George Washington University Athletics
GW/Saint Louis Post-Game Quotes
2/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2010
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
February 23, 2010
@ GW 60
Saint Louis 65
Post-Game Quotes
GW Head Coach Mike Bozeman
Opening statement
"You've got to give credit to Saint Louis. They came in with a plan and they jumped on us early, and forced some untimely turnovers on us. I'm proud of the way the girls bounced back. They're being very coachable right now. We just made some untimely mistakes...but there's no quit in the girls. I believe in them. We've learned so much from this season, and they're going to be better basketball players for us."
Could the team have made this kind of a comeback earlier in the season?
"I didn't know what to expect after all the injuries hit us earlier in the season, but I've been saying all along that they're starting to believe. They're upset now about the mistakes they've made, and that's progress."
On the match-up between Sara Mostafa and Amanda Kemezys.
"I think in the beginning, Sara was trying to do too much in terms of help defense....She got caught out of position more than a few times, and it hurt us defensively. She regrouped in the 2nd half and started to play a lot better, but Amanda did a great job tonight."
What was the plan for Kay-Kay Allums' last play, when you were down by just 3?
"We didn't have any time-outs left, but the play was already called from the sideline. It wasn't executed very well. We work on that play all that time...KK thought she had enough space when she backed off of the opponent to get the shot off, and I have to trust her with that. We'll work on that play, and learn from it. I'm sure we'll do better with the execution of that last play."
Are you happier with the comeback or disappointed that you fell short?
"I've got to go with how we fought back. I was more upset with the team after the win against Fordham than I am now after the loss to Saint Louis. We're not in a position where we can strictly look for moral victories; it's the way we're playing that I'm motivated by. Saint Louis is on a great roll in our conference...We cut our turnovers in half, this game is winnable for us. That's encouraging to me...We have to be encouraged by the fight in the team, and the effort on that floor."
Sophomore guard Tiana Myers
What was the team's mindset when you were down 15 points?
"I think we've gotten better with that as the season has progressed. We're more of a unit in the midst of a game. We don't drop our heads. We're still encouraging throughout the game."
Saint Louis Coach Shimmy Gray-Miller
Opening statement
"We didn't think this would be easy by any means. I know how hard Mike has his kids playing...but we didn't take this game lightly. We prepared very hard for it. We're just very fortunate and happy to walk out with a win tonight."
Did your team get complacent when GW made its late-game run?
"No...They played very, very hard. Their record is no indicator of their talent or how hard they play; it's an indication of their youth. My kids didn't get complacent; I wouldn't have allowed them too. We're in no position to relax."
Did you focus on limiting Sara Mostafa's point production tonight?
"We focused on her and [Tiana Myers]. We hoped that if we limited those two, we'd make the other kids have to beat us. [Meyers] still got her points; she's a tremendous player. But my bigs did a good job on Mostafa. We really tried to be physical with her..."
On Lauren Woods and her clutch shooting.
"That's what go-to players do; they bail you out when you need shots. This is a new role for Lauren. We lost last year's leading A-10 scorer, who didn't come back for her senior year. So we challenged Lauren to be our go-to player. She really embraced that role toward the end of the year; she's really come alive."
On the role of free-throw shooting in the game.
"I'm very disappointed in our free-throw shooting. We talk all the time about the need to make free-throws on the road. We were 43 percent in the first half, 57 percent for the game, and that's not us; that's not Billiken basketball."
On the play of Amanda Kemezys
"She's an all-conference player...We're very, very fortunate to have someone of her size, and another one--Kathryn Hester who's 6-foot-2. We try to go inside as much as we can to our bigs."
