Recap | Box Score | Notes
Post-game quotes
Wisconsin vs. Northwestern
Feb. 22, 2015
Kohl Center - Madison, Wis.
UW head coach Bobbie Kelsey:
Opening Statement:
"Once again, I think I've had déjà vu, same team and same scenario, senior night. I don't know if you can make this up but again we've come up on the short end. To the kid's credit, they kept playing and nobody can say that the Badgers quit playing.
"I feel so bad for AnnMarie (Brown) because she can do so much and to miss that shot, which she makes all the time and she does not miss a lot of layups around the basket, maybe she was just so wide open that she couldn't believe it, I don't know. It wasn't just that shot, because if Dakota (Whyte) hit the free throw they would have had to take a three instead of a two, if we got a rebound down there, or when Dakota slips on the play we run and Cassie's (Rochel) wide open but she can't get it to her, so you know it just wasn't for us to win it.
"We had a nice crowd, and it's nice to see them keep supporting us even though we can't pull out these games. I think they appreciate the fact that these kids keep playing and they don't hang their head because it's easy to get down when you're losing but we owe it to ourselves and our seniors to play hard and keep fighting. You can build on fighting, but you can't build on quitting and they didn't quit."
On losing the lead:
"It's hard to hold a lead against a really good team. They're going to make some baskets and some of those threes really hurt us. Again, it's just that last second, losing sight of somebody and it's just a multitude of things that went against us. Those are the things that you try to get them to understand that if you do it in practice, you're going to do it in a game, good or bad. We've got to tighten up with urgency and awareness."
On what the team can learn from the loss:
"In our conference, any game in the Big Ten is like this and can go either way, that's the beauty of the Big Ten. It's not like some of the other power-five conferences where if you are not one, two or three, you don't have a chance at all. We have not had that occur to us, no matter who we're playing, including Maryland.
"This program is learning how to win, because once you know it, then you can pull some stuff out. We try to give them all of the information that they'll need and we do our part as coaches, but you just hate it for them because they're just working so hard. Coming up short is frustrating, but we try to be grateful and not complain because there are much worse things going on than losing a basketball game."
On the team's resilience late in the game:
"I think it says a lot. If they quit, you can see that yourself and I wouldn't have to say anything, but again these kids don't quit and it says a lot about them. They want to keep fighting for each other, for their families, or just whatever it is that makes them motivated to come out and not dwell on losing. I tell them all the time that if we don't make this one, we'll look ahead to the next one.
"You want the win no matter what and we don't want moral victories. It would be different if we quit, but instead it was just one shot or free throw that didn't fall and it could have gone either way."
Jacki Gulczynski
On the senior day loss:
"It was really emotional for me to see AnnMarie so upset. I know how hard she's worked for the program and she had a great day, so for just one shot not to go is tough. I know she puts a lot of stress and pressure on herself, but we love her regardless.
"I don't think that took away from today and it didn't take away from celebrating the four of us. When the game was over, it was about us and not about what had happened."
Cassie Rochel
On the senior day loss:
"I was disappointed not in the way we played but in the end result. I think it stung a little bit more for me because you always want to get that win on senior night and they beat us last year.
"It's no one person's fault and when you throw the ball away at the end of the game, all that adds up. We obviously want to win, especially at this time in the season when every win counts. I was a little disappointed in that but it doesn't take away from the fact that the four of us are graduating and moving on to bigger things."
AnnMarie Brown
On her missing a layin with four second remaining in overtime that would have tied the game:
"It's like any other shot where you basically have a 50/50 shot at making it and that one didn't seem to go in. I can't do anything about it, I tried and I did what I could, but it just came down to things down the stretch.
"We were in a position where we were still up, but we just started to play not to lose rather than just keep shoving the ball down their throats and going for the win. We'll bounce back and we know we're there, but we just have to sharpen up a few more things."
Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown
Opening Statement:
"It kind of reminded me of the game here last year that also went to overtime. It was also the last game of the regular season and we just made a couple plays, including a big play by Maggie Lyon to hit that baseline jumper to tie the game.
"I felt like we were in control in the overtime, we were up seven, eight or nine and they just kept coming back and making plays so you got to give them a lot of credit. It was great to have Christen Inman back, who hadn't played in a while, same with Lauren Douglas, so we're starting to see if we can work them back in our lineup and that will help us. Wisconsin played really well and I give them a lot of credit."
On the team's rally to bring the game to overtime:
"I felt like when we got it to four, I think it was 65-69 and there might have been three or four minutes left, I felt like we were doing a lot of good things that we wanted to do and I really felt like we had a chance. That was the first time I just looked up and I said to one of my coaches, 'I feel like we're really in control right now even though we're down.' Coaches look at things in different ways sometimes."
On Northwestern's offensive troubles in the first half:
"Wisconsin did a good job and our shot selection wasn't great. We're still playing with two players that are just coming back and getting used to playing again, so the flow that we had on offense wasn't great and we have to clean that up.
"The thing about our team, and you saw this last week, with Michigan we were down but we have some tough kids like Maggie Lyon and Nia Coffey that just make a play. That stretch really hurt us, and Wisconsin was hot for a while. We played great defense when Wisconsin came to Northwestern and I was worried today that that was going to unravel with them at home where they can shoot the ball."
On his decision to continue attempting 3-pointers despite the initial slump:
"We're a little streaky, like a lot of teams in the Big Ten right now and this time of year, but we're also dangerous and we can hit 10 or 12 3-pointers in a game and we've proven that. Really, it helps us open some things up inside so I wanted to stay with (the 3-pointers) and I tried to give Nia an opportunity to move some things around the rim."
On the strength of the Big Ten:
"Top to bottom, it's got to be the best league in the country. On the road, it's just such a tough league, and everybody is good at home so for us to be 11-5 in the league, says a lot about our team. We've done a great job winning on the road and taking care of business at home. The depth in the league is incredible with 14 teams, and the two teams we added, Rutgers and Maryland, are pretty good so I feel like we have the best league in the country."
