Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU-Kentucky Post-Game Quotes
January 03, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2006
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Quoting the two head coaches after the University of Kentucky's 66-62 overtime win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Monday night (Jan. 2)...
BGSU HEAD COACH Curt Miller
"It was a great game, an exciting one for the fans. I thought both teams played very hard. I loved our mentality coming here today. My team came here with the belief that we were the better team, and that we were coming here to win. We pride ourselves; we think that if you put us in a power conference, that we would finish in the middle of the pack in any power conference. We weren't intimidated, and that's to our kids' credit. All you can ask as a coach is to be in position to win at the end of the game, and we had that opportunity. I'm really proud of our effort, we felt like we let one slip away, but what a great game both ways."
 Kate Achter (20) battles Kentucky's Eleia Roddy (1) and Jennifer Humphrey for a rebound as BG's Ali Mann looks on (photo courtesy UKAthletics.com)  |
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"Well, it's just a loose-ball foul. I thought both kids were hustling. Obviously, neither coach is going to be happy (if that call goes against them), but everyone in the arena knows that when you foul Jenny Pfeiffer, it's an automatic two points. That didn't play a factor in the game. That was an all-star officiating crew, and it was an honor to play with those three, because you'll see all three of them late in the NCAA Tournament."
(On the play of Ali Mann, and the matchup problems it created for UK)
"Well, one of the things we like about our post players is their versatility. They can score at the arc, and they can roll inside, roll outside. Frankly, we were having trouble scoring inside against them; they're so big. But, we felt like we had an advantage if we could get Ali off the dribble. We got some isolations for her, and she took advantage of that. But, it's a game of give and take. We had matchup problems against them, and (UK coach) Mickie (DeMoss) was taking advantage of that. And, we knew we had some matchup advantages, and we tried to take care of them. It was a great chess match between coaches trying to find their advantage."
(On the play of UK's Samantha Mahoney at the point-guard position)
"It was the absolute difference in the game, the stretch where Mahoney got loose off some high ball screens when they put her at the point. We gambled and left our wing player on her, and I thought that stretch was the difference in the game. They made us pay, and Mahoney was the catalyst."
(How does this game set you up for Mid-American Conference play?)
"Well, it's good and bad. I think you leave a game like this knowing that you can play with anyone in the country. But, today, we got to play carefree, because a lot of people considered us underdogs. With the exception of people in our lockerroom, everyone would think that we're the underdog against an SEC team. Now, we're entering conference play where we're the hunted. Every night, we're going to get teams' best effort, knowing that we're a big game. We can't overlook any game, and we have to be ready, night-in and night-out. When we leave today, and we wake up in the morning, we're zero and zero, and it starts all over again."
(Was there a point where you felt the game was decided?)
"Well, I certainly though we missed open shots that we're capable of making. We're a team that shoots the ball really well. Our dribble penetration helped us get open looks, and a lot of kids are hanging their heads because they missed some shots that they're capable of making."
KENTUCKY HEAD COACH MICKIE DeMOSS
"It was a win. It was needed. I think after losing two in a row, our spirits were probably a little shaken, and probably a little fatigued. We had to do a lot of mental preparation for Louisville, and a lot of mental preparation for Wake Forest. Then we came back here and we had to get ready for a very solid Bowling Green team. I'm just really proud of the way we pulled it out. Did we play great offensively? No, we didn't. We found a way to win the game, and we had some people step up big. Sam Mahoney was big on the offensive end and Nastassia Alcius had seven steals, which was key for us."
(On Samantha Mahoney's team-high 17 points)
"She needed it. She's been a little up and down, we've been wanting her to be our go-to player on the perimeter. She's just been a little inconsistent. I thought she really responded well. We got the ball into her hands at the point and she was able to get to the basket, and I think that got her confidence going a little bit."
(On Mahoney scoring 12 consecutive points in the second half)
"That was big. She kind of singlehandedly took over the game there, which we needed. We got to have somebody that can take it off the dribble, and be able to make the shot, or find the open man."
(On what the team focused on at halftime)
"We talked about defensively how we were going to stop those ball screens. They were turning the corner on us and we were having to help too much and rotate. We had not been doing a good job on a couple of their offensive sets. I was not pleased with our offense. We get really impatient with our offense, and we try to improvise way too soon in the offense."
(On Bowling Green)
"When you play a good team that is well coached, you can't let up in any area of your game. You have to do everything well in order beat a veteran team like Bowling Green."
(On the zone defense the team played)
"When we played that zone, we had to play it in spurts. They're too good of three-point shooters, we knew eventually they would adjust to it. It cut down on a lot of ball screens. They were setting some wicked ball screens. We went in it at a critical point in the game, and got stops. That was key for us."
(DeMoss quotes courtesy UKAthletics.com)
