From The Locker Room
2/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MICHIGAN STATE VS. INDIANA
February 11, 2001
Breslin Center
Post-Game Quotes
Michigan State Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie:
On the overall perception of the game: "There were lots of things to be proud of, particularly the end surge. I thought we had a great first 20 minutes, but then we came out from the half and had a lapse for about eight minutes. It is still a 40-minute battle. It is really frustrating to hold a team to 52 points and not win."
On the team chemistry: "We are growing and getting better. I am very happy to see that the team did not just give in to Penn State and Indiana like we have in the past -- they kept fighting. The team is maturing and coming together. We have more leadership and I think that we also have a lot of individual improvement."
On free throw shooting: "We need to buckle down on our free throw shooting, since shooting 50 percent is not acceptable. I hold the whole team accountable, not just one individual person. Free throw shooting is something that is very personal and needs to get better if we expect to win."
On the last play of the game: "First off it was great to see our team come back from being down by ten to tie it up. It was great because of the variety of people that participated in the run and it gives us a lot of confidence to carry into other games. I thought we let Erin McGinnis get on track to soon and therefore gave her the confidence to take the last shot. Julie Pagel was a good matchup against her and we had Donita Johnson in the back to help her, but McGinnis made a terrific ball fake and Johnson just did not make it there."
Indiana Head Coach Kathi Bennett:
On the overall perception of the game: "I was happy to see that our fatigue did not get to us and that we stayed with our enthusiasm level. The last time we played them we had more open jumpers, but State did a much better job on defense and contesting our shots this time."
On dropping a ten-point lead: "It was our mistake. We turned the ball over, became cautious and did not rebound which gave Michigan State second chance shots that we then fouled and they got some three-point plays."
On the play of Julie Pagel: "She is just relentless. She never quits and is very aggressive. She has an outside shot that we did not expect after the first time we played her. She is a fearless competitor and I really like her."
Michigan State Guard Christie Pung:
On the shot to tie the game: "I was not really thinking about me personally -- I just wanted to take advantage of the opportunities they gave us and see if someone was open or what could be made out of it. It just happened that I got a shot and was fouled. I just needed to make the free throw."
On the team's play the last two games: "In the last two games, we played as a team. These games have showed us what we can accomplish as a team and we need to continue to build upon that. However, we still need to play a whole 40 minutes. Tonight we did about 20 and had an eight minute lapse which we cannot afford and then played for 12."
Michigan State Forward Julie Pagel:
On the 12-15' jump shot: "It was something we worked on in practice. The coaches showed us where the gaps were in their defense, and they were there for me so I took the shots."
Indiana Center Jill Chapman:
On her play in the game "My defense is something I needed to work on and it felt good to improve on it. I felt a lot more mobile and could get on the high side a lot better. I like the zone because it made it harder for State to double team me and I could sneak behind and get a lot of shots that way."