Feb. 23, 2015

Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

Opening statement…
“I don’t know what happened, but suddenly I’m pleased with the defense for two games in a row. I think that’s a little unusual for us but we are getting better. I think Brianna Turner changed the game for us with those blocked shots. She was phenomenal. She had seven blocks and it seemed like she had one almost every possession. We got the break going and we got down in transition and that really got us going. That is what stretched the lead. Taya Reimer on offense was 8-for-8 from the field. She has really been working hard on the free-throw jumper and I think she did a really good job with that. Jewell (Loyd) was really efficient tonight. I don’t think she forced a lot of things, she had only 12 shots and got 20 points out of it. A lot of really good things, most of them at the defensive end.”

On shot blocking…
“I think that’s an attitude as well [as rebounding], its not as much a physical attitude and I think we need to be more physical. I think it’s a pride thing, I think she [Brianna Turner] takes a lot of pride in that.”

On what Taya Reimer’s jump shot brings to the offense…
“It’s exactly what we need, teams have been sagging off the post when she is at the high post and now they are going to have to come out and guard her.”

On Brianna Turner…
“I think freshmen year is just so hard and so long and you just can’t see the end right now. February is such a long month, you are in the grind of academics, the grind of the season with practice and games every weekend. You don’t get a lot of time off. I think for all the freshmen it’s been a mental struggle. I think it’s hard to keep that bounce in your step when it’s just so tiring all the time. I think the one thing we always want to do on break is go and sleep for a week, so I want to get them more rest. But I think she played really tonight.”

On the defense…
I think we were really able to play well the entire shot clock, which is really good for us. I thought we played a really intelligent game. I thought we followed the scouting report and when we did different defenses I thought everyone was focused and really in line with what we were doing. We changed defenses pretty frequently.”

Brianna Turner – Freshman – Forward

On getting seven blocks…
“The shot had to be there, I was in the right spot at the right time and tried to get a hand up and at least contest the shot and I was able to get a hand on them.”

On adjusting to defenses…
“I have to rebound more and get tougher. I need to be tougher and more physical.”

Jewell Loyd – Junior – Guard

On her teammates doing well…
“It’s awesome, it’s awesome seeing our players doing well. It sparks everyone, everyone starts building up energy. I think they got a little aggressive. Bri [Brianna Turner] started taking control of the paint and Taya [Reimer] was unreal tonight. She wasn’t thinking, she was just cash money. I love that.”

On the physicality of the game…
“Every time we play it’s going to be a physical game. Even when we played them [Louisville] in the past it was physical. That’s part of basketball and you can’t always get the calls and go in there looking to get calls. You just have to play through it and I think we are doing good with that.”

On how Taya Reimer’s post play helps her game…
“They can’t really sag off her [Taya Reimer]. They have to respect her and that opens up the back door and isolates that side. That is kind of our offense.”

Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz

On Notre Dame’s success in the second half…
“Well, they scored, and we didn’t. I thought we panicked at times. We got going a little bit too fast. We were really trying to make sure we worked the shot clock. We were trying to execute in the half court and make them defend us. They did a great job of making it to the free throw line. We were very poor at that. They fouled us 10 times in the first half. And then [in the second half] with 1:08 to go in the game they’ve got one team foul. I’ve never seen anything like that where a team went 18 minutes and fouled one time. I’ve got Shawnta’ [Dyer] sitting over here, her lip is bleeding during the game after a post move, but I guess they thought she bit her lip. They made me call timeout to stop the bleeding.”

On Brianna Turner’s impact on the game…
“Brianna is a special player. I had the opportunity and the privilege to work with her at the U-18 level this past summer. She runs the floor extremely well. I thought for the most part we did a pretty good job of limiting the touches she got. She’s very efficient. She goes 4-of-5 from the field, and a few of them, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to tell my team. Stand up straight behind her and put your hands up, and it’s a foul. At some point in time, I wish they’d explain it to me, so I could explain to them that I feel bad. If you let Brianna bury you in the post, she’s so athletic, agile and fluid that she’s going to score. I thought she did a really good job with that tonight. And with her seven blocks, she does a really good job of contesting shots. I thought in the first half we shot faked her a couple of times and got her up in the air and made some nice passes underneath to score.”

On positive takeaways…
“It was a five-point game with 7:49 to go in the game. At 7:49, Shawnta’ was fouled. That was the first foul of the half. And then we had some silly fouls. Give them credit, they stepped up and made them.”

Shawnta’ Dyer – R-Senior – Forward

On Louisville’s composure during Notre Dame’s second half run…
“I think we were a little panicked and flustered, especially when they ran the triangle and two on Jude [Schimmel] and Mariya [Moore]. That `s one of the things we have to work on. When Jude has the ball, we have to cut and find open areas to take the pressure off of her and Mariya as well.”

On Louisville’s defense…
“I think it all comes down to scouting report defense and game plan. If you have an idea of what they’re trying to do, you always have to know how to stop it. Defense can go a long way, because then offense can take care of itself.”