Postgame Quotes
Dec. 8, 2015
No. 5 Maryland 97, Loyola 47
Head Coach Brenda Frese
Opening Statement:
"We had a lot of fun tonight. This was by far one of our most complete 40 minute games. There are a lot of things that we were focusing on and we did a tremendous job. I'm really proud of our season low for turnovers, getting to the glass on both ends of the floor, and defending. So I'm just really proud of the overall consistency in this game."
On forcing turnovers:
"When I saw early in the game that Loyola was going to take a lot of time for their possessions and run the shot clock down I felt like we needed to speed up the game. We worked really hard to push the lead to 20 with our effort and our intensity and with defensively with the press."
On defensive discipline:
"That's another statistic that I'm really proud of too. We really focus on being disciplined and not bailing people out on the free throw line. So to see that progression in our game come along was great to see."
On picking up intensity:
"I thought we were sitting and watching and giving them a lot of easy step in shots. We knew that they were a really good three-point shooting team so we wanted to speed them up. We wanted to speed Loyola up so that's when we brought out our press and got a lot more aggressive on defense at half court. I was pleased to see the response from the girls to get punched and to punch back."
On the team's enthusiasm:
"It's what separates us. I was really glad to see that because I didn't think I saw a lot of that on Saturday when we played. When we play for each and see that reaction on the bench when a beautiful move like that is made, that's what it's all about. We worked extremely hard tonight but we had a lot of fun together doing it."
On sophomore Kristen Confroy:
“Kristen is very efficieint and understands the difference between good shots and bad shots. I thought she just let the game come to her, but we need to be able to rely on her three-point shooting. I thought Brene was able to make some great kicks to her and we were able to find her. We have to be able to rely on her to open some things up.”
On Shatori Walker-Kimbrough:
“She has helped us from the tip. She sets the tone and we really go where Shatori goes. When Shatori is in a great place, our team is in a great place. As long as she stays in that place our team is locked in. It is fun and our team is really clicking on all cylinders. Just to see her growth and maturity is exciting because that is what you want to build upon as a team. As a veteran, as a junior, and the experience she had this past summer you have these types of expectations.”
On efficiency in the paint:
“Obviously we have great depth this year on the inside so that’s an area we are focusing on in terms of points in the paint and rebounds. We want to be able to expose teams in different ways.”
Freshman Forward Brianna Fraser
On developing over the season:
"I think I've developed a lot. My teammates really help me feel comfortable so knowing that I have them behind me helped me progress."
Junior Guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough
On shooting free throws:
"One of our goals today was to actually get 25 free throw shot attempts. It was good that we focused on that and stayed aggressive on offense."
On picking up the intensity in the second quarter:
"Coach got on us during the timeout and I think we responded really well. We picked up defense and our defense turned into offense. I also thought that we sped them up on defense by doing a good job in our press."
On heading into Big Ten play:
"We just want to get better and focus on ourselves. We have finals week next week so that means no games. We are going to take that week and continue to better ourselves going into conference play."
On guarding Colleen Marshall:
“Defense is one aspect that I want to improve upon. Coach assigned me to her and I wanted to take on the challenge of guarding her. Colleen is a great player and I thought the help-side defense from my bigs was great today. That is definitely an aspect of my game that I want to improve upon.”
Sophomore Guard Kiara Leslie
On Shatori Walker-Kimbrough’s moves:
“I knew Shatori was capable of that and she has a lot of moves that we have seen. I’m glad that she got to show off one of them for you all tonight. She will let you all see more later in the year.”
