Bowling Green State University Athletics
From the Media Room
January 12, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Post-game reactions from the players and coaches after Eastern Michigan's 51-48 win over Bowling Green Wednesday night...
BOWLING GREEN COACH Curt Miller
"It was a great game. I think we got the game that it was billed to be, with the defending MAC champions, and a rematch of last year's championship game. It's not always a pretty game when the two of us play, but (tonight's game) was what a tournament game feels like. Every possession is a struggle, people are working very hard defensively, and that's the kind of game that we're going to have to win against Eastern Michigan."
(Were you surprised at the low final score?)
"No. We both are at the top of the league in scoring, and we're in the top-30 in the country, but Eastern defends you so well. They're very athletic and very physical, and we wanted to do that back at them. But, the one statistic that frustrates us tonight ... our number-one goal was to win the points-in-the-paint battle, and they almost doubled us. We just could not get going in the paint, either off of post-ups, or off of our dribble penetration. That statistic was a big deciding factor."
"This was similiar to our Duquesne loss. You battle, battle, battle, but it was almost deflating that we could never get over the hump. The crowd was fantastic, and I felt like, if we could just get a lead one time, we could get the crowd going with us and put the pressure on them."
(On Liz Honegger and Ali Mann, who combined for only two shot attempts in the first half)
"We were frustrated that we couldn't get them more shot attempts, as they are a huge part of our game plan. We went to them more in the second half. We still didn't get the amount of shots that we'd like. Eastern defended us very physical tonight, and they never came off wings. So, they basically said, 'we're going to give your freshman point guard [Kate Achter] a lot of shots.' I'm proud of Kate; I thought she played really well. I thought, in the second half, we did a much better job of getting to the foul line. That is a very talented Eastern team, and I think we proved that we're every bit as good. That bodes well for the future, but we just came up a little short tonight."
BGSU SOPHOMORE FORWARD Ali Mann
(Were they doing anything in particular against you in the first half?)
"In the first half, they came out very physical, and I don't think we were ready for that type of play. They were jamming our screens, and taking us out of our offense a little bit. In the second half, we adapted to that type of play, adjusted to the kind of game the refs were calling, and as a team, became more physical."
(On not being able to take the lead in the second half)
"We had plenty of chances to take the lead, but they just weren't falling, and (Eastern) hit some big shots down the stetch."
(On the atmosphere)
"Yeah, the atmosphere was great tonight ... tonight's crowd was amazing. They really got us fired up when we were making our runs. The crowd was going crazy, the fans were into it, and it was a great feeling. It really motivated us."
BGSU FRESHMAN GUARD Kate Achter
(On not being able to take the lead in the second half)
"We had our opportunities; we had every opportunity we wanted. It just didn't seem like they would fall tonight for us."
EASTERN MICHIGAN COACH SUZY MERCHANT
"We had to do something to make up for our loss at home on Saturday (55-53 to Northern Illinois). I was proud of our kids; I thought that was a team that showed a lot of fight (tonight). We didn't have that on Saturday."
(On holding Liz Honegger and Ali Mann scoreless in the first half)
"You have a game plan, and you try to do certain things. But, those kids are pretty talented. I thought they stepped it up in the second half, and really did a good job of coming after us."
(On Ryan Coleman)
"She's our MVP. She might be the league MVP, I don't know, but she sure is a heck of a player. Because, it's not just about scoring for her. She gets after people, defends, rebounds, gets in passing lanes. She can do a little bit of everything and get people involved. She's a pretty special player."
(On the Eagles' second-half turnovers ... was it anything that BGSU was doing?)
"Honegger is so tough. Her arms are just so long. We were making some bad decisions, and they did a nice job of knowing where the ball was going. We were well-scouted."
(On the atmosphere)
"It was hot in there. It was hot in there, it was loud in there ... I thought they had a really nice crowd. They're always right on top of you. Every time you come in here, it could be ten below (outside), and to me, it just feels like the intensity is so high in here. The fans are right on you, and they were loud, yelling 'defense' down the stretch. I think they got us out of rhythm, because (the players) couldn't hear what I was staying ... I thought their crowd certainly made a difference."
