Dec. 20, 2004

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

COLLEGE PARK, MD. -
Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese

On the game
"That was a really nice way to go into our holiday break. I just thought we did a tremendous job in our defensive effort and intensity tonight. This was one of our best overall team defensive efforts that I felt we've had all season. We did a great job shutting them down and really owned the glass. Like I told them in the locker room, it was by far one of our most unselfish wins, we shared the basketball and we played as a team. This team is exciting to watch when we play like that."

On the defensive effort
"[Coppin State is] a very athletic team and they have a lot of team speed and quickness. Our goal was to keep them in front of us and make their shots difficult. We just did a great job of locking them down as we held them to 21 points in the first half."

On holding down #00, Leisel Henry
"She's coming off a 20-point, 13-rebound performance in her last game and she's tough when she gets down on the blocks. I thought our post players did a tremendous job starting out with her, and then we rotated a lot of players onto her. I thought our team speed and our defensive effort really gave her problems tonight."

Rebounding
"We have emphasized it a little more this week in practice. We knew Coppin State was coming in here with a +7 rebounding edge, so it was definitely something we stressed knowing that they were a good rebounding team."

Ready for the ACC if it started next game?
"We're ready. Eighteen turnovers is entirely too much, shooting 55% from the free throw line...coaches are never happy. But I like where we are as a team, with our performance defensively. I felt like this was something we were lacking on 3 weeks ago."

Maryland sophomore guard Kalika France

On coming off the week break
"We just set goals before our break and we wanted to reach our goals. When all you're asked to do is to play basketball, a game that you love, it's really easy to come out here and perform."

On the team defense
"I think our preparation was a little different. This week, we got to fine tune some things. We had a week off, so we were definitely able to go one-on-one with some things and fix things. Normally you only have two days, so you really have to rush to fix things. Now we see what we're doing, watching film. Every game we go out and try to get better."

On the interior team play
"[The post players] are unbelievable in the paint. Coming in, we thought that Leisel Henry might be a little bigger than everybody. One of our main goals was to run her up and down the floor and that's what we did. Our post can get out and run, and they're doing a great job of doing that. They're making the game easier for everybody when they have nights like this."

Maryland center Laura Harper

On her improved rebounding
"The biggest thing is just the focus in practice on rebounding. They're showing me how to properly rebound and get position, so it's just a matter of listening and following directions. Before, I used to juststand there and jump, but now it's more the strategy of moving around."

Feeling more comfortable
"I think at first I was rushing myself, but now things have calmed down. I think I have one of the most encouraging group of teammates. They're always there encouraging me, so I think that's made me more comfortable in situations where I would normally rush."