George Washington University Athletics
GW/Marshall Post-Game Quotes
12/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2009
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
December 8, 2009
Marshall 56
GW 47
Post-Game Quotes
GW Coach Mike Bozeman
Opening statement
"Pretty much, Marshall was what we expected. My coaching staff did a great job with the scout. The miscues in the first half hampered us and kept the score pretty tight. In the second half, we came out with the goal of making consecutive stops defensively and forcing them to call time out. [We did that twice.] From that point on, it seemed that the team got a little complacent and we stopped executing...When you're dealing with the youth we have, the biggest challenge is maintaining the focus for the entire game. We played 27 minutes of good basketball, but from that point on, we played in a state of mental lapse...I've got to figure out a way to get my girls to maintain their intensity and focus on the game plan for the entire 40 minutes."
Are there any positives from the game?
"After having been on the road digging holes and getting behind early and having to fight our way back, I thought our intensity was good in the first half. During those 27 minutes, even in the midst of missing assignments and during the latter parts of the game, I thought they were still trying and playing hard. I never got the sense that they quit."
How difficult is it to try and have players filling in for Danni Jackson at point guard?
"It's tough. You have to credit Shi-Heria [Shipp]. She's not a natural point guard. Her having to play that position is forcing her to fight her natural instincts, which is to be a scoring 2-guard. Janine [Davis] is still recovering from a meniscus surgery, so you have to give her an ample amount of credit to committing only 3 turnovers. It's not like her, but even when she went down for a little while, she knew that we had only Shi-Heria at point guard and she showed a lot of guts and courage to lie to me and ask to come back into the game. They're fighting, and I hope the GW community will stick by us as we fight through this. These girls want to win, and we're going to do everything we can to get back on that track."
Sophomore center Sara Mostafa
There was a lot of action in the paint tonight. How did it affect your game?
"It was pretty physical. They were getting good position and scoring. At the other end, I was getting good shots, but their defense forced me to do things a little outside my range. They were playing good defense."
Sophomore guard Tiana Myers
What was the turning point in the second half?
"At the outset, we executed our plays and did what the coaches asked us. As the second half progressed, we just got tired and lost sight of what he asked us [to do] and didn't execute as much."
After the string of road losses, how tough is it to lose at home?
"A loss is always tough, especially consecutive losses. But at the end of the day, we have to learn and progress. We can't look at the games in the past. We have to get ready for what's in front of us."
