George Washington University Athletics
GW/North Texas Post-Game Quotes
11/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2010
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NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
November 21, 2010
@GW 62
North Texas 53
Post-Game Quotes
GW Coach Mike Bozeman
Opening statement
"We got off to a rather slow start, not the start we anticipated. You've got to give some credit to North Texas. They came out determined to leave with a victory. In the second half, we played more of our basketball, and the team was a lot more focused and determined to get control of the game."
What did you say to the team at halftime to turn things around?
"I actually challenged Ivy, because she's the leader of our team, in that locker room. They feed off her energy so much. I thought she could raise her energy level and efficiency under the basket. I simply told her that's her responsibility and that's what I wanted to see her do. She's the type of individual that would take it on, not as an insult. She brought it to the court and was determined to establish herself in the game."
It seems like that made a difference to the rest of the team too.
"That's the energy we want to play with all the time. Ivy is such a catalyst that when we broke the huddle for the second half and she brought them back again to give the team some `captain-type' inspiration, I knew they'd feed off of that."
How encouraging is it to see Danni Jackson put points up in addition to her work as point guard?
"She's going to feed off what the team needs. We needed more point production tonight, and that's what she gave us. [If the other players are scoring] she may feed off of that and pile up the assists. But we needed her to put up points tonight. But it's also encouraging that we don't have to depend on any one player. That's the kind of broad talent we have on this team, and I want us to start playing to our potential."
You have yet to put together a complete 40 minutes of basketball. What needs to happen get to that point?
"It's part of the maturation process of my team to put that 40 minutes together. But I wouldn't want to be peaking right now. It's great to learn lessons while you're winning games. We're not where we want to be, but we're better than we were. It's encouraging to get these victories and get this progress. When we get to those 40-minute games, you're going to see a very special group that can press, play in the half court, hit jump shots, penetrate. We have a multitude of things we can do; when we play 40 minutes, you'll see all that.
Senior forward Ivy Abiona
You had a slow start, but got going in the second half. What did you do differently?
"After the first half, the coach helped light a fire under us, and reminded us who we are. That was what we needed."
Sophomore guard Danni Jackson
You started off fast, but slowed down as the game went on. Was that an adjustment to the defense you were seeing?
"I play a million miles an hour anyway, so I really can't stop that. But I did try to slow it down a little bit and focus on making easy passes instead of the `ooooh' passes, as Coach Bozeman would say."
You had more points today (15) than against Coppin State. Were you trying to be more of a scorer today?
"I just took what they gave me. I really don't want to score; I'd rather have 30 assists a night than 30 points. It was just a matter of me taking the opportunities at hand."
