Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Falls At Ohio Saturday
March 02, 2002 | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2002
ATHENS, Ohio -
BGSU HEAD COACH CURT MILLER:
"If there's a better series in the MAC this year than Bowling Green and Ohio in women's basketball this year, I'd like to see it. Any of the three games could have gone either way, both teams really played hard. But, I think come tournament time, it all comes down to senior leaders. (Ohio's Lori) Moorman and (Cathy) Szall are great players, and have been for a long time. They stepped up and were terrific, and you have to give them all the credit in the world. Going into the game, we said that we would have our work cut out for us if they combined to score 35 points, and they got 37. ... When they needed big baskets and big plays, they were consistently and constantly there."
"I was very pleased with our effort. We outscored them from the field, executed fine, and did not wilt under their pressure, with only 12 turnovers. Even though we were outrebounded, we battled on the boards. But, clearly, the thing that sticks out, and the same thing that happened in our first game (vs. Ohio), was their ability to get to the foul line. They get to the foul line 21 more times than us, and score 16 more points at the line. They're a physical team, they're a dribble-penetrating team that really gets to the foul line. And, if you look at their stretches of success this year, that's the statistic you can look at. When they haven't been able to get to the foul line, they don't win games."
"It's an impressive win for Ohio, considering the fact - and I was in this situation when I was at Syracuse, and the game on the horizon after the 8/9 game was Uconn. They're coming off a game where they got beat by 50, by the team they've got to turn around and play next. A lot of teams pack it in. A lot of teams don't want to win this game and go back and play a team that just beat them by 50. That shows senior leadership, that shows the class of their coaching staff to get them ready and wanting to win this game."
(On completing his first season with BGSU and as a head coach:) "Well, it was a great year. We certainly overachieved. Night-in and night-out, we're underdogs, and clearly outmatched on paper. I've said from day one that our kids will look other teams in the eye and say, 'You're better than us, but for 40 minutes on an afternoon or night, you've got to go out and beat us.' We refused to roll over for anyone."
"To lose our starting center for a third of the season, and Francine (Miller) - who arguably was the best senior in the conference coming into the year - to lose those two and do what we did, I think, is truly remarkable. ... those kids never, ever quit on us. And, I can't be more pleased with where we're headed. We lose just one player off of that group, and get a Big East transfer (Giani Bowles) and Francine back, along with four freshman. I would not want to play us next year."
