Bowling Green State University Athletics
MAC Tournament Post-Game Quotes
March 08, 2003 | Women's Basketball
March 8, 2003
YPSILANTI, Mich. -
BGSU HEAD COACH CURT MILLER:
"I thought both teams played really, really hard. Both teams had jitters early, and we both were feeling each other out. It was our second game in five days, and I think we were feeling each other out to see what adjustments both coaches might have made over the last few days. I give a lot of credit to Eastern. They stepped up and made plays; their go-to players made a lot of plays tonight."
"I want to give credit to Suzy (Merchant) and to their defense. We missed a lot of shots. That's what we do; we shoot the ball, and when you don't make shots, you're not nearly as effective. We didn't make shots in our shootaround (earlier Saturday), and we didn't make shots tonight, but some of the credit has got to go to Eastern. Their defense had to contribute to that."
"They (EMU) do such a good job, when the shot clock is winding down, of not panicking, and continuing to work for a good shot. That's why, last game, I said that Eastern Michigan could go and beat anyone; because of their half-court efficiency. It's as good as anyone in the league. When the shot clock winds down, sure enough, they'll get a duck-in, they'll get a post-up with three seconds to go. And, not only do they get it, they complete the pass and they finish. The same goes for their out-of-bounds plays."
"If you break down their 66 points, a lot of their points are scored with less than five seconds to go on the shot clock. That is deflating, because you play defense for 25 seconds, you take away their first couple options, and they still step up and make a play late in the shot clock. It is absolutely deflating to your team, and they did that throughout the game."
"This concludes Francine's career, and she's been just phenomenal. I don't know what else I can say about her that I haven't already said. She's had a phenomenal career at Bowling Green."
BGSU SENIOR FRANCINE MILLER:
"We had problems shooting all night, so it wasn't surprising that they weren't falling when we really needed them. We had good looks; they just weren't falling for us tonight. You can't beat a team on their home court when you can't hit open shots. It was just as simple as that. If we would have hit those shots, it would have been a different game. But, they didn't fall for us, unfortunately, and they're moving on and we're done."
