USF vs. Notre Dame
Notre Dame Post Game Quotes
February 16, 2009
USF Sun Dome- Tampa, Fla.

Head Coach Jose Fernandez

“Anyway you put it, it is a tough loss ? especially at home being up eight at the half. They've got a very good basketball team and they found a way to make plays at the end, which was a big key. Second half we got the same looks that we did in the first half, we made some poor decisions in the last four minutes of the game, offensively with some of the shots that we took, that is partially our fault without a double. We can't get our heads down, we have to get back to work on Thursday and get ready for West Virginia ? that is what you have to do in this league. I know we talked about on Tuesday that this was a must win ? we still have four games left and we have to take them one at a time. This would have been a great RPI win, we didn't get it ? lets keep moving ahead and get the next one.”

On the positives he takes from the game:
“Our kids, emotionally and physically battled and played hard. First half, you're at home, you're up eight at the half ? what more can you ask for but another 20 minutes of the same effort that we gave in the first half.”

How Grant's technical foul affected the outcome:
“The was crucial because it was a tie game. It was a tie game, we took a bad shot on the previous possession early in the shot clock from the corner. They came down, it was a good call, we came from behind ? they would have been shooting two shots but apparently I didn't see what happened but we'll take a look at it ? that Porche (Grant) shoved her and that is a dead ball technical foul and they got four free throws out of it. Now you've got to come down, we got a good look offensively out of the media ? we didn't make it, they came down and scored again, now it is a two possession game and that is huge. There are so many plays in a basketball game on both sides of the floor that you can't blame you lost the game on that play. That was a crucial 20-second stretch, that was huge, that effected the outcome but there were definitely a lot of things we could have done differently in the second half.”

On going on the road:
“We've won three straight BIG EAST road games, we definitely have not taken advantage of our home court. It has been really big the past year in BIG EAST play ? this year is the other way around.”

On the turn in rebounding:
“(Brittany) Denson was in foul trouble ? she fouled out. She picked up her fourth earlier in the second half which hurt because she is probably our best rebounder. Then you're playing Lawson more minutes then she should have played and we had to go with Sanders, so that was more about the personnel issues we had.”

Five players in double-digit scoring:
“That was huge, offensively I thought a couple of our players had good offensive possessions. I don't think any one of them had a great offensive game ? for them Lindsay Schrader had a great offensive game. They found a way to get her the ball and she posed a lot of matchup problems for us because we have three smaller guards. It was a tough matchup and they exposed that.”

Jessica Lawson, Sr., Center

On the second half:
“Basketball is a game of runs and I think they definitely came out with a lot of energy and went on a run and we didn't answer how we should have. Basketball is about runs and getting stops ? in the first half we were getting stops and in the second half I think we slacked off.”

On the emotion in losing the lead:
“It is very disappointing. We came out in the first half with a lot of energy and came out hitting. It is very disappointing but one thing we have to learn is when we hit adversity we have to learn how to fight through that. That is one thing we're learning. Notre Dame came out in the second half and played a great game, they knocked down great shots and they hit great buckets in transition. We hit adversity and we didn't know how to counter that, that is one thing we really have to learn. It is disappointing because you always want to win, you go out there to win, you play to win so it is very disappointing.”

On struggling at home:
“It is hard for us and I don't understand it. You do want to protect your own floor ? we practice here everyday ? this is where we stay. It is frustrating that we can't get this win on our home floor because you're supposed to protect your home floor. We just need to make a couple adjustments, we take every game as a learning experience and we're definitely going to learn from this. We need to go in and watch film and just get ready for the next one because we're in a conference where we can't dwell on this loss. We have to get back in the gym and learn from this.”

Jasmine Sepulveda, Sr., Guard

On five players scoring in double digits:
“That means a lot ? we don't have to count on one person and put the pressure on one person every game. Just being able to have different people who can score in different areas is good for our team.
 

Head Coach Muffet McGraw

“It was a tale of two halves, I was extremely pleased with our defense in the second-half, they held them to 27 points. We talked about it a little bit at half time and I thought we responded well. We came out and played pretty much man-to-man, a little press to make them take some time. (Shantia) Grace and (Janae) Stokes and (Jasmine) Sepulveda, they're just so talented and they shot the ball extremely well in the first half. I was happy to see we held them to one three-pointer in the second half, we did a better job there. I think South Florida is a great team and I think they're an NCAA tournament team.”

On how they limited USF to one second-half three:
“We just had more of a sense of urgency to guard them. We were trying some different things in the second half, we had a little trouble in transition, and then we started to score and got a little confidence and got back in the game. We played harder on defense, I was still disappointed in the rebounding effort but we just guarded them better in the second half.”

On how things changed on the board throughout the game:
“They needed to change. I think we were embarrassed at halftime. I thought defensively, rebounding-wise and every which way we just didn't play well. We got our heart and our pride back at halftime and went out and played harder and just worked harder. I don't think it was anything more than that. We missed a lot of box outs in both halves but more in the first half.”

On her halftime speech:
“It was a pretty short conversation, they had done a lot of the talking before I got in there and were pretty determined. We're hosting the NCAA Tournament and we want to get a good seed, we need to win these games in order to do that and I thought this was a must win game from us.”

Lindsay Schrader, Sr., Guard

On her double-double:
“I've been practicing better ? getting up shots more and getting into a rhythm. I think I'm looking for my shot more because we had a mismatch inside and we definitely want to take advantage of that.”

On the rebounding:
“I started hitting my player ? boxing them out before I go get the ball. Usually I just run to it and in practice we've been working on that a lot.”

Becca Bruszewski, Soph., Forward

On her career-high 20 points:
“I was looking for my shot a little more, had a little more confidence, got to the basket and just relaxed on my free throws.”