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BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 8, 2014Zahna MedleyJeff MittieNatalie VentressOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA West Virginia – 67 JEFF MITTIE: Well, I thought it was a hard‑fought game. We were right there. We've been down this road with them before, and they hurt us on the glass, and that continued to give us problems. They're a tough, physical match‑up. I think Bussie is just a tremendous player down there, and we just had trouble finding a way to keep her off the glass. I thought our first‑shot defense was good, but keeping them off the glass was critical, and we weren't able to do that. I thought our group fought. I thought we made some big plays. I thought Z was fabulous tonight, had a great look to her, made big shots all night long. Noony had a stretch where she made some big plays. It was a tough night for her early. We just had trouble getting her shots. She had a tough night from behind the arc, but she had a stretch there where she really lifted us up when we came back, so a couple‑possessions games, and they made a few more plays than us. They're an outstanding team. Give them credit. They made a few more plays than we did. Q. Ms.Medley, you obviously were hitting your shot whenever you wanted, especially from three‑point. When they put Harley on you, did her size affect you at all? ZAHNA MEDLEY: I don't think so. I think a little bit when I had her in the air. Sometimes I had a step back on her but I didn't take it because I thought she would block it. I was trying to take the second shot which was harder than the first one. Other than that, just kind of didn't make the shots. Q. Natalie, do you think your performance tonight will help you build for next season or the team, what the team can do for next season? NATALIE VENTRESS: I mean, yeah, it should help me grow, and when I'm not making shots, I have to find other ways to score and to help my team like get to the free‑throw line, and I didn't do it tonight. JEFF MITTIE: And I would not‑‑ I would say I don't think we're done playing. I don't think we're in the NCAA Tournament but I do think we'll be a postseason team. That would be an area that we weren't able to get her to the free‑throw line tonight, and we probably needed to run some better stuff for her to get to the free‑throw line. That's not just on her, that's on me to get her a better chance to get to the free‑throw line. I needed to do a better job of getting her into position to get that done. Q. Coach, talk about Zahna's performance tonight as a whole. It seems like you look at the numbers, I think the next top score was six points. How did she run this team tonight? JEFF MITTIE: I'll tell you what, she was amazing tonight. She had a look. I thought we were able to find her a lot of different ways. She just has such a great feel. A kid like that that's not very big that can get inside, draw fouls. The amazing thing about her is she's not super quick, but she is really quick with the basketball because she is so fundamental with everything that she does. But I thought her look was good early. She was shooting it deep. There was a few stretches where she got a little bit tired, but she really pushed through, and I think she's had a fabulous year. Q. Latricia was obviously a big factor down low, seven blocks. Can you talk about her performance? JEFF MITTIE: Yeah, you know, that's what she's done for us all year long. I think she's one of the best defensive centers in the league, as evidenced‑‑ I think the other coaches recognized her with that, as well. She really anchors our defense down low. It was big when she got hurt. I thought Bradshaw battled Bussie as hard as she could on that play where Bussie gets the and‑1, but you're talking about a fifth‑year senior that's going to play at the next level and talking about a freshman‑‑ and I thought she battled her as hard as she could on that play. But I thought Lovings was fantastic defensively, and yeah, I mean, when she goes out of the game‑‑ we have trouble rebounding with her in the game, but when she goes out of the game, that's a real struggle for us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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