TWU QUOTES
Head coach Beth Jillson:
“It was a great game between both teams,” said Jillson. “West Texas hadn’t been beaten here, they have a great tradition and congratulations to them. I’m really excited with the way we played. We really fought. Despite getting in foul trouble and struggling offensively, our defense came through. We had some players step up and hit big shots. We were in a good position with 18 seconds. We knew could win or lose the game.”
“This is huge for our program because tonight we broke the all-time wins record in school history, and I think we raised the bar for the future,” said Jillson. “ I’m proud of our senior class. They continued to fight throughout the year.”
“Tabbatha Thurmond hit some big three’s for us, while Taja Guerin and Jeanee Thompson held Simmons inside,” said Jillson. “Everyone stepped up for us and the key was ball pressure. We wanted to force them to make plays, but it was truly a team effort.”
Kayla Weaver:
“Though I didn’t have the best offensive night, I wanted to keep my head in the game,” said Weaver. “I’m offensive minded, but I refocused to tried and help my team defensively. It’s important to get the hot hands, like Jessica, the ball.”
Jessica Hannah:
“My recent success is because of my teammates,” said Hannah. “They help me get open and pass the ball around. It’s not just me, it’s my teammates.”
WTAMU QUOTES
West Texas A&M quotes
Krista Gerlich, West Texas A&M
“Congratulations to TWU. They played a great game. They fought hard. We knew it would be a tough to get past them when I saw the pairings. I thought there were times when we could’ve maybe held our head down but we didn’t and I’m proud of that.
“Probably should’ve called a timeout at the end and talked about what we wanted to do. We were trying to set a ball screen and maybe get Megan to the rim or Jasmine an early look. It just didn’t work. I’m to blame for that.”
“We just couldn’t get many of our shots to go down, even the easy layups. That’s part of basketball. You’ve got to focus all the way through. That’s how teams hold trophies above their head by keeping focus throughout the game.”
“I thought we were comfortable the whole second half. I felt we were in a good position when we took the lead. It’s all about stops and rebounds; we didn’t get them when we needed it most. That’s what games are about. It stinks to be on this end of it.”
“We are really excited about what we have coming back. We have a lot of freshman. Those girls know what it’s all about, throwing them to the fire. We don’t consider them that once December rolls around.”
“We’re not used to waiting and seeing about our future. We have to control the things we can control. We don’t like to have our destiny in the hands of a committee. Hopefully, they will look at our body of work and see the type of season we’ve played and the challenges we have overcome.”
“Bartlesville has done a great job. This tournament has been a class act. We loved being associated with it. “
Jamie Simmons, WTAMU player
“They did a good job taking out of my game. I got a few things fixed in the second half but by then I guess it was too late.”
Megan McLain, WTAMU player
“This season was certainly different than any of the three that I’ve been part of.”