Gail Goestenkors Game Quotations

Those are two very emotional games for us, big rivals for us.

I think Ali changes the game at both ends of the floor but specifically on defense. It allows our guards to really pressure the ball and get up in the passing lanes, because they know if they get beat they've got Ali back there waiting to help them out.

When we played there a couple of years ago, I was really impressed with their fans because I felt like they were knowledgeable but not out of control. It didn't feel intimidating to me. It just felt like a great basketball game with good, appreciative fans. It was a different feeling than some places you go to.

I've been trying to get back home with my team. It's kind of ironic that we both tried hard to schedule a game this year during the season and unfortunately the dates did not work out and we're now playing each other in the NCAA Tournament.

I told the team afterwards that it's not a bad thing to have a game like this. It's been almost too easy for us up to this point. Everything was flowing; everything was in sync. This game things did not go well for us, but we did what was necessary.

Early on, we were the aggressor, and I thought we did a great job. But I thought as the game wore on they became a little more comfortable.

They decided to try and take away our inside game and played a zone, particularly in the first half, and that left our shooters wide open. Then in the second half we got our inside game going.

When she's blocking shots, I think it's extremely intimidating to the opponent, and it also changes shots and that gets the transition game going. She gets the ball out quickly.

Monique showed why she's the best player in the ACC and one of, if not the best player in the nation. When it comes crunch time and we need her, she's a gamer and she wants the ball in her hands.

When you think about it, we ended the game basically with our starting five from last year. So that's a great luxury to have. That just shows the depth of the team, the experience of the team.

We feel like we have a really deep team. Every game everybody that can play usually gets an opportunity to play. I think we came ready mentally and physically to and getting out to that quick lead (17-2) kind of set the tone.

This was a really good game for us to play. Obviously we like to score in transition, and Auburn did a great job just walking the ball up the court and slowing down the tempo.

We really tried to get a game with Michigan State. We wanted to have a home-and-away (series), but the dates would just not work. Hopefully we'll get a home-and-away scheduled later on because I really want to get back to Michigan and bring my team with me.

We were really trying to get a game with Michigan State this year. Both schools worked really hard to make this happen. Both schools wanted a home-and-home. The dates just didn't work out. I'm happy to be playing Michigan State. I wish it was in the state of Michigan.

There were several years where we really dominated and didn't lose any games for a couple of years. I don't know how good that was for us because we weren't tested on a daily basis.

I was just a little worried about fatigue and playing this 11 a.m. game. I was really proud of the team. I thought it took us a little while to get going, but once we hit our stride, I thought we had a nice inside-outside game going.

It was certainly a battle to get here. We all had at least one game that we really had to fight through that came right down to the bitter end to determine who would get to the Final Four.

She takes such pride in her defense, and I could see the frustration on her face. I told her she was going to be fine, and she was. She changed the game for us. She was the difference.

I think being able to get to the Final Four four times is pretty nice. I feel very good about it. I know our team is going to be successful throughout my career so I don't feel the pressure of trying to win another game or win two more games. I know that we can.

I think it was good for us mentally. We haven't blown a team out in a while. ... Confidence is sometimes such a fleeting thing. Honestly, this game was probably better for us mentally than physically other than to get the rust off.

We haven't talked about being undefeated. We can't really worry about the big picture now. We're so focused on the next game at hand.

This team has always played together well. They've always been unselfish. It starts with the senior leadership. They could take 20 shots a game but they don't, and they make sure everyone gets involved.

I think this was probably really good for us. They say almost every tournament, there's always one game where you don't play well and you've got to find a way to win. Hopefully this was our one game.

I thought it would go down to the wire, so I guess that's what I was most surprised about. We were able to wear them down a little bit. Every game we go into we think our bench is going to be a difference.

Every time their games went into overtime, they won. I've seen many instances where the pressure is really on, and they come through.