Bowling Green State University Athletics
Quoting Curt Miller
January 10, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2004
DeKALB, Ill. -
BGSU HEAD COACH Curt Miller
"That is a huge win. We came in here (with a record of) 8-4 last year, and absolutely got bushwhacked last year. They took us behind the shed, and we reminded our veterans of that. They tried to relay that to our seven freshmen that, if you don't bring your lunch pail here -- Carol (Hammerle) is too good of a coach, and they have good veterans and a tremendous freshman class -- the game will be over. Essentially, last year, the game was over in the last eight minutes. So that fast start was huge for our confidence."
"This is not an easy place to play, Northern Illinois is a physical team, and that's just how far this (BGSU) program has come. In our first two MAC games, we had a chance to win at the buzzer against Ball State and a huge, huge road win against Northern. I'm on cloud nine right now; our kids played great."
(On Liz Honegger)
"She was a monster. (NIU's Jennifer) Youngblood, (Kristin) Wiener and Joi Scott are legit. We're not going to see a lot of kids in a tandem like that all year. We went with Liz on Youngblood, an all-conference senior post player who is as strong as anyone in the league. Liz did not have a great offensive night, but her presence was so important out there. She got 17 rebounds, and a couple huge offensive rebounds when we were really struggling to score."
(On Ali Mann)
"One of the keys for Ali was that she stayed out of foul trouble. She's been in foul trouble the last few games, and that ankle sprain -- what a tough kid. She probably shouldn't have played against Ball State, and she tried to gut it out. She was in every statistical category in the MAC for a while, and then she went through that rough spot, which most freshmen will do. But, (her play at NIU) just showed her character. I liked her athleticism; I liked her matchup on the perimeter against some of the more low-post people that Northern has, and Ali had to have a big game for us to win today."
"We found a way to win when we didn't shoot well. Their new style of defense makes you earn every point you get. They kind of cushion the lane and force you to score over them. They force you to make shots. But, if you would have told me we would have shot 32 percent and found a way to win, I would have told you, 'No way -- not on the road.' But, that's a credit to our kids. They were hungry, and were a little heartbroken from that Ball State game, but what character they showed to come back and win a big game on the road."
"Now, we have to take care of Akron. They're a rebuilding team, just like we are, and we'll have our kids ready to play. We can't wait to get back to (playing in front of) our fans at Anderson Arena. It's a fun team to watch; keep coming out."
