Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU-Northern Illinois Post-Game Quotes
January 11, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2003
DeKALB, Ill. -
BGSU HEAD COACH CURT MILLER:
"This league has a lot of parity this year. And, I think you'll see, as the year goes on, the teams that will move to the forefront in the conference are the teams that hold serve and win games at home. It's going to be a struggle for all of us, all year long, to find road wins. When you're playing teams that are predicted to finish ahead of you, and are very talented, you can't dig yourself holes like we did today."
"Northern Illinois' backbone, and Carol Hammerle's backbone for her whole career, has been great defensive pressure. When you start off so badly, (their defense) puts that seed of doubt in your mind. You hope that you come out and make some shots, and make some plays early. But, when you put yourself in a hole, their defense, which is their backbone, becomes the real deal."
"Northern's injuries to their two post players, and the decision to move (Kim) Boeding inside, has been a blessing in disguise. She's coming off a year where she struggled, only shooting 30 percent for the year, and now she has to be regarded as one of the best power forwards in the league. When you scout them, your whole focus is on the high-low game between Boeding and (Jennifer) Youngblood. And when their players like (Lindsay) Secrest and (Stephanie) Smith and (Kristan) can step up and make three's. That's the 'X' factor for them. They're going to get inside production every night, but when they step up and make 10 shots from beyond the arc or shoot 44 percent from three-point range, they're unbeatable, especially at home."
"We didn't make very many adjustments (at halftime). We challenged the kids to play harder and to play tougher. Everything we talked about, going into the game, was out there. What they were trying to do, on both ends of the floor, they were doing. It was no secret. So, we didn't change much. We challenged the kids to play harder and not back down, and play harder and see where that would take us. But, as happens with any team that makes a run, you use so much energy making the run and getting it to eight points, and before you know it, they make a run back at you that pretty much nullifies the first run."
"But, I was pleased with the run, and I was pleased that we played them even in the second half. I hope it proves to our kids that we can play with them -- we almost beat them last year. We almost beat them last year with a team that was not as good (as this year's BG team). So, I hope that second half gives us confidence that we can play against them in Bowling Green."
"Northern has really improved their movement and their ability to score. Carol's teams don't historically score 78 points. But, they are playing very well offensively. They're gonna show up defensively every night. If they can score like they did tonight, they could win the league."
"We have to live and die by (shooting from behind) the arc. We spread the floor and try to dribble-penetrate. We don't have an inside presence. Offensively, it's tough when you go on the road and you have to depend on guard play and the ability to make shots. Early on in the game, when they made their run, their defense was strong, but we missed wide-open three's. And, if you miss those opportunities, it just becomes harder and harder to score."
"Francine (Miller) didn't shoot the ball well, but even when she doesn't shoot the ball well, she's going to find ways to score. (Lindsay) Austin has really sparked us through this run of six wins in seven games. She has played really, really well, but (today) she just couldn't consistently get by Monique Davis and create the offense that she has in recent games. We had eight assists on the game, and only one at halftime. When you play a whole half with one assist, you're not making open shots, and you're not creating as much as possible. Their defense on Lindsay Austin, in my opinion, was the key. We just could not get her going."
NIU HEAD COACH CAROL HAMMERLE:
"We really needed this game for our psyche. We did good things on both sides of the floor and just played an outstanding game."
"I was very pleased with how we started. We could probably sell instructional tapes with our play. Both ends of the floor were just outstanding."
"They (BGSU) really stepped up their play a notch to start the second half. But, we did stop the bleeding when we needed to."
