GW/Villanova Post-Game Quotes
1/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2009
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
January 21, 2009
@ GW 67
Villanova 60
Post-Game Quotes
GW Coach Mike Bozeman
Opening statement
"Every coach who prepares for Villanova has to prepare for their perpetual motion offense. Those guys read defenses very well, they react, they slip screens, they set screens, they fade off screens, they curl screens. I think they do everything with a screen except cook on them. They're very well schooled on that. Their coach has been at it for 31 years, so he's seen every defense that can be thrown at it."
"I'm excited about my girls' mentality now. We got out of that vicious early schedule when they had plenty of chances to fold. I'm excited about their enthusiasm. Coming to practice is not a dreadful thing for us. We talk and laugh and get better. They're becoming a team that will be something to be reckoned with in the future."
What was the difference in the first and second halves?
"We did a great job defensively in the first half. That was our major focus, and we kind of forgot about our offense. I think you saw the rust from us not being able to practice on the 20th...but I'm proud of how our girls came out of it."
What do you get from a non-conference game like this?
"We need some confidence-builders. We've had a rough non-conference schedule...but we're still on our feet. Going into the heart of our conference schedule, it's nothing but a confidence-builder. It's another opportunity for us to put together what we're trying to learn in the lab in practice on the floor."
Senior center Jessica Adair
Why was it more difficult to get the inside scoring going tonight?
"I think a lot of teams double down on the inside so it's hard to establish the post presence early in the game. Once we start hitting the outside shots, it opens up inside. So we have to try and wait for that a little bit."
Was there a tangible sense of change in intensity when you started trading baskets in the second half?
"I think we know what we have to do at both ends of the court. It's just a matter of bringing intensity on every possession. Teams are going to make runs on us and make big buckets, but we know what we have to do on the offensive and defensive ends to get it done."
Did not practicing yesterday affect you?
"We had a shootaround this morning, so I think that warmed us up. And we took game film and scouting reports home to help us with who we were guarding, what their specialty was, and so forth. I don't think it affected us that much."
Villanova Coach Harry Perretta
Opening statement
"I thought we did a good job in the second half of getting back into the game. We finally made some shots from the perimeter, and we didn't make crucial errors down the stretch. We didn't box out on a couple of shots that went up, we turned the ball over a couple of times in crucial situations, but it's hard to keep playing from behind all the time. We're behind in almost every single game we're in, and we almost have to play perfectly in the second half to win. Tonight we couldn't do it."
Did having to come down here the day of the game affect your preparation and play?
"You can complain, but you have to learn to take some adversity. It did affect us [some], but obviously it didn't affect us in the second half. Sometimes you have to show up and play. We can't use that as an excuse."
What did you do to change things in the second half?
"We were trying to push the ball more and go a little more up-tempo. They were bigger than us, and we felt that might help us get a cleaner look. We scored a few more baskets off of that, but I think our half-court execution was better in the second half."
Villanova senior forward Laura Kurz
Do you feel you got easier looks in the second half?
"Not really. I think we were just smarter and shooting more aggressively."
Did you sense the change in intensity when you started trading baskets with GW in the second half?
"Yes, whenever you start making baskets, you're going to be more aggressive and the game's going to get more intense."
