Head Coach Nancy Winstel

On defeating Quincy…
“I thought it was a huge win for us after going to Parkside and Lewis and not playing very well at all. We came to practice this week pretty down in the dumps and trying to get our focus back. When you are in the situation that we are in, we must win the conference to get into the NCAA, you don’t just want to pack it in. I didn’t think we were going to do that.

“We really just wanted to compete with Quincy. They got off to such a great start when we played up there, and I thought we were going to compete. Even when we were down 10-0, I was not happy, but I felt like we had a shot. We kept battling, and I think that says a lot about our character. I thought everybody battled, and we just made some plays. Our goal at halftime was to try and keep it close enough and see what happens at the end, see if we could pull one out, and darned if that isn’t what happened.

“We missed some shots at the end, they missed some shots, but I thought defensively we made them have to make some big shots, and we got some big rebounds. It was a great win. It’s been one of those years where there have been some highs and there have been some lows, but this was definitely a high.”

On changes to stop Quincy run to start the first half…
“We just kept our man-to-man. We just kept putting people in. There was one time when I had two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior in there. I was like, ‘Are you nuts? What are you doing?’ But, we were just trying to find a combination that was going to give us come energy and get us some stops and shots. I just felt like we really didn’t make any major adjustments. Late in the game, it looked like it was over and we came out and got a steal. We went zone, and we got a couple steals and a couple misses. Then we got a couple easy baskets. (Elizabeth Burrows) got a steal and made a break-away basket.

“They are a just a very good team, but to beat the number one team in the conference is special. We haven’t beaten them in four tries. The last time we beat them was the finals of regionals up in Indianapolis. It was a good win. The kids played hard.”

On Jessica Stuckman…
“She is a great player. I told her today, ‘I will be so happy when you graduate.’ But, that’s the biggest compliment you give someone. In my opinion, she is hands down player of the year in the conference where there are a lot of great players. She is an All-American. She has 13 in the first half. The second half she wasn’t quite as unstoppable, but I felt we did a couple things this time that helped us. We didn’t just let her have the ball. We tried to make her make some tough shots.

“In the first half I thought (Alicia Ordner) was the one that was killing us. She wasn’t as good in the second half, but she is a heck of a player. She was really hurting us.”

Connie Myers

On pulling out the win…
“It was great for our team. This win tonight is hopefully going to give us a lot of momentum going into the conference tournament. We’re optimistic. We’re determined that anything can happen.”

On the team’s slow first half start…
“I think sometimes it just takes us a second to get rolling, and we did. You’ll have that.”

On the balance scoring in the second half…
“It makes it easier on the post players when they are out there trying to defend our guards from shooting threes and putting them in. So, it was a good thing.”

On Quincy’s last field goal coming with 5:37 left…
“ I think everyone turned up their defense. I know Liz was in their shorts, and I was trying to do what I could in the post.”

Elizabeth Burrows

On getting the win…
“It was a great win. It helps you win the next game when there is a finish like that. When it came down to it, we were able to pull it together.”

On her steals at the end of the game…
“Really, I saw that they were not cutting to the ball very hard, and that’s just what people do when there is an open floor. It’s getting to be the last two games of the year and my career, and I guess you just do the little things to get the win.”

On their defense on Quincy at the end of the game…
“We went zone once. Other than that we stayed in our 22. We helped out on Stuckman a little more than we had been because they weren’t really making their outside shots like they had been, but I think we just came together to pull it out.”

On having Karmen Graham this time against Quincy…
“ You can’t even begin to describe how much of a difference she makes. There are no stats for everything that she does. She hustles. She works hard. She is able to get you some offensive boards. We’re not just getting one shot, we are getting two with her. She’s just a competitor, and she’s just got the fight in her that helps with her teammates.”