Jan. 7, 2007
Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson
On the game
"I actually thought our intensity and energy on the defensive end was good in the first half, but we always talk about the importance of the first five minutes of the second half. Today was the first game of the year where we increased a lead, and yes we made our shots but I thought we did a much better job on the defensive boards."
On the play of Jen Gottschalk
"She definitely made it look easy today. Jen is the type of player that has a nose for the ball. Her teammates did a good job of finding her, but she is so good at finding the ball around the basket, and she did a great job of finishing tonight."
On the play of the guards
"Their play helps us tremendously. Today, even though she wasn't scoring, Ashley was getting her teammates involved and still being a factor. Tracey Walker also gave us some good minutes tonight and was a nice scoring threat for us."
Forward Jen Gottschalk
On the game
"We've had all week to practice and improve, and in the second half today everyone came together and we knew what we had to do. To see how it all turned out was really exciting."
On scoring 27 points and grabbing nine rebounds underneath against SMC's post players
"Its tough down there, but the coaches kept telling me all week that I'd need to box out. Their post players are good players, but we just worked our butts off to keep them out of there and grab rebounds."
Guard Chandice Cronk
On the team's shooting performance
"It was great to be on fire like we were in the second half, we got so many looks in transition and we were answering anytime they would score, too. Everyone today just shot really well."
On the post players also scoring big
"Jen and Gonny played amazing today. It was great to see them scoring and getting rebounds down low, because it opened us up on the outside. When we have balance in our scoring, it will open up the scoring opportunities for us."
On heading up to the Pacific Northwest next week
"Its great to start conference play off with a bang, and it gives us confidence heading into two tough games on the road. Hopefully we will keep it up and play like we did today."