University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes
2/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2012
Postgame Quotes
No. 19/21 Penn State (18-5, 8-3 Big Ten) 68, Minnesota (12-13, 4-7 Big Ten) 65
Williams Arena - Minneapolis, Minn.
February 5, 2012
Minnesota Head Coach Pam Borton
Opening statement:
"I thought it was a missed opportunity for us to continue protecting our home court today. I thought our team had a great effort today, played extremely hard, and they made the plays down the stretch and we didn't. I felt that we had the game under control when Kionna [Kellogg] made a play with six seconds to go. I felt like we had the game and just needed to get a couple stops. I think we had some miscommunication on defending ball screens at the end. The one thing we couldn't give up was a three. I really liked our effort. Now we just have to regroup and get ready for Thursday."
On if she thought Minnesota was able to take advantage of Penn State's poor shooting in the first half:
"I don't think we did. I felt like at halftime we should have been up by a lot more than what we were. Scoring-wise, I thought we did a great job defensively. I thought Kionna [Kellogg] and Sari [Noga] did a great job defending [Maggie] Lucas tonight. She's a tough scorer, probably one of the best scorers in our conference, and I thought they did a good job on her. But I don't think we capitalized in the first half by going up. I think our post players got in a little bit of foul trouble, had a tough time scoring in the paint. I think we're asking our guards to do a lot as far as creating shots, getting to the rim, and defending the ball, and we need to get a little more help from some post scoring on the side."
On what caused 18 turnovers for the Gophers:
"I think it's just us not being careless with the ball and protecting the ball. I think we're dribbling the ball too much and getting into bad situations in the paint, and that's something that's been hampering us all season. I think attacking - Kiara [Buford] and Rachel [Banham], those are the only two ball handlers we have on the team, and I think teams make it hard on these guys. For the most part, they did a great job taking care of the basketball, but I think in the second half we had a few more types of those turnovers."
On Banham taking the last-second three-point attempt to tie the game:
"It was Rachel off of a screen out of bounds. I thought she had a good look at it, she got it off clean, and she was up and over the defender. I thought she had a great look at it and a great shot. You know, she's shooting 67 percent from the three-point line in the Big Ten, and she's the person we wanted to take the last shot."
On the physicality of Penn State's play:
"I think everybody's been physical. It was just a normal Big Ten game, and I think we have to be tougher in some positions out there on the floor and not get knocked around. I think we have to give a little back, and that's something we have to continue to learn to do."
Minnesota Senior Guard Kiara Buford
On the physicality of Big Ten play:
"Yeah, I definitely agree that the toughness is something I need to have sometimes, it's important to hold my ground and make plays at the end."
Penn State Head Coach Coquese Washington
On the team starting slow and then finding its rhythm:
"We are a very confident team, and one of the things I try to tell my team all the time is confidence. If you are confident in your shots and they won't fall early, just keep shooting. We were not concerned early on with how we were shooting the ball. I thought we were getting good shots."
On Mia Nickson's strong play:
"Coming into the game I thought we could get into the paint and get some good looks. Mia did a good job of being aggressive. When she got the ball down low she did a good job at the free-throw line. (The team) did a good job of getting her the ball where she could be effective."
On the difficulty of winning in Williams Arena:
"Minnesota gets a great crowd. The building is loud and if you don't play here regularly I think it takes some time to adjust to the floor and the atmosphere."
On Maggie Lucas' first two years at Penn State:
"She is a fantastic scorer. Her ability to make shots has surpassed my expectations for her. Her work ethic is impeccable, and she gets better every day. I think she will end up having one of the storied careers in Lady Lion history."
