University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes
2/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota Head Coach Marlene Stollings
Opening statement:
"Wow, I'm still catching my breath. Ohio State is a heck of a team. They're No. 5 in the nation, they have the No. 2 scoring duo, and it was fun watching that play out tonight. Carlie and Rachel are No. 1 and it played out in the game tonight. I thought that was incredible to watch. I'm so, so happy for our seniors. To go out in a game like this is a memory that they'll remember when they're a hundred years old and you couldn't ask for a better way to go out. I really want to credit our fans because that was our largest crowd of the year, and they really helped us down the stretch to pull it out and go over the top."
On the team's shooting in this game:
"We had 24 offensive rebounds for the game, which I'm sure is a high for the season, and then we out-rebounded them for the game. That was huge. [Ohio State] didn't shoot great either. You look at their percentages and their scorers that usually score for them, in Ameryst Alston and Kelsey Mitchell, it was a little bit of an off-shooting night for them as well. The shooting wasn't as efficient as it usually is, but you'll have a few nights like that. All in all, we were very pleased with our production."
On the team's fight throughout the entire game:
"Well I always known that they were tough, but to show it on the biggest stage - going against No. 5 in the nation - really speaks volumes to their heart. I don't think we were really proud of ourselves collectively after the Indiana and Michigan State games in term of our energy and effort. So we knew on the defensive end of the court tonight that that was going to be key. I thought that they really responded. We have a game goal for number of stops and we exceeded that, and it's a proven stat for us. The fortitude of our kids was great. Carlie - a sophomore - stepping up and hitting that last shot knowing that Rachel was out and we were relying on her, it just speaks volumes to her competitive spirit. She has a will to win that's as high as anybody, and I just that it was really special of her in that moment to show such poise, and get to the basket, plant, collect, and go up with a very balanced shot."
On the NCAA tournament:
"As far as the NCAA tournament goes, you just win. You just win and let it take care of itself. This certainly is huge in terms of resume building. We're in a battle fighting for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament right now, and we're trying to maintain that fourth spot. So we're going to let our kids enjoy this, take a couple days off, and rest and recuperate to get ready for Maryland. It doesn't slow down right now and we have high aspirations, and we're not going to slow down."
Rachel Banham
On what it was like watching the end of the game from the bench:
"It was stressful. It is hard watching from the bench when you want to be in, but I felt like we had control in the overtime. I knew that Carlie could make that shot. So it was fun, it was obviously a different view sitting from there, but I am glad that we got it."
What it was like to have time go back on the clock at the end of regulation and then see Ohio State make a spectacular shot:
"It was all right that there was extra time. We tried to get a stop and had a little bit of a mishap, but that was fine. It is not typically what we want to happen but we battled back and got the win so I am happy with that."
What it means to close out her career at the Barn with a win like this:
"It is great. I am really happy for all of us seniors to go out like that. It is always fun to beat Ohio State. They are a great team, a top-five team in the nation, so it is pretty cool. It is sad I am not going to be playing here anymore, but I am glad that we went out that way."
On what she was thinking when she was hit hard, tweaked her knee and came up limping:
"I wanted to shoot the free throws. I knew I was going to make them, so I wanted to stay in and take them. I was determined."
Carlie Wagner
On redeeming herself after the missed layup:
"Well, I just knew I had to be aggressive especially with Mitchell on me. She had four fouls. I just feel like I have a responsibility to step up when Rachel is out, especially in a tight situation like that. I just knew I had to be aggressive and get to the basket. I just got angry. I wanted to get in there. I just took the shot, and it just happened to fall."
On time being added again:
"We just knew that we had to get up on them, especially Mitchell obviously. They're going to be starting to jack threes trying to get the win but I thought we did a really good job coming on them with hands high, not letting them get the open shot. I just thought we played really good defense that last .8 seconds."
On mentally persevering through the end after the turnover at the end of regulation:
"I just knew that we could beat them. We were in it with them the whole game. We were fighting with them the whole game. I could just see that we could beat them. We just knew we had to keep our defense up. Trying to stay really positive when things weren't going our way, always just being aggressive, playing good defense, you know it's just the little things we have to do to win. You have to be really focused and really want it and be positive."
