University of Tennessee Athletics
Boise State Press Conference Transcript (3/20/15)
March 20, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Boise State Head Coach Gordy Presnell
(Opening statement)
"We're excited to be here just like everyone. It's a long way from Boise to Knoxville, but obviously this place has been the bar for years and years of women's basketball so it's going to be fun to get to participate here."
(On being among the national leaders per game in three-point attempts)
"We have always used eight as a mark, especially defensively we don't want our opponents to have eight threes. But we have always thought if we hit eight threes we have a chance to be in the game. The most we hit this year was 15. We have spent a lot of time shooting and developing our shot. Deanna [Weaver] has had a great career shooting the three-pointer and Brooke [Pahukoa] has really come on down the stretch this season shooting the three. Three point attempts are kind of our bread and butter in some ways but a lot of times we generate those out of skips and dribble-drive or off post entry. They are not out there shooting a first side three."
(On the NCAA Tournament)
"We are here to compete, like I said earlier, when you play in the NCAA Tournament you want to play the best and we have the opportunity to play one of the best and certainly one of the best all-time programs. We don't have to be the best team, we just have to be the best team for 40 minutes. We will compete and just see where it goes."
(On if he has ever coached against Tennessee)
"I have never coached here. We haven't played Tennessee before. But, obviously, anybody that has been in women's basketball as long as I have, this is our 29th year, is familiar with Tennessee and all their accomplishments, the tradition, the legacy, the outstanding coaches they have had here, both Holly [Warlick] and Pat Summitt. It is an opportunity for us for sure and one we don't take lightly and are looking forward to."
(On what made the late surge happen this season)
"Our young kids developed through the course of the year and we got healthy at a couple key positions. Our point guard play has improved dramatically in the last four or five weeks. We have gotten a little bit more healthy and some confidence. We had some pretty good pieces for our conference to compete at and we just hadn't put it together until the tournament and kind of put it together. We were able to grind out with rebounding and defense and we hadn't done that throughout the course of the year, we kind of outshot people. So I feel really good about that going into tomorrow."
Boise State Senior Guard Deanna Weaver
(On doing some sightseeing in Knoxville)
"We just came from [the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame] today actually. We got to visit there. It was good. Everyone got to get around and take pictures and look at everything so it was a really great experience seeing that."
(On the team's reaction when they saw they had been paired with Tennessee in the first round)
"I was excited when I saw we were playing Tennessee. It was kind of a toss-up, we didn't really know who we were going to be playing. So when I saw it was Tennessee I was excited because I know this is a great place to play and they are a great team."
(On their experience playing in hostile environments on the road)
"We've definitely played in hostile environments before. Especially coming off this New Mexico game, they had a lot of fans and stuff there. And always at their house they have a lot of fans and everything there. So I don't really think that will be a problem. Just as long as we stay focused and stay together and communicate with one another we'll be fine."
Boise State sophomore guard Brooke Pahukoa
(On the importance of the 3-point shot for Boise State's success)
"I think it's important but we have a lot of weapons on our team, not just three-point shooting. It's nice; it racks up points pretty fast for us. But I think it's not what we do best. We work as a team and sometimes our post players are hitting in the paint and sometimes our guards are outside. So it just kind of depends on the day."
(On whether BSU can compare Tennessee to any team they've faced this season)
"I don't think so. Every team is different in their own aspects. So you can't really compare any team I don't think. But Tennessee has weapons in every position and we're going to do the best we can and play our game. We've really been focusing on us, though, and making sure that we come out and play how we want to play and come out the right way and play for our seniors like Deanna [Weaver]. Just have fun and enjoy the journey that we're on."
(On winning the Mountain West Tournament as the four-seed)
"We were just working together really well and grinding through other team's runs. Throughout the season, once teams got a run on us we kind of shut down. But in the last two weeks leading up to the tournament we had just a change in our mentality and what we were thinking and we knew our goal and we were sticking to it and that was winning our tournament."
