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MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 11, 2015Antiesha BrownBryce OwensYvonne SanchezLAS VEGAS, NEVADA New Mexico – 64 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by New Mexico. Coach, some thoughts on tonight's game. COACH SANCHEZ: Yeah, I'd first like to congratulate Fresno State, Coach White. She's an unbelievable coach. Her team is very, very good. Alex Sheedy is definitely the conference Player of the Year. She's a very nice player. I think we got a pretty good one here on my left too. I have a lot of respect for her and that team. It was a great game for the fans. It was what you expect out of a two and three seed. You know, like they say, it's on to the next. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student‑athletes. Q. You've had a hard time this tournament the last couple years, but now you're going to the championship game. What are your thoughts? ANTIESHA BROWN: I think it just shows a lot about our team. We're very determined this year. We have a pretty good group of girls this year and we're willing to do anything and everything for each other. Our coaches have been great. Our scouting reports have been in‑depth to know what we're doing to get prepared for the games. It shows a lot of our characters. We had a couple growing pains in the beginning of the season. It's nothing that we couldn't handle and it just shows off in the end. BRYCE OWENS: One thing that got us here was our confidence in each other. Once we built that throughout the year, that's what got us here. I think this is a really great game to go into the championship game. I think once we get this day's rest, once we get our minds collected, get back together, we'll be fine. I think as a team we're doing great. Q. In the second half the offense kind of stuttered a little bit. Talk about the offensive series that helped push you over the top in this game. ANTIESHA BROWN: We just had to slow down a little bit. We had to play our game. I think we got a little bit rattled in the beginning of the second half. But like I said, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. We had to recollect as a team. As the five on the court, we had to make some decisions on the court to slow down the pace and recontrol that control of the game. BRYCE OWENS: Adding onto that, once we got into the media time‑outs, 30‑ and 60‑second time‑outs, I think it was a chance for us to recollect and refocus on what we needed to. The best thing about that is we weren't rushed at any point in time in the game. I think we stuck to our game plan and to our game, and that's what works for us in the end. Q. Offense wasn't producing, but your defense was playing strong. How important was that to not let them take the lead? ANTIESHA BROWN: Defense will always win you games. That's what we focus on as a team, defense, defense, defense. We knew if we held them in the 50s, yeah, we would have a good chance of winning the game. I think just slowing them down, slowing down Sheedy, slowing down their guards, because they're very quick, they can get the shot off. Just slowing them down was our key focus. Defense was our focus of the game. BRYCE OWENS: I think we take a lot of pride on defense. Defense is definitely what won us the game today. Q. You open up a nine‑point lead, the place is going nuts. They score eight. Bryce, you hit a three. You open it up a little bit. Was there any point where you got tight and how much did all those close back and forth games you played the last few weeks play into it down the stretch? ANTIESHA BROWN: It just shows our growth. Coach said it best yesterday, whenever we had a close game with SanDiego State. We've been in this position so many times. It's time for us to grow and be the experienced team we've been working on. Last year we didn't close out those close games. A lot of us learned from it. We have a very experienced team this year. We took that and ran with it. I don't think we were ever panicked during the game. Because it is a game of runs. Fresno State is a very good team. We had to just control the pace all over again. Q. It was real physical last night. Seemed like you got in their head, you collectively. They were talking to the refs a lot. Was it more physical than you expected? BRYCE OWENS: Are you speaking about tonight? Q. They were talking to the refs, to each other. They were frustrated. BRYCE OWENS: I think this was definitely a physical game. Probably not the most physical we've seen all year, but very close. We were expecting that, so we knew we had to get physical back with them. We talked to the refs, they talked to the refs. It was kind of a back and forth thing. Q. Do you think you got in their heads at all as a team? ANTIESHA BROWN: I'll give credit to Fresno State. I don't think we necessarily got into their heads. I just think we showed up today and played our game and executed well and we won. Q. With Boise State you split in the regular season, talk about the matchup. ANTIESHA BROWN: It will be a good one. We split with them in the regular season. Boise State has a really good team, good in the post play, good guards. I think we match up with them very well. If we just execute and play our game, not get too frustrated and stay together, then we have nothing to worry about. BRYCE OWENS:  I also think that we have to stick to what we've been doing. We can't stray away from our game plan, how we've been playing as a team. We have to stick together, play hard, play smart, play together as coach says every single day. That's our key, our game plan. We have to execute, execute, execute on offense and defense. I think it will be a great matchup on Friday. Q. A lot of Lobo fans here tonight. Did it feel like a home game out there? BRYCE OWENS: Definitely. I was just saying as we were walking up here, it felt like we were back at the Pit. Definitely great to hear that we have the fans behind us. ANTIESHA BROWN: They call it Pit West for a reason. I think the fans are the most loyalest in the country. They're wanting us to bring a championship home. Because our guys are out now, they're rooting for us harder and harder. We're trying not to let them down. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student‑athletes at this time. We'll continue with questions for Coach Sanchez. Q. How does it feel to be back? COACH SANCHEZ: It feels great. Especially with our fan base, especially with how much we've grown as a team. I put an easy schedule together early with Stanford and DePaul and Texas A&M. Last year we got beat up with it a little bit. This year we grew up with it. Sometimes, like I said before, the journey is a lot more fun than the destination. The journey's been a blast and it's not over yet. We're playing a very, very good opponent. We just played a very good opponent. The Mountain West is no joke. We're going to be a very good conference. You look at all the teams and who's coming back, it's going to be a fun conference for a while. It feels good behind our fans to be back in the championship game. We haven't been here since 2008. For me personally, it feels great. Q. I asked the ladies about the last seven or eight minutes where the offense found a rhythm. What changed from the start of the second half? COACH SANCHEZ: I give Fresno State a lot of credit. They had a good spark in the second half. They took us out of some things we wanted to do. We were rushing our shots. They were physical with us. They're a very good team. I mean, there's no blowouts in March. We knew they were going to make a run, and they did. We just settled down. The three by Brea Mitchell was huge. That was really good. She had another good game today. Probably should have given her more minutes. Alexa Chavez played well. Then Bryce comes down and hits a three. We just made the right runs at the right time. Sometimes it just works that way. Q. Were you expecting as physical a contest with them today? COACH SANCHEZ: Oh, yeah, they're good. They're good. Smith in the post is good. Sheedy in the post is good.  Raven Fox is hard to guard. Collins is hard to guard. They're a good team. Nobody wanted to go home today. They had a great game plan against us. Like I said, we were just fortunate to come away with a win, hopefully get our legs back and get Boise State and make it a great championship game. Q. How key was your defense during the period of 37‑36? COACH SANCHEZ: To hold a Fresno State team to 53 points is very good. They didn't shoot as well as they'd like to. I mean, that's almost impossible with a team like that. Shots didn't fall for them. They had some good looks. Sometimes it just happens. I thought our defense was really good. We stuck with our game plan. Sometimes things just go your way. It did tonight. Q. To delve deeper into the physicality of the game, at one point it looked like Antiesha stepped up to the bully, took it upon herself to be physical right back, didn't step back from their bigs or anybody, countered their physicality while everyone else offensively charged. COACH SANCHEZ: She's a leader. She's led this team the entire year. Like I said, we've gone through our ups and downs this year. She's just taken this team a lot of times on her back and has done that. It was good to see us punch back. I mean, we needed to. They were very physical. They had their way with us a few times. They had a great game plan. Like I said, sometimes things just go your way. It was our night. It was a great basketball game. It was a great game for the fans. Two very good teams playing against each other. Like I said, we were fortunate to come away with that. Fresno is a good team and they've got a terrific coach. Q. Obviously it was deny and then double when the ball went to Sheedy. It got physical. I was impressed with your girls' composure. Talk about the defense and their composure. COACH SANCHEZ: I don't think anybody lost composure. I don't think Fresno State did either. I just think they were trying to survive and advance as well. We know their best players. They're a good team. But Alex Sheedy is just tremendous. She's the key. We did a pretty good job. She's 10 for 10 from the free‑throw line. That kid finds a way to get it done. Toni Smith hit a lot of jumpers against us at our place. We wanted to limit that. She's awful good in the post. Alex Furr is a nice shooter. We limited her a little bit. Collins and Fox can just get to the rim. They have good handles, good instincts. We didn't stop them a whole lot. I think we fouled them too much. Fox showed you why she got the award she got. Fresno State, us, Boise State, San Jose State, we had four teams left that could win this conference, win the tournament. We were just fortunate enough to do it. Q. To win that tournament you have one more opponent now. Talk about what it's going to take. COACH SANCHEZ: Man, they're awfully good. They read each other well. They shoot the ball extremely well. You saw that tonight when they made their run against San Jose State. They're very confident. Their posts are very good. Weaver is a nice player. They've got an excellent coach. For us, we have to lock down on defense again. We have to make sure, like tonight, that we don't let their shooters get open looks. We have to run back in transition. They really handed it to us at their place. We were up 35‑30, then the wheels kind of fell off. It's a good team. We've just got to play hard and play smart and play together, you know, just hope for the best. Q. Craig always gets a big reaction when he sports the cherry. You have the turquoise. Any chance you might sport the turquoise again? COACH SANCHEZ: No. I think I sweated through this. Being a native New Mexican, watching those old Lobo teams play, the Phil Smith, Abney, the Michael Coopers. My dad and I used to watch the Norm Ellenberger show all the time. The turquoise is still part of our culture and tradition. I found this somewhere online. Thought I'd wear it. It was good luck. Hopefully I'll have some clean clothes tomorrow. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, coach. COACH SANCHEZ: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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