GW/Temple Post-Game Quotes
3/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 1, 2009
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
March 1, 2009
@ GW 49
Temple 59
Post-Game Quotes
GW Coach Mike Bozeman
After all the rallies you've had this year, did you feel like the team could do it once more?
"I definitely felt like we had one left in us because we were playing so bad, but we were still right there in the game. We shot 16-for-61, but we were only four field goals away from the 20 that Temple made. There's a certain responsibility that goes on us as a team about how we perform. But I don't think it would have taken a miracle for us to win this game, or a lot of games we lost. It takes concentrated effort, and some of that was lacking tonight."
Talk about the emotion of paying tribute to your seniors today.
"The emotion comes from knowing where these guys have come from, and the effect they've had not just on GW, but on Washington, DC, city-wide. GW is in the heart of DC, and some of the inner-city kids think it's out of their reach to get here. There is talent in this city...We have four different examples of how they can get here. I'm proud that they've made it through. It means a ton for the city, and for the university as a whole."
How do you feel about being the fifth seed in the A-10 tournament?
"We played our way into fifth, just like Temple played their way into the second seed. They deserve that, coming into this building which isn't an easy place to play. They didn't shoot the ball extremely well, but they did the intangible things and came away with a win...They toughed it out, and played gritty."
Defense seemed to make the difference today.
"It was a defensive struggle. 49 points is not typical of us, but we suffered some shooting woes...We had so many zeroes in the left-hand column of the field goals-field goals attempted stat--you're not used to seeing that...I don't know if it was emotion or what. I can't explain that away."
Did emotion have any effect on things?
"If it did, I'd like to say that it was only for the first half. We're very good at making adjustments. At halftime, we were down seven. We told the team that this was the worst game we had ever played, probably the worst game in the history of women's basketball, and we're only down seven...I felt we were in good position, and that Temple should be worried that they weren't up 20. Having been given that opportunity to still be in the game, I felt we wouldn't shoot as bad as we did in the first half, and that we would come back and pick the game up. And to some degree we did...We cut it to four, but the timing of our turnovers was bad. That hill suddenly became a mountain."
How do you compare GW and Temple in the final weeks of the season?
"Tonya and I are always going to be connected in some way as long as we are in this league. We both came into programs that were already estabished. We had our struggles early. They've been able to fortify themselves with a unity of tough display, and they did that. There are times when I thought we were where we needed to be coming down the stretch, and we won only one of those four games. So we played ourself into fifth place...Now we have to win four games instead of three, and play somebody to earn the right to play somebody else."
What do you have to do to turn things around for the tournament?
"We have to take responsibility, each one of us. Jazmine Adair said it best; we have to ask, 'am I doing this for the name on the front of the jersey, or am I doing this for the name on the back of the jersey?' When we're all doing it for the name on the front of the jersey, we'll be ready to beat anybody."
Senior center Jessica Adair
What was going through your mind just before tip off of your last home game?
"I was ready to play. It's Senior Day, and I was really excited about it. But when it comes down to it, we have a game to play. That's what I was prepared to do."
How small was the basket today?
"Extremely small, and on a swivel. [laughs] We didn't knock down shots. We practiced well, they didn't throw anything at us that we weren't prepared for. Our shots just weren't falling."
When you cut their lead to four, did you sense that you could pull the game all the way back?
"Even when we were down 10, I felt it was a game that we could have won. We could have stepped up and taken it, but we didn't do that."
Senior forward/guard Antelia Parrish
How much does it hurt your momentum going into the post-season?
"It hurts a lot. We knew this was a big game, playing for fourth place in the A-10 tournament, but we have to move on now and get prepared for the tournament."
Temple Coach Tonya Cardoza
Your last five games have ended alike--close, but with a big shot near the end to put it away.
"Since we started conference play, we've had just one game where we dominated from start to finish, that was the Rhode Island game. Every other game, it seems like we might get off to a good start or a slow start, but we find a way to pull it out. I think the players want to pull it out for the seniors becuase this is their last go-round. They've come together during these last five games because our backs were against the wall after the UMass game....We had to win our last five games, which were against the top teams in the conference. The fact that we went 5-0 means to me we definitely put ourselves in the NCAA Tournament."
How big was Jasmine Stone's play today?
"She's been huge for us. Before today's game, she kept saying `you need to play me, Coach.' She's proved that I need to play her. She's backed up what she's said, and been huge for us these last few games, and in practice. The players feed off of her because she comes with a lot of energy and is very, very positive."
Talk about your defense and holding GW to 26-percent shooting and limiting Jessica Adair to 12 points.
"Early on, they got into foul trouble, so Adair didn't play much in the first half....We did a good job of clogging it up, and couldn't go to her. They also did a good job of pushing her off the blocks so that she couldn't just turn around and shoot layups."
This was a familiar scenario of an opponent cutting into your lead and making it close.
"We talk about that all the time, how we put ourselves in great position to step on the gas pedal and bury teams, then we come up with too many empty possessions....They're not going to roll over and die on Senior Night for them. They started making shots and made it a closer game."
How big is it to have a bye in the first round of the A-10 tournament?
"It's huge. Not only that, the fourth seed plays at 8 pm and again at noon. So being the second seed is great for us to give us those extra couple of hours. But that bye is key because you don't want to have to win four games to win the championship. That's tough."
Freshman forward Kristen McCarthy
How did it feel to make that key three-pointer to end GW's run?
"I was happy it went in. You never want to miss a shot. [Jessica Adair] backed off of me, and I could hear my teammates shout `shoot it! shoot it!' I let it go, and it went in."
