Jan. 26, 2012

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Maryland Coach Brenda Frese

Opening statement:
“Obviously an extremely difficult loss tonight. Not a lot of things that I can say we did well - defense, rebounding, turnovers - when you have 20 turnovers against a non-pressing team. We gave away a lot of easy baskets. Credit Virginia Tech, I thought they had a lot more energy and were more inspired. Obviously, [Monet] Tellier tying a career-high 31 points, we didn't have an answer for her defensively. I'm just extremely disappointed for our seniors, for this team in terms of how we played tonight.”

On the postgame messages:
“When you don't have a sense of urgency for 40 minutes to come out and play, every team in the ACC is going to come in and play like this. It was just an open discussion. We'll decide from here which direction we're going to go.”

On the postgame emotions:
“I think I'm mostly disappointed. I really like coaching this team. I think this team has a lot of great parts to it. I think as young players, [it's important] for them to understand the big picture of things. I'm more disappointed in terms of not understanding the big picture of what needs to take place.”

On Alyssa Thomas' absence:
“No question, we had rotations in there tonight that you haven't seen all season. Obviously, Whitney Bays played more minutes than she normally had. We were looking for any kind of energy out there. I thought Sequoia Austin came in and gave us a huge lift tonight in the time that she played. A lot of different combinations we had to go to, we got in foul trouble. No question, when you lose a piece like Alyssa, but we also have a lot of talented players in this locker room that should be able to step up in her absence.”

On the missed free throws in the second half:
“It was critical. I thought we didn't step up and shoot the ball with confidence at the free throw line like we normally do. Those were critical misses in terms of the game. We didn't play with a lot of self-confidence.”

Senior Center Lynetta Kizer

On the loss:
“I think it's a combination of everything. As a team, our coaches can't want it more for us than we want it for ourselves. It's like coach said, we have to make a decision. We have to make a decision to turn it around from here and play Maryland basketball.”

On the carryover from the Duke game:
“I think we learned from Duke and we were supposed to move forward today, but it was just a mental lapse from everyone. It's something that we have to get back to. We have to find a passion for it and get back to it collectively as a group.”

Virginia Tech Coach Dennis Wolf

Opening Statement
“Extremely proud of our team. We just finished a brutal stretch of games, and we know what it's like to be undermanned. Obviously her (Alyssa Thomas) not playing tonight was a huge factor in the game, but I can't allow it to take away from what our kids did and how badly they wanted to win the game. We didn't play like we would have liked to at Miami and I think these kids responded beyond what any coach could ask for. Monet was fabulous throughout the game. I think we had a little more balance than we've had, and we were able to defend against a very big, athletic team. I'm really proud of these kids and it's a great win for them.”

On rebounding
“I think we played with a lot of energy and I think the last couple plays when they probably still had a chance, we missed a free throw and Torri [Hines-Allen] came up with two offensive rebounds. You just credit these kids who are a little undersized, and to get to this point in the season and not to be beaten down and keep trying to play is a credit to each of these kids individually.”

On their hard work being rewarded
“I think it's very important if you have a new coaching staff. It's a change for the kids. I've been trying to make sure it's clear that when I'm correcting them it's not about them, it's about the play. So I think if we kept trudging along without some type of reward, it's just human nature, that there might be some doubts. This is not going to cure everything for us, but it's a night that these kids have earned after what they've been through the last few years. It was a team effort, and I said to them in the locker room that Virginia Tech teams have had a lot of wins this year and I bet when we go back to campus that everybody will be really proud of these girls.”

Sophomore Guard Monet Tellier

On what the win means
“I feel like we showed a tremendous amount of fight. We came out a lot stronger and more confident than we did against Miami. Against Miami, we looked scared and today we just played together, took what the coaches were telling us in the last couple days of practice and shoot around, and we put it together. After the Miami game, the coaches really chewed the guards out for the turnovers and everything and we didn't let it get to us. We knew we could play better than that and we came out and were just more confident.”