|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 9, 2012Kati IshamLauren LenhardtGordy PresnellLAS VEGAS, NEVADA New Mexico – 51 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Boise State. Coach, if we could start with you, your comments on today's game. COACH PRESNELL: Disappointing. First half I thought they controlled the pace and the tempo of the game. They run a real slow pace and we're a real physical pace. We tried to speed it up a little bit in the second half. Thought we did that, got ourselves back in the game. So just didn't go our way in the last minute or so, I guess. THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Did you feel like you had the same energy that you had the other night coming out or did you feel a little flat at the beginning of the game? KATI ISHAM: I mean, I think everybody could tell we were a little flat at the beginning of the game. But I'm really proud of my teammates for coming back in the second half. I thought we played hard. We made a game of it. That's what we wanted to do. LAUREN LENHARDT: I'd agree with Kati. We didn't come out like we had hoped. But battled back in the second half. That slow start, we've had a couple of those this season. We just can't afford to do that. Q. Lauren, Porche, defensive Player of the Year, outstanding game. How much did they adjust what you were able to do inside? LAUREN LENHARDT: Torrance is a great player. Very physical. She's fast. She can get around in the block very well. Great rebounder. She affected us a little bit just getting in the boards. We didn't get to box her out and lost a few O boards that we needed to have. Q. Take me through the final play, what was called. KATI ISHAM: Well, the original play was set up for Keiahnna to come off that screen. She's one of our main drivers, gets to the rim really well. She went, they helped out. Tried to dish off to Lauren. It was kind of a scramble. I ended up with the ball in my hands, which is what I wanted. I wanted to take the last shot. It just didn't go in. Q. Lauren, talk a little bit about obviously you came in, first year at the Mountain West, as the No.6 seed, won a game, one shot away from going to the championship. What did you learn and take away from this experience? LAUREN LENHARDT: I mean, we took a lot. The Mountain West has been a great conference. We've loved being here. Our whole motivation for the whole season has been that dead last. At the beginning they picked us eighth. We were going to make sure we didn't finish eighth in the conference or the tournament. But it's definitely different than the WAC and we'll be ready next year. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student‑athletes at this time. We'll continue with questions for Coach Presnell. Q. I know the start you were obviously flat, but you were able to get out of that. How did you get some energy back in your players? COACH PRESNELL: I hate to use the word 'shellshocked' a little bit, but just crowd. Because we competed very well with New Mexico. But they came out with a lot of enthusiasm, kind of got us on our heels a little bit. So the only thing we could do at halftime being down, not scoring, is try to speed the game up, speed the pace up. One of their deficiencies is their skill level in terms of ball handling. We tried to attack 'em in the full court a little bit and tried to speed the game up a little bit. Q. Your assessment of the final play. It broke down a little bit. Were you happy with the look you got? COACH PRESNELL: You know, I'll think about it now for the next spring or something. When you're down one, I think you attack the basket. But I don't know if I'd attack the basket again. I'd have to see the film to see if we got hit or not. The play is called cross key, it's for Keiahnna. She gets penetration because she goes left so well. Then Lauren back‑doors her player. So I think we kind of got what we were wanting to get. I just need to see the film. I can't make anymore comments on it. But I hope it was right. Q. You referred a little bit about the crowd. How much did that affect you? Was that the most vocal crowd you have played in front of all season? COACH PRESNELL: Yeah, I guess so. We played them down at the Pit. We were ahead so far all the time that it kind of neutralized the crowd. This time they have improved. Tribute to their head coach. They've improved. They're long, and their length bothered us. I've never heard of 12 blocked shots, whatever it was. I need to take a look at the film and see if those are blocks. I think she's done a nice job with them. She's getting better. Their length bothered us. I know they're not a tall team, but they're tall in places that we're not. Q. Overall on the season, no expectations, picked last, you're one shot away from the championship. Talk about the year as a whole and how it finished up. COACH PRESNELL: You know, I think looking back it was a positive. It's disappointing we were one point away from making this jump and having at least a minimum of a .500 season. That was really disappointing. I'm proud of the seniors, proud of the effort they played with today. I think it's a conference that we can compete in. We were in every game, other than Wyoming drilled us. Hopefully, you know, things are brighter on the horizon. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, coach. 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
|