|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 7, 2017Gordy PresnellBrooke PahukoaMarta HermidaLas Vegas, Nevada Boise State - 64 New Mexico - 62 COACH GORDY PRESNELL: It was a great game. I think it was a game that fans would enjoy. It wasn't always that fun to coach, but I was really just really proud of our kids. And they persevered, and they kept coming back. And they hit that 3, and I don't know if we missed a switch or what, but no one had their heads down or anything, and then we went -- we knew we were going to Brooke no matter what, and Brooke has competitive greatness, that old John Wooden term, when you have to be great you can be great. And she is. And she got that last basket. Q. Was it drawn up in a way that you knew you were going inside or was there a read that you saw that you got so close to the basket? BROOKE PAHUKOA: Kudos to Coach P, he drew that up, he said you're going to screen and turn right back around and you'll get a direct pass in, go to work. It was the play that he drew up. Good job. Q. Really for both players, how tough is it to be able to keep up with New Mexico's up-tempo style? You were able to keep pace most of the game. MARTA HERMIDA: It was hard. They have a great team. They have incredible players. We knew that. They competed really well today. And we knew we had to do a great game to win. And I think we did it. BROOKE PAHUKOA: Our scout said that Beynon, she has 40 percent of her points in transition and the team has about 40 percent of their points in transition. We knew that. And they still got us a couple times in transition, so that just proves what a great team they are with pushing the ball and that pace of the game. Really great team. Fun game to be a part of. Q. With some 7:41 left, they take a 57-52 lead. They had a run, they had a good crowd. The crowd was into it. Media timeout comes and you guys seem to either calm down or maybe buckets started falling. On the defensive side they shot 1 of 9 over the next 6 1/2 minutes. Was there something different or was it a matter of their shots not falling? BROOKE PAHUKOA: You know, I think that our team just competed today. That's the only way to say it. And of course a timeout helps and slows down the game a little bit. As an athlete you want to be part of a game like that where the crowd is just cheering and everyone is into it and it's a close game. And we weren't ready to be done yet. You could kind of just tell. No words were exchanged. You just looked at everyone's faces, I knew my teammates were ready, and we were ready to lock it down and win the game. MARTA HERMIDA: I think we don't need to talk. It's just like one look at each other, and it is like we are going to win this. We knew we were going to win this. We were together on defense and that worked. Q. Now you just won a tough game. They won a tough game. You get a shot at Colorado State. What's going to be the key to win that game? BROOKE PAHUKOA: Some of the things the team showed today, being resilient, being consistent, knowing scout and making plays. If we do the things we did today it will be a really good game. We're excited for the challenge. Q. You got a pretty good compliment, drawing up a nice play at the end. What you drew up there, was it something you saw on film, was it a go-to type of a play? Tell us about that last play. COACH GORDY PRESNELL: This morning at my hotel room I thought it would be close. We won the game the last time with them. So I drew up about four different plays, all to Brooke, with different seconds, kind of. And so I felt like that was one that would work at the time, so that's what we went with, just putting her in the post. We had put her in the post in live play earlier, and it didn't work. But I felt like coming out of a timeout and her setting a screen that maybe the person would back off a little bit and she could spin around and bury underneath the rim, and fortunately it all worked out. Great pass from the passer. People don't see that part. It was a heck of a pass and a long pass, Sha Shaw. Q. Both teams got this, this isn't to imply one team had an advantage. In general, your thoughts on the advancement of the ball. They got it to set up their game-tying three. You got it with one second left. If you aren't able to advance the ball, the rule on that, do you have any thoughts on the advancement of the ball? COACH GORDY PRESNELL: The rule changed. I think it makes it fun and exciting. And I really, really like that rule change part of it. Coaching, you get to coach a little bit more. But the part I struggle a little bit with are the timeout situation, because it's hard to sub. I think the first quarter there was one little timeout or something, and people were fatiguing out. And there isn't the breakage in play like there used to be. Maybe it's better than the fans. But as far as getting the ball and getting advance, I love that part. Q. I want to ask you the same thing, just another shot at Colorado State now, you guys obviously have had great games with them. What do you guys have to do to go beat them tomorrow in a semifinal matchup? COACH GORDY PRESNELL: Extremely well coached. Two of the best players probably ever in the Mountain West, they're do-it-all players; they can post and pass. They do a great job. And they've been there, and they've made critical shots at critical times. They've also been really, really blessed. Those two kids I don't think have even had a cold in four years. We went through the month of January where it was really difficult. We went 3 and 6, Brooke was hurt and out, Sha Shaw was out. They've been fortunate. But also, they're very talented and very well coached. And they run the right stuff for their personnel. So we've got to hopefully get second-chance opportunities. And we're going to have to defend their isolations. They play like an NBA pro team. And they're very good defensively. And we're just going to have to do the best job we can with all that switching. 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
|