MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 6, 2023

April Phillips

Jasmine Singleton

Sabrina Ma

Thomas & Mack Center

San Jose State Spartans

Postgame Press Conference

Wyoming 72, San Jose State 57

THE MODERATOR: Joining Coach April Phillips will be Sabrina Ma and Jasmine Singleton. Again, we will have coach make an opening remark and then we'll take questions for the student-athletes. Coach, go ahead.

APRIL PHILLIPS: I'm proud of our overall body of a season as far as the fight and the culture we've built and just kind of establishing what the groundwork is for what San Jose State women's basketball will be moving forward.

I don't think there's anybody in the conference that doesn't see that there's been a shift with San Jose State women's basketball, and I'm just really proud of our team for establishing that.

Obviously, tonight I don't know that I believe that that showed a bunch, and that's the part that kind of hurts a little bit, is to lose -- not to only lose, but to lose and not play kind of what we've established as San Jose State women's basketball.

But I'm proud of this group and the overall body of work that we've done this season for sure.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student-athletes.

I'll go ahead throw it out. For both, certainly a disappointment to finish with a loss, but you had a three-game winning streak coming into it. What momentum can you take from that moving forward for next season? As Coach said, there's been a shift winning three games at the end of the season coming into tonight.

JASMINE SINGLETON: Yeah, I feel like definitely this year we built the culture and the foundation for what we're going to be in the future, so just using that to work harder even next year and keep sticking to what we know.

SABRINA MA: Yeah, I would definitely agree with that. Obviously, it's a disappointing loss, but I think those last couple of minutes that we fought really showed that we have built a really strong culture here, and we hope to continue that next year. I'm just really excited to be a part of this.

THE MODERATOR: You had mentioned, you know, the last couple of minutes, down 21 but no quit. You cut it to 14 within a minute and a half. So could you talk about that stretch again?

JASMINE SINGLETON: Yeah, I mean, it's just what we talk about every day. It's a part of our culture to not give up, to keep playing until the final buzzer so that's really what we're all about. It's pretty much a standard for us to not give up and play until the final buzzer.

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thanks. We'll dismiss you, but Coach, we'll keep you here for a couple more questions.

Questions for Coach? Anything else you want to add, Coach, about the performance of the team tonight? Like you said, mentioning the shift and coming in down the stretch, the fourth quarter was no quit.

APRIL PHILLIPS: Yeah. I think it's a really good learning opportunity for those that will be returning to win a game in the tournament and obviously make history, and to able to then fight again and focus again, right?

So I think that takes maturity, and it takes, you know, March experience to know that you're going to have an array of emotions when you get a big win, and then you've got to push those things down and get ready to do it all over again.

So I think they have the opportunity to get a taste of what that feels like to get an exciting win in March and I think they understand that March is literally a special time, and it's the best time to be playing your best basketball, and I think we recognize that we didn't do that tonight.

THE MODERATOR: Yeah. A little struggle with the shooting tonight. Is it kind of a product of coming back so quickly after a game last night and then coming back here and being prepared?

APRIL PHILLIPS: I think it's -- I don't know. To be honest, I was looking at them in warmups like, they're flat, they're flat.

We tried to shift that energy a little bit, but we started off that first quarter 6 and 13, shooting 20% from the field, and that kind of set the tone and I think the energy for the game.

Then we just fought back the entire time, obviously, from behind. So in March you can't start off flat and be in a game. Not when you're trying to get an upset.

THE MODERATOR: It that will do it. Thank you.