	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 6, 2016

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Texas - 67, West Virginia - 51

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by the West Virginia, Coach Mike Carey and his two student-athletes, Teana Muldrow and Bria Holmes. Coach, your thoughts about this evening's game?

COACH CAREY: Give Texas credit. You know, we didn't handle the dribble penetration. We haven't all year against them. They got into the paint, got our bigs in foul trouble. I thought we competed for about 5 minutes the second half. And we can't win games against a team like Texas not competing for forty minutes.

Very disappointed in our effort. Very disappointed. We didn't stop dribble penetration, and we knew what we needed to do and we just didn't do it.

Q. Bria, obviously your guys' Big 12 tournament run is done, but you have the NCAAs to look toward to. What does this team have to do to make a run?
BRIA HOLMES: I would say defense. We have to come with a lot of energy and everybody has to be aggressive, but basically I would say mostly defense.

Q. Teana, you first, Bria second. You guys have a terrific basketball team, but yet in three games against Texas you have had maybe your worst three games of the year, I don't know. What is it about that particular match-up where it's been very difficult for your team?
TEANA MULDROW: Just think that Texas drives the ball. No other team in the conference drives the ball like they do and we struggle against it and that's our weakness and they continue to go to it.

BRIA HOLMES: I would say they're a good team all around, defense and offensewise. So, like she said, dribble penetration, we didn't have to deal with that this season and they're a good penetration team, especially their guards.

Q. First possession of the game, Chania comes down and drills a three and puts you up quickly there and seemed like it went downhill in a hurry there. Were you still confident after they made that initial burst there?
TEANA MULDROW: Yeah, I'm never not confident until the buzzer says zero because the game is going to have runs. Like Coach Mike Carey said before the game the game is going to be up and down, so if they go on a run, our run is coming. So it's never that I'm not confident in our team.

Q. You're going to have some time before you start NCAAs. Can that be a good thing for this team right now?
TEANA MULDROW: Yeah, it gives us time to rest, get off our feet for a little bit, just gotta come back -- we've got to come back and get ready for the tournament.

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, we're going to let you go. Best of luck in the NCAAs. Questions for Coach?

Q. Mike, obviously travel for this team is always going to be an issue with how far you have to go to play in the Big 12, but to come out to a site like Oklahoma City, are there any disadvantages that you can't travel as many fans as a lot of these teams, or is that something that crosses your mind?
COACH CAREY: You know, I never make travel an excuse because if I make it an excuse the players will make it an excuse, so we never talk about that. Everybody knows -- it's always amazing to me when some teams come to our place and they complain it was so far. We make nine of 'em. They make one of 'em. It is. It's an issue, but you can't use it as an excuse. We've got to come out and play hard. I like when there is a lot of fans. I like them to cheer for us a bit more, but I like when there's a lot of fans.

Q. I know you guys shot 23 threes in this game. Was that a product of getting behind and trying to get back in the game or was that something you guys planned?
COACH CAREY: No, here's the difference. Texas drove the ball, we settled for threes. I kept telling them rotate people in and out, drive it, drive it, drive it, and, you know, we settled for threes. But that's how we came out and played. We didn't play our defense. We didn't handle their dribble penetration and we settled for threes and that equals a big loss and that's exactly what happened.

Q. To sort of put it in perspective as you head into NCAAs, 24 wins, third place in the conference, your thoughts on what you've accomplished to this point?
COACH CAREY: You know, it's just disappointing tonight. I just thought we would come out and compete better. We have eight freshman, 11 new players out of 14 on this squad coming into this year, so I'm proud of the team. I just wasn't proud of the effort tonight.

We've got to compete more. We're going to do anything in the NCAA Tournament. We gotta come out and compete a lot harder.

Q. Bria Holmes, 8 points tonight, 10 points last night. Do you need more out of her in the NCAA Tournament?
COACH CAREY: She's been a great player for us. You know, she does a lot of other things, too. Naturally you would like to have a little bit more scoring, but she is probably our best defender on the perimeter. She probably -- the game before last night she had -- she led us in assists. So she does a lot of other things.

These young players need to understand that, if you're not hitting your shot there are other ways you can help the basketball team. A lot of people they're offensive minded. If they're not hitting their shot, they don't rebound, they don't play defense, they don't talk, they don't hustle back because of missing their shot and these young players on this team need to learn that.

Q. You guys have a week and a half off before you guys start the NCAA Tournament. What does that look like for you guys?
COACH CAREY: Well, we're going to give -- we got some people knicked up like everybody in the country does, we've got some knee issues and that type of stuff and some hip issues, but everybody does, you can't use that excuse, so it will give us time to take a couple days off, get in the training room, get 'em healed up, get 'em back in the weight room and continue to work hard and then get back full go.

I told 'em in there we're going to practice hard. We're going to practice hard. Not going to go long, hour, hour and 15 minutes, but the hour and 15 minutes we're going to go hard.

THE MODERATOR: Okay, Coach, thank you very much. Congratulations on a great season.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297