Jan. 23, 2014

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Women’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Miami
January 23, 2014
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

Opening Statement…
“Well, I thought we rebounded well today, especially early in the game when we just really struggled to score on shots that we normally make. We at least were getting second, third and fourth chances before we missed the last one for them to go down. I was really disappointed in the turnovers. I thought that was a lack of focus, and that was really disappointing. Overall, second half we came out and did some good things offensively. Our 2-3 zone was very effective, and as I said we rebounded well. Held them with just one three-pointer for the game – I was happy with that.”

On struggling early on in games…
“It’s the first time in a while, I think. We generally score off the tip. I mean, we’ve been pretty effective scoring off the tip and you could just tell after that first possession after we couldn’t score, I think everybody got a little tight then. And that’s when we really needed our veterans to just relax, step up and make shots.”

On the team taking command in the second half…
“I think we have a lot of resolve, a lot of resilience. I think we came out at halftime and made a nice run, and got up 20. And then we relaxed and we started to play better, but we’re going to be in some battles in this league. Everybody’s good, so we’ve really got to be ready.”

On Lindsay Allen
“I thought she was the shining star of the day. I thought the bright star of the day was definitely Lindsay, with one exception. But she played her normal game and then some. I thought with Jewell (Loyd) out, we needed a little bit more from her scoring-wise, and she stepped up and did it. I think she ran the team, the assists-to-turnovers – she was probably the only one on the team who played not just her game but really played well. One of her best games, so I was really happy with her.”

On adjustments after the low shooting start…
“We decided that we really wanted to go inside, that the jumpers weren’t falling, so let’s try to score around the basket, see if we can get some drives, some cuts, some post-ups, and I think we did a little better job. We got to the foul line a little bit more – of course we weren’t making our free throws early on, either, but at least we got there. I thought the shot selection was good – we just weren’t making them.

Notre Dam Player Quotes

Natalie Achonwa – Senior – Forward

On how to bounce back from a slow start…
“I think its just going back to the basics. The ones that I was missing inside, I was shooting like half-floaters, half-finger rolls. CO [Coach Carol Owens] said to make sure that I was using the backboard. So I tried to get a better angle to the basket and make sure I was using the backboard when I was shooting the next three shots.”

On being more aggressive inside…
“We had the advantage, and they were really concerned sometimes – on the ball screens they were both going to K-Mac [Kayla McBride]. So when I caught it I made sure that I was gathering myself and going strong to the basket.”

On taking command in the second half…
“We see glimpses. The fact that we can do that is really scary, but the part that would be great is if we could do it in the first half. And that we can do it without having to be down or having to be in a close game, that we can just come out with the mentality to destroy people. I think when we piece together a whole game, we will really destroy people.”

Lindsay Allen – Freshman – Guard

On how she was able to have a good game with the team’s rough start…
“I just tried to provide some energy. In the first half we weren’t making any shots, we were missing easy layups, chippies we normally make, so I had to get some stuff in transition, some easy baskets, open layups. Things like that, just try to get the team going a bit.”

On if she is getting more comfortable running the offense…
“Yeah definitely, I’d say I am more comfortable. With leaders like Natalie (Achonwa) and Kayla (McBride) making sure we know where we’re supposed to be, backdoor cuts, things like that – timing. It’s mostly what I’m working on.”

Miami Head Coach Katie Meier

Opening Statement…
“I thought we caught Notre Dame on a night where they weren’t playing great in the first half and we need to be a lot more opportunistic than that if we want to make some noise in the conference. I think we lost an opportunity in the first half, obviously our foul trouble got to us. They were taking away our looks. They knew the shots that we get out of our set and they took them away. We could never get in a rhythm. So hats off to them on the defensive end. For us to win in this conference, we’re going to have to score a lot more than we did tonight, and show a lot more poise and maturity. We need to grow as a team and I need to grow as a coach and understand that we’ve got to play harder.”

On Lindsay Allen’s performance…
“We tried to come after her. Obviously their backcourt took a big hit and we were trying to speed her up and force her in a direction she didn’t want to go. She kept her poise very well. Lindsay didn’t crack. “

On Notre Dame as a whole…
“They’re such a great passing team. To be honest, we wanted to get them dribbling a little bit. When their heads are up and they’re throwing over the top of you, we don’t have a lot of size, and they’re amazing with the pass. We definitely wanted to turn over Natalie (Achonwa), but she still obviously torched us inside.”

On when the game got away…
“It got away from us on our transition defense, them going inside on transition. They’ve been lighting it up in transition, and they were just a lot more mature in the second half. They really just drew us out and then threw it in. For us, we needed to scramble them up a little bit, but they kept their poise and their head in the game plan and had the discipline and patient to run and get it inside.”

On her team’s inconsistency…
“I don’t accept that from this team, and I need to coach through it, and I need to push. But the reality is, even at the end of the first half, when our entire bench was out there trying to match that last three minutes, to keep it a four or five point game. That could’ve been a five-point game at half, and then it’s nine. Stuff like that, I try to teach it in practice, but we’ll learn from this game too. We sunk back to a level I hadn’t seen for a while from this team.”

Miami Player Quotes

Adrienne Motley – Guard – Freshman

On the game in general…
“We got [lazy] and started to turn the ball over a bit more than we needed to. We were getting shots but we just weren’t hitting them. We got in a drought. Coach was telling us the game is about runs, we knew they were going to get a run, but we just had to get a run of our own. We didn’t get the run at the end of the half that we needed. We planned on coming out stronger and we got the shots but we just didn’t make them.”

On how they managed to force 18 Notre Dame turnovers…
“That’s surprising to me, I didn’t realize we actually did that.”