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MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 2, 2020Gerald MattinsonTereza VitulovaQuinn WeidemannLas Vegas, Nevada Wyoming - 64, Utah State - 59 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Wyoming. COACH MATTINSON: Well, I take my hat's off to our women. We got down early. Utah State played very well. I thought they came out, played very well. We were able to come back and battle our way back into it in the second half. And I'm so proud of the way these guys responded at halftime and the defensive effort we had in the second half. You hold a team to five points in the third quarter and 20 for a half, that's -- we held them the second half to fewer points than we gave up in the first quarter but that's a credit to these guys and our team. So some things worked out. We didn't give up. And came away with a win tonight. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. Talking about how Utah State, they had that 16-point lead. I think a lot of teams would have folded at that point, but you guys showed resilience and came back. Could you talk about what the keys were to coming back to win the game? COACH MATTINSON: All we did is talk about at halftime -- we just talked about at halftime what we had to do was get back to the way we defend. To my team's credit, our team's credit, they've defended well all year. That's kind of what we've laid, put our hat on or put our brand on. And we just talked about -- all we have to do is in the third quarter go out and defend the way that we defend. And if we could just cut it by six or seven points then we're right where we need to be. And these guys responded to that. And then with that defensive effort, obviously that led to some offensive spurts. That's what I took away from it. TEREZA VITULOVA: I agree with Coach, like, defense is a thing that get us here, and we didn't execute the defense scout well in the first half. And then after halftime we talk about what we need to get done, and what is going to get us a win. And we executed well. QUINN WEIDEMANN: Basically what they said. I also think a big thing is, within ourselves, we're, like, okay, let's take a deep breath, like, we got that first half out of the way; the jitters whatever was going on. And then I think we came back in the second half and played a lot more loose. Q. When they came out swinging, they kind of had that "team of destiny" feel. Yesterday they became the first 11 seed to win a conference tournament game. And they came out firing the way they did. Did that kind of catch you off guard how well -- I think they shot 60 percent from the field in that first half? QUINN WEIDEMANN: I think definitely in the first half it caught us a little bit off guard. And, like, I don't think we executed our scout, our defensive scout in the first half as well as we could have. But we fought back. TEREZA VITULOVA: Yeah, we knew that it was going to be a tough game because it's a tournament time and everyone wants to get the best that we can. So I just think they played really, really well the first half. But, also, like they had a game yesterday, they were tired. And we knew that if we were going to push the ball, defend, that we can get them. I think the most important thing is we didn't give up. Q. Tereza, I think you made the first couple of baskets in the second half, there was the 2 and then the 3. And Utah State's coach said that was kind of a turning point. You really kind of got you going. Did you feel that was kind of big to get you started early there? TEREZA VITULOVA: Yeah, I think I didn't know what to do that much in the first half because I didn't get that many balls or anything. And also we didn't score that much in the first half. So I just thought about it and what I needed to get done what I needed to get done the whole season, like shooting and stuff like this. And I think when I scored the 3, I was, okay, I can do this, I have my teammates with me. And we can get this done, yeah. Q. When you're propelling a comeback the way you guys did, how important was it to win the rebound margin and box out and grab those extra possessions? TEREZA VITULOVA: Like the rebounding part, I think it's like one of the most important parts in a game. Also, we're not the tallest team in the conference. So we need to really, like, fight under the basket and get all the balls. And when it gets to crucial times like the rebounding, it's really important because giving second chance to teams, it would push only down. But I think we executed really well. Q. Obviously you guys get Boise State again. You guys split the two regular season matchups. They obviously beat you in the championship game last year. Just how emotional do you kind of expect that matchup to be tomorrow? COACH MATTINSON: We're going to show up and play. I mean, I don't look at Boise State tomorrow as -- I don't care about last year. I don't care about the other two games. I care about tomorrow. Can't speak for these guys. I hope they're the same way. That's what we've talked about all year is we're going to do one game at a time, and we're going to just try to get a little bit better each game. Hopefully this is a learning experience for us. But we won at home. They put it pretty good on us at their place. That has nothing to do with what's going to happen tomorrow or next year. And I don't know what's going to happen, but we're going to show up and give it the best we have. TEREZA VITULOVA: Yeah, I think we cannot look at them like they're Boise State. We need to look at them like they're the same players that we are. Like, we're going to come up -- we're going to defend what we can defend. And hopefully it's going to end up good for us. But it's going to be a battle from the beginning. And of course I think we cannot do what we did today because tomorrow it will be much harder to come back. QUINN WEIDEMANN: I think that we're a very different team than we were last year. I think Boise is a different team than they were last year. I even think we're a different team than we were at the beginning of the season. So, like Coach said, it's a whole new game. The two times we played them before, it kind of doesn't matter now. Q. You guys ended the regular season on a strong note and now you get this first win in the tournament. Can you guys talk about how you've been able to take that momentum that you had in the regular season and use it now towards heading into against Boise? COACH MATTINSON: I just think that these guys have bought into what we're doing. It's hard at this level to play every night. It's hard to play defense. Sometimes offensively we struggle. Everybody knows that. But what these guys have proven all year, game in and game out, especially during the stretch, I think there was a couple of defining moments for this group that's really helped them grow and will continue to help us not only whatever happens tomorrow or the rest of the tournament but for all these guys, both of these guys are young. They're going to be back. I think what happened to us at home against New Mexico, when New Mexico came in and was able to get us in overtime, I think these guys bought in and that's not going to happen again. You could see the pain on their faces as a team. And then we went in, with a battle with CSU, a 43-40 battle where every possession was huge, they started to believe even more and just have grown and grown. And to me that's the process that we wanted to be at. I've said all year this is going to be a group, especially early, who we're going to be able to beat somebody and they're going to go, wow, they beat them and then maybe a week later they're going to turn around and go, oh, they lost to them. But right now I told these guys all year long, you stick with us, you keep working and stay on the plan, we will be playing our best when it's time. And to our team's credit, that's what they've done and that's where we're at. Q. You guys have a pretty big fan base that came out to support you guys, almost made it feel like a home game. Could you just talk about that? TEREZA VITULOVA: Yeah, our fans are amazing. They're coming to our games all year long. They're supporting us. It doesn't matter if we win or lose, like, they're always behind us and supporting. And I think the atmosphere they create is just amazing. And it feels like we're playing at home, which is so important for us. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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