Michigan State-Rutgers Post Game Quotes
3/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 21, 2007
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March 20, 2007
Michigan State Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement...
"I am very proud of our team on the way we fought. Proud of the intensity, proud of how they were always fighting, never giving up. I am extremely proud of the two women to my left (Rene Haynes and Victoria Lucas-Perry) for how they have led this program from the moment they got here. Talk about low maintenance people, and getting it from the beginning. It has been remarkable to see what these women have done here throughout their career at Michigan State University. Of course this includes Katrina Grantham and Myisha Bannister as well. It was a great basketball game, I am very proud of the community and the support shown to our team, to have over 8,000 fans present. It was amazing to see our community come out and support our team. I congratulate Rutgers-they were a fine team, very good team, and shot a little too well from the three point line in the second half. We want them to win it all. It is always kind of sudden at this time of year if you do not keep marching on."
On Allyssa DeHaan's struggle...
"I felt bad for Allyssa, she played aggressive, she had to sit a while in the first half which was too bad. That was a tremendous disadvantage. I thought Allyssa played aggressive. It was unfortunate."
On Rutgers' tournament potential...
"I think Rutgers, if they set their mind to it, can do whatever they want to do. You look at Maryland going down to Ole Miss, the women's game is becoming a lot more like the men's game. You see Marist having fun going to the sweet sixteen. I do not think rankings matter. I think it is how you play on a given night. I think Rutgers can play better, certainly, but they did play very well. They shot the ball extremely well in the second half. It is not only that they made their shots, but when they hit them. They hit four three-point shots with three seconds left on the shot clock. That is like hitting a five point shot because you play great defense, are right there to get the stop and then do not. So they hit some critical three-point shots given the shot clock timing."
Michigan State Freshman Center Allyssa DeHaan
On her play tonight...
"I just didn't play very well. I didn't do what I was supposed to do. I wasn't as focused. I got in foul trouble again. I didn't convert when I needed too. There was a lot of things that I didn't do and I wish I could take it back but it's done with."
On being aggressive while in foul trouble...
"Well, when you have two fouls, when you have three fouls, you obviously can't be as aggressive. You have to tone it down a little bit. You can't go after everything just to stay out of foul trouble. But, that still doesn't mean you're strong and do what you have to do to get it done. You just have to tone it down a little bit."
Michigan State Sophomore Guard Mia Johnson
On Rutgers...
"They made big shots. It's March. They just came down and hit their shots. Overall there are no excuses, I think we could have contested a little bit better. But at the same time they came up and made some big plays. The fouls were key for them, their off-guards were great. No. 15 was able to get in there and get the garbage baskets, put backs. We may have fouled too much. I honestly think the biggest thing is they stepped up and made big shots."
On the home crowd...
"A crowd is always a booster. They help you with your momentum when you do well and when you're not doing so well they can still cheer. They are there for you. We definitely outnumbered them in fans and it helped a lot."
Michigan State Senior Guard Rene Haynes
On 103 career wins At Michigan State...
"I love being a Spartan, I've shared that with some wonderful people."
Michigan State Senior Guard Victoria Lucas-Perry
On rebounding advantage and outcome of game...
"We knew that we had to get on the glass, and it showed in our rebounding. The outcome, they played a better game tonight."
On effect of Rutgers strategy for Allyssa DeHaan...
"They definitely were pushing her up the lane, Alllyssa was fighting back, she's is a strong player. Kia is a great post player and she did a good job of being physical with her, but you'll see a lot of Allyssa."
On Rutgers play on MSU's home court...
"Everyone's been talking about how it's a home court advantage, but at this point in the season, everyone is a good team, everyone has played in different environments."
