Feb. 12, 2012
Recap |
Box Score |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 1 
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Photo Gallery 2
Postgame Quotes
#8 Maryland vs. #6 Miami
Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012
College Park, Md. (Comcast Center)
FINAL SCORE: #6 Miami 76, #8 Maryland 74
Head Coach Brenda Frese
On the game:
"It was a tremendous game. Both teams were battling their wills, and it was a back and fourth game. Obviously, I thought our game plan was really solid. I think down the stretch they stepped up and made plays like seniors do, like All-Americans do. From our end, we're obviously disappointed. We played with a lot of heart and intensity. It got away from us. Late game free throws, layups, turnovers, obviously those possessions are costly in terms of putting a team away in your own building."
On her team struggling with fundamentals in the loss:
"The good thing is, is that those are all things we can focus on in practice. It allows us to focus more, obviously, on free throw shooting and finishing layups, all things we need to get done. I think that Riquna Williams, Shenise Johnson and Stefanie Yderstrom were terrific down the stretch and made some terrific plays as well."
On Alyssa Thomas' game:
"I give credit to [Miami], they were constantly keeping two girls on her and it was an extremely physical game. In stretches this gave her a lot of problems; it is uncharacteristic of her to have six turnovers. They did a terrific job in terms of what they wanted to accomplish on the defensive end.
On Stefanie Yderstrom:
"She is having a tremendous season. We came into the game wanting to defend the 'Big 3.' We called [her] the 'Big 3' because she is having a sensation junior campaign and she's really good. She is a source of energy for them and she played a flawless game."
On missing free throws:
"Those are empty points and empty possessions for us at the free throw line. This is uncharacteristic of us, we're been shooting from the free throw line really well this season. This was obviously a different dynamic, late game is when you have got to step up and make pressure free throws. This is an area where we can improve and get better. Again, those two seniors from Miami [Riquna Williams and Shenise Johnson] are All-Americans and will go first round in the WNBA. They are extremely talented."
Senior Guard Anjale Barrett
On the last minutes of the game:
"Coach said it best, they made plays down to the end and we really didn't. The turnovers killed us. I take responsibility for that because as point guard you're supposed to settle your team down. But that last minute or so they made plays and that ultimately determined the outcome."
On turnovers:
"Sometimes we had a lot of unforced turnovers; it was just us throwing it out of bounds. That's something we can work on. We still have the rest of this season to go. We'll recover and after we watch film we'll get better."
Senior Center Lynetta Kizer
On team morale:
"When you go into a game giving your everything and leaving it all out there, it definitely hurts. We're going to get back to finishing better, hitting free throws; it's a matter of reps. We're fine, this is one we're going to keep in our back pocket and we're going to come out stronger. We're just going to keep on rolling. You take these lessons, learn from them and move on."
On her contributions to the game:
"With me I think it's just a matter of stepping up and contributing to this team in any way that I can. [Miami] is very guard heavy and we felt that coming into the game. One of our game plans was to attack from the inside and I think our guards did a good job of getting us the ball. In the second half it was a matter of us finishing. We just have to get back to playing Maryland basketball."
Miami Head Coach Katie Meier
Opening statement:
"We know how it feels to kind of have a game stolen from us in the last minute, it happened to us at North Carolina this year in our first ACC game. You just can't believe it happened. They were controlling things, they had the momentum but I just have some special seniors who did some amazing things to end that game. Stephanie Yderstom had an awesome performance today, an incredible focus, and her shots were as versatile and complex as they have been all year. I don't think there is a scout on her anymore, she's broken through the mold and become such a versatile scoring guard. So when you talk about all of these guards being so good, you have to talk about her too. Shenise [Johnson] is such a competitor that when the game's close, she's going to make a great play and I thought that steal, when she left Hawkins and floated past Thomas, was a huge turnover for us. Then you see Riquna Williams blocking 3 pointers and you just know that we're doing what we can to win.
On playing at Maryland:
"We love playing here. The crowd is awesome. The people here treat you so well. It is such a special place to play. It's just a great atmosphere and I thought it was a good women's basketball game all around--credit to Maryland for playing so tough and hosting a great game all around. It's Miami-Maryland; it's a great game every time it happens. I mean earlier in my career, not so much, but since these two came on board [Stephanie Yderstrom and Shenise Johnson], it's been some great basketball games. Both Brenda [Frese] and I want our players to make plays. We give them a lot of space; we give them a lot of freedom; we trust their instincts and it's usually a pretty awesome basketball game. "
On coming out stronger after halftime:
"We always say you have to be 10 points better on the road and we weren't. Maryland was definitely playing better than us and at halftime I just said, `Are you okay beating them by five? Because I am.' I didn't think we would destroy it. It's the lowest foul count by an opponent that we've had; they only had four fouls at halftime. I could yell at the refs all I want but the truth was that we were not being tough enough and I was not coaching a good enough game to get the attacks later in the offense. So we made some adjustments."
Junior Guard Stefanie Yderstorm:
On running the zone offense:
"Well, I picked up extra set is in practice with the coaches, and I just really wanted to be aggressive tonight."
Senior Guard Shenise Johnson
On the improved guard play:
"Yeah I think publically that is what it is, but as a team we have always sensed that and felt that way. Stefanie [Yderstrom] is a great teammate, and when you mention us you have to mention Stefanie also."
