Post-Game Q&A With Shantrell Sneed, Lauren Greif and Natasha Vital

During the open locker room period following the victory over Virginia, I had a chance to talk with senior Shantrell Sneed, juniors Lauren Greif and Natasha Vital about their thoughts on the game and setting Cal records.

CalBears.com: The first Sweet 16 appearance in California program history…what’s on your mind right now?
Lauren Greif: This is just exciting for the team. We had such high goals this year, and we get to keep going after them.
Natasha Vital: We’re excited. Especially to get over that hump of losing in the second round. We finally got there to the Sweet 16.
Shantrell Sneed: We’re still dancing for the first time in Cal history. We are just continuing to write our own history. We’re playing some of our best basketball at the perfect time.

CalBears.com: L.G, you had nine assists, which was a new career high. Were you aware of how many you were dishing out during the game?
LG: I was just trying to move the ball. We’ve been doing a lot better with ball movement. If someone had told me that I have nine, I would have passed to someone for a double-double.

CalBears.com: What was the key in stopping Virginia?
LG: Their transition. The first five plays of the game we didn’t do a good job of it. But then we really hunkered down.
NV: We had to stop their scorers. I think we did a pretty good job on No. 1 and No. 33. Monica Wright is a great player and she was really hard to guard.
SS: We were able to contain their big three players. They made their little run, but we came back and played great defense.

CalBears.com: What was the key for the Bears?
NV: Running our plays. Putting the ball in transition. Early in the game, we got a lot of give-me baskets. We moved the ball really well. We’ve been working on that in practice. We were also looking for the open man.
SS: Just staying poised and composed, and sharing the basketball. We found the open person. Despite them making a run, we never lost our poise or composure.
To see the Q&A on CalBears.com, click here.

Post-Game Quotes

California head coach Joanne Boyle

“I’m just proud of our team. At this time of the year, it is survive and advance. I thought we did a lot of really good things. Obviously we didn’t shoot the ball well but we found other ways to win and ultimately that is what it is.”

On game-plan against Fresno State

“The game-plan was to take away the three more so than anything and I think we did a really good job.”

On the prospect of Fresno State and Coach Adrian Wiggins and the future 

“He does a great job playing the chess match and trying the counter and I think he has been very successful with that.”

“He really uses an offense that is very cohesive for him and that works for him. I think that is part of being a great coach, putting in a system that really speaks to your player’s strengths.”

California forward/center Ashley Walker

On inspired play

“Now since I’m a senior and this is my last time going to the tournament, I kind of feel like I might as well leave everything I have out on the floor in these next couple of games.”

On being doubled in the post

“I’m use to be doubled, I just kind of do what I do every night. My teammates definitely helped me out. I kicked out well and when they hit, they hit and when they don’t, I try and do my best to go after the offensive rebound.”

California guard Natasha Vital

On perimeter defense

“Fresno State is a very athletic team. They penetrate a lot so we were really focused on our defense and trying to stop guard penetration. I think it really helped us out tonight. 

On shooting the three-ball to start the second half

“They were doubling down a lot on our post players and leaving us open, so we have got to take those shots. We weren’t making them a lot, but we made them when it counted.”

Cal: 49, FS: 30

Time remaining: 9:32

The Cal bench erupted after Natasha Vital drained a three-pointer:


They cheered again after Alexis Gray-Lawson made her first of the game:


The Bears opened the second half with a 13-1 run.

Casey Morris recently scored her first points in an NCAA Tournament game.

Ashley Walker scored 13 of Cal’s first 16 points within the first eight minutes of the game.

Walker came into tonight’s match-up with 54 career points against the Bulldogs occurring over the course of two games (Dec. 7, 2006 and Nov. 10, 2006).

Barring any major changes in in-game performances, Ashley Walker and Nastaha Vital (along with Joanne Boyle, of course) will participate in the post-game press conference. Stay tuned for quotes.

In-game blog notes:
Per NCAA rule, I’m only allowed to blog five times per half, once at halftime, and twice per overtime period. Please hit refresh on your browser window to see if I’ve posted any new updates about the game.

Player Journal: Natasha Vital

It’s good for us to play at the Galen Center because we were just here so we’re very familiar with the court, the rims and the locker rooms. We lost last time we played here, so we’re fired up and pumped up to be back out there and be able to play again.

Everyone’s wearing our team shirts. We came up with the idea for the t-shirts at a team meeting a couple weeks ago. We thought we weren’t playing as a unit as well as we could be so we came up with the phrase “The game is simple…with unity.” We can do anything together.

It’s nice to play someone like Fresno State, who is not a complete stranger. We played them last year, and it was a pretty close game. We’re kind of familiar with their style of play, so we’re ready to get out there and play.

We’re anxious to get out there and play. It feels like the week has gone by so slowly! We’re trying to get out there and play. We’re happy the game is tomorrow so we get to play.

Practice this week has been pretty normal for us. We haven’t been running as much to save our legs for the tournament. But other than that, practice has been pretty routine for us this past week.

My favorite part about the NCAA Tournament is playing! I love the atmosphere! It’s so much fun to get out there and play. Everyone’s bringing their “A” game to every single game. I’m excited to get out there and compete.

Go Bears!
~Tasha

Key notes on Natasha Vital:
Position: Guard
Height: 5-8
Year: Junior
Points per Game: 8.7
Rebounds per Game: 2.6
Assorted: Has dished out 99 assists; honorable mention All-Pac-10; honorable mention All-Defensive

To read Tasha’s journal entry on CalBears.com, click here.