Bowling Green State University Athletics
Curt Miller Press Conference
December 17, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University women's basketball coach Curt Miller met with members of the media on Monday morning (Dec. 16) at Anderson Arena. During the question-and-answer session, Miller spoke about a multitude of subjects. The following paragraphs contain some of his thoughts about the state of the Falcons' season to date:
"I was pleased that we pulled the game out at Cleveland State. We did not play well offensively down the stretch, but we made plays on defense, rebounded the ball at some crucial times, and made some good judgements with the ball. When we got an offensive rebound, we pulled it back out, and we made some good plays to win that game without playing great offensively."
"It was very similar to the opener, against Youngstown State, which we lost. Down the stretch, we had four seniors on the floor, and I just have a lot of confidence that we can make plays and win close games because of our experience. I think it gives us confidence that, even if things aren't going perfectly at both ends of the floor, that we can step up and make a play defensively, or get a big rebound to help win the game. That will give us some confidence, because we lost a game earlier in the year with almost the exact same scenario. That (CSU) win, especially coming on the road, will give us confidence in games down the line."
(Are you concerned about the wear-and-tear on Francine Miller through the course of the season? Would you like to see her play fewer minutes?)
"I think Francine's minutes will hover between 25 and 30. I think she could really struggle in back-to-back games, and we have one more such situation in a tournament setting this coming weekend (Bearcat Invitational). But, when we get into conference play, and are pretty consistent with Wednesday-Saturday games, I think she'll be OK. She won't practice many Thursdays the rest of the year, and we'll do what we can on Friday and have her going again (on Saturday). That's what we did coming out of (last Wednesday's) IPFW game. She did not practice Thursday, we limited her practice Friday, and she felt as good as she has all year on Saturday (at CSU). I think we'll be fine come conference play, but it concerns me for this weekend. The back-to-back games really bother her."
(After seven games, what areas of your team are pleasing to you, and what areas do you feel are not as strong as you had hoped?)
"Obviously, we are pleased with our defensive performance so far. Our field-goal percentage defense is 36 percent. We were just under 40 percent heading into the final two games last year, and that's a big goal for us. I believe I'm an offensive-minded coach, so for our defense to do what we've done for a year and seven games, I'm pleased."
"I'm a little disappointed with our offense. We're still not shooting the ball at the percentage that we would like, and it's not as high-scoring as we'd like. We'd like to get the games in the 70's, not the 60's, and shoot a higher percentage. But, some of the players that aren't shooting well, you could go out and play a game of H-O-R-S-E and (they shoot very well). We have to get their shooting percentages up, and we have to get better production in the post. We don't have a person that we can (count on to) get a double-double or do what (BGSU men's basketball's) Kevin Netter is doing in the post. But, I feel like we can get some production out of our post players as a group."
"We're really pleased to be 4-3 seven games in. And, since we got Lindsay Austin back full-time -- she is a catalyst both offensively and defensively -- we're 3-1 with a legitimate shot (to win) against Wilmington. We were one down at halftime against a very good team. She is so important to us, and I hope we hear later today that Lindsay Austin was player of the week in our league. (NOTE: Austin was indeed named a MAC P-O-W later Monday.) She certainly deserves it. She averaged 16 points on the week, had a career high in the IPFW game, and absolutely stymied the Cleveland State point guards. She's such a difference-maker for us."
(Can you talk about what Megan Jerome has contributed to the team?)
"Megan came into camp for her senior year in the best shape and playing the best basketball of her life. Due to Lindsay's early injury, we asked more of Megan -- to take on the role of an emergency point guard and also continue to be a valuable wing for us. She's just a steady player. She's always in the right place defensively, she plays hard, she doesn't turn over the ball -- her assist/turnover ratio is almost 3-to-1, and she rebounds her position well. She is very steady, and I feel very confident when she's on the floor that she's not going to make a mental mistake or a mistake that costs you the game. She's not flashy, but she is steady, and she is confident that she can step up and make the big shots like (the one she made late in the CSU game). She made the big plays down the stretch. Her offensive rebound with 40-some seconds to go was bigger than the shot she made. She was smart enough to pull it all the way out (and take some time off the clock). She made all the big plays in the last couple minutes. She also had a defensive deflection late in the game. We just expect that out of a senior leader. Other players look to her, and she's just a calming, steady influence on the floor."
