Jan. 18, 2011

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Women’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Georgetown
January 18, 2011
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

Opening Statements…
“I was really pleased with the second half defense. I thought we did a nice job on (Sugar) Rodgers. Brittany Mallory did a really nice job on her. She guarded her most of the game and frustrated her. Skylar (Diggins) did a really good job on (Rubylee) Wright. The two combined for thirteen turnovers. Our defensive pressure really got to them in the second half. We made a really nice run at the end of the first half, and that carried into the second. Skylar was ‘Washington High School Skylar’ in the first half. She took over the game, and didn’t try to do too much in the second half. I thought Natalie Novosel did a really nice job in the second half, and Devereaux (Peters) did a great job on the boards.”

On Skylar’s killer instinct…
“She has really played well in the last three games. In the Pittsburgh game I was really pleased with her mental toughness. She did a great job of running the team, and is always playing good defense. BIG EAST play began, and she decided to take it up a notch.”

On the team’s poise after the Georgetown technical foul…
“I thought Natalie did a great job of keeping her composure, and the entire team followed her example. I thought we came out and played better after that.”

Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy

On responding to Notre Dame’s runs…
“I think we just upped the tempo of our defense a little bit and tried to push the ball into transition some more. We also tried to attack the basket with the hopes of kicking the ball out to our three point shooters.”

On Notre Dame’s good shooting percentage…
“It’s no secret how well Notre Dame shoots the ball especially considering they are averaging almost 83 points per game and 77 in conference. Those high percentages don’t come from not shooting the ball as well as they do. We knew it would be a challenge defensively, but tonight we needed to make more stops.”

On Notre Dame’s second half run after the technical…
“I don’t think it had anything to do with the technical foul. They had been making runs throughout the entire game so at that point I don’t think it was the technical foul that got them going.”

On Skylar Diggins’ improvement from last time these teams faced…
“I don’t think that she has gotten better because she has always been good. We knew that just because she did not play as well at our place last year she was a bad player. She’s a very good player.”

On Notre Dame’s defense on Sugar Rodgers…
“I think they were bodying up and bumping her around a little bit. I don’t think she got as many calls as she should have maybe gotten because there was some body contact going on there. But when your playing away you have to fight through it.”

Notre Dame Players

Skylar Diggins – Sophomore – Guard

On the adrenaline rush after the Georgetown technical foul…
“Our crowd erupted. Our energy was up, and when we got defensive stops, that really lit a fire under us. It felt good to respond to that foul in a positive way, and keep our poise while doing so.”

On her playing her best basketball of the season…
“I’m just trying to be a leader out there. Everyone is really stepping up and getting ready for BIG EAST play. We talk all the time about how any team in the BIG EAST can beat us on any given night, so we are really focused on taking it one game at a time. I’m also learning to talk more in the huddles. I didn’t do a lot of that last year, but I’m learning to do it this year.”

Georgetown Players

Sugar Rodgers – Sophomore – Guard

On the differences between Notre Dame last year and this year…
“They just came out ready to play. They wanted it more than we did tonight.”

On Notre Dame’s defense…
“They were just getting offensive rebounds. Rebounds and turnovers killed us.”