Head Coach Nancy Winstel

On defeating Indianapolis…
“I thought it was a big win. I thought our kids really came out and played our best 40 minutes of the year. I thought we were very focused. The ability to have Karmen in there and being able to rotate, keep people fresh, even though Karmen didn’t play a normal Karmen game, I thought was huge. I thought we just handled their pressure. (Indianapolis) played Thursday, and they played against Bellarmine. I think that just took quite a bit out of them. To be honest, they didn’t look as light on their feet. We’ve been there and done that too, so it was just a game that we needed to get because everyone is fighting for position.

They are just a great team, and we have a great amount of respect for them. They have the four best guards in the conference. I think all four of them could be first-team all-conference on any given night. We have a lot of respect for them, plus their inside game is getting better. I just thought our kids battled, and from the very beginning we battled. It was a great win.”

On only committing eight turnovers…
“That’s huge. For us, that is huge because we usually have that in the first two minutes. We told our team at halftime that we only had two, but we didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. We’ve been telling our kids, if we get shots, we’re capable of beating anybody. But you can’t beat anybody if we don’t get shots, if they get 15 more shots than you do because you’re throwing the ball away. I thought we made a great effort tonight to take care of the ball, so way to go. I’m really proud of their effort, and I can’t tell you how happy I am for them.”

On having five players in double figures and two double-doubles…
“I’ll tell you what, Connie is just huge for us. She has just been our warrior all year long, and I think now other players are starting to step up. Angela Healy just keeps getting better and better, and that kid is going to be tough. Our guards play was very good. I thought Elizabeth really played well. I thought Sarah played really well, I thought Karyn, I thought Brittany, I thought everybody that came in contributed. Even at the end, Nicole had an assist, and Betsey came in and guarded different things. (Graham) came in and gave us some quality minutes.

“We’re a team, and we don’t center around one person. We have to have everybody, and that is what happened tonight. And when that happened, I just thought we were really fun to watch tonight, which is great for them.”

On the final four conference games…
“ It scares me to death because we beat Parkside, so they are going to be really fired up for us. Lewis is going to be all fired up for us. Everybody is battling for positioning, and then we have Quincy at home, which will be tough. (Missouri-St. Louis) is going to be tough because they are playing and have a lot of young players. We have to take it one game at time. We have to prepare the best we can, and then we have to go and play hard. The number one thing we need to do is try and get healthy. Molly Hudson, our trainer, is our most valuable player right now because of the time she has spent in the training room to get our kids back healthy.””

Elizabeth Burrows

On the team’s overall performance…
“We didn’t have to rely on one person to do it. It felt like our offense was flowing and at any time anybody could step up and hit a shot or make a stop.”

On the team’s eight turnovers…
“ I thought our coaches did a great job preparing us for this game. We knew exactly what they might do. We went scenarios all week in practice, so we when we got out there we were confident. We knew what they were doing, and I think we did a great job of handling the ball.”

On the difference between tonight and their first meeting…
“ I think we were 0-4, and we hadn’t won a game. Our confidence was down. Our goal is to get into the NCAA tournament, and we are trying our best to do that. We know that each and every game is just vital. I think we are playing with more confidence now. We have (Graham) back, and she was only able to play a few minutes, but she just works so hard that every time she is out there is a plus.”

Karyn Creager

On the team’s performance…
“I think this has been our best game defensively and offensively. We came out, and we were intense. We denied well, and our defense is what got our offense going.”

On the handling the ball better as a team…
“This week, we really worked hard on it, and we have a pretty good practice team that prepares us for what we are going to face in the game.”

On the difference between the two meetings with Indianapolis…
“I think we came out to play and not to lose. I think we just came out intense, and we just really wanted this win.”

On the play of the guards…
“ I think Sarah shot well from the outside, and Elizabeth and Brittany, too, and that opens up the inside for Angela, Connie and Karmen.”