March 24, 2009
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Postgame Quotes
Maryland Terrapins
Head coach Brenda Frese
20 Kristi Toliver, 5-7, Sr.
25 Marissa Coleman, 6-1, Sr.
Opening Statement: "Like I told the team in the locker room, it's a fun game when you're in command from start to finish. I just thought that we were ready to play from the tip. Obviously, it was a dominating first half. We were just really in sync in terms of each and every player being led by our two special seniors to set the tone and set the intensity early, but also all the key contributions that we had from every member on this team. We're just thrilled and excited to be able to advance and move on."
Reporter: "Were you concerned at all when Utah jumped out to the 15-8 lead early in the game?"
Frese: "No, I knew it was going to take some time for us in terms of the motion, the flex that they run is so different than what we've had to defend in our conference. I knew we just needed to kind of get a rhythm, a feel, to be able to see and understand what we needed to do on the defensive end. It was early in the game obviously, so I knew that we needed to keep our poise and that we would be able to eventually get back to getting stops and rebounds."
Reporter: "Can you talk about moving forward as you move through the tournament?"
Frese: "It starts immediately for our staff. We let the players go enjoy it and we've been working hard in advance. As coaches you don't have time to really enjoy it because you move on and it's a quick turnaround - I think it's a Saturday game - with the day off tomorrow and getting the team prepared and ready to get down to Raleigh. It reminds me of 2006 when we had the same quick turnaround. Hopefully, we feel like some of the best fans in the country will travel with us to an easy location like Raleigh."
Reporter: "Were you concerned about pace of the game since Utah likes to slow it down? Were you able to get what you wanted with the pace because of rebounding?"
Frese: "It was definitely the rebounding. You look at the first four minutes where Utah did a tremendous job getting on the glass, and then the next 16 we dominated it. Our defense, our rebounding led to our transition and that's how we love to play."
Reporter: "Were you surprised about many ACC teams falling this weekend in the first two rounds?"
Frese: "In tournament time you just never know what's going to happen with different matchups. It's a 40 minute game, sometimes the shots are not falling or different things. With the dominance that we've had in the league, I was definitely surprised. I thought we would have more teams that would advance to the Sweet Sixteen. We just heard when we came off the court that Duke had a heartbreaker and lost at Michigan State. We're extremely disappointed, but we are going to do our best and finest job we can to represent the league."
Reporter: "What are your feelings on the game, since it was be your last game here at the Comcast Center?"
Coleman: "It was fun we had a great turn out tonight. It was great to have all of the fans come out and support us. Technically, it was our last home game, but the good thing is it's not the last game of the season."
Toliver: "I got a little emotional toward the end knowing that it was the last time I will get to play in front of the best fans in the country, so I'm sad, but it's a great feeling knowing that we get to play another game."
Reporter: "Can you talk about the domination on the rebounds?"
Coleman: "Demauria Liles and I talked about it before the game and we said we were going to get every rebound. That was just the mentality that we had going in to the game, that we were going to do our best to get every rebound that we could. As a team when we are dominating the boards, that's when we are at our best."
Toliver: "I joked about it in the last press conference that we had saying that Marissa [Coleman] was going to get 20 rebounds. She did a great job on the boards tonight, but don't forget about my two that I had."
Reporter: "You haven't lost a game in the Comcast Center in two years, what happens when you guys step out on the floor?"
Toliver: "We are very comfortable here, we have great fans and that gives us so much confidence when we walk out on to the floor. I think that is exactly why we have been so successful, but our fans are the best fans in the country so they are a huge credit to our success."
Utah Utes
Head coach Elaine Elliott
15 Morgan Warburton, 5-11, Sr.
2 Kalee Whipple, 6-0, Jr.
Opening Statement: "Well just congratulations to Maryland. It was obviously a well played game and we wish them well as they move on. And also I want you to understand how proud I am of our seniors this year: Morgan Warburton, Kalee Whipple, Katie King and Deanne Stevenson. They just really did a tremendous job of leading this group. It was a great season with the double championship in our league. We were able to find out early in our season how to play against a very difficult schedule. I am very proud of how they handled that and very proud of the team that they became and very proud of the success that they had in this tournament."
Reporter: What allowed Maryland to be so successful in rebounding?
Elliott: "It's just pure and simple really, their strength over us and their physicality. We couldn't change that. We couldn't grow bigger. We couldn't grow heavier. That was the difference in the two teams. I love these kids, I love their ability to play basketball and I don't think there are any discrepancies as far what they can do as basketball goes. There was simply a difference in physicality that we could not overcome."
Reporter: Can you talk about the difficulty of playing at Maryland's home court?
Elliott: "It came down to the difference in physicality. That's the difference. [The home court for Maryland] doesn't change that. It is what it is. We would prefer that it isn't a home game [for Maryland] but we also acknowledge that the differences in the game were apparent that we couldn't overcome wherever we played."
Reporter: How did you try and limit Maryland's Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman?
Elliott: "Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver are phenomenal individual players. We were not able to enter the game and say, `well we have two stoppers'. We felt like we did a better job later on [in the game] on guarding them. The people that got away from us were the kids who kept pulling down boards and giving Maryland second chances. Toliver and Coleman started extremely well and we felt like if they kept going to the two of them then we would be better off."
Reporter: Can you talk about your season ending here and what you would look back on?
Warburton: "For me I am just really proud of the team and what we have accomplished. We started out like coach said, we didn't know what it was going to be in the end. We really came together in our conference tournament. I think we found who we were and it's sad that it ends here. I am really proud and I wouldn't trade my team for anything."
Reporter: What was the difference in the game from the point that Utah led by seven to Maryland taking control?
Whipple: "I don't really know the difference, I just think Maryland started hitting more of their shots and we started missing more of ours. It just kind of turned around right there. I felt like we came out for the second half and fought pretty well."
