Opening Statement:
"I think you always have to be ready to play with these conference games and with the battles you're going to face every single night. I thought Illinois did a nice job coming in for 40 minutes and competed extremely hard. We had to find different ways. I thought there was unselfishness, and Lexie [Brown] leading the way in the first half really got us going inside with [Brionna Jones]. Bri had a monster game obviously when you talk about offensively and getting to the glass. The energy with Brene [Moseley] in the second half, and Shatori [Walker-Kimbrough]'s defense really helped. Being able to find different ways and our depth was really able to wear them out in the second half. I thought our defense improved, we really cranked up our defense and I think that was the difference in the game."

On Illinois cutting Maryland's lead to 3 points:
"I thought at times we were watching a little bit more rather than moving on the pass. I thought our defense really needed to improve, we needed to get back to our transition game. I thought once our defense picked up that was the difference."

On Maryland forcing turnovers:
"I thought, and especially in the first half, we had to exert a lot of energy but I thought our athleticism, our deflections and our steals were sensational. Obviously when you talk about Lexie [Brown] getting seven steals and Shatori [Walker-Kimbrough] getting four, I thought they were just anticipated really well."

On Brene Moseley's game:
"We felt like as a staff we know what Brene brings to the table with her ability to slice through the zone and shoot the ball. I thought she was the glue to be able to come in and help us in a tight game. Lexie [Brown] had done so much in terms of the minutes that she's put up, and to be able to have her come in and shoot the ball with confidence was the kind of confidence that we have in Brene." 

Sophomore Center Brionna Jones
On her performance:
“It's just going to give me confidence moving forward into the rest of the season and it shows my teammates have confidence in giving me the ball when I'm open.”

Sophomore Guard Lexie Brown
On Maryland sharing the ball:
“I always think we do a great job of sharing the ball. Whoever has the hot hand, we do our best to get them the ball; today it was Brionna [Jones]. The zone really focused on our perimeter so Brionna was wide open so we had to get her the ball. She helped us out a lot.”

On getting the best look from ever team Maryland plays:
“We have so many weapons on our team so other teams can't really key in on one player because you saw how good our passing is. If they key on me then [Laurin] Mincy will have a 20-plus point game, you key on Mincy then Shatori [Walker-Kimbrough] will have a 20-point game, if you try to key on all of us then Brionna will have a 20-point game. You can't really key on just one person and I think that's the greatest part about this team is that we are able to share the ball and make sure that the person that's hot stays hot.”

On adjusting to Illinois's defense:
“We saw their zone on film, and the film didn't do the zone justice. We saw gaps but when we got into the game those gaps were closed. After we got it going, our post did a great job sealing the back side. It tok us a while but I think we figured it out.”

Redshirt Junior Guard Brene Moseley
On her performance:
“Most of the focus was on Brionna, so I wanted to be able to knock down some 3s and be able to help out the team.”

Illinois Head Coach Matt Bollant

Opening Statement:
"That's a really good basketball team. They're really athletic and made a lot of plays on defense that led to offense for them. I thought the biggest difference in the game was our inability to take care of the basketball and their 27 points off turnovers. I was proud of our kids as far as fighting. We got it back to 42-39 and had a layup there to cut it to one, missed that, and had a couple open 3s. When you're playing the eighth-ranked team in the country, you have to make those plays. Credit Maryland, I said going into the game that I thought Brionna Jones is as good a post player as we've played all year. She is physical and demands the ball and makes it look easy inside."

On cutting the Maryland lead to three:
"Hopefully that was a little bit of both us and them. I think we started the second half on edge and ready to go. I think our changing defense probably helped us a little bit. I thought Amarah Coleman, for a freshman, played really well. She got out and got some transition for us as well."

On Maryland's defense:
"I think their athleticism and playing on the road got us a little rattled. I think the turnovers were a lot on Maryland. They got into passing lanes, anticipated and stole some balls. We haven't seen that level of athleticism in a while."