March 3, 2007

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SAN JOSE, Calif. - 2007 State Farm Pac-10 Women's Basketball Tournament
Game 3 - No. 3 California vs. No. 6 Oregon - March 3, 2007
Post-Game Quotes

California Head Coach Joanne Boyle, the Pac-10 Coach of the year
General Comments: "I thought it was a great second half by our team. I thought we started off strong getting stops, getting the footing on the other end. I thought we had a real let down the first two or three minutes of the game. We really emphasized at half time that you only have one chance at this tournament. We're lucky to be up one. We only have 20 minutes left and what are we going to do in that 20 minutes. I thought the kids responded great and understanding that one game and you're done."

On what they changed at the half: "Defensively, we went to more of a pressing zone. I think they took three quick shots. We got the transition off of that and pushed the lead a little bit. So I think changing the defense at that particular time helped us a little bit."

On if they used the last Oregon game as motivation: "I don't think we used it as motivation, I think we used the tournament as finishing off this season as being a really great team. That was the regular season, and now we're in the Pac-10 Tournament and what does that mean? So I don't think that was a revenge factor. I don't think that was our best basketball out there (in Eugene Feb. 15). I think that was a time when we were going through one of our little separate ways and hit the wall, and we were able to finish on a good weekend with UCLA and USC, and then it was about starting fresh down here."

California Guard, Natasha Vital:
On what she did differently this time against Oregon: "I just tried to penetrate a lot more in this game to draw fouls to get to the line and get some baskets. I also focused on the defensive end."

California Forward/Center Ashley Walker:
On foul trouble: "I had to concentrate harder on defense. In that first game, I got in foul trouble, and I just couldn't let that affect me because here it's one and you're done. So, I had to work."

California Forward/Center Devanei Hampton:
On if she felt pressure in this game after being named Pac-10 Player of the Year: "No, it's the same game routine for me. Triple team, double team me and Ashley, kick it out, we score."

Oregon Head Coach Bev Smith
General Comments: "Well obviously disappointing for us in terms of the loss. I thought it was a really good game throughout the first half and deep into the second half, and we were pretty even, if you look at the stat sheet, I think we had about five or six more shots than Cal did. We just weren't as on as we needed to be in postseason play and to be able to hit those open shots is really, really important. I think we got a little bit distracted with their change-up defense and we just weren't as precise as we needed to be in executing against their zone and had some unforced turnovers that gave them some momentum and obviously took some momentum away from us. I think that was the difference in the game. We had 20 turnovers and any time you give a team like Cal those extra opportunities you're going to be in for a hard battle and your chances for success are slim.

"Having said that though, I think we still had a chance and our team battled to the very end and just kept coming, and that's what this team has done all year. I'm very proud of this team in terms of where we came from to where we ended up. We've had some great senior leadership and three of those seniors are here with me today in Cicely (Oaks), Eleanor (Haring), and Carolyn (Ganes). I thought Carolyn had an outstanding game and got it going for us in the first half and was all over the floor for loose balls. That's just a sign of how hard she played and how badly she wanted to win this game and keep us going in this tournament. But we lost to a very good team and give some credit to them for us not playing as well as we needed to and not knocking down those shots."

On Cal's defensive switch:"Obviously we had seen they were very successful for their 1-2-1-1 three-quarter court and their zone press against UCLA. That was big for them in their comeback. We watched that and looked at it with our team this year. We're usually a pretty good team against some zone defenses. We've got some shooters, and I think we've got the inside players. There was just a little confusion at times when they were in their man and when they were in their zone. I think when we did attack it we were fine, but they kept changing it up and I think what really took some seconds off the shot clock for us was their 1-2-1-1. It took some time off our shot clock so that we couldn't get organized as well as we wanted to. And then having said that, we still had some pretty nice shots. We got inside a couple times for assists, had some good penetration, some good looks. (Ganes) had some good looks they just didn't fall. Those hit and maybe they're out of that press."

Oregon's Eleanor Haring
On offensive struggles:
"I think I wasn't really putting myself in positions that are really my strengths and then my shots weren't falling at all. That's pretty much on me. I have to put myself in better positions and attack it a little bit more."

Oregon's Carolyn Ganes
On Cal's Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton: "Walker and Hampton are excellent players. They work really well together. We definitely, offensively and defensively, had to think about those two constantly throughout the game, and they did a great job today."

On halftime momentum: "Yeah I think we definitely felt like we'd put ourselves in position to win the game going into the half and sometimes when you go into halftime you have those 15 minutes, and it's really hard to carry that momentum over that time. I think it was just one of those times where we couldn't quite get it going again."