The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Postgame Quotes - Michigan State
12.10.2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 10, 2011
POST-GAME TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Gail Goestenkors
Opening statement: I am just really proud of the team, especially the way we rebounded. We felt like rebounding was going to be the key to the game, and we've been saying that since the Tennessee game. Our players, they came to play. It wasn't a great game to watch, I'm sure, because neither team was really hitting their shots. It wasn't a pretty game, but it's just one of those games that you have to grind out and find a way to win. I felt like that's what we did. Rebounding was huge because it gave us those extra opportunities for scoring. I'm not pleased with the way we started the game, but I'm pleased with the way we ended the game and bounced back. We showed great resiliency when we got down.
On the difference from last year's game against Michigan State: I feel like we've grown a great deal. Michigan State is an excellent team, and they are very physical. We couldn't handle the adversity we went through up there as well as we could have liked and we had a lot of adversity early. They just jumped on us early. For their post to hit the first three threes, it kind of caught us off guard a little bit. We knew they could shoot them, but we didn't think they would come out shooting them initially. When we got down, we met the adversity early on and we responded so well. We maintained our poise and control. I feel like we've grown so much from this time last year.
SOPHOMORE POST Cokie Reed
On her production after getting injured in the first half: It was very gratifying. Trying not to concentrate on it was the big thing. It's fine. It was just at the moment when it happened that it hurt.
SENIOR GUARD Yvonne Anderson
On what she does to get Cokie Reed involved in a play: Pretty much, that's my job to make sure I get her the ball high enough where she is the only one who can get it.
SENIOR POST Ashley Gayle
On the focus on rebounding in practice coming to such a positive outcome: I think it's really rewarding for our team to put in a week of work and have some really tough practices where rebounding was really the main focus of the practice. To come out and outrebound a great team like this just shows what we're capable of doing.
MICHIGAN STATE POST-GAME QUOTES
Head Coach Suzy Merchant
On whether UT's rebounding edge was the biggest stat of the game: I don't think so. We're a team that doesn't usually get outrebounded. But [they] really did a great job and I'll give them credit for that. The biggest stat to me in the second half [was] shooting percentage. We had really good opportunities there, I thought. We had every opportunity to make it happen for ourselves. We missed two or three layups in a little stretch there when it was a tied game. I think it was 43-43 and we missed a couple of layups. We fought back one more time. We had a couple of open threes and layup again and just couldn't get it to fall for us.
On her team's offensive difficulties: I thought Texas, defensively, in the first half rattled our freshman point guard. We had 11 turnovers in the first half and some of them led to some easy buckets. So definitely, I thought that was a major factor in the first half as well as our foul trouble. Every post player we had two or three fouls on them. In the second half we stopped turning it over and handled the pressure a lot better and defended really well. I want to give our guards a lot of credit. I thought they did a great job against their guards play. Their guards are really challenging to defend and I felt they did a really, really good job tonight. We couldn't make baskets when we needed to. You have to shoot better than 28 percent and six percent. Had those numbers been a little more manageable like they should be, I think we come out with a victory here on the road.
Senior Guard Porsché Poole
On whether her team had a cold shooting day or whether Texas' defense was to blame: I think it was more us. It was shots that we usually make and they weren't falling in the second half. I give Texas credit. They have good defense. But I really think it was just shots that we missed on our own. It was shots that we normally make, and they just weren't falling tonight for us.
