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Opening statement
"It is the start of the third season – the non-conference, conference, and now post season. It is always exciting and there is always a little bit of a shot of adrenaline with post season. We are coming off a good week actually. I say actually because we got the split and we didn't win two games, but I thought we played well both games. We won at Washington State and we had a pretty solid and convincing win which was nice because we hadn't had a convincing win in a while. We led from start to finish and ended up winning by 17 points. We played at UW and I thought our team played really, really well. We did everything we needed to do to win, followed the game plan, and it was one of those historic games where Kelsey Plum broke the NCAA scoring record. It was quite an atmosphere, quite a game, but at the end of the day we played well and I think we improved. As we move into the Pac-12 Tournament, I think we can bottle some of that up and gain some momentum moving forward. We play Arizona State on Thursday in the tournament and we're looking forward to starting the post season."
On difference from Washington schools home and away…
"After the game on Saturday at UW, we talked about how we figured ourselves out. It took maybe too long as a team to figure out what makes us our best. Even the game against Oregon State at home, again our conference is just relentless and a gauntlet, so I thought at home against Oregon State we played pretty good. We played to our potential and couldn't beat OSU that game. In a different conference, you play that well then you get the win and the reward for playing that well. I just think we are playing well finally and figuring out what makes us our best version of ourselves and the team and players have bought into that. So what has changed? I think there is just more of a buy-in and one for all and all for one mentality. It has just taken too long and there were games that we will look back on and will haunt us. If we had been playing how we have played in the last couple of weeks we would have won. That is sports. Could have, should have, would have, is annoying and I hate to sit up here and say it. We are just playing well but this conference is ridiculous. It is insane. We are in the top-60 RPI and we are the 12-seed. We lost every tiebreaker somehow and we go undefeated in non-conference and we are the 12-seed. That is the fun part of being in the Pac-12 but that is the frustrating part too. It is a gauntlet so onward we go."
On Paige Crozon last weekend…
"She was great. She was the Paige we all know. She was shooting fearlessly and knocking down big shots and that was the big thing our whole team did against UW. We always say answer, if the team scores and we need to answer back the next play and we did a nice job of that. Paige did that several times. She is shooting confidently and getting good shots. I think offensively everybody is scoring the ball better, moving the ball better, and just playing with a lot more confidence and it really shows. How Paige is playing, scoring, rebounding, and defending that is a great personification of how the whole team is playing."
On being a part of Kelsey Plum's historic night…
"It was spectacular. The atmosphere was incredible. I have played in packed arenas before but that one had electricity and energy to it that I hadn't been a part of. The game, like I said, we did everything we needed to do and their other All-American Chantel Osahor fouled out at the beginning of the fourth quarter so here we go. We had been battling and we were right there. We never took the lead but we were knocking on the door and I thought that was a potential momentum shift for us when she fouled out. Counter intuitively, it lit a fire under Kelsey Plum like get out of my way. It actually didn't work in our favor. We tried everything. We were running two people at her, trapping ball screens, pressing to try to get the ball out of her hands, it was spectacular. At the end of the game, I was proud of our team because we didn't quit and we didn't fold. We kept answering. I used all my timeouts just to try to get the crowd to calm down. It was so loud and every time she touched the ball in the last five or six minutes everyone was on their feet and screaming. As a player, I can imagine that would fuel you. It was impressive and unbelievable. After the game, it's not like I wanted to be on SportsCenter but we did. You have to tip your hat. She is the best player in the country I think. The cool thing with her is she has really worked for it. She is a 5-8 kid from California she it isn't like she was put on the cover of Sports Illustrated when she was 16 as the chosen one. She has worked her tail off and put the work in. You like to see players like that get rewarded. She has put the work in and I commend her for that and respect her for that. It was impressive, quite an atmosphere, quite a scene, and I don't know if I will ever experience something like that ever again. It was a pretty cool moment for women's basketball."
On playing Arizona State in the tournament…
"They are tough in every sense of the word. They are physically and mentally tough. They try to frustrate you and get under your skin. It feels like a season ago that we played them. We played them in January. I think we are a different team and they probably are too. I don't know how much we can look at that film. The way the schedule works in the Pac-12 is you only play four teams once and they are one of those teams we have played one time. I don't know how much we can look at that and say this is what they are going to do, this is what we are going to do. I think the teams have evolved for better or worse as the season has gone. Historically, they are very tough. They will make the NCAA tournament. They have been a top-20 most of the season. I don't know that they are right now. If they aren't, they are right there. They just lost a really close game at home to UCLA. They are good. They are very well coached. The thing I always say about ASU is they are who they are. They play to their identity in terms they are physically tough and they will defend you. They kind of make the game ugly in a way, I say that respectively. We have our hands full. I am looking forward to the challenge. I think it is a new season and we are playing well right now. I know our team is excited to get over there. I think it is kind of dumb luck that we lost every tie breaker. It just speaks to the strength of the conference and how good everybody is. It is a gauntlet. Whoever wins between us and ASU gets to face UCLA. Wow, okay. The winner of that game gets to face the winner of Oregon State and whoever they play. It is a grind. That tournament is going to be the best basketball in the country. Everybody on one floor, it will be pretty cool."
On how important practice is at home before going on the road…
"I think it is important. We need to be smart. If you have a plan, everybody does, to win, then you don't want to overdo it so you run out of gas. I think we will have to have a mental skill day today. We'll talk about our opponent, game plan, that kind of thing. We will get some shots up, do some skill stuff and really game plan. Then tomorrow, we will really get after it. Wednesday will be a pregame practice. More than anything, mentally, we have to be dialed in. We will be. Arizona State will be too. Everybody turns up the intensity to another level and that means mentally too."
