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MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2010Elaine ElliottKalee WhippleLAS VEGAS, NEVADA San Diego State – 70 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Utah head Coach Elliott and student-athletes. Coach, if we could start with you with comments on today's game and the tournament overall. COACH ELLIOTT: Well, first, you know, congratulations to San Diego State. I thought they obviously put together two extremely good back-to-back games for their tournament to get the win. You know, congratulations go to them. A great shooting night. Again, we really weren't able to keep the shooting percentage down. We out-rebounded them, but they got really important -- they got rebounds at the wrong time in terms of later in the game. So the credit certainly goes to them. They'll do, I hope, exceptionally well in the NCAAs. You know, our kids, I couldn't be more proud. Our seniors have an amazing career to brag about in terms of their championships over the course of their four years, their success in the NCAA tournament. The young players that we have on our team have just come miles and will be something to seriously be reckoned with as they grow older. So, you know, all is good, I think, at Utah. So I'm real proud of the kids. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. At this time we'll open it up for questions for the student-athletes. Q. Can you tell us what happened, you didn't score a field goal the last five minutes of regulation or in the overtime. Anything in particular that went wrong there? KALEE WHIPPLE: I think, just like what coach said, they got rebounds at the wrong time. They got their shots, and that led to us just kind of getting frustrated, I think, at times. We still fought hard. We just didn't hit a shot. Q. Kalee, the first half you had a huge first half, but in the second half it kind of tailed off. Did they tighten up the defense on you? KALEE WHIPPLE: Well, they're a great defensive team. So, I mean, I feel like it was the same the first half as it was the second half. Jené guarded me most of the game. She did a great job. I had shots. Some fall; some don't. Q. Kalee, can you talk about the year, how far your team came, how well you did when you weren't maybe picked that high to begin with? KALEE WHIPPLE: Yeah, I'm very proud of our team. We came a long ways. We were talking in the locker room just before we came here. It's amazing how far we've come. We have a lot of freshmen coming in taking on big roles, and they've accepted those roles now and they've played them just fantastic. Obviously I'm disappointed that we couldn't get a win tonight. San Diego State, congratulations to them. But I'm very proud of our team and how far we've come and how well we've done in this tournament. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student-athletes at this time. We'll continue with questions for Coach Elliott. Q. You were up 56-50, had a long pass, looked like a clear layup that was missed. Do you feel that pretty much was the turning point? COACH ELLIOTT: Yeah. That was the buster. Put the word in front of that you want. Yeah, that was it. No doubt about it. 'Cause not only did we miss that, then I think they got the long pass. They laid it up right after that themselves. So that was the one key problem that obviously kind of set the tone the rest of the way. Q. In overtime they had six points before you could get a shot off. A lot of turnovers. Any reasons? COACH ELLIOTT: No, I mean, you know, that's not sort of something that's never happened. So as much as we talk about being, you know, we've improved a lot, but we're still -- we're not, you know, yet some completely different team that isn't prone to many of the same problems that, you know, kind of show up through the process of growing. I mean, it's a tight game. It's a huge game. And obviously turning the ball over, you know, kills you. So, I mean, there's nothing more to say than that. Q. Can you talk about any post-season possibilities if you take a bid to the WNIT? COACH ELLIOTT: Well, my own feeling is this is a team that would benefit from that. I mean, I think each year it's something that should be determined by your own team and program. We don't just go because it goes on your résumé. This is a team, I think, that would benefit from that. I think next year we'll be the youngest team in this country. So the more chance we give the kids coming back, you know, experience and new opportunities, sort of the excitement and enthusiasm of moving on, I think that's in the best interest of the growth of this team, you know, over the next couple of years. I also take into account whether or not the team believes that. I will never take a team who doesn't want to keep playing for whatever reason. There are oftentimes I think that happens. I know what I believe and they know what I believe. I'll get feedback from them on what they want. If they match, we would love to move on. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, coach. End of FastScripts |
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