University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Belmont
12/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Gophers Head Coach, Marlene Stollings
Opening statement...
"I am proud of our team for battling the entire game. We talked a lot the last two days that this would be a 40-minute battle. They are an NCAA Tournament team from last year that returned every one of their starter,s they took Michigan State down to the last 3-minutes of the game in the NCAA Tournament last year. They're very talented, they can score positions 1-through-5 from the 3-point line, which makes them very hard to guard so very proud of our team for hanging in there and battling all the way down to the very last possession which we knew there was a possibility that could happen. Jessie with a career high 29-points, and hitting those pressure free-throws down the stretch. Belmont is a very high caliber, quality team that will probably be dancing in March so this is a big win for us."
On Belmont's 3-pt shooting...
"You don't often see teams that have a 4 or 5 player that can shoot with the consistency that they can. Even when they subbed, the subs at those positions can shoot. We told our team they are coming off three games in a row where they hit 16, 15, and 9 consecutively and they hit 12 today and we were man-to-man the entire time. They're very disciplined and drilled in what they do, and they are very accurate from the 3-point line."
On the last out-of-bounds sideline possession...
"We drew up something we had seen them run, they ran something different but I thought our team did a good job adjusting to that. We wanted to switch every single screen, so that's why we put Whitney [Tinjum] in at the 5 and took Jessie out so we would have more of a guard look out there knowing that they were going to go for a 3-point shot."
On the latest competition...
"We are battle-tested, there is no question about it. We've been in pretty much every environment you could want to be in going into Big Ten play. We've played super athletic North Carolina and Georgia, we obviously played a potential national champion in South Carolina, then we play someone like Belmont today that is probably going to be dancing in March. We've seen all types of variety of athleticism, and great shooting teams such as Belmont, so I think that there is no doubt we have seen everything we could have possibly seen coming into Big Ten time and I think that is going to serve us well."
Thoughts on Jessie Edwards' game...
"I was very proud of her poise, we put her in positions where she could hit those little 5ft jump shots, 8ft jump shots. You could see her looking around to pass a few times, it was like she was so open. But we're confident she can hit those shots, she takes a lot of those in practice and in position work. We knew the middle was a weakness of their zone so we really wanted to get the ball in there and she knocked down shot after shot there down the stretch for us.
Thoughts on Edwards' progress...
"She has come so far us. She arrived here last fall, so she missed summer and I thought she played catch up most of the year battling with the physicality and the caliber of teams we go against. She really devoted herself over the offseason to improve her strength and her physicality, and putting on a lot of muscle weight in the weight room working with Coach Ralph. I just think you're seeing the fruits of her labor so to speak coming into fruition here throughout the season. She is more and more confident, a lot of that is coming from that she's a lot stronger."
Jessie Edwards
On her game today and her confidence level...
"Obviously I feel pretty confident today after scoring a career high 29-points. As Coach was saying, I have worked really hard over the offseason and this summer to get a lot stronger, because the first year I was here I got pushed around a little bit inside with the stronger posts. I knew I had to get stronger over the summer, so I think that now I am able to utilize my strength and play a little bit more physical than I was before and it's starting to all come together now."
On her jump-shot...
"We practice every type of shot really hard, but they just left me wide open for those shots and I said, 'I'll take them' so I did."
Carlie Wagner
On confiedence of the younger players...
"Confidence just skyrockets. You just know in those situations that you're able to finish the play and help lead your team to success. I mean there is nothing better than a game-winner, so I'm hoping Jessie is just going to be like ice in the veins all year now."
Bruins Head Coach, Cameron Newbauer
On the final minute of play:
"Our game plan was to make somebody besides the 'Big Three' beat us. I'll just put it out there, Edwards, I hadn't seen her hit a free throw line jumper all year. I told our team we are going to make her beat us, we're going to make her shoot from the high post. She was a 58% free throw shooter on the year, I told the team to make sure we box her when she shoots. She ended up going 7-for-8 at the free throw line, 11-of-15 on the floor and it turned into a one-point game. Our game plan worked, we held the 'Big Three' between 32 and 37 points when they normally score 53 or 54. I think what really bit us in the butt were some of those offensive rebounds late in the game. Hats off to them, our kids competed and fought all game. We didn't shoot it well, but that's a testament to their defense. They took us out of some things with their athleticism and their size gave us some problems. If you look at our shooting percentage overall, we didn't play great offensively, but I think that's because of them. [Coach Stollings] has done a good job. You never know how a team is going to come back after what they faced in South Carolina the other day, but they have a good squad, and these kids played hard."
On the final shot...
"We had two options on the play, and it worked out that they took away the first option like we thought they would and we got the second option. We got what we wanted, it was just short and didn't go down, but to be in that position for Belmont at Minnesota is amazing. A lot of people say 'Hey, I'll take that and run with it,' but I'll take it but I want more for our team and our kids want more. And we fought to have a fighting chance to win the game and I'm proud of them for that, because they played hard."
