|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 7, 2016Kathy OlivierBrooke JohnsonDakota GonzalezLas Vegas, Nevada UNLV - 55 Air Force - 42 THE MODERATOR: Coach, we're going to start with you, thoughts on tonight's game. HEAD COACH KATHY OLIVIER: Well, we thought it was a hard-fought battle, and our team did a good job of being very focused early on. We looked like a team that didn't want to have their season over. And I thought our senior leadership with Aley Rohde, she was very, very determined. And then Dakota, Brooke stepping up. We had a lot of weapons, and we've got to continue to be aggressive. Our aggressiveness has really done a great job for us. Q. A lot of people say that because the tournament is here in Las Vegas that UNLV has an advantage. But in reality is there added pressure, because if there's class, they still have to attend class, you have a short shoot-around, and then leading up to it sort of the anxiety to get to game time? HEAD COACH KATHY OLIVIER: Well, I mean, you just named a few things. Yes, our team is still going to class and we still have school. The good news is that we get to sleep in our own beds. I think there's pros and cons to it. For us right now we need a little help. If it's a home court advantage, let's take advantage of that. But the reality is it's a court that we haven't played on all season and I think the Mountain West has so much parity, I think it's a real tossup, it's anyone's game. Q. This is the second time that Air Force, a one-win team, comes in and actually challenges you guys. Their record is not indicative of their talent at all. Talk about how hard it is to actually play against this team and the matchups? ALEY ROHDE: I think that Air Force is extremely difficult competition, especially at their place, even here. They fight for their country, they're not going to give it up on the court either. I don't think their record shows their talent. They have shooters. They have defenders. Like, they have weapons in every position on the court and I don't think that truly their record reflects how difficult of a team they are to play. BROOKE JOHNSON: Us being a team that also goes hard, Air Force lives by the motto "never giving up." They give their all in every single game they play. And us, we're not one of the closest games they've had. They've been close with many teams. And I think it shows every time they step on the court, offensively, defensively, they're going to go hard and give it their all all the time. DAKOTA GONZALEZ: I think this tournament is a fresh start for everybody. We put those records aside when we step on the court. With Air Force it was that same mentality of just understanding that this is a team that wants it as badly as we do, and who is going to push and work hardest to strive for that win. And we're fortunate to stay together and get the win and pull it out at the end of the game. Q. You hit a shot, it was 32-32, you got fouled. Did you feel any sense of urgency at that point? DAKOTA GONZALEZ: That play, I definitely really get into it, I'm a very passionate player. We had Jordyn to Aley, her end run, a lot of plays that pushed the momentum for us. We felt it. It was an electric atmosphere for us on the court. Just kind of taking those plays and continuing to build on those plays and just push. And I think towards the end we really showed that as far as not giving up and staying together and letting our defense and defensive focus and toughness kind of push and lead the way at the end. Q. The play that she mentioned, that looked like the pivotal play in the fourth quarter late. Jordyn comes down, drives, dishes to you, nice footwork and you get the end one. That's where you pulled away. For you and Brooke, did you feel that that was a momentum changer and you kind of sealed the deal there? ALEY ROHDE: We talked about that play in the locker room that that play definitely helped us. I don't want to say motivated, because we were motivated, but now let's do it, let's do it. Put an end to it. Put the foot on the pedal and just keep going. We definitely exchanged baskets for a while with them and that was definitely one of the stopping points for us just finally getting stops, doing what we had to do on the offensive and defensive end. Q. You've talked about the youth all year. This is your first time with this roster in this tournament. At one point you had three sophomores, two freshmen on the floor. You've got to be pleased overall with the resiliency they showed with every lineup you put on the floor. HEAD COACH KATHY OLIVIER: Yes, we have a lot of weapons right now and that's a good feeling from a coach's standpoint and good for the players. It's finally that time of the year where everyone trusts each other, we're moving the ball better. A lot of options. We can go inside, our 3's are going, attacking the baskets, getting to the free throw line. We liked how aggressive we were. We were very aggressive tonight. That's why we got on the boards, why we got to the free throw line. We've got to continue that. Q. In the first quarter Paris had a couple of big shots when Aley was on the bench, is that the shot production you need from the bench? HEAD COACH KATHY OLIVIER: We talked about the play that Jordyn made, she came down and was driving, hit Aley and kind of put us over the edge. Paris' play was huge, too, she came off the bench, she had a lot of poise. Aley showed her the way. She stepped up for that three and made it. And I mean every player is stepping up right now, and this is the time of the year you want to do that. We look like a team that doesn't want to have their season end. Q. Brooke picked up a third foul, but you left her in for a while before she got her fourth. HEAD COACH KATHY OLIVIER: She said I'm fine, KO. So I said, Okay, Brooke. You know, Brooke, she played a lot of minutes for us last year, she played like a freshman at times. This year she just has a lot of experience. I feel like Brooke is one of our leaders on our team. And I just felt like she knew that it was vital that she did not pick up her third. One time I actually thought she could have D'd up the girl a little bit better, but she let her drive to the basket, she knew we needed her on the floor and we needed her leadership, so she did a good job. Q. Talk about Boise. HEAD COACH KATHY OLIVIER: I think it's a great matchup. They're good. They are very similar to us. They have a lot of weapons. They have -- their point flies up and down the floor. They have a good inside game. They have good outside shooters. I feel like it's going to be a good matchup. The first time we played them at their place it actually, what, three quarters, was a good game about three quarters, and they took over in the fourth quarter. The game at our place was a great game. It was fun basketball. They did a great job. We did a great job. Both teams have a lot of weapons and I think it's going to be a very, very fun game to watch. Q. On the Boise game, we talked about this twice now, going up there for your homecoming, them coming back for the revenge game. This is the rubber match. Have you thought about that at all? DAKOTA GONZALEZ: Yeah, definitely. I've taken some time thinking about it looking at the bracket. Not even just looking back on this last season, but last year them being the defending champs, it's a big deal. I think it's exciting for us, because we know how good they are. I think it's really going to challenge us and see what we're made of. And we're excited because we know the potential we have. We know the talents we have. We know all the threats that we have. We're really excited with this game. And coming in with a really confident mentality. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|