Jan. 30, 2012
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Postgame Quotes: Wisconsin vs. Michigan
Jan. 30, 2012
Kohl Center -- Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin Head Coach Bobbie Kelsey
Opening Statement:
"(I’m) very proud of this group. We showed that we can persevere against a great team that shoots very well. I think that Cassie (Rochel) stepped up - huge, huge, huge. The two stooges over here (Taylor Wurtz, Morgan Paige) had some great plays. But it was a total team effort. We are a group and it gave us the confidence that we can compete against anybody in this league."
On not letting the game get away from you:
“This is a resilient group, we never give up. Sometimes the shots fall for you, sometimes they don’t. When you lose a lot of your scoring from last year, a lot of these players have not been in these situations – in a game; when you’re in the game its different. You have to make the play and these three made the plays (Wurtz, Paige, Rochel). But again, it’s a total team effort and that’s why you don’t do it by yourself. There are five people out there as well as the several on the bench.”
On the Michigan comeback on the end:
“They hit some big shots. We didn’t switch as quickly as we should have, they got some open looks. We were again helping in on the drive and they would throw it out, we had several where they just shot in our face and I’m not sure why they are standing there and not guarding people. It’s a lack of concentration in my opinion. They will see, the (game) tapes don’t lie.”
On the teams free throw shooting at the end on the game:
“Throughout the year, we have been a pretty good free throw shooting team up until these last few games, so I know that we can hit them. When we came in the huddle I said “You hit these and we move on to the next thing.” because I have confidence that anyone of them can go out there and hit the free throws. If you going to be a great team in a great program, you’re going to have to do all the little things and free throws are big.”
On what to improve on in pressure situations/turnovers:
“Part of it is the decisions that are made, you can’t just try to take it and throw it over people, and you got to fake, you got to step through, a bounce pass now and again. You just can’t turn and throw it, you got to be smart. These are learning experiences. You want to learn winning, not losing.”
On improving throughout the season:
“I get on the girls, I have to push them, and they know I love them, I want them to get good. I’ve had my time in the sun, now I have to live through them. I want them to be good and give it their all. You’re only here a short time, and if you go out there and fight and scrap, you have a chance. If you don’t, you won’t win. Period. They work really hard and they do stick together. We are very proud of them and were going to keep working.”
Michigan Head Coach Kevin Borseth
Opening Statement:
"Good comeback, a little short. I thought we had a good effort in the second half, but we came up short."
On how his team got in their hole:
"It became a game of P-I-G in the first half. ‘Dare you to shoot it, go ahead.’ We didn't make it. In the first half of the last game we were one from 17 from the arc, and we were one from 13 tonight. They just sat back and said, ‘it's a game of pig. Go ahead, shoot it.’ And we didn't make it. And then one thing led to another and before you know it you are trying to make something out of nothing. Now you're going down and you're passing up shots, trying to create something that's not there because what you have is obviously shots that are wide open and we didn't make them.
“I thought our defense did a really good job in the first half. You just can't rely on your defense; unfortunately they don't give you points for it. We're a team that can shoot, these kids can shoot. But the last couple games we have not been able to hit the broad side of the barn. It wasn't like we turned the ball over, it's not like they created things for us that we couldn't get, because we had shots that were wide open. We just had to make them. And that's the game."
On if Michigan's first half shooting can be contributed to the Badger defense:
"We were wide open. They did a good job of jamming the lane. I can do that, we can jam the lane and make them shoot P-I-G on the outside. That's essentially my opinion of what happened. Maybe the tape will show us that they took the ball away, but we didn't really turn the ball over.
“We passed shots up, we tried to manufacture things, and there were times that the shot clock wound down and we didn't get absolutely anything because we were trying to manufacture something that wasn't there. And what was there was a wide-open shot from the perimeter, unguarded. We had a lot of that, but we were trying to manufacture things that weren't there. To their credit, they were smart enough to say, 'go ahead, fire away, we don't think you can make it'."
On putting on the press:
"Whatever we were doing wasn't working. We were down 20; I was ready to try something. Grabbing the bag of tricks and see what happens. And fortunately during that period of time, maybe it changed the rhythm of their shots and they didn't make any. We stayed with it maybe too long. (No.) 5 (Morgan Paige) took it right down the lane with a left hand with the score tied. That was a key layup, that was a layup that broke our back I thought. It was 47-up and she laid it in.
"Of course we went back in the other end and Carmen (Reynolds) had a wide open three to take the lead. It would have put us in the lead but that's part of the game. They made shots when they had to make them, obviously, and I thought our kids gave a very valiant effort in coming back."
