March 23, 2009
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SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Postgame Quotes in PDF Format
San Diego State University Head Coach Beth Burns
Opening Statement:
"Congratulations to Stanford, they're a great team. They're great champions. They almost seem machine-like at times. They're expressionless and exquisite in their precision. I thought we did as well as we could in a lot of aspects of the game of trying to keep them off the three-point line and trying not to let them get the kind of offensive rebounding that the second rebounding team usually does, but we really had no answer for (Nnemkadi Ogwumike). I think that's usually your challenge when you can't guard any of their bigs one-on-one and we've certainly exposed ourselves. She is such a fabulous athlete and it's just remarkable she's just a freshman. I said a couple of days ago, I thought Jeanette Pohlen was the difference in their team, but I think she really makes them go and makes them play at a great tempo.
"We really struggled to generate any kind of offensive flow. We had (Quenese Davis) handle the ball too long and they're lanes bothered us. I think we rushed and we tried to get everything quickly. Obviously, the foul trouble with both (Jennifer Layton-Bailes) and Paris (Johnson) put us in a tough spot. I think that (Kalena) Tutt and (Candace) Chambers did a fine job coming off the bench when you look at the numbers. They haven't given us offense all year long and that hurt us there. (Stanford) didn't have to guard anybody down low with a double and they were able to bring that much more pressure on us, but they're a great team. We wish them much success and I think they have a great chance to continue to advance all the way through this thing."
On where the program is headed:
"Our first goal is to just assemble a team and get respect, and I think we have done that. When you say San Diego State, we don't want someone to say `they had a good year last year.' We want people to hear San Diego State and know that we are perennial Mountain West Conference contenders and always in the hunt. Our goal is to springboard from what we got against DePaul and learn from Stanford and take this dance further next year. The gap is closing because there are so many good players. There's lots of good players that hopefully have seen this beautiful arena and liked the way we competed and that will help us get better."
San Diego State University Junior Guard Quenese Davis
On Stanford guarding the lay-ups:
"I think that made the ball stay in my hand a little bit longer. I couldn't pass the ball like I usually do. We couldn't get into an offensive flow. If I would have thrown it up, we probably still wouldn't be able to do anything because of their length and size. It kind of slowed down the tempo that we usually play at."
On the physicality of the game:
"I think we matched their physicality for most of the game. At times we got a little bit tired. Coming out of the second half wasn't as promising because we came out a little slow. We didn't hold that tempo but we played well."
San Diego State University Sophomore Center Paris Johnson
On Stanford's size:
"They are a great team. Their size was the main thing that slowed our tempo down on offense. Our defense was up against two posts, (going) down on their huge bodies. We did what we could. At times it wasn't enough, but we fought to the end."
On the physicality of the game:
"It was a very physical game. Being in foul trouble early was frustrating because I felt like I couldn't play my physical game against them. It brought me out of my game, but I knew I couldn't let that get me down because every time I came in I picked it up a little bit more. I tried to be physical every time. If I didn't get the call then it was fine, I just kept going at them. We tip our hats to those two post players. (Jayne Appel) is a great player and it was good experience for me to go up against her. She's a big body. It's been an experience for me to continue on with for next year to get better and stronger."
San Diego State University Junior Guard Jené Morris
On Stanford's size being a factor in the game:
"We really haven't had to play a team that big. (Positions) 1 through 5, every player was bigger than us. Going into the game we knew this, and we were going to try to rely on our speed and quickness to out play their length. They did a very good job of getting back. I think we played defense pretty well. We got a couple of turnovers, but we weren't able to convert on those shots because they had two players running back with us."
On the physicality of the game:
"We tried to rely on our speed and when it came down to it, it got really physical on the inside. We haven't really had to play that this whole season and I think that we weren't used to it. It slowed us down and we didn't have the size to compete with them. It was a very physical game as far as coming off of our screens and they were bumping us on our cuts. It was hard to compete inside with both of our big players in foul trouble. We had to get a different chemistry going as far as our defensive and offensive personnel. It was a different type of game than what we've been used to."