Postgame Quotes
12/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2008
Marquette Head Coach Terri Mitchell
Opening Statement...
"We didn't rebound the ball well, we didn't shoot well. They shot well. That's not a good combination, that's why we were on the losing end. They forced us to shoot. It was like deja-vou every timeout. We reversed the ball, we're going to have openings inside, they're going to make us shoot jumpers. We don't have to shoot all three's. We can shoot closer shots. We can get into the paint and pull up. "
On Krystal going without a shot attempt in the first half...
"You have to cut hard. When you cut hard, you move hard and you come off screens shoulder to shoulder you will find yourself open. When you don't cut hard and you concede you're going to be pushed out 30 feet from the bucket. Its not rocket science, its desire, its cutting hard, its listening. I kept telling her to look for your opportunities. Again, its cutting hard. "
About the team...
"We don't have a rhythm yet, we'll find that rhythm sooner or later. We have to find people to step up and hit shots when we have teams that pack it in. Unfortunately Courtney was very off today. I trust her, I know she can hit shots. We made adjustments, that's why she only played 14 minutes. Its not like anyone else stepped up. We have to hit shots. Its division one, hit shots when you're open. "
Green Bay Head Coach Matt Bollant
Opening Statement...
"It was good for us to have a bounce-back game. The Green Bay program is not used to losing two in a row, especially two in a row at home. We played two really good basketball teams. At the same time, we didn't feel like we really played against Illinois State in the second half, the way we're capable of playing. We didn't shoot the ball well, but overall just our energy level and how tight we are were not evident. I told them after the game, I could see the looks in their eyes, the excitement and the togetherness in the locker room. I really felt like we were in for a great game seeing that.
"It was really important especially for us because we had lost two in a row. Anytime you lose two in a row when you're used to winning its gut-check time. Part of my pre-game talk was how we are going to handle adversity and these are the things i want to see. Number one I want to see us fight today. I want to see us give everything we have. We have nine days off before we play again and I want to see the fighting mental attitude we usually have. I thought they definitely did that throughout the game. Last year we got dominated on the boards against Wisconsin. So today to out rebound them, I know part of that was the amount of missed shots they had, but for us to be up in rebounding is a big thing for us."
On Hoewisch's defense...
"She is a phenomenal defender and Rachel is a great defender. The two-three really did a good job. We kept Ellis in front. Ellis is the type of kid that they will really try to get shots. I thought we did a good job of finding here and making everything really tough for her. She's a really good player and last year she was a difference maker in that game. She was definitely a focus coming in. I'm proud of, not only Celeste, but of all of our guards in how they defended her.
On overall defense...
"We really focused on the penetration. Even though those kids can shoot, what they are really gifted at is the penetration. We didn't want to give Ellis any rhythm three's. But our main focus was to just keep them in front and make them have to take contested shots. I thought we did that.
We felt like this was a team we could run our half-court trap against because their athleticism is so good and they're penetration is so good. That makes them kind of do something else. In the first half we ran it and they didn't look real comfortable and confident with how they were trying to break it. We stayed with it a lot more than we have because we were having success with it.