Bowling Green State University Athletics
Curt Miller Press Conference Quotes
February 11, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, coming off a win over Toledo Saturday (Feb. 8), now returns to the road for a Wednesday (Feb. 12) contest at the University at Buffalo. Falcon second-year head coach Curt Miller sat down with members of the media on Monday to discuss the UT win, the UB game and a number of other subjects...
(On the MAC race, and the balance in the conference this year:)
"There are a lot of teams bunched together (in the standings), and I think there's going to be a mad rush for the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th seed. I think everyone still has hopes to host the first round of the tournament. We're glad we've gotten through our stretch of eight-straight games against the West. When the schedule came out, we were very worried about our schedule in January and early February. Now, we get to play some of those East teams. We beat some of those teams last year, and have a little more confidence against them. And, confidence is such a big thing."
"Everyone's on that stretch drive for seeding in the MAC Tournament, which is so big. I think you can predict right now that no one will have a high-enough RPI to be an (NCAA Tournament) at-large team. So, it's all going to come down to the (MAC) Tournament, and the seeding is so important."
(How important is it to keep the momentum of the UT win going against Buffalo?)
"It's important. The kids have such good character that we didn't hang our heads after the Central Michigan game. Now, we have to show character, that we're able to prepare and stay motivated to play against a talented inside game like Buffalo has. It's a different kind of preparation this week. We worried about their mental attitude after Central, if we were gonna be up (for the UT game). Now we have to prepare for the hangover effect, after playing well, of not preparing the right way for Buffalo. It's very important to continue this momentum -- if we can steal a road win, we put ourselves in the position to achieve the goal we set at the beginning of the year, and that was to host the first round of the MAC."
(On the starting lineup for the UB game:)
"We're going to look at preparation and practice this week, see who has a good week of practice, and make a game-time decision. We went with (Saturday's) lineup because they had sparked us against Toledo in the first game. We had that lineup in our minds, but then they played hard enough in practice to deserve the start. So, the same thing might hold true again. (The players who are) playing well in practice will probably get the start. We're going to play all 11 people. Sometimes, 10 and 11 don't get as many minutes as they might want, but we're going to play all 11 people every day, and we're going to keep the people on the floor that are playing well. A perfect example is Tene Lewis. She deserved to be on the floor at the end of the last game."
(On the keys to the Buffalo game:)
"It is such a contrast in styles, so the big key is who's going to play their game. We're a team that's very guard-oriented and perimeter-oriented, and we need to shoot the ball well in their arena. They're very post-dominant. They have five post players who are bigger and stronger than us, and they'll just keep bringing them in, and trying to wear down our post game. So, the tempo and the style of the game will be very important, because their strengths are our weaknesses, but our strengths are their weaknesses."
(Looking ahead, what are your thoughts on Saturday's game vs. Miami?)
"Miami is extremely talented. I still feel they have the ability to get on a roll and win out, and walk away with the conference tournament. I think they have that kind of talent, but they haven't put it all together. That game -- and I don't want to overlook the Buffalo game -- but it is very important for us to get off to a good start in that game. Miami is so talented that, if they get on a roll, it is very hard to stay with them. But, we'll take the Buffalo game first, and then come back to the Miami game. It's important for us to play well against Buffalo, because if we can keep this momentum, I think we have a better chance of keeping some of the crowd around for our game after the men's game. We're the second half of the doubleheader, and we want to play well enough to keep some people in the stands that might normally leave after the men's game."
(On the crowd at the UT game:)
"It was great. Anderson Arena is a tough place to win, with or without a big crowd, but you just realize how much of a factor they become. That was the best crowd since the new staff has taken over. It was the loudest crowd, and it was just a great college atmosphere. You put sixteen hundred-plus people in here, and it was rockin' and rollin'. And, that's what they did in the glory days of Bowling Green women's basketball. That's why it was so hard to come play here, because those are the types of crowds that you typically played in front of. We're ecstatic about the crowd, and with four home games left in the regular season, we hope to keep increasing our attendance and re-energize the community and the campus about women's basketball. (Saturday's game) was just a great college environment."
(On the play of Tene Lewis:)
"Tene brings a different type of athleticism to our team. She really sparks us defensively, and we've preached to her for two years that she needs to be our defensive stopper to get minutes on the floor. But, the thing that Tene has also bought into, is that she is out there also to make plays for other people. Every player on my team has the green light (to shoot). Tene has a yellow light, when it comes to shooting. But, she has the ability to create so many other shots for her teammates, and she is playing her role to a 'T'. Because of that, she is an added dimension that we haven't always had, with her defense, her athleticism, and her ability to create plays for other people."
