University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota-Purdue Postgame Quotes
2/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota Head Coach Pam Borton
Opening Statement
"I thought we had a poor second half, but we had to give a lot of credit to Purdue on defense on closing down the paint and neutralizing Ashley (Ellis-Milan). They kept us off the offensive boards in the second half and I thought the difference in the game was they scored off our turnovers but we could not score off of theirs. Purdue played a great game and they did just enought to win but we have to be able to put more points on the board."
On not being able to close on Purdue's lead...
"It was very frustrating. It felt like a chess match on offense and it seemed like our defense could only hold up for so long. I think they had 37 points going into the last seven or eight minutes but we have to be able to score more than 40 points to win."
On Purdue's defense...
"I thought we were turning the ball over, really some unnecessary turnovers in the second half. We had some people wide open and that could have chipped away at the lead. I thought they did a really good job of closing the lane down in the second half. We had to take pull up jumpers over six foot four inch kids. They didn't give us a lot inside and we had to take it outside and those weren't going in for us."
Junior Brittany McCoy
On Purdue's height advantage...
"It was tough, but we played them once before this season and we knew it was going to be tough. It was a disadvantage driving in the land with huge post players waiting to block your shot. It's not an excuse for the loss, they're very beatable. We just didn't do what we needed to in order to win the game."
On challenge of guarding FahKara Malone...
"I didn't really guard her that much but we knew having her back for Purdue just changed the tempo of their team. She's quick, she's a great leader on the floor and she definitely sets the tempo. We knew we had to shut down all their guards because they are so quick but we didn't help out like we should have on defense. They're all good players. They're big and athletic."
On missing out on a chance to move up in the Big Ten standings...
"I feel like we are so close to Purdue that we needed this game to pull away and start distancing ourselves. At halftime we heard Ohio State lost and we knew we needed this game to move up in the rankings. I definitely think we lost a big opportunity."
Purdue Head Coach Sharon Versyp:
Opening Statement
"We knew that this was going to be a very tough battle. Minnesota is a great team. We felt that we played well at home but we knew that playing in this environment would be difficult. We prepared this game as if it was an NCAA tournament game in front of a great fan base. Our players really stepped up in the second half. Our defense was a major key. Our players in the second half were able to knock down some shots."
On Minnesota’s player Ashley Ellis-Milan...
“We have a lot of respect for Ashley. At our place we won the double but pushed her out quite a bit. She got a little deeper on us tonight so our plan was to double her and not have her get a lot of touches, for her to get read of the basketball, and make other people lead us.”
Senior Forward, Lakisha Freeman
You guys have had trouble starting half’s and ending halfs but tonight that came together...
“Like coach said, we are peaking at the right time. I think we are coming together as a team. We want it and I think we played great.”
Junior Guard, Fahkara Malone
Did you know how much time was left on the clock when you shot thethree-pointer?
“I knew I had to get it up. They were all on one side. Danielle Campbell was able to find me. I was just happy that I was able to knock down the shot for the team.”
What happen to your finger?
“It is going to happen here and there. It is just going to get hit. You just have to play through it the best that you can.”
What was the atmosphere like at Minnesota?
“The biggest thing is communicating because it is so loud. Minnesota’s fans are amazing. We had to use a lot of hand signals and a lot of talking when the ball was dead. We had to look at each other more compared to a lot of different atmospheres.”
