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MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2008Joe LegerskiMegan McGuffeyLAS VEGAS, NEVADA THE MODERATOR: Coach, just some opening remarks. COACH LEGERSKI: You know, I thought tonight's game, San Diego State played with great intensity. I talked about at the start of the season that I thought they were a sleeper in our league. I think they're very talented, well-coached, and played extremely well tonight. THE MODERATOR: Next few minutes questions directed to Megan then we'll let her go then finish up with coach. Q. Megan, you guys had a hard time hitting shots tonight. Was it their defensive pressure, just one of those nights where they weren't falling, a little bit of both? What can you contribute that to? MEGAN McGUFFEY: I think it was just one of those nights. I think, you know, we're kind of a team that lives off the three-pointer at times. So, you know, nights when they're not falling, it's going be a rough one. And we missed a lot of close layups too, which against a team that comes out and plays that well and pressures you that much, you just can't afford to miss those shots. Q. Did they do anything different with their pressure? Was it a lot of what you expected and just couldn't get it or did they do some different things? MEGAN McGUFFEY: It's pretty much what we expected. You know, they're a team that pressures you on the perimeter and gets out on you tough. And, you know, we have to make sure we move a lot on our offense. Like I said, we missed those easy shots, so... Q. Megan, they come out and played a real physical game on nights where maybe the calls aren't going to go in that sort of sense. How frustrating was it and how much did you guys have to try the battle back and how difficult was that? MEGAN McGUFFEY: It's always hard playing from behind. You know, you're always trying to find a few plays to get you back in the game. And they just kept countering everything we were throwing at them. And we had chances there in the end of the first half and parts of the second half that we just couldn't -- we just couldn't seem to get two or three plays in a row to cut it to, you know, five or something like that. But they're a really good team, and it was just a tough game for us. Q. I guess how disappointing is this loss? Maybe it hasn't struck you yet, but have you thought anything about the NCAA implications or anything like that? MEGAN McGUFFEY: We're just hoping for the best right now. You know, we try to forget about this one and remember that, you know, we've had a great season. You know, we've won 24 games, so hopefully when the time comes good things will happen. Q. It's been a very crazy post-season all across the country. Is there something about March that you can pinpoint I guess? MEGAN McGUFFEY: I guess that's why they call it March Madness. But, unfortunately, we're on the wrong end of things. But, you know, we drew a tough, tough draw. San Diego State, they're a great team. And, you know, yeah, I guess that's what makes college basketball exciting, upsets and tight games, so... Q. You kind of came off the bench and gave your team a real lift and kind of kept them in there in the first half. What was it that got you going, just that sense of kind of feeling like someone needed to step up and maybe it was your time to do it? MEGAN McGUFFEY: When you are playing with players like Hanna Zavecz and Justyna Poedziemska and Jodi Bolerjack. They're going to be keying a lot on them. They've had great year. They're experienced, so it makes my job a lot easier. Going in there and hit open shots. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Megan. We'll let you go. Good job. Questions for Coach Legerski. Q. Did they do anything differently defensively or was it just the quickness and the speed that really threw you off tonight from them defensively? COACH LEGERSKI: I think that's the tough part. You cannot simulate the quickness in practice. And when I take a look at, you know, the number of turnovers that we had, more importantly, I thought San Diego State played well. Their post players Duffy and Johnson got off to a great start. And in the first half I think they were either 8 or 9 for 11. I think 8 for 11. That's 72%. When you are getting that kind of production on the inside it really makes it difficult. Then when Morris started heating up from the perimeter, then you have bigger problems trying to deal with. You know, we missed some easy shots that maybe would have tightened the game a bit. But we were continually playing from behind. Q. Jodi went off out in the second half. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. She did come back, but can you give us a prognosis of what she did? COACH LEGERSKI: You know what, in practice earlier this week she bruised her shoulder. So we held her out coming into this tournament. You know, we hit the same spot again. And we're going to end up having her checked when we get back and I'll know more then. Q. Going back earlier than you hoped from this. Do you go back and relax and wait till Monday to see what your fate is or what do you do between now and then? COACH LEGERSKI: We're going to take some time. You know, we're going get back home. Some of the players are in their mid-terms right now. I know we had players last night, Hanna Zavecz was there till about 11 p.m. last night taking an exam. We got to get back and take care of that and then hope for the best on Monday. Q. Joe, can you explain the decision to go to the zone defense against them for the majority of the game tonight? COACH LEGERSKI: When you are having a tough time stopping people one-on-one in the post, you got to make a change. And we had to try to give Rebecca and Justyna some help down low. I thought we were able to do that in the zone and try to slow it up a bit so the two post kids, Duffy and Johnson, were not scoring at will. And we just didn't make enough shots on our end to close the gap. I thought we played hard through the 40 minutes, even cutting it to about 7. I think with a minute to go we just didn't make enough plays and San Diego State did. Q. She thinks you guys are a lock for the tournament. How confident are you that you've built a resume that's good enough to get you in? COACH LEGERSKI: Well, I thank Beth for that. You know, before tonight we're 24-5. Our RPI's in the top 30. I think we played a schedule deserving. I hope a selection never comes down to one game, you know, whether you win it or lose it. As I said, I'd stack San Diego State up against a lot of teams. I think they're very good. And hopefully we've done enough throughout the whole year. And they talk about your body of work, and I think we have the body of work. We'll be waiting on Monday to see what happens. Q. Megan kind of talked about the missed layups, kind of a problem for both Wyoming teams today. Just like she said, one of those days where the rims weren't working in your favor? COACH LEGERSKI: I think when you get to championship play you have to make your easy shots. And I talk about lay-ins, I talk about free-throws. Some nights you have to be able to step up and go for about 90% from the free-throw line. And those are points when all of a sudden things aren't falling from the perimeter. I thought we took too many three-point shots tonight, taking 20. We have to be more aggressive to the basket. But once again, I give a great deal of credit to San Diego State for making us shoot a low percentage. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. End of FastScripts |
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