Postgame Quotes
February 25, 2016
No. 6/6 Maryland 83, Wisconsin 77
Head Coach Brenda Frese
Opening statement:
“I thought Wisconsin came out inspired and played a complete game. We struggled early with our level of intensity. Once we were able to pick up our defensive energy we were able to get things going in the first half. I thought we did some really good things after the half in terms of getting the ball inside and setting the tone of the level we want to play at. I was disappointed with the depth tonight and I thought we weren’t able to utilize as many players off the bench as we usually are. We just have to continue to understand that if we play like this moving forward, it’s going to be tough.”
On the rally to come back in the first half:
“I thought our defense set the tone. Brene Moseley came in and set the tone. She played great defense on the ball. I thought we were able to get things in transition and we were able to shoot the three and open it up.”
On the play of Brionna Jones in the second half:
“I think her mindset changed and she got a lot more aggressive and active. We did a nice job getting her to ball in easy positions to score so the game opened up.”
On cutting down turnovers recently:
“That’s been a real positive for us. I can see us valuing possessions and that’s going to matter even more going into March. I’m proud that we’ve really been able to cut that down.”
On preparing for the upcoming game against Minnesota:
“It doesn’t change for us. It’s always been about getting better. Obviously this team will prepare the same way and we want to send our seniors out the right way."
Junior Center Brionna Jones
On her change of energy between halves:
"In the first half I wasn't as active or as strong in going to the basket and focusing on finishing. In the second half I walked in and cut straight to finishing with contact. She (Brenda) challenged me to pick it up and bring more energy and aggression to the game."
On sharing assists with Brene:
"I think we did a good job on getting it to each other. Shatori and Brene were working hard and we just wanted to get them their shots and finish it."
Junior Guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough
On preparing for the game:
"We wanted to come out strong. Wisconsin came out very aggressive and they took the first punch, but we came out very hard in the second half and I think Bri was the reason for that; she's unstoppable when she gets going."
On limiting Wisconsin's free throws:
"Just containing them on our side, I'm not surprised that they only got 4 because they are a three-point shooting team, so their strength is in shooting threes. I thought they did a good job at knocking down the three; they were not really looking to attack."
On sending the seniors off with potential BigTen title:
"They've put a lot of time in the program, so we want to give back to them in any way possible. We're playing for them, we've been playing for them this season. We owe it to them all the time."
Senior Guard Brene Moseley
On potential BigTen regular season title:
"I think that is icing on the cake... but I appreciate everything that we've had and I'm going at it with the same mindset."
Wisconsin Head Coach Bobbie Kelsey
Opening Statement :
“I am very proud of our group. Maryland came out and they are a lot of athletic young women that can do some damage. But I am proud of my group. We were down another player, and to come back by as much as a 20 point difference - it says a lot about these girls to not give up, stay focused, and keep trying. You know we have had a tough season and no one is going to feel sorry for us, so we just got to keep playing.”
On matching up with Maryland’s size :
“Brionna Jones, you know she is a woman. She is not a child, as well as Malina Howard. So you know we do not just have quite the size for those young ladies. We would try to make them go the other way or take away the baseline, or on the catch we will double up on them. But we had some success in the paint. Michala Johnson, she did a great job going left and right while switching between her left and right hands. We do not have a lot of girth on the inside. So the girls got in the gym, got their shots up, but we just needed more. Unfortunately, we ran out of time.”
On the burst of energy in the fourth quarter :
“It is a Badger thing - we just keep fighting. All the teams are like that. We just got to keep playing until the final horn. We just cannot say we do not have this player, Maryland has that player, Maryland does not care and nobody does either. So you just cannot have a pity party out there, you have to play until the final buzzer, make your shot, play solid defense, and hopefully they miss a couple and we can score and change the game.”
On the difference between first and second halves, concerning making Maryland shoot a lot then Brionna Jones picking up the pace:
“Maryland did a nice job on getting the ball into Brionna Jones. There was some really nice post passing, I may have to get that from Brenda. She times it well. She does not post before the ball gets to her side. They did a great job on posting on the way and then boom! Next thing you know your kid is on the outside looking in, and Brionna Jones was looking for lay ups. We took care of that in the first half, but great players are always great in finding a way to back to what they know and they did that well, making for a tough match up."
-Terps-
