March 19, 2012
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Postgame quotes following Maryland's 72-68 win over Louisville.
Maryland Quotes
Opening Statement:
"It was just a tremendous game. It's a shame that either team had to lose that game. Both teams really competed for 40 minutes. There was a lot of adversity for us with foul trouble and a slow start. I thought our team did a tremendous job hanging in there. I thought after the first half we went into the locker room saying it was an uncharacteristic first half for us. We felt like we could play a lot better. I thought Alyssa [Thomas] had an off night with her foul trouble and not getting into a rhythm. Looking back to when we lost to Virginia Tech you can see what this team has become. We are very excited and thrilled to be able to move on to the Sweet 16 and represent our university."
On the difference down the stretch:
"We always talk about players making plays. We had so many big plays. The player of the game was Laurin Mincy and how she stepped up. I thought our defense was tremendous. A lot of times you don't see how important Kim [Rodgers] is on the stat sheet but when she is on the floor she makes a difference defensively. I thought we were unselfish down the stretch. Tianna [Hawkins] was sensational tonight the way she cleaned up the boards."
On the team's effort:
"We never flinched in this game. We kept battling. That is what this team has done all season long. We have so many players. Looking at Lynetta [Kizer] in the first half she had foul trouble but she came in the second half and was a tremendous boost. Our saying 12 strong means every single player is ready to step up. We have been able to do that."
On Becky Burke and Shoni Schimmel:
"We felt like between [Becky] Burke and [Shoni] Schimmel we felt those were the two we had to make them work for their offense. I thought we did a tremendous job being out there for every catch and making it difficult. She [Burke] has had a tremendous career for Louisville. It is sad to see it end for her."
On points off of turnovers:
"There were a few things that helped with that. Tianna Hawkins had six steals and our teams will to win. We were really being aggressive. We were able to run our lanes on transition and they were able to get open looks. They were critical for our success."
On the play of Laurin Mincy:
"I mean Laurin loves playing - the bigger the game, the bigger she plays. Absolutely you saw that last year in terms of she was getting healthy down the stretch. You look at what she's been able to do all season long for us in terms of her consistency. And now I told her she's taken her game to a whole new level which speaks volumes of Laurin in terms of her competitiveness, her fire and the fact that she wants to continue playing in this tournament."
On how Louisville was able to limit Alyssa Thomas:
"I thought obviously every time [Alyssa Thomas] went in to make a play there were two or three people there swiping at her [and] being physical. Sometimes I think her physicality hurts her in terms of being able to get a call, but [Louisville] did a tremendous job. I thought they doubled and tripled her a lot and just kind of made her have to kind of overthink the game and speed her up in terms of what they did defensively."
On playing freshman Brene Moseley:
"It's a feel and when you know your players well enough you can see just different levels of confidence. When Brene is on the court and she's smiling, there's just a feel to her and I thought she was so confident. Brene loves playing in big games and I just thought she made so many tremendous plays. Obviously when things are working, keeping Brene on the floor and at times having A.T. (Alyssa Thomas) off the floor, it's a feel and you've got to go with the players that are making plays on the floor."
On relying on her seniors:
"Your seniors this time of the year are the ones that don't want their careers to end. So, they're the ones that are leading the way in terms of wanting to continue to play for the next game. Kim [Rodgers] has been so solid for us. What she's doing on the defensive end for us and the plays she's making on the offensive end -- we have to have her on the floor."
On the intensity of this game in comparison to others:
"[The game] was pretty high. Playing in the ACC kind of prepared us for this kind of game. That's what we saw all of conference play. So I think we did pretty well fighting back through their toughness."
On her defense on the last shot of the game:
"I actually grazed the ball when it went up. I didn't want to foul so I just kept my hands straight up."
On her play offensively:
"Going into the game our mentality was to attack and advance, so I just went with that and luckily I was able to execute."
On avenging last year's second-round loss to Georgetown:
"This time last year I was up here and Coach B [Brenda Frese] had to fill in my words because I was in tears. It feels better to be moving on. This team really pushed. I am glad that my career didn't end today."
On the play of Laurin Mincy:
"I've seen a lot of resilience out of Laurin especially this past summer. She had kind of a tough year her freshman year. She wasn't playing probably up to where she thought she should be and she really took that to heart and I saw her work harder than I had seen her work her entire freshman year in the few months that we had in the summer. You could tell it paid off, she's played really well. She's done a really good job of just regaining that confidence and showing it on the court."
