Dec. 28, 2015

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2015-16 University of Notre Dame Women’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Oregon State
December 28, 2015
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

On Notre Dame’s winââ’¬¦
“That was a huge win, not only did we shoot the ball well but we really focused on our defense and we were able to do that. We got some stops down the stretch when we really needed to, overall it was great things.”

On matchup of Turner and Hamblinââ’¬¦
“Hamblin is such a tough matchup, she’s just so big. I thought Bri[anna Turner] did a really good job on her, she had 12 rebounds. I thought we shot it to her a couple of times as well, but she played very well.”

On thoughts of the matchup of Notre Dame vs. Oregon Stateââ’¬¦
“Yes I thought it was as tough of a matchup that we expected. They are just a really good team and they didn’t get into any foul trouble so they didn’t have to go to the bench much ââ’¬” and their starters are very good.”

On adjustments that have had to be made regarding Bri’s injury, Reimer’s absence ââ’¬¦
“I think that we have really worked the four guard look, and today we didn’t get to use it at all and I think that is when we looked a little out of sync. That is our best offense when we have four guards. Trying to work Koko [Kristina Nelson] and Diamond [Thompson] has been a little tricky, we’re trying to give them good minutes at practice. Overall, it’ll take time to gel but I think it’ll work out.”

Brianna Turner – F – Sophomore

On her free throwsââ’¬¦
“I felt that my teammates had a lot of confidence in me in the second one so I just really tried to have confidence in myself.”

On how she feels getting ready to go into ACC playââ’¬¦
“I think this is a good experience for us going into ACC play because they were a good match up and I think the team feels good as well.”

Madison Cable – G – Graduate Student

On what Oregon State did different on her in second halfââ’¬¦
“They were playing tight. I didn’t really use the screens that well, but we have other options and we just have to try and crash the boards to create other offense.”

On what she thinks the areas are the team needs to work on heading into ACC playââ’¬¦
“I think just everything, and that starts in practice, we have to come and work on things like what defense we are in and we have to execute it, like coach said we have to crash the boards.”

On confidence level of team heading into ACC playââ’¬¦
“I think we are very excited to start the ACC, I think we had a pretty good pre-season considering all that has happened, and we play and work very well together.”

Oregon State Head Coach Scott Rueck

Opening statementââ’¬¦
“It was a great battle today. We knew where we were at, a place that is used to winning a lot of games. Only 11 losses in five years; for this team to come in and play the way they did with as much fight as they did, without the person that’s been our leader for the last three years with the ball in her hand, and had given themselves a chance to win it here says volumes about this team. We know who Notre Dame is, they are a great program and it was a great battle today. Very proud of out team and the way the competed with the composure they played with and the fight they showed in this game, bodes well for our future and it was good test. We have a lot to learn, both from things to improve on and things that we were successful at today. Very proud.”

On coming back from 13 downââ’¬¦
“That was coming out of halftime, and we talked at halftime how we are going to take a big punch from this team to start this halfââ’¬¦ so it didn’t surprise us necessarily. We called the time out, talked about the fundamentals. Staying with our game plan, stay with our defense in transition, trust our stuff. You don’t have to force, you don’t have to rush, you don’t have to press. I felt us pressing during that stretch. And after that first timeout, when it went to media, we got our composure. I think we cut it to five maybe by the actual media [timeout] in that quarter. At that point we had talked about how we had gained control of the game, that’s how it felt. OK, we are back in our tempo, we needed to slow them down of course and we did. And I thought we had traction offensively as well.”

Gabby Hansen – G – Junior

On taking on a larger roleââ’¬¦
“I just think I am obviously being more aggressive. With one of our leading scorers being out everyone is going to have to step up and be more aggressive and just have confidence to knock shots down, there is no other choice. When you get open shots you have to knock them down. So I think it just stems from the initial aggressiveness of it all and I feel like I have been in a good flow and I have a good balance and have a lot of confidence right now. “

On playing with Ruth Hamblinââ’¬¦
“Ruth demands attention, obviously, because of her size but as well as her ability to pass and make plays. Absolutely it’s a huge advantage to have Ruth down there.”