Dec. 7, 2011

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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Marquette
December 7, 2011
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

Opening Statement…
“That’s a great way to start the BIG EAST season. I was really pleased with our defense. I thought the press was good, the pressure on the half court was good, we turned them over and we didn’t let up. We kept the intensity for 40 minutes, and then the bench came in and continued to play well. I’m really happy with the full 40 minutes.”

On Skylar Diggin’s assists and six steals in the first half…
“We have quite a competitive steals race going with the team, and there’s big prize at the end of the year for the winner. So her and Brittany [Mallory] are battling it out right now. I think she played extremely well. She really did distribute the ball well, completed passes and she kind of got the crowd excited with a couple of them. She shot the ball well. I was really pleased. There’s our three-point shooting, it came back today and it was nice. “

On whether or not they have the perfect performance/image yet…
“That was the closest to it that we’ve been all year. I think it was a start-to-finish good effort all around. It’s our best game this far in the season. It’s really important to get off to a good start because now we have to wait almost a month to get to our next conference game. It’s good for us leading into the Purdue game as well.”

On this series and order of games…
“It’s a difficult stretch and especially for the freshman because final exams are coming. You can see that they’re not quite where they were even a couple of games ago. I think there’s a lot going on for everybody-a lot to do off the court. It’s an important time for the seniors to really take control and make sure that everybody’s ready.”

Notre Dame Player Quotes

Skylar Diggins – Junior – Guard

On starting the BIG EAST this way…
“It’s definitely nice for us. Like coach said, we’ve got a huge target on our back being number one and this is the start we’ve been wanting every game. We have to continue this. We’ve had two good starts: last game against Creighton and this game, so we have to make sure that we continue that. “

On igniting the team and the crowd with her assists and passes…
“It transitioned us and when you’ve got a big running with you, you have to reward them for that and I think Ace just knew it was coming. I didn’t know I was going to get it to her, but it’s stuff I try to limit because it’s not coach’s favorite. Once every two years is okay. I threw one once my freshman year and I’ll bring it back my junior year.”

Brittany Mallory – Senior – Guard

On her shooting…
“I had a good day. I’ve been in the gym a little more lately before practice starts. The last couple of games I was off a little bit, so I’ve just been coming in and getting some looks from Skylar and gaining confidence from my team. I keep shooting, and they’re eventually going to fall, so I’ve just got to keep going.”

On the way they were able to get shooters open tonight…
“Every time, Skylar draws a lot of attention when she gets in the middle of the lane. Basically it’s just spotting up and trying to get in the line of the open pass, and we work on a lot of stuff in practice, base line drives and getting to the corner, just knowing where to go and feeding off of Skylar.”

Kayla McBride – Sophomore – Guard

On driving and scoring on those drives and how it helps her outside shooting…
“Seeing the ball go in obviously is going to make you a little more confident. It just opens everything up and opens up so many other opportunities to score. “

On their strategy…
“We were just taking advantage of their guards-they were a little bit bigger. Skylar penetrates so much and opens up so many different things for everybody.”

Marquette Head Coach Terri Mitchell

On the team’s play tonight…
“I’m completely embarrassed by our performance. I don’t expect anyone to put on a Marquette uniform to play like this. We have a lot to work out. I know we’re young, but it’s unacceptable. I know Notre Dame is great, and they are going to do great things this year. I really am very, very disappointed in the way we did not fight tonight and had three games worth of turnovers. There are not a lot of good things. There is no bright light, except this will be etched in my memory for a very long time.”

On the number of turnovers…
“We dribbled every time we caught it. We gave them opportunities to steal it, instead of catch, read, and react. It just multiplied and got worse. They are very fast, and we did not adjust. I talked about effort and focus, and we did not have that. When you don’t have that, you’re going to get whipped up on.”

On Notre Dame’s ability to score inside…
“They were driving, and we weren’t rotating. It wasn’t that hard. I would have done the same thing. I would have driven on us tonight. You would have thought I didn’t teach defense. There should be a reason for us playing better, and we didn’t. It’s going to be taken care of.”

On Gabi Minix’s development…
“Angel Robinson was our point guard all of last year. This is 10 games into Gabi’s career of running our team, and we expect her to be the floor leader and get the troops under control. Her work ethic is there. It was just a frustrating game for everyone. I would say that being a floor general is what I expect from the point guard, and it is a different position for her after playing in the two-slot all of last year.”

Marquette Player Quotes

Gabi Minix – Sophomore – Guard

On playing close to home…
“We had a lot of support from hometown people, and I knew that, but I tried to stay focused. I knew this was a big game coming in, and I talked to Terri [Mitchell] about it early concerning not letting it get into my head. Obviously, it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. We have a long way to go, and we know that.”

On not having a great performance in front of the hometown crowd…
“It’s going to be disappointing either way no matter where it’s at. It’s really an eye opener for everyone. We know what we did is not what we’re capable of. We need to get in the gym and go hard every practice.”

On Notre Dame’s quickness creating turnovers…
“They’re a good team. Our focus just wasn’t there, and we didn’t stick to the game plan.”

On having dad in the crowd…
“I wish the game would have turned out different, so it’s kind of bittersweet right now.”

On playing college basketball…
“I’ve been blessed with a number of opportunities. I’ve just got a ways to grow, and I’m grateful for what I’ve been given so far.”