BGSU-Oklahoma State Quotes

March 18, 2007

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes |  AP Photo Gallery  |  Photo Gallery 

EAST LANSING, Mich. -

Bowling Green Post-Game Quotes

Bowling Green Head Coach Curt Miller
Opening Statement
"This group has worked all year long for another opportunity to take that next step. Since the MAC Tournament we have talked about taking the next step and getting that elusive NCAA Tournament win that we came up short that last two years. For a team that has won 81 games over the last three years or 102 games (over the last four) it becomes common that we find ways to win and that was tonight's theme. It's a veteran and such a mature group that they just kept grinding and that's what this team does. They find ways to win."

On the senior class...
"Hats off to the upperclassmen in our locker room; they wanted this so badly. This is the one notch in their belt that they were missing. We can't be more pleased to move on and play against a great program in Vanderbilt."

On making adjustments to the game...
"I told the team to keep shooting and to keep hunting for their shots."

On Liz Honegger...
"She stayed confident shooting the ball. She has not shot the ball particularly well the last few weeks. She hit big threes today down the stretch. Oklahoma State is a monster on the boards and we out-rebounded them. We are 54-1 when we out-rebound opponents over the last three years. That's the story of the game: no matter how physical it got, we just kept battling for rebounds."

Bowling Green Senior Forward Ali Mann
On pulling out the win
"There was never a doubt in my mind at any point in this game that we couldn't make a comeback. We knew we just had to do it one step at a time. We are competitors and we hate to lose and that's how its been all season. The senior class refused to lose. There was no point that we didn't think we could pull it out. When we started to get close and we hit that three that put us up we knew that was the one to hit."

On missed shots
"We missed a couple shots and things weren't going our way. Our coach has all the confidence in the world in us and wants us to keep shooting. We knew that it was only a matter of time before we started making the shots."

Bowling Green Junior Guard Kate Achter
On defending Andrea Riley...
"Well, she showed me why she was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, that's for sure. She was very quick and very talented. She has very good ball handling. When we went to practice, I tried to compare her to other guards in the league, but I can't say that her quickness matched anyone that I have played against this year. She is very talented."

Oklahoma State Post-Game Quotes

Oklahoma State Head Kurt Budke
Opening Statement
"I first want to congratulate Bowling Green and their coaching staff. It is a very good team, a very solid team. It is team that I would consider a veteran team, a team that understands each other. They've been here before and they've lost a couple of times. They knew what it took to get over the hump this time. They don't beat themselves, they are a very solid team that shoots the ball well and I think they will do fine in their next game."

On his team's performance...
"I'm very proud of my team. I'm very proud of our turnaround this year. I think we had the biggest turnaround in the nation this year and I'm not going to let this loss take away from that. We took a huge, huge step this year as a program, I think we served notice that Oklahoma State women's basketball is back on the map and we are going to stay on the map."

On the technical foul called on Andrea Riley...
"It is something that happened, it is something that will never happen again. We learn from our mistakes and we will learn from this mistake. We had many, many opportunities throughout the 40 minutes to win this game. This game was not lost on that mistake."

On the disappointment of the loss...
"We just talked about it in the locker room and I don't think they understood how frustrated or how close we really were. We felt that we could go to the next round and play a great game also, we really did. It is just part of the growing up process. We have struggled at times this year against mature teams that have seniors and veteran players, and those are the players that seem to beat us right now. And maybe that is the way it should be. Maybe that is just part of the whole process."

Oklahoma State Freshman Guard Andrea Riley
On her performance today...
"I'm a leader of this team, and to have a bad start is just like an average player. Players have bad starts, players have good finishes, it doesn't really matter, as long as I help my team I really don't care how I play."

On leading by as many as 14 points...
"It's very frustrating, especially on coach's behalf because he knows what we can do and to just give up a lead like that. I really can't even tell you how immature that is. But we're a good team, and we try, sometimes we just come up short."

Oklahoma State Junior Guard/Forward Danielle Green
On being so close, but being unable to come up with the win
"I think the one thing that Bowling Green had was discipline, and I think a lot of times we took bad shots down the stretch, when we could've held it. Two more passes could've made the difference and I think we learned for next year to just listen to the coaches, and run the plays."

On the future of OSU basketball...
"We're going to be here next year, we're going to be back. We're excited to be here in the spring. We're going to work hard. We know what we have to do to close out games. I think that was what we struggled with this year and it showed in the NCAA Tournament, but we'll be back."

(Quotes courtesy NCAAsports.com)