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 Joe McKeown leads GW to its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 16 years |
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George Washington Women's Basketball Press Conference Quotes
March 18, 2006
2006 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship
Norfolk First and Second Rounds • Ted Constant Convocation Center • Norfolk, Virginia
Saturday, March 18, 2006
George Washington Quotes
Joe McKeown, George Washington Head Coach
General outlook on the tournament:
"We are excited to be here. We had a great season, I am really proud of our team -- we have seven new players. A lot of people looked at us as maybe trying to rebuild, but with leadership like Jessica Simmonds and Kim Beck, we went out and played a national schedule, ended up 22-8, won the A-10 Regular Season Championship, spent some time in the Top-25, we had a great year. (Our success) was expected by us on Oct. 15, but I am not sure if you follow our program we've lost some great players over the last couple of years."
On playing the higher seed on their home floor:
"This is the third time in four years that we have had to do this. Once the brackets come out, you look at the match-ups, and then it's over and you go play. We aren't going to worry about it. I think one of the things we did this year was go out and play a great schedule. They played at a lot of tough places, we beat Temple last game, late in the season at Temple and we won at Villanova. We played Tennessee, Purdue, and Texas. I think we are about as prepared as can be for a game like that. They get great support here at Old Dominion, its just one of challenges we are going to have to face - its just part of the tournament."
Assessing Old Dominion:
"The one thing they do - we do the same thing - they go out and play a great non-conference schedule. They are battle tested. (T.J.) Jordan is a terrific player, they play really hard, they are quick am athletic - you can't just focus on one player. It seems like different players step up for them at different times. Their quickness, their ability to get to the glass, is to something that concerns us."
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On their non-conference schedule:
"I think one of the things that we were concerned about coming into the season, was that our first five games were against the Knicks, the Lakers, the Celtics, and the Spurs. We opened with Virginia, we player Purdue and Texas, we played Villanova and then Tennessee. I think what it did, we ended up 7-4 non-conference, is that is has allowed us to see what the great teams in our game look like, find out if we can compete with them, and we proved that we can. The other thing it allows us to do is gain some confidence, because we didn't get beat up during that stretch. With a lot of freshmen it scared me to play that kind of schedule, but they came out of it with a lot more confidence, instead of a lot less confidence. We had some dog fights in conference too."
On free throw shooting:
"We have been a little bit up and down. I think the last two weeks, we've been getting a lot better in practice at it, so I am excited about tomorrow's game at the foul line - if we can get to the foul line."
Jessica Simmonds, Senior, Center
On playing at Old Dominion:
"Everybody has to play to the best of their ability and bring their `A' games. When you come on someone else's floor, they already have the upper hand, so you have to come out and play to the best of your ability and if you don't, you just go home. It's going to be a very high intensity game."
Kim Beck, Sophomore, Guard
On playing at Old Dominion:
"It's going to be tough, they do have the advantage in that area, but we are just ready to play - it doesn't matter where we are going to play. Old Dominion is going to be a tough.
