Dec. 6, 2014 Recap | Box Score | Notes
Wisconsin vs. Marquette
Postgame Quotes
Dec. 6, 2014
Kohl Center - Madison, Wis.
UW Head Coach Bobbie Kelsey:
Opening Statement
"We had four people in double figures, probably could have been more than that, and we rebounded the ball very well. Could have given us a few more boards, we got to take care of that, but we're not going to be greedy. We're just happy that these kids finally found some confidence, and everyone needed it. We did play well, but unfortunately Michala Johnson with her knee, we're very upset, but these kids showed that we're not a one-trick pony. We're going to miss her, and obviously she's very disappointed."
On filling Michala's role:
"I'm looking at everybody, everybody is capable on our team. You saw tonight that when we run our offense the proper way and we read things correctly, we have some nice plays that we make. We're not going to depend on one person, even if Michala was still out there. We put a lot of pressure on her when we're running our offense right, but all these players are capable. They're division one basketball players, power-five conference players, and when we do what we're supposed to do, we are a good team."
On Dakota Whyte's performance:
"I'm on Dakota a lot, and she has a lot of pressure on her. When we recruited her, she said she wanted this, that's what she told me, and I said 'You sure?' She didn't know what she was asking for, but she got it. I think when she listens and really is honest about her play, she'll improve and she's done that. Sometimes it's hard to watch yourself make mistakes, but by the way you approach it and you learn from them, then you won't make them anymore and that's it on that. I think she was maybe resisting that a little bit, and it's not just her, it's all great ball-handlers. When you have the ball a lot you're going to make some mistakes."
On Cassie Rochel's recovery: "We have a good physical therapist too that works with Cassie. We're doing our part and she's smart, so she's going to pick up plays really easily. She did play, but you couldn't tell that she didn't play in the last game. She's very smart, our offense is not that difficult, it's just timing and it's not an intricate offense in the sense that you got to know all these different nuances. You just have to really concentrate, and we do pull her out because rest for her is more important than practicing."
Senior Jacki Gulczynski
On what was different in today's game compared to the last games:
"The difference was that we made shots, which we kind of been struggling with a bit in the past, so that's always great. We got some of our outside shooting going, we got a couple spurts where Nicole (Bauman) came down and hit a three or Tessa (Cichy) came down and hit a three and then we get defensive stops and that's how you build a lead. So that's something that we're trying to do, and we came out of halftime with a lot more energy, which is something we needed to do in the past. We came in with a 10-2 run in the first four minutes, which is setting the pace and that's what we wanted to do."
Junior Dakota Whyte
On her improvement:
"Mentally just being able to bounce back from bad games and not always being able to contribute to the team, so I think just focusing on the details and watching film with coach and being able to see the turnovers that I make and the plays that I make with my decision making. It's just always being mentally engaged, which is something I've been trying to work on and I think it definitely helped for this game."
Senior Cassie Rochel
On her back injury and today's performance:
"We won. I'm feeling great right now, and we have a great (athletic) training staff, Stef (Arndt) does a great job and I know the coaches do a lot. They're really good about pulling me in practice and I'm very honest, if I'm hurting they're going to know, and I try not to play through it because I do have the rest of my life. It's kind of day-by-day, but right now I'm feeling good."
On filling in for Michala:
"It's there. Me and Jacki were speaking the other day about how you hate seeing anyone go out with an injury, but you know it really gets to you when you're a senior and it's somebody in your class. When we got the news, I was just devastated. These last few games, I just haven't really been myself by focusing so much on scoring, scoring, scoring. Today I went out there and focused on what I'm good at, which is defense, and just letting the offense come. It's there, but you can't force it and it's great to see all these people in double-figures scoring, and it's good to see everyone stepping up. Like coach said, it's not just going to be me filling Michala's spot, it's going to be everyone and I'm excited to see our young player Cayla (McMorris) step up and she was huge today, so it's exciting and there are new opportunities."
Marquette Head Coach Carolyn Kieger
Opening statement:
"First of all, I want to give a hats off to Wisconsin. They shot the ball very, very well tonight. Obviously their percentages are off the charts, and everyone was confident and they played really good team basketball tonight so I want to commend them. They needed that win and they got it. They came out and fought for 40 minutes."
On Arlesia Morse's status:
"We'll evaluate that later on, once we get back and get some x-rays and stuff."
On the team acclimating and adjusting to her fast-paced style:
"Honestly, it hasn't even been really our style yet. We're really kind of looking to mold this team as what we have right now. We are not playing nearly as fast as we want to or pressing as much as we would like to, but we'll get there as the years go. Right now, we're evaluating the talent level that we have and putting the pieces together. It's going to take some time to figure out what this team can do and how they can play with my style and intermix."
On what she wants this team's identity to be:
"Heart. No question- heart. That's something that we need to work on every single day. Fight and no matter what the score is, no matter what the situation is, I want to show heart."
On what she wants her players to take from her basketball career as a player at Marquette:
"The biggest thing is being a competitor. No matter what, I want them to compete, no matter the situation, no matter who we're playing, no matter the score. I just want them to compete in everything that we do. That's one of the staples of our program and that's one of the staples I will instill in them every single day. We're trying to teach that. We're trying to instill that culture and it's going to take some time. The heart and competitiveness of our team needs to get better and that's something that we talk about every single day."
On Morse's and Apiew Ojulu's performances:
"Those are two seniors that definitely need to step up for us. The first half they were there for us and they did step up. It's unfortunate that Arlesia went down. Apiew we just got to get her playing better. She's had some injuries this year as well. I think she's finally getting back to being 100 percent and feeling better and confident again. I look for her to continue to play better and I know she's begging for help and she deserves it and she needs it. So I'm just going to continue teaching her how to be a leader and get the young kids to come along and get the other seniors to respond. I'm really proud of how she's come back from her hip injury and how she's progressed."
On which underclassman she expects to step up and who has done so thus far:
"Of the younger kids, for sure Kenisha (Bell). That's someone who has the talent level and potential to be a fantastic player. Now obviously she's a freshman (and) she's making a lot of youthful mistakes and we'll fix those. I'm just trying to keep her confident and teach her every day. A lot of the stuff that she's screwing up on right now is fixable and its stuff a lot of freshmen make. We're asking her to do a lot. I mean, she's playing 37 minutes a game for us, taking 16 shots, handling the ball for us, having to defend. We're asking her to do a lot as a freshmen and she's going to get better because of it. We're putting her in hard situations and in pressure situations, and it's only going to make her better. I look for her to just really grow this year. By next year, I think you're going to see a different player from her, but it's going to happen every game, every day, every practice."
