Feb. 11, 2009

Recap | Box Score | Game Action | Photo Gallery

Head Coach Muffet McGraw

On battling back in the second half…
“We did some good things to get it close, but then we would turn it over or make a critical mistake at the wrong time. We had our chances. Against a team as good as Louisville, you really have to take advantage of them, and we didn’t.”

On the play of the bench…
“I though Natalie (Novosel) had a great game. She came in and gave us a great lift. I though Fraderica Miller gave us a great lift off the bench as well.”

On Louisville’s athleticism…
“They’re a great team. Looking at their record, they are a very high seed in the NCAA Tournament. They are playing well together, and they are incredibly athletic. We see a lot of that in the BIG EAST, with Rutgers and Pittsburgh as well. I thought we played better than we did against those two. We are improving, but they definitely have a lot of great players that can go to the boards.”

On rebounding well in the second half…
“I thought we just played harder; that was all it was. We just went after it a little bit harder. They pushed us around and did whatever they wanted in the first half. I thought we came out in the second half with a little better attitude.”

On the defense of Louisville forward Angel McCoughtry…
“She’s everywhere defensively and plays the passing lanes so well. We worked on the press and thought we had a good plan; our plan was not to throw it near her, and we didn’t execute it very well. She can play off and almost guard two people, and she’s just a great anticipator. You think the lane is open and throw it, and she takes it away. She took it out of our hands a couple times too. She’s definitely the best we’ve played so far.”

On Ashley Barlow reaching the 1000-point milestone…
“It’s an outstanding accomplishment. Ashley has always been an incredibly hard worker. She tries to help the team win in any way she can.”

Ashley Barlow-Jr.-G

On the play of Angel McCoughtry…
“She’s just really active. She’s really long and athletic, and she stays up on you and really pressures the ball. She’s just everywhere, and it starts to get in your head, but you can’t let it get to you.”

Natalie Novosel-Fr.-G

On finding openings in the defense…
“I was just being aggressive and attacking the basket. I found some easy gaps and was able to get past people.”

Becca Bruszewski-So.-F

On continuing to play well offensively…
“I just have my confidence up. It’s hard to look at that with the outcome of the game. I just want to become a threat, and my teammates are looking for me.”

Louisville Quotes

Head Coach Jeff Walz

On transition and halftime adjustments…
“I thought we did a very good job of attacking them in transition and our kids started to feel that we were getting ourselves going in transition. That was our goal. We were trying to push it. In the second half I thought they did a very good job of picking the ball up early which slowed up our break some. They do a very good job of that. Coach McGraw is one of the best in the game and I knew she would come from halftime and make an adjustment and that’s exactly what they did.”

Angel McCoughtry – Sr. – F

On the win…
“This was a very big game. We just lost a little respect from the last game, so we had to come out and play hard. They (Notre Dame) are a great team. My hats off to them, I mean it’s just a gutsy win. They played great but we needed this type of game. These are the types of game you have come tournament time and the Big East Tournament so we needed this.”

Candyce Bingham Sr., F

On the win…
“It was a great, gutsy win. Just to come out after losing to West Virginia and into this tough atmosphere here at Notre Dame. It was a really good win and it says a lot about our team.”

On Angel’s slow start…

“When Angel is down we know we have to pick her up and pick the team up. Coach did say `Candyce I need you to step up’ and so I just kind of took that and went with it.”