Jan. 26, 2001
Head Coach Tara VanDerveer
Q. Can you talk about the way you played defensively tonight?
A. I thought our defense, especially on [Megan] Franza, was the key. I think there team is excellent - ball handlers, shooters, they're a perimeter-oriented team. We got hurt the most by their freshman post [Andrea Lalum], and all their players are strong offensive players, so we had to play good defense. We played teams defense, but Lauren [St. Clair] had the job on Franza, and I thought she did a really good job.
Q. Over the past few games it seemed like your height was almost a disadvantage, but tonight it wasn't - what was the difference?
A. Tonight was a real positive, hopefully a breakout game for Carolyn [Moos]. I thought she looked really good out there. Cori [Enghusen] was rushing a little it offensively. What I told our team at halftime was "Let's just get the ball down the court and get it to them [our post players] because Bethany [Donaphin] started scoring well, Carolyn was scoring, Chelsea [Trotter] helped us in there, Lindsey [Yamasaki] was posting well. Defensively, they used their size well - blocking shots and a lot of times Cori might not block shots but she changes shots. This is our team advantage. We have got to go inside and take advantage of Cori's size and Carolyn's size and let it work for us.
Q. What are you trying to do on offense to make it more fluid?
A. We're just trying to simplify things for Nicole [Powell] because she's being asked to do a lot, and we're also asking other people like Lauren and Lindsey and everyone else to handle the ball more. We need other people to help handle the ball so that it's not all one person. We're going to need Nicole gaining from the experience, really cutting down and making better decisions and everyone helping her.
Q. Was your this being your 200th Pac-10 victory special?
A. Every win is special. Playing well is special and not having anyone get hurt is very special.
Q. What did you do tonight defensively against Franza?
A. She's a lefty, and I know she likes to drive left, so that was a big thing for me - trying to stop her penetration and force her to go right. She's also an excellent three-point shooter, so I had to get out on her. We also switched a lot, so it wasn't just me guarding her. My teammates did a really good job as well.
Q. Was it nice playing at Maples?
A. It is really nice. It was our first home game while we were in school [since winter break], so it's nice when your friends can come and more students show up.
Q. Are you feeling more comfortable with every game?
A. Definitely. Every team we play, every Pac-10 game, that brings more experience for me and for the rest of the team as far as handling the ball. Definitely more comfortable with each game - especially playing at home.