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MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 7, 2016Marquelle DentJoe LegerskiLiv RobertsLas Vegas, Nevada San Diego State - 62, Wyoming - 44 THE MODERATOR: Coach, please start with you and get some thoughts on today's game. HEAD COACH JOE LEGERSKI: Well, I thought San Diego State, you know, shot the ball extremely well, played well down the stretch, 6-point ballgame going into the fourth quarter. And I thought their composure really showed. They made big play after big play. And we missed some opportunities. And it seems that's kind of been our year this year, there's some opportunities there. And to be able to come away with a victory in conference play, you have to take advantage of every opportunity you have, every, what I call, easy shot. In fact, you've got to make some tough shots. And I thought that's what San Diego State did, and give them great credit. I'm proud of what these two got accomplished not only today but throughout the year. Marquelle has really had to shoulder a great deal on this team, being the only senior, the only returning player that played. Every night out she had to step up and come through for us to stay competitive. And I thought Liv Roberts showed that she's an emerging star for this team. To have 12 points, 9 rebounds, basically we never took Liv off the court, and she played with extreme intensity throughout the game. I think the fourth quarter, in fact, this game kind of mirrors how our year went. We can be close for a while and then we lack a little bit of composure, maybe a little more seniority that we need. And as I said, having only one senior, there was way too much pressure on Marquelle. But as I mentioned, give San Diego State credit because they really played well down the stretch. Q. Marquelle, when you pulled within 2, I think, and went through that long scoring drought, you had the looks, you couldn't knock them down. From your perspective what happened there? MARQUELLE DENT: I think it was a little bit of both, composure and not focused. I think it's been that way the whole year. We don't make shots, we struggle offensively. And we do make shots we're a completely different team. Just composure throughout the rest of the game kind of hurt us. Q. It seemed they made timely shots especially in the third quarter. Did you feel you were defending well and they were hitting good shots, from your perspective what happened there? MARQUELLE DENT: Yeah. I mean, they made shots when they needed to. I felt like every time we kind of went on a run, tried to cut it down and they knocked down a big shot. And that's kind of what you need in tournament play. And take away a big run, and they did that very well. LIV ROBERTS: I just think the whole year we've had a tough time making it so they couldn't go on those big runs. We need to have those big runs more often and that's when they started getting away. So I just think in the future you have to step up and make sure that they don't go on those runs. We have to be able to answer right back. Q. Marquelle was named All Conference, All Defensive Team again. What has she meant to you? LIV ROBERTS: Coming into the year we knew we had Marquelle and Jordan. And it was a great year starting off, preseason was awesome. And Jordan went down, so Marquelle knew she had to step up more. And I think everyone could see that, not only our fans, but when we go play other teams, they mention Marquelle, Marquelle. That's who they're going after on defense. She's an awesome player, awesome teammate all around, and a great person on and off the court. We'll definitely miss her a lot. And she's definitely one of the best leaders. Q. Obviously not the way you wanted it to end, but personally, go in the locker room afterwards, what sort of words did you exchange and what do you take from your career now? What can you take? I know it's going to take a little bit to soak in and get over this, but what can you take from your career and be proud that you left as far as a legacy with this program? MARQUELLE DENT: I think it's been a great four years for me. I loved playing for Coach Joe. And this team is a really young team. So I told them to enjoy the moment, because it goes by really fast. And every day I get to come out and put on my Wyoming jersey, and that is one of the greatest feelings. As far as my career, I came in as a freshman, not really knowing what I was going to do and just trying to get a little better every year. And I think I did a pretty good job at that. And I just enjoy playing basketball, and I love the game. So hopefully I can play for a little bit longer. Q. Coach mentioned what Liv did today. Do you see her as an emerging star, as well? MARQUELLE DENT: Definitely. She was the rock when Jordan went down. She came up every day, just worked her butt off. And she's the kind of player that's going to do the little things, kind of the dirty work. And Liv was definitely that player for us this year. I see her doing that the rest of her career at Wyoming, and she's going to have a huge career the rest of the way and really proud to be her teammate, and even more proud to call her my friend. Q. I know the season just ended, but how would you reflect on this, and do you like where things are at moving forward with this team? HEAD COACH JOE LEGERSKI: Yeah, I think one of the things, we knew we were young. And it became younger when Jordan Kelley went down. And I gave this group credit. They were a joy to coach. And I've been doing this a long time. And so it was a lot of fun. You just wish it would have ended a little differently, specifically for Marquelle. But there was always effort. People were learning how to play, maybe sometimes people needed to be learning more in practice, they had to learn while they were on the court. And it was a difficult time, but they all stepped up. They responded and as you can hear from these two this is a pretty tight group off the court, as well. And so that made it enjoyable to go throughout this whole season. As I told them, the result is winning and losing. The effort that's placed between the start and the end is how you'll be measured. And they gave me that effort and for that I'm thankful. Q. How will you remember Marquelle's career and her legacy? HEAD COACH JOE LEGERSKI: Well, she burst upon the scene at this tournament as a freshman, changed the game against Colorado State, helped us get a victory. And ever since that point in time she's been just solid out there. She's at the top of everybody's scouting report. They have to know how to be able to try to slow Marquelle down. She ended up being second all time in assists. I think she likes passing the ball better than anything. She became a thousand-point scorer. She has a bright future ahead of her. There's so much basketball for Marquelle still to play. We're going to miss her ability to lead this group. She always has a smile on her face. And she was just a joy to coach. And that's -- says a great deal about the young person that she is. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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