Nov. 12, 2010
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Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw
Opening Statements …
“I thought we got off to a great start and I thought that our defense was where we wanted it to be in the first half. I thought the press was good, the pressure was good, we scrambled well, and I just thought everything we did was really good in the first half. But there are definitely some things we can work on. We had too many turnovers, we gave up too many threes, but I think overall Devereaux (Peters) was just outstanding today, and it’s great to have her back.”
On Devereaux’s performance …
“I thought she was just so active on the boards, and a couple of times she kind of came out of nowhere. (A couple times) she wasn’t even in the play and then she had the rebound in her hands, so she really went after the ball on offense really well. And she was so mobile, so active, she even had a couple reverse layups. She just really put the ball on the floor well, had a couple of blocked shots, I just thought ‘She’s definitely in the best shape of her career.'”
On the 28-0 run …
“We have so many weapons, and so many people that can score, and that makes us really hard to guard. When you think you’re going to shut down one person, somebody else gets hot. And I think our defense created a lot of offense. We got a lot of scoring opportunities from the defense. We really didn’t execute as well as we could have, but we pressured and got in the passing lanes and got some easy baskets. We hit a couple of threes, finally, even though that was a question in the first half. I mean, we didn’t do as well as we wanted to in that area, but we did hit some stuff in transition.”
On Ruth Riley’s honor …
“It was amazing. So well deserved, and we are just so blessed to have her as a representative of Notre Dame and of our program. She was an outstanding person as well as a player, and she has made her mark and left an amazing legacy for everybody at Notre Dame. It was just a proud moment for everybody in the arena.”
Devereaux Peters, Senior Forward
On her Tendonitis and how it affects her performance …
“It does (affect my performance) a little bit, but I was all right. It’s pretty much just constantly there, but it’s gotten to the point where it’s bearable so I should hopefully be good the rest of the season. I don’t really feel it during the game. We’ve worked it out where I’ve gotten a lot of treatments. They’ve been helping me a lot in the training room, so it does get a little sore, but in the game I’m not really thinking about it that much.”
Natalie Novosel, Junior Guard
On the team’s defense, especially during the first half …
“We work on defense day in and day out, and I think one of our points of emphasis was just intensity. Especially the starters, I think once we get out there and once we start guarding the three point line and pressuring them full court, it feeds everyone. Also when we get steals, it creates a lot of things in transition, and just keeps the game going. Basketball is a game of runs, and that momentum-building is really important for the team. Once it starts, it’s really contagious, and everyone gets up to pressure the other team, and it’s really exciting when you’re running like that. Especially when the backups come in and do the same thing that the starters are doing, that’s a good feeling.”
New Hampshire Head Coach Maureen Magarity
On Notre Dame’s Defense … “I give them so much credit. They really are just a tremendous team and it was an honor to play against them. I think they obviously have some huge goals ahead of them this season. Defensively they’re just so long and athletic, and their pressure really caused us a lot of problems. I think some of our guards are pretty young on paper, but we are also young in playing experience right now, so right now it’s just about trying to get the confidence up for these kids. Once we make a mistake or two it seems to snowball. For us right now, it is about trying to play through that. I give a lot of credit to their defense, but I think a lot of it too was a little mental for us. We couldn’t find a way to get the ball across half court, and once we did we couldn’t even get into our offense. It was frustrating in the first half, but I was proud of our kids in the second half. They picked it up, and at least we started to run some of our offense.”
On the matchup problems with Devereaux Peters … “Her strength down low is her ability to use her body so well. She is just so smart posting up angles, and knowing how to seal a kid off from the block. We are not very deep at our post position either. We have some good size, so that was something going into the game that I was happy about. Our starting four or five have good size, but I think Devereaux’s strength down low obviously caused a lot of problems. She crashes the boards so well and she is so quick to the ball. She is a real talent.”
On Notre Dame’s strategy to run and push the ball … “With the turnovers, that made it a little easier for them. They do a great job, and they are a great passing team. I think they are always looking to get the ball up the court. They’re always keeping their heads up and their posts are so athletic and they run the floor so well, so it is usually two passes and an easy look at the basket. I think that is one of the things we tried to work on in practice. We worked on our transition defense because I think their transition is such a big part of their game.”
On the focus of her team after the game … “It is an interesting time for UNH basketball. I am a first time head coach. We have a new staff. A lot of the kids that are playing a lot of minutes for us don’t have a lot of playing experience. We really had to put everything in from the beginning, including defense, offense, and just about everything. We are still a work in progress, so going into this game we were really trying to get our confidence up. I was really pleased with our girls, at least in the second half, because they really competed. That was our goal, to compete in the second half and cut down on our turnovers. We had 30 in the first half, so we wanted to cut that down and be able to just compete with them. Going into our game on Tuesday against Dartmouth, I am pleased that they woke up in the second half and they competed. Even though a lot of Notre Dame’s second string kids were in there, for us it was just good to compete against anyone. I am pleased with that.