March 20, 2008

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Can you talk about coming close in the first half and then trying to come back after trailing?

Brittany Holterman
"It was hard. They are a very scrappy team and it is kind of ironic because down in the locker room downstairs there is a big banner that says `Victory favors the team that makes the least mistakes' and that was not us tonight. We made way too many mistakes and every time we cut it to six we threw the ball away or missed or rotation. We made way too many mistakes tonight."

Was it anything they did to force those mistakes? Brittany Holterman
"We both knew what each other was running because it was the same thing basically. They knew our strengths and weaknesses and they are a very scrappy team and they were pressuring us a lot."

What kind of effect did Lindsey Goldsberry's three-pointer have at the end of the first half? Brittany Holterman
"We were a little late on that rotation also. She was the story of the night and got the crowd back into it. It was a big three and going into half-time down by four is definitely a different story than going down by seven and we should have came back and we just fell short.

Nikki, you guys had a losing record last year compared to Bowling Green being in the NCAA tournament, can you talk about that? Nikki Oakland
"We are just a better team than when we came in as a freshman and we came in to change this program around. Even though we didn't make it through this game we have done so much to make this program better. They are a great team but we just fell short. We had turnovers at critical points, but all we could do is just go out and hope they would throw it away."

Karah, it was tight at one point could you talk about that? Karah Cloxton
"We have been a team that has continued to fight all season long. Until the last buzzer sounds we know that we have a chance if we keep fighting."

Was it hard to inbound? Karah Cloxton
"They did a good job with defense but we just didn't execute very well."

How about defending Bowling Green? Karah Cloxton
"We just made more mistakes and they executed their offense better."

What was the atmosphere like tonight? Nikki Oakland
"It was a great atmosphere. You can tell that the crowd cares about this team a lot. We just tried to play through it. They have a great fan base and hopefully sometime Dayton can get that as well, so we can have a huge fan backing us up too."

Brittany Holterman
"Their gym is set up differently than we are used to. Their fans are set up right on the court and it is really loud. Our fans were really loud too with both bands going, but it is definitely a different atmosphere than we have at home."

Karah Cloxton
"I think it made it even more fun. I was trying to feed off their energy as well, even though they aren't our fans and they may not be cheering for me you still feed off that energy. I think it is a great atmosphere."

Coach Jim Jabir Opening Statement
"First off. I want to give a lot of credit to Curt Miller and his coaches and his players. I have known Curt for maybe 20 years and he is a terrific coach and they do a great job. If you think about the losses they to graduation last year and to play like they played with such young kids. We had 26 turnovers, this year I think we averaged 14 or 16 or something like that. That is a credit to Bowling Green. We made so many mistakes. The last play of the game characterized the game. We were trying to run a staggered screen for the three point shot and we just threw the ball away. It was uncharacteristic of us, but I think you have to credit Bowling Green for a lot of that. The crowd was amazing and I was hoping to get a home game and now I wish we did. I think they made a difference in the game, we couldn't communicate and it was hard to do everything. They got it rolling here really well. It is a great place to play, especially if you had a Bowling Green uniform on."

You had a poised team and got off to a very good start, it didn't look like anyone was nervous?
"No we were very confident and very loose. I think their pressure on the ball and on our cuts got to us. We were backing off and picking up our dribble. We weren't attacking them and lost our aggressiveness. That is something we are going to have to address in the post-season and get better at. I thought that they really forced out of the things that we wanted to do. We started out well like you said, but they turned up the heat a little bit and we did not respond to it."

Was one of those things three-point shots?
"They took that away. That was their plan and they worked it really well. Their rotations are much better than ours. Usually we hold people to 34 or 35-percent from the field and every time we tried to back cut or make some kind of play to the basket we were getting bumped and pushed and we were out of sync. Credit Bowling Green for playing great defense."

How did Goldsberry's three impact the team in the second half?
"I don't know if it did or not. Obviously, we would have preferred if she did not make it and now I have to see her dad tomorrow in the office. Lindsey had a great game and I thought she played really well. We didn't find her very well and didn't do a good job taking her away. We had chances and cut it down to four or six in the second half and I think the kids were very astute when they said that we made a timely errors. We'd cut it down and then throw it away, or Achter, who I am really glad is graduating would get into the lane and we would rotate to help on her, but we wouldn't help to help her and they would get a layup. We did a lot of things poorly tonight and it is unfortunate. Literally, our seniors weren't recruited, they made themselves what they are, and 25 wins this year is an amazing thing. We play like a team and we play much more efficiently and much better than we showed tonight. I feel badly for them, because I wanted them to play some more together because we really have something special this year."

Did you expect the tempo to be so fast in the game?
"I think they scored on our turnovers for sure. They push and we want push. They did a better job of containing us. I thought she got in the lane way too much. We spent the last couple of days about trying to keep her outside of the paint and transition, and we did a poor job of that. They got a lot of easy looks on us and they were just very, very aggressive. I thought they did a great job."

Was it hard for Kristin Daugherty or Kiki Lund to get started?
"They didn't get a lot of looks. If you are going to take our three away then we ought to be aggressive enough to sweep and go by and draw a foul and get a layup. We didn't go to Plan B, we just kind of stood out there looking for Plan A and there was no Plan A."