University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes
1/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Northwestern at Minnesota
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Marlene Stollings
Opening Statement:
"That was great for our program, upsetting No. 20 in the nation. That's a huge win for us. I'm really proud of our young ladies because they really stayed true to our game plan. For example, we really wanted to focus on Nia Coffey and taking charges, and we got two there in the first half. I thought it was really key in the first half. I just thought, collectively, we stayed true to the game plan at a very high level and I'm just very proud of our players."
On the importance of recent wins at home:
"I think that one of the things that separates good teams from great teams is how they finish. We like to be hitting our stride here in January and into February. That's our goal as a staff, we're teaching them and building confidence and bringing our team along. Even with someone like Rachel [Banham], I think you're really seeing her hit her stride and her offensive prowess here the last couple games in how quickly she can put up a lot of points. I think it's just the team really gelling and wanting to achieve great things. We have eleven Big Ten games left and there's a lot that can happen in that. We have high expectations and goals of going to the NCAA Tournament, and you have to win Big Ten games to go and you have to win at home. Again, just very proud of them."
On the importance of good shooting:
"We came in at halftime and we were on fire. We were getting good looks, and we had great screening during that time and great reads. I think with these two [Rachel Banham and Carlie Wagner] the game is slowing down for them and they're reading much better, and knowing when to pull up, when to pass, and when to continue on attacking. We've been watching film on that and I think they're really making those adjustments down the stretch here in Big Ten play."
Senior Rachel Banham
On going back and forth with Nia Coffey in the third quarter:
"On our side of things, Coach was calling for me to get things going and Nia was super aggressive after sitting out a lot. I thought it made it really fun going back and forth and made some really good play calls."
On playing against Nia Coffey in high school:
"One year we killed their team, and the next year they killed us. The first time I played her was my junior year. We went undefeated and, my senior year, she broke our winning streak. There's our history."
Sophomore Carlie Wagner
On limiting Nia Coffey in the fourth quarter:
"I thought it just came down to rebounding. We had good rebounds at important times of the game and we kept our poise where they were putting ball pressure on us."
On play in the last minute:
"I thought it just came out of being poised. We knew that they were going to put a lot of pressure on us, so we knew that we needed to get open. Arm bar and just hold out with the ball and not let them get an easy steal or something. Our team really came together in that last minute. I've never seen us get so amped. We really wanted that win. We just came together."
