Postgame Quotes
11/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2008
MILWAUKEE -
Utah Head Coach Elaine Elliott
Opening Statementââ'¬Â¦
"This was a real mental challenge. I am obviously very proud of the comeback and the effort of the second half. It was significantly better and it was nice to see. The comeback is a decision that the kids had to make. There's no speech. The point is: are you going to play another 20 minutes without any real interest in being here because I thought that really slowed us. It looked like we were in mud. They were twice as quick because we were twice as slow, and that always stems from your interest in being there. For whatever reason, I don't think we were sharp, and it showed. We were a step behind defensively and entirely in the first half. They got everything they wanted in the first half. I just think the team had made a decision to change that around in the second half. For us, we just shot poorly, especially from the 3-point area. We are not a poor-shooting team. If you look at our 2 leading scorers, Kalee and Morgan, they are both high percentage shooters but have struggled mightily. At some point, you return to the mean, and their mean today was better than their average for the season."
Utah Forward Kaylee Whipple
On a change in mindsetââ'¬Â¦
"I don't think we lost faith. It's hard when you go on a losing streak like that, you're just hoping that hopefully our offense comes and that we can continue to play through it. I don't think we ever lost faith. We knew that once we got over our little hump we would be OK." On the difference made in second halfââ'¬Â¦
"Like coach said, I think it was just a choice. We got in the locker room and we knew we weren't playing like we should. Each game we're competing, whether we lose or win, so it was matter of making the choice that we weren't going to just play it out. We were going to fight."
Marquette Head Coach Terri Mitchell
Opening Statement..
"We told our team at half time that Utah is very good and capable of coming back. Obviously, they did not take that to heart. We played with no urgency the second half. We didn't listen, and it's not any surprise that we ended up losing. They had a lot of fight in them, and we did not respond. That's why we've lost our second game in a row. This is what this time of year is all about-growing and learning. I am certainly not pleased, and we have a quick turnaround to go on the road and play Northwestern."
On the team's change of attitude in second halfââ'¬Â¦
"We told them to go out there. We took a lead on Virginia, and we lost. We had the same kind of lead, but that doesn't mean anything. Basketball is two halves. We've come back on teams, down 18, and won, and any team in Division I is capable with winning traditions to beat you. I am very disappointed in the effort of our players defensively. It's not offense. It's about urgency on defense. I can't tell you how much we talked about it in time-outs."
Marquette guard Krystal Ellis
On the lack of urgency on defenseââ'¬Â¦
"We didn't think the game was over. We just didn't come out with the urgency we needed to come out with to win."
On the difference in second half that caused the lossââ'¬Â¦
"They didn't want the win more, but they played harder. We had gaps where we didn't control the offense or defense, and it showed. They capitalized on it and on everything."
On the lessons learned from a game like thisââ'¬Â¦
"We're learning two days in a row from a loss. We can't blow a lead. We're going to come back hungry tomorrow and be ready for Northwestern on Tuesday."
