Feb. 2, 2011
Recap |
Box Score
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
February 2, 2011
@GW 53
Rhode Island 35
Post-Game Quotes
GW Coach Mike Bozeman
Opening statement
"It's been a long time coming for that one. I honestly believe we could have done that four games ago, but the major focus we've been working on is closing it out. There have been situations where we had control of the game, but let it slip away, so we've been working on that in practice. We're still not as sharp as we can be, but we're sharper than we were in the last few games."
What have you been working on that showed up in the first half?
"I think it's more attitude. We came out for Monday's practice and didn't use the basketball for plays. It's not about the plays for us; it's about the mental approach to the game. I have to give the girls credit because they could really be mailing it in right now. I think there's a desire to get better, to play better. We've had some injuries, but we still have enough that we could be winning more games, and we're going to. But it was a better mental attitude today, and we used the timeouts to regroup the mindset and close the game out."
In the second half, the shooting percentage dropped and there was a scoring lull. Was that due to fatigue?
"Definitely. When you see us in the first half, that's fresher legs. So now we're switching back and forth and throwing different kinds of defenses to keep the other team off balance, but also to keep us from playing man-to-man and be running all around the court the whole time. I'm trying to get my team blows, but at the same time, I want us to play aggressively in whatever defense we're in. But the fatigue factor did step in there, and that's where we have to fight it. It seems to happen about the same time - 3:41 in both halves. It so happened that we had a media time out about that time, and I told the team to look at the clock - this is our close-out time."
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The team also seemed limited in offensive rebounds today, especially in the first half.
"In the first half, there weren't that many offensive rebounds to get because we were shooting pretty good. There were some shots that we should've gotten in the second half; Chelisa Painter came in and gave us a good lift on the rebounding, but it is something we need to focus on."
Danni Jackson, Tiana Meyers, and Tara Booker really stepped up on offense today.
"Those three have been major offensive weapons for us for the season. We just need to get everybody into a flow. We have to get a good blend; we can't have it be all outside or all inside. Ivy [Abiona] can offer us some firepower at different points. Sara Mostafa is a very capable scorer on the inside; we just have to get her going early in the game. That would give us another weapon inside. So getting them all into a flow together is going to be really productive for us."
What does it feel like to head into the rest of the A-10 schedule with a win under your belt?
"I think we're capable. To get that monkey off our back, we have to have a different mentality. We have to get to the point where its, `OK guys, let's take this win,' rather than `let's not lose this.' I think that's where we're going."
Sophomore guard Danni Jackson
What's it feel like for the players to finally get a conference win?
"It felt really good. We're just really happy. There's some weight off our shoulders, but not a lot. We have to keep playing hard and working in practice."
What's your mindset when you step on the court?
"Coming into this or any game since Dayton, where I didn't get to play, I've had an aggressive mindset. I'm really trying to get to the bucket as much as I can and get everyone involved. I'm just trying to be aggressive and be the dominant player I once was, and can be still."
What does it feel like to head into the rest of the A-10 schedule with a win under your belt?
"It feels great; I just want it to keep going."
