George Washington University Athletics
GW/Saint Joseph's Post-Game Quotes
2/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
February 27, 2011
Saint Joseph's 64
@GW 49
Post-Game Quotes
GW Coach Mike Bozeman
Opening statement
"I have to give credit to Saint Joseph's. They came in very efficient in their approach. They didn't get rattled by our pressure. Even with a mistake-filled first half, I thought we were right there being down only seven (29-22). But Saint Joseph's did a great job in execution of their system and held off any rally that we had. At one point, I thought we had a momentum shift, but they made the appropriate adjustments. We had untimely mistakes and turnovers which led to Saint Joseph's getting the victory."
As you made adjustments at halftime, what were you looking for as you took the court for the second half?
"I thought we had some players who were rushing, and we made some very clear adjustments. We wanted to go inside, and I thought we had [Sara Mostafa] going pretty good. I wanted to get her some more touches, and we were successful with that in the second half. That got us to the doorstep; we were down two. Once we did that, they made an adjustment, and our attempts to adjust to that didn't meet with much success."
Saint Joseph's press seemed to shut down your offense. What was the particular cause of the struggle?
"I thought we had prepared for their press; But I was also looking for us to execute enough so that they would have to come out of it. I was very disappointed with our execution. There were little mistakes - like a bobbled pass allowed them to recover quickly than if we'd caught it cleanly. I thought we had the plan to do it. We just didn't execute very well."
You're on a four-game losing streak heading into the A-10 tournament. What are you focusing on as you take the team to Lowell?
"You have to take advantage of opportunities, and be more focused on the scouts. Although we're seeded where we are - we have Dayton first and the opportunity to play Duquesne afterward. If you're going to go on a three-game winning streak, this is the time to do it. I've been telling my team all season, we have the pieces. Some are injured, but we have all it takes for us to gather enough momentum to win three games, and it erases everything we went through during the season. And no disrespect to Dayton or Duquesne; they had great seasons and they earned the positions they're in. But all we have to do is make a decision, and our success is on the other side of the decision. So we decide to execute and limit our mistakes, who's to say, 'why not us?' We can pull off three straight games. Then, no one's talking about the struggles we had."
"They'll still talk about the injuries because we'll have only seven players, but they'll say 'wow, that team's in the NCAA Tournament.' That's my mindset, and I fully expect my team to latch on to that."
Junior center Sara Mostafa
You were one of GW's top scorers today. What did you do to step up your game?
"I was taking my coaches' advice and really tried to apply it. I'd make mistakes, but then I'd immediately make adjustments. For example, one time I was double-teamed and it caused a turnover. The next time I was doubled, I kicked the ball out and gave someone else a chance to score. I had my timing right, and I went to the free-throw line a lot, and that was a big part of my success."
When you're having a good game and your teammates are struggling, do you feel any extra pressure when you get the ball?
"I really try to take the pressure off myself because when I start thinking that way - `I need to score, I need to score' - I might start panicking or making poor decisions. So I really try to let my teammates get me the ball in the flow of the offense and try not to force anything."
Senior forward Ivy Abiona
This was Senior Day for you. What did it feel like for you?
"It was a culmination of all my years here. It was great to have my family here and my DC friends, the people I went to school with. It was a fun day; I really enjoyed it."
What are you taking away from your experiences in the program?
"Just apply the lessons learned in basketball to life, because there are a lot of similarities. Just take those on and apply them in my future endeavors."
