Jan. 4, 2006

Recap |  Box Score

UD HEAD COACH Jim Jabir

"I told the team that I was happy that we could win ugly tonight. Historically, we have not matched up well with them because of their athleticism. Just trying to get here was such a grueling experience. To see us show the kinda heart it took to get through it and win. That's what winners do. They find a way to win."

What effect did the travel problems have on the team's performance tonight?

"I thought the coaches did a good job of keeping players as fresh as we could. I thought it was very evident that we were tired and it really effected us."

What did you do to keep the team going while the lead was slipping away in the second half?

"Every game we watch of UMass they dig themselves into a hole and then fight their way back in it. They have got a lot of heart. For us it was just like the Samford game when we made foul shots when we needed it. Once the game was tied, "J" (Jennifer Strong) made a big basket for us that gave us a bit of a cushion. Kiki (Lund) hit a baseline jumper in there as well. Then when we needed a stop, we got it. It was sloppy, but we got a stop and then we made foul shots at the end."

On the play of Nikki Oakland

"What we would really like is to have three of four players in double figures very night. Tonight would have been a lot different story if Nikki didn't show up and do what she did. She kinda saved us. That was really important. What we still need to develop is consistency. We need to know what to expect from each player every night."

On the holding UMass without a three-point field goal

"We knew who the three-point shooters were. There were only a couple of them and we did a great job of taking them away. The thing that we need to get better at overall is our field goal percentage defense. I think we are giving up 39 percent shooting. I want to get down to 35 percent and three-point shot is one aspect of it."

How does the team regroup for George Washington on Friday?

"Hopefully we will get some sleep tonight and traveling won't take too much out of us. Again we will need to show some character and just show up and play. We need to do what works best for us. We need to minimize our weaknesses and take advantage of our strengths. It is going to be a really tough game, but that is how you build a program. We haven't beaten GW, but our coaches do a great job of making adjustments and reading things so I think that we will be ready."