It was a long week (in Arizona) but the girls didn't have any trouble getting excited about this game. We knew it would be a tough game, and the kids got back to playing better defense.

They have a tendency to get into foul trouble and I told the girls to look to attack them and that is exactly what they did.

(The Falcons have) done a good job of really being physical and limiting us offensively. Every shot Cassidy was taking she had two people on her making sure it was a tough shot. We needed other people to step up.

You need to make sure you're sending the right messages to the kids. No. 1, the season is not over. No. 2, we're a good team. No. 3, our most important basketball is ahead of us.

I don't think we came out 100 percent ready to play the second half. With our lead, we probably relaxed just a bit. But after they got it down to five, we got a couple of defensive stops and we got a couple of key baskets. You consider our youth (four seniors, five freshmen), and this was definitely a learning experience.

Kayla is an incredible athlete. I can't say enough about her talent. There are times when we just can't defend her, but at least she made tough shots. She worked for it.