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MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 14, 2014Bree FarleyMoriah FaulkRaegan PebleyTaylor ThompsonLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Fresno State – 82 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Fresno State. Coach, if you could make a few opening remarks about tonight's game. COACH PEBLEY: It sounded like a broken record, but we feel very fortunate that we were able to get this W. I know that a lot of preparation went on that we had to go into this game. I know Nevada did, too. They're a great team, well coached. I think Jane has done such a great job with this team. Leadership for them, you can tell they've had strong leaders this year. You know, it was kind of fun watching not only the two teams prior to our game battle, but it was fun watching the two teams back in the tunnel handle, Okay, we're ready to go, now we don't get to go. We have to go back to the locker room. We had to stretch two times at least. That was fun. That's some of the joys of playing in a conference tournament. We're really excited to advance. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Moriah, I think you missed five three‑pointers last game, you came out here and make a bunch in the first half. Anything particularly different? Were you feeling it? MORIAH FAULK: I have to give all the credit to my teammates. They just continue to encourage me, give me the ball and tell me to shoot it. So all credit goes to them. Q. There was the point where you fell mid‑court. What was that all about? MORIAH FAULK: I went to make a pass to Taylor. I just rolled my ankle. Q. Taylor, how big was it to get that contribution from Moriah coming off the bench? TAYLOR THOMPSON: Our bench did awesome tonight. I can't tell you how many points they contributed, but that's a full team effort. Tonight was definitely a whole team. Coming off the bench, we had tremendous, tremendous effort. So, I mean, it was key for us to win tonight, for everyone to do their best. Q. They get up five points with three and a half minutes left, then you went on a 10‑0 run. Did you feel a sense of urgency? TAYLOR THOMPSON: I mean, definitely, it could have easily gone either way. We could have either got down. But instead I felt like we had great leadership and our team came together. We said, We got to get some stops. We did a great job going into the half doing that. We ended up pulling out in front of them. That gave us good momentum going into the half. I mean, our team handled it very well. Q. Then you go on a further run in the second half. How important was that? TAYLOR THOMPSON: We had great defensive stops that got us great points on the other end. That was very key for us to go on that run in the second half. We played well together tonight defensively and offensively. You couldn't ask for a better team contribution. Q. Bree, can you talk about what that was like, having to wait through. BREE FARLEY: It was a little strange. Like coach said, we were ready to go, then we had to wait another five or ten minutes. We were ready to go again. I think for us we just had to remember that we still had to win our game. We had to try and focus on right now it doesn't matter who wins this game, we have to focus on winning our game, otherwise we won't advance. It was hard to stay focused on what we were doing. I think, you know, our coaches and leaders did a good job of keeping us together. Q. Their tall center, you were still attacking the basket despite her presence there. Was that part of the game plan? BREE FARLEY: I mean, just attacking the basket was deliberate for us. Getting anyone in foul trouble helps us out. It just happened to be Mimi on this occasion. Q. Bree, the way you finished the first half and started the second half, you're cooking like that, what is that like to be a part of it? BREE FARLEY: It's exciting. The first time we played Nevada, it was a score‑for‑score game. We knew if we got into that scrappy kind of game, it was going to be hard to finish. It was crucial for us to go into the second half with momentum. It just continued on for us. It's fun to play that kind of basketball. Q. Moriah, there were a lot of games where you scored five points or less. What was that like after having a non‑conference period where you were scoring in double‑digits? Was it hard to keep yourself in it? MORIAH FAULK: No. My main focus isn't scoring. When I wasn't scoring, I was just trying to look for my teammates and get them easy scores. Yeah, it's just a team effort, so scoring wasn't a big deal. Q. Moriah, usually when it comes to zone defense, you're pretty good about finding the right person and passing. Today being more of a conscious scorer, did you know that was going to be your role? MORIAH FAULK: I was just trying to take what the defense was giving me. They were leaving me open in the high post. I was just taking open shots. Q. Is this exciting or is it just business as usual to be back in a championship game? TAYLOR THOMPSON: I mean, it's exciting to be in this tournament, obviously going into the championship is exciting. It's definitely business. We're here for one goal, and that's to win a championship. We're definitely going to try and do that tomorrow night. BREE FARLEY: It's definitely a matter of just knowing what you're here for. Our team keeps talking about our time here, that nothing's guaranteed. It is exciting to go on to the next round. When we started in this tournament, that wasn't guaranteed for us. I'm really proud of our girls and coaching staff to get into this championship game. Hopefully we can just win tomorrow. COACH PEBLEY: I want to add, a lot of questions about Mo and her scoring. But Mo also had three steals and three offensive rebounds and six total boards. I think her bringing a presence to the floor in those other areas allow her mentality offensively to play smart and play Fresno State‑style basketball. She brings more to us than scoring. When she's rebounding and playing great defense, I love how Mo is embracing post defense as well as perimeter defense, we feel like that's a cherry on top. THE MODERATOR: We'll continue with questions for coach. Q. You drain your first 8 of 13 three‑pointers in the first half there. What was happening that would allow you to hit at such a high rate? COACH PEBLEY: Well, we moved the ball well. I think there was opportunities that our players didn't pass up that were good shot attempts, and the right players are taking them. But we also talked a lot about, you know, let's not finish this game taking 38 threes. We've got to approach and attack the basket, the rim. Those threes are going to be there, but we've got to build our confidence in the paint as well. I liked the balance we were able to find. Q. This rivalry, if you want to call it a rivalry, was very one‑sided. Do you get a sense that the other side is catching up a little bit? COACH PEBLEY: I think Jane's done an excellent job. You know, they had a roster this year with a lot of players that had a lot of experience. I think experience is always going to help you, no matter if that experience is on the floor or on the bench. Jane's experience, as well. Excellent coach with a ton of wins under her belt. You look at our whole entire conference, we've got Gordy Presnell with I think over 500, Joe Legerski with hundreds and hundreds of wins, Jane with her track record as well, Kathy Olivier. There's so many great coaches in this league. I don't think it's just Nevada has elevated their play, I think our whole league has done that. You see in the conference that all teams were beating each other. It was just a dogfight throughout the whole year. You had to bring your best game every game. Q. Talking about those dogfights, all the barn burners you had, second game in a row you get five players in double figures, is that a good thing going into the championship, that it hasn't been stressful these last two games? COACH PEBLEY: It hasn't been stressful (laughter)? Q. As stressful? COACH PEBLEY: As stressful? It feels stressful. No worries there. It's exciting. We're really blessed with a bunch of players that work hard at developing their skills and their versatility. We have a lot of players that can put the ball in the hole. But Colorado State does, too. I think our two teams match up to each other really, really well. We're very similar in how we're built. We're both going to try and put the ball in the hands of our best scorers whenever we can. The players are the ones that knock it down. We coaches just get to clap a lot when they do it. Q. Does your approach change at all going into triple overtime and having slightly more tired legs? COACH PEBLEY: Not at all. I remember being a student‑athlete. It's getting longer and longer ago every day. But when you hit this time of year, you don't think about your legs. You don't think about fatigue. You're thinking about the task. So I think they're a deep team. I think there were players that didn't play those minutes that you might think because they fouled out in regulation, early. I think it would be a mistake to just think, Oh, they're going to be tired. We both had two days off leading into this game. I think, again, our approach will be the same as if they hadn't played a triple overtime. Q. Getting Mimi into foul trouble and still attacking the basket early on, was that part of the game plan there? COACH PEBLEY: It wasn't a specific strong focus that we have to find ways to attack Mimi. But we just told our players, we tried to bring not too much attention to Mimi. By doing that, that continues to allow us to be focused on our strengths. They go against Jacinta in practice every single day. Their fundamentals need to come into play. You have to protect your shot, you got to shoulder off, you got to stay focused and fingertip finish and all those things. If Mimi is going to foul, Mimi is going to foul. Don't become consumed. I've coached 6'7", 6'6" players before, you see teams stop being aggressive and not collapse the defense. It wasn't focused effort to attack her, but I'm glad to see we weren't afraid. Q. Coach Albright was talking about the zone, attacking their point guard that you were showing in the second half. Can you describe what you do? COACH PEBLEY: No. I won't. But it's nothing new. We've been doing it all year. Again, we're not putting anything new at this time of year. Players need to play instinctually. I felt like their defense was very good. If we overadjusted as a coaching staff, our players would be thinking too much. They needed to just play, play instinctually, play confidently. That goes for the defensive end as much as the offensive end. Q. Moriah has been up and down with her outside shot. She was on fire in the first half. Do you see her playing better as the season goes along? COACH PEBLEY: She definitely has played better as the season has gone on. I think, again, as I talked about in the last press conference, she's a player that went a year and a half without playing basketball. It's taken time for her to find her groove, her confidence, trust in her body and her knee that she's solid. I think she's just done a good job. I really think Mo has done a great job continuing to focus on preparation and practice. I'm big on practice. No player should come play for me if you don't like to practice. We practice. She has bought into practice, and that has made her a better player, a better teammate. Her teammates have told her, Mo, we can't win without you. We need you competitive in practice to help us. She listened to it, and teammates speak to one another way more powerfully than coaches do. I think that was huge for Mo. Q. It was only five points, but they get up on you. Anything that was said? COACH PEBLEY: Just trying to keep us confident, positive, committed. We didn't panic. You can't panic. Then experience. We were down quite a bit. Where were we down at? San Diego State right at the end of the regular season. Came back down double‑digits in the second half and won that game. Just knowing you can create your own runs. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. COACH PEBLEY: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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