March 3, 2006

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Michigan State Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie:
Opening statement:
"I'm very pleased with our kids' defensive effort, our intensity, our focus, and our shot contesting.  We did a pretty good job dictating, which is really important to do.  Liz (Shimek) and Lindsay (Bowen) both had fantastic games.  They have great leadership, they step up, and they make plays.  It's about the players, it's about March. We're letting loose a little bit, and enjoying each other."

On the offensive efficiency and building this team:
"The assists are important and that helps create (opportunities) for the team.  Three players had six assists; that's a lot of different people at different times.  We are a very young team.  We have not played the way we did today all year.  It's a process, and now we have to go after Goliath.  Ohio State has five seniors.  You don't just show up and play, it takes time, and these kids have worked very hard.  We're getting better, and every challenge from here on is huge."

On trying to beat OSU:
"This year, (Ohio State) beat us on a buzzer shot and they kicked our tail in the second game.  We have to focus on ourselves.  We really need to focus on what we need to do as a team.  Obviously, they are very, very good and are probably picked to win the tournament.  They look pretty good, but we need to focus on ourselves to get to a place to where we can do good things as a team."

Liz Shimek
On her 31 point performance:
"You're just in the moment when you're in the game.  Lindsay and I are seniors and this is our last Big Ten Tournament, so we're just trying to stay in the moment."

On the team's overall performance:
"It was a lot of fun to be out there with my team.  We had 28 assists.  We were hitting whoever was open.  We were really attacking and going after it as a team.  Defensively, we just have to keep working and getting better in that area."

Lindsay Bowen
On Liz Schimek's game against Iowa:
"I did not know she had 31 points, but she's always attacking.  We've been playing with each other for a long time.   She's tough on the boards and is tough offensively."

On Iowa's turnovers:
"We wanted to come out and send a message on defense and really play off of each other.  We wanted to have great ball pressure.  We wanted to really focus on our defense."

Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder:
On today's performance:
"I would just like to apologize to our fans for our performance today. We haven't played this bad since the Penn State game. In our last seven games we have improved and have played better and better. This was an Iowa team that was not prepared and did not execute like they have in the past."

On the team's youth:
"I think we did look like a young team tonight but I don't want to use that as an excuse because we have played so well this year. I don't want to down play their performance because we have had success. It's my fault that they were not prepared today."

On the rest of the season:
"It is a long wait until the NCAA selections come out, plus an even longer time until we play whether it's the NCAA or WNIT tournament. At this point in the season it's hard to get players motivated because there is no sure opponent; no goal; no carrot to dangle. In the next nine days we need to work on being a better ball team, and after today we have a lot to work on.

Megan Skouby
On the team's turnovers:
"We did not take care of the ball today. We had a difficult time getting the ball inside. Any time a team has as many turnovers as we had tonight, they usually have a difficult time winning. I take responsibility for the amount of turnovers that we had."

Crystal Smith
On the loss:
"This was a very surprising loss. All we can do now is practice and wait for the selection committee to hopefully choose us. We hope it is a good outcome in the end."