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MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 6, 2017Jane AlbrightT MoeLas Vegas, Nevada Fresno State - 62 Nevada - 57 COACH JANE ALBRIGHT: Well, just congratulations to Fresno State. Bego had quite a night. We didn't have a plan for her. We had plan A, B, C and D, and none of them really worked. Her numbers, 16 and 25, First Team All Conference, I believe. Did they announce that just before? I'll make her First Team All Conference. I'm not sure. We certainly voted for her. Jaime did a nice job. Her guards are very unselfish. They did a really nice job. And I felt like the first half we were pretty tentative. Most of us were very tentative. I think that comes from just kind of the year, not being able to close out games. Being in that one-possession game and not really being able to make the play and get a win. And don't have the confidence that I know this group will have next year after they have another off season. I thought it was T Moe's best game of the year, which doesn't surprise me at all, she's had a great couple, three weeks. Most of you know what her history is, but she didn't have one ACL or two ACL's but three ACL's, but I've never heard of a basketball player coming back and wanting to play. And just the fact that she has done that. And for two seasons she didn't really have an off season. And she'll have an off season, she can get in the gym and work. And I know that next coach that Doug and Rhonda are going to hire are going to have a lot of talent. They're great, coachable players. They didn't shoot the ball very well today. Some days we did. A week ago we scored 108 points, and that was a big old hoop. And credit that probably to Fresno State's defense, I think shots were hard to come by. I just want to close by just thanking University of Nevada and the women's basketball family there, Rhonda and Doug and Rory and Cary Groth, who brought me here, and all the people that worked behind the scenes. This is a great basketball conference. I know you all invest a lot in women's basketball in this conference, and I know you talk a lot about wanting to be a two-team, three-team league, and you've got the coaches and the players that certainly will get it there. And I will be cheering. Congratulations to Joe for coach of the year. He had a team that was near the bottom last year, and came back and even after Liv went down. So it was just a lot of great things going on in this league. And I'm going to be a great cheerleader. Thanks to all the fans everywhere. People have been so kind to me and I'm very, very blessed to have to game. I'm blessed to have this player. All the players, really at Nevada. We do a lot of community service. We've got great grades and they certainly are a great group of young people and I'm very, very proud of what we were able to do. That was a long opening statement, I know, but I guess I get to have one tonight. Q. Can you just kind of tell us, break down what took place in the fourth quarter. You made that run, really had the momentum going into the final period. Seemed like Bego took over. It just seemed like she kind of went on a mission for that final quarter. What took place on your end, from your perspective that you could not keep the momentum and finish the job? T MOE: I just think that we lost focus for a little bit. We know what kind of player she is and that she can take over games like that, and we didn't lock down the way we should have. COACH JANE ALBRIGHT: She had 7 blocks. I think she still leads the league in blocks. Our guards kept thinking we could drive. We know not to do that, but we had such trouble knocking down shots, that's kind of our DNA. She's a great player, she almost had a triple double. She was three blocks from that. And it just really -- give her the game ball. Q. On a personal note, T, away from the game and away from the court will you take as far as life lessons from Coach Albright? What are some of the things that you'll value? T MOE: I think the main thing that comes to mind is that there's more to life than this game. And more than the W's on the court. I came in out of high school and was kind of ball is life, I didn't care about anything but basketball. I had the basketball taken away from me for the first time in my life. And then ACL No. 2 and 3 came. I think they're blessings. I think I've grown as a person and knowing there's more to life. It's about the people, it's about the relationships, it's about the community. It's not just about the game. COACH JANE ALBRIGHT: And about a degree. She's already graduated. And she was student-athlete of the month. So she's a really, really smart young lady. It took her coming to the University of Nevada for her to figure that out. She thought she was a who needs to study. She's kind of a nerd now, you should see her in the classroom. Q. What are you going to take from this game that's going to allow you to move on in life and apply those things? COACH JANE ALBRIGHT: We did our best. For me it's not about a game. This game was going to happen. We were going to lose tonight or the next night or the next night. There's going to be a last game. It's documented pretty well. I'm just grateful and thankful. This was a struggle. It was kind of a microcosm of our season. We got looks, and we just couldn't make them. And then we would try it again. But they never quit. And that's really what I'm really proud of them because it's hard -- it's a hard thing when you can't score. We shot, what, 12 percent in the second quarter, but we just kept going. So I know when I came to University of Nevada I was left with a lot of really good players. We had -- Kim had done an outstanding job of getting players here. And we were able to have some early success. And with a very veteran team. This year we had one senior. And these kids are going to be older and wiser and better. And I'm really excited about the team that we have. And I know someone will add some people to them because the numbers are down. But I'm really excited about just that they -- this was a lot for them to handle this last week. Every time we walked anywhere somebody had to come hug me or give me a card or do something, and they didn't let it distract them. They just played as hard as they could, and really tried to get that W, and that really meant the world. Q. I didn't mean this game tonight, the game, itself. COACH JANE ALBRIGHT: So not literally the game. Oh, the game? The game is like greatest, is it not? Is women's college basketball, men's college basketball, the game is just great. Look what it does for everybody. It pays for education. It brings communities together, whether you make 500,000 or 10,000, it doesn't matter, you get to root for young people and watch people like Mimi Mungedi come from Africa and she couldn't even do a figure 8 and then you watch her get drafted in the WNBA. And you get to see growth. It's a growth mind set. This game is a great game. And just keep putting resources in it. My school, they're just the most awesome school. You know our year hasn't been what we wanted it to be. They chartered us home the other night to get us a good night's sleep. They spent all that money on us rather than just saying the season's a wash. So those kind of support, growth, community, the game is awesome. It's just got so many great people and it's paid for education and gives us lessons to learn and a way for us to give back to communities that really no other sport in my opinion does as much as women's basketball, all over the country. I mean, from Geno to the high school coach to the junior high -- there's just -- there's people everywhere that give to it and we have certainly received -- there's so many young coaches and there's older coaches and there's just -- it's just -- I mean college football is a close second. But it's still second. Basketball is a big old ball and you get to see them. You see their faces and you see their emotions. It's the greatest game. It is. Not the NBA. It's college. Men's and women's basketball. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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