the years is that in the 90s, we some great crowds. But the student body has started to get behind our team, and that's the biggest growth on campus that you can have. You talk to programs across the country, we all face the challenge of getting the student body out for the women's games, even schools like UConn, or Texas Tech, or Baylor, or schools that draw 10,000 like Tennessee. It was great to see the turnout this year. I wish we had some more home games."
What was your message after St. Bonaventure going into tonight?
"It took us about two hours to get through the first eight minutes of game film from St. Bonaventure. I think they understood after that. It wasn't much fun being in that film session. We talk about how we built this program - on handling yourself and not making excuses. A lot of things on that trip were hard, we had a lot of challenges...but we got beat because they made more plays and we didn't play very well in the first half. Our players understand that you can't make excuses, and you can't let little things become big things. I think tonight, they showed a lot of resiliency."
What did you see good in the first half from that outcome?
"We worked on the pace in practice, and trying to get that up. As Kim said, we were in slow motion against St. Bonaventure in the first half. Tonight, we attacked and took the ball to the basket hard. Defensively, we put a lot of pressure and trapped, and turned them over...We came out in attack mode, and it helped being at home. But more than anything else, I think our players wanted to show that we're better than that."
Does Whitney Allen's defense lead to her offense?
"Yes, she's a great defensive player. We put her on everybody...Usually the team's best player, regardless of position. And she takes pride in that. She takes that challenge personally. She wants to show everybody that she can stop their best player... It also allows her teammates to play off of that. It energizes them."
Does your preparation change after a loss as opposed to after a win?
"I'm not a pleasant person to be around after a loss. I wish I could change that. Fortunately, at GW, we haven't lost that much. Our attitude on Monday was a reflection of the effort. And that's all. And tonight, the effort was there. We're going to miss shots, and coaches can live with that. The biggest thing is to get consistent with our effort. We're not really settled like I'd like us to be...Our roles change all the time. My message going into St. Joe's will be, let's build off tonight, and try to get on an upswing toward the end of the season."
Senior forward Whitney Allen
GW started strong tonight. Were you trying to put St. Bonaventure behind you?
"Yeah, we were trying to put St. Bonaventure behind us, and also try to come out playing hard and being aggressive, and get a good lead on them off the jump. And that's what we did."
You had a career-high 17 points. What was it about their defense that allowed you to score?
"Usually in the game I get a lot of early shots. Today, I got more than usual, so I took advantage of it and hit a lot of shots in the first half. My teammates got me the ball, and I was able to drive. It was mostly my teammates and our chemistry tonight."
Are you thinking about the final few games you'll have as seniors?
"We're not marking our calendars, but we definitely know that there are only a few left. That's why we came out like we did tonight--to make sure we didn't leave anything on the table."
Senior guard Kimberly Beck
Were you looking for Whitney [Allen] more tonight than usual?
"Whenever someone's hot, I'm going to find them. Sometimes it's Sarah-Jo [Lawrence], sometimes it's [Antelia Parrish]. As long as their hitting, I'm going to keep getting it to them and we'll take advantage of it. Whitney kept being aggressive, and that got us out to a big lead up front."
How confident are you going into Saint Joseph's after the trouble they gave you in last year's A-10 Tournament?
"No matter who's on our schedule, we're confident. Last year, yeah it's in the back of our minds. But we're going to come to play just because they're the next on the list. But we're going to respect them. They've proven they can beat some good people down the line. I think it's a good match-up, and it'll be a well-fought game."
What did the loss to St. Bonaventure do to the team?
"It was a wake-up call in that we had gotten complacent. We were rolling a bit in the A-10, and got a little self-satisfied. They came to play. In a way, it's a hard lesson learned, but it's better now than in the tournament. We had a great second half, but we know we have to come to play every night or someone's going to beat us."
What do you do to prevent another let down like that?
"One thing, for the first half of St. Bonaventure, we didn't show up. We were moving in slow motion. We let them get confident, and we can't let any team do that. Tonight, we started off strong, especially with our defense, and we have to make a point to do that every night."
