March 21, 2004

On Stephanie Busbey…
“[Notre Dame’s players] were so big, and her size kind of matched theirs. She’s got great size, she’s got really good hands, and she’s got good agility. She was really a good presence in there for us.”

On the start of the game (16-point deficit)…
“All the things, I said they were going to do, they were doing. They were getting to the offensive board, they were rebounding, they were driving baseline. Le’Tania Severe was driving baseline every single time on us and picking us apart a little bit. They were scoring in the paint.”

On guard Morgan Hohenberger…
“You know the courageous lion from the Wizard of Oz? That is who Morgan reminds me of. She’s got a big heart. She wants to be out there. She is playing with a torn knee, and when she found out that she got hurt, there was no way she was going to stop playing. In end-of-the-game situations, Morgan wants to try to make something happen–either try to get to the basket on her own, or try to get the ball to her teammates.”

On Notre Dame forward Jacqueline Batteast…
“She is hard to guard. She has long arms, and when she shoots she can rise above everybody else. When she goes for the offensive rebounds, she can get her hands in there. She has huge hands and a great body for her size. Obviously, she is a big weapon for [Notre Dame] and she is going to take them as far as they are going to go.”

On team character…
“They never quit playing. They always fight. They’re fighters and warriors and tigers and pit bulls. They never quit, and that’s hard to teach. They’ve got to want to do that for themselves. They want to prove to everybody that they’re a good team. Once the score starts going up, I never really panic because I know somebody will step up and start fighting.”