Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU-Toledo Post-Game Reaction
February 04, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2007
Recap | Final Stats
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) -
BGSU HEAD COACH CURT MILLER
"I am so proud of our kids tonight. It was a gutty performance. One of the things about this (BGSU) team that you have to talk about is their mental toughness. Certainly, Toledo gave us everything we wanted tonight. They were playing tremendous basketball, and threw a couple of knockout punches, but our team wouldn't go away. To our kids' credit, we stayed very calm in the heat of battle, and looked for that one run that we thought could make the difference in the game."
"A couple things stood out to me down the stretch. We held them to three made baskets in the final 10 minutes, we went on a 10-0 run in that stretch, and we finished the game on a 17-4 run. We talked about how we thought the game would be decided by one big run, by one team or the other. Fortunately, we got that last big run."
(On Ali Mann's play down the stretch)
"She wanted the ball, and she put us on her back. Once she got hot, it was easy to run plays for her. With a team where anyone can step up, we were just running plays for whoever had that look in their eye, whoever was hot. Down the stretch, you knew who we would give the ball to. There are some great seniors in this league, and today we saw both teams' seniors step up in a rivalry game. It was a really, really fun game. I know Coach Ehlen wants our seniors to graduate; I want (UT's Danielle) Bishop and (Savannah) Werner to graduate, too."
"We had eight goals written on the board in the lockerroom, and when we came in at halftime, we had accomplished one of the eight goals. We were not happy with the first half. We needed to be more aggressive; we were not getting points in the paint, and they were owning us in the paint. We needed to get points in the paint, and that is not always just post players; that is also guards needing to get deeper penetration. I thought Kate (Achter) was tentative in the beginning, and ran the show, but could have been more aggressive to create things. She did a tremendous job (as the game went on)."
"Obviously, the foul line is a story. Over the last five games, Toledo had gone to the foul line, on average, about 25 times. We kept them off the foul line and we got there, in the second half especially."
"Over the last five games, Bishop, Werner and (Diana) Reindl have been tremendous. Our goal tonight was not to allow them to have over 50 points combined. I didn't think our kids would take it to the point where they would give them exactly 50. Those three have continued to play well, as their newcomers have gotten better and better for them."
"The last 10 minutes were dominated by our upperclassmen tonight. That's a credit to them, and I'm just along for the ride when that happens. It's awesome to be a part of; this group is just uncanny with how they find ways to win. We have talked about the long winning streaks that we have had. You have to find ways to win when other teams play well, or when you are not playing your best. Tonight, it was Toledo playing really well, and we had to find a way to win."
"When we were taking a 30-point butt-whipping at Toledo early in my career, you never could have convinced me that we would beat that program eight times in a row."
(On the atmosphere in Anderson Arena Sunday)
"It was like an NCAA Tournament game in here tonight. People thought I was just posing for the cameras, but we talked about this game being the toughest game of the year. Toledo may not be as good as Duke or some of the teams we've played that have been nationally ranked, but what they do gives us trouble. The way they defend us gives us trouble. There are just some teams that you don't match up very well against, and I knew tonight was going to be a 40-minute battle. I knew we would have our hands full. With the exception of one time (during the eight-game winning streak), BG-Toledo games have been remarkably competitive, right down to the wire."
"The crowd was fantastic tonight. When you are on the ropes, a crowd like that can will you to victory, and I hope that incredible support continues. And, what a pleasure to get that win in front of the '87 championship team and all of our alums."
BGSU SENIOR Ali Mann
"I was really frustrated in the first half, and couldn't get much going. Into the second half, with about six minutes left, I still don't think I had much going. I just wanted to do what I could for my team, whether that was scoring, rebounding, getting deflections or anything I could do. Kate hit me with a couple of nice passes and I got some easy layups."
"In a game like that, you just want to win, and you don't take losing as an option. I just wanted to take over a little bit."
"I don't think I have ever been in such an intense game. It was great to play in that kind of atmosphere. It was almost like a tournament atmosphere, and it is great experience for us to play in that type of environment."
(Can you put into words how big of a win this was tonight?)
"No. (laughing) It's unbelievable. It's a rival; it's Toledo . It's at our home court, to keep our (homecourt win) streak going. It's to keep our streak going in the MAC. I mean, it's a million things, but it's a win, and that's the bottom line."
BGSU JUNIOR Kate Achter
(Was it a conscious effort on your part to take the ball to the hoop in the second half?)
"Needless to say, Coach Miller got on my case a little bit at halftime. I've been playing well the last few games, because I was attacking. That's my job, but I wasn't doing much of that in the first half. I wasn't doing much of anything. But I thought, since we are down so many, let's try to extend the game. Let's try to get to the free-throw line (and score some points) while the clock is stopped."
(On the play of Lindsey Goldsberry)
"In the second half, when it came down to crunch time, she fought hard to get through screens (set for) Danielle Bishop. She was there, trying to contest every shot that Danielle Bishop took. When we needed a stop, Lindsey Goldsberry was right there, poking the ball out of someone's hands."
BGSU SOPHOMORE Lindsey Goldsberry
"Toledo came out on fire and ready to go. It was a little frustrating, because (the way BG started the game) is not how we usually come out. We knew we just had to pick it up throughout the rest of the game to make up for the beginning."
"It was a great atmosphere today. When the shot clock started to run down (on a couple of Toledo's possessions), the fans were getting into it and you couldn't hear a thing out there. You just had to go play on instinct, and it really fueled us. The fans were great tonight."
TOLEDO HEAD COACH MARK EHLEN
"You're never happy when you lose. I'm not satisfied, but when there are seven minutes to go and the score is tied, against the 16th-ranked team in the country, in front of two thousand people, a sea of orange, I'm proud of the way we played. I don't like losing, but we did about as well as we could do, I think. We stumbled at the end, and BG did what BG does. They are a tough team in crunch time. They've been there before, they've been tested many times, and Mann and Achter stepped up."
"This (Bowling Green) is the best team the MAC's ever seen. This is what, 300 straight games that they've won, against me personally? They're tough; they're just a tough team. We played very, very well. It's got to help us, too, to play like this in an environment like this. I would hope it gives us a little confidence."
"Bowling Green is so good; they attack you, but I thought we attacked them. For most of the game, we were the attackers. But, the thing about Bowling Green is that they smell a little blood, and they go for it, and they got us."
