Lisa Bluder Quotations

There are players who are freshmen that could play vital roles in our team this year. We could potentially have three starting for us.

We didn't want to be back in the NIT, and I think we proved to everybody that we should have been in the NCAA tournament.

Like any good cook, you go back in the kitchen and you revamp your recipe and you take what you have on hand and you still make up something pretty good. And I think after spending the last two months with the women on our team, I think that with certainty we can whip up something pretty good.

Last year she was third-team all-Big Ten and I think that's way too low,

Last year put a sour taste in our mouth. We're not going to take anything for granted. In our minds, we have to continue to win.

She's tremendous. But she has been fabulous since she set foot on the floor here. Even as a freshman, she was never a true freshman. She has given every ounce of energy she has had and been a lot of fun to watch.

She's thinking about it way too much. She's definitely struggling shooting. It's nice to win games without her. It forces people to bring their game up another level. That's a good thing, because when we get Crystal back, we'll be a better team because of it.

She's thinking about it way too much. It's nice to be able to win games without her, and it really forces people into a situation where they have to bring their game up another level. I think that's the good part, because when we get Crystal back, maybe we'll even be a better basketball team because of it.

She's a phenomenal athlete and this year we're going to have the luxury of being able to keep her at the off-guard position.

She has been a great addition to our basketball team. We were thrilled when we were able to sign Kristi Smith. We watched her play for a long time and we had our eye on her a long time. We felt she was going to be a tremendous player. So we were thrilled when we were able so secure her as an Iowa Hawkeye. We kind of felt like we stole her.

She is going to be a very, very good basketball player.

Megan maybe is putting too much pressure on herself in the starting position, because this is two games in a row that it's happened. She's picked up over-the-back calls, things she knows better (than to do).

Megan has great hands, great footwork for a freshman. The other day in practice, she got out and ran the fast break,

Right now, I have my favorite 10 sophomores and favorite 10 freshmen in America in a list. I never used to do that.

I don't ever want to leave anything to chance. We want to go as deep into this tournament as possible. Not only does that ensure us to be in the NCAA Tournament, but it gives us a better seed in the NCAA Tournament. We have to do everything possible to make that happen.

I don't ever want to leave anything to chance.

I don't know that a win here puts us in, but a loss here hurts us quite a bit. Last year, that was one that we did point to and say maybe this kept us out.

I can't even think, if it continued that way, what would have happened. It wouldn't have been very pretty. On the other hand, having the experience like this, with the comeback, can build great confidence. Do you want it to happen? No, you never want to be down 17-2. But, the best possible outcome came out of this.

I don't remember being part of a game that got off to such a bad start and where we were able to come back. I thought it was an incredible test of character. Crystal really challenged our team with a gut-check in our timeout. She was pretty emotional about how to change the level of play.

We thought we would be able to get the ball inside, and I thought Megan had another very good game for us.

Hopefully, the team used it as motivation throughout the summer,

I think your seniors set the tone for what kind of chemistry that you have. You look forward to getting into the gym.

I think we all felt a little bitter. When that announcement was made, every one of us had a pit in our stomach. Hopefully, the team used that as motivation throughout the summer. I know the coaching staff used it as motivation during the summer - that we didn't want to be back in the (WNIT).

Jessica Davenport just continues to prove why she is one of the best players in America. Our plan was to try and double her, and it obviously didn't work.

Jessica Davenport continues to prove why she is one of the best players in America. That was a remarkable game. When you have six assists as a post to go with 34 points, that's amazing. She made it very, very difficult for us.

I think eighth grade is really the earliest. You can tell there's a special kid there at that young of an age.

Penn State did a great job defensively, which made it difficult for us to get into our offense. Their zone really hurt us. We need to learn to play better defense and box out.

Lindsey can stick the 3. If the 3-pointer is open, she's going to put it down. She's going to have a very good learning experience this year, but it's nice to have that other 3-point dimension.

I think like last year, it's a 50-50 chance. I think we have a better resume than last year, because we have two Top 25 wins.

That was the difference. Our defensive intensity was there in the first half and non-existent in the second half. They just about scored at will. When somebody comes into your home floor and scores 48 points (in the second half), that's an embarrassment.

We've needed somebody else to be a scoring threat on the perimeter, besides Crystal (Smith) and Kristi (Smith). We've seen glimpses of what Wendy's capable of doing all through the year. It makes us feel great that she's now letting the Big Ten see it.

We were not able to stop the pass into her. When she gets the ball one-on-one, most of the time, the kid is going to score. She's just that good.

This summer I was feeling really good about what kind of basketball team that we could create,

We think we've done enough to get into the NCAA Tournament, but we don't want to take anything for granted. Last year put a sour taste in my mouth about leaving anything to chance.

Why not? They have a good inside game and their point guard, I know she's only a freshman, but she does a nice job. She's going to be good before it's all done ... sure Penn State can make some noise.

What a way for them to go out. I'm also excited for our freshmen because I want them to set this as a precedent for how it's going to be for them for the next four years.

We're going to be an incredibly young basketball team, but sometimes that's fun, too. Sometimes they don't know what they're in for, so it's kind of fun to watch them go through that.

We could really have a fun time in the next couple years.

Even if they're not in the starting lineup, they're going to play so much time. So we're going to be an incredibly young basketball team.

It was a long wait. It seemed like forever. I wish we could relive it again., though, I wish we could see our name and relive it again, because that was a fun moment.

That (12) years is a lot of precedent.

That shows maybe what Megan means to our team. She does a tremendous job for us. In my mind, she's the best freshman in the Big Ten.

They're very deep, that's a strength of their basketball team. But I'm not going to use that as an excuse. We didn't foul anybody out tonight, and I don't think it hurt us.

It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win and we'll definitely take it. Too many turnovers and I thought we went away from our bread-and-butter, which is going inside.

It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win, and we'll definitely take it.

It's a very important game for us. We're both fighting for the same thing. The NCAA has taken five from the Big Ten Conference for as long as I can remember.

That put a smile on our coaches' faces.

It's been heartbreaking. It's been emotionally just very difficult to handle.

Ohio State has the nod on everybody else. They're tournament-savvy, having been there before. They have earned the No. 1 seed with their play. But our conference has been known to have people come in and dethrone the champion. Yes, it's wide open, but I would have to give my nod to Ohio State.

Ohio State did an excellent job defensively, excellent job on the boards. I really feel Debbie Merrill might be the 'X' factor for that team. ... She is very hard to guard.

This is just what Wendy needed because we've seen glimpses of this. Maybe this is just what the doctor ordered to put her over the edge.

I'm proud of our team. I thought we fought hard out there. They'd won five in a row, and were a Top 20 team. And we had a shot to win at the end. That's all you can ask of a team as young as ours.

I hope that this game doesn't become the deciding factor. I hope that they'll look at our Big Ten schedule as a whole and our body of work, rather than just a one-game performance.

I'm just thankful for the free-throw line because we stepped up and made the free throws. Good teams make their free throws and we're getting to the free-throw line so much more this year than we have in the past.

I'm just thankful for the free-throw line, because we stepped up and made the free throws.

I really felt like our offense never flowed very well. They did a good job of taking us out of our offense.

I don't think it can hurt. Can it help? I'm not sure. Until you're in those meetings, I don't think you really know.

I feel like apologizing to our fans because this really isn't the way we've been playing. I feel bad that we didn't have our team prepared today.

The first from Lindsay, and then from Jo.

All of those players have had good experience, and I've always thought that probably the biggest leap in your development comes between your freshman and sophomore years, for most individuals. I think Stacy and Abby have both proved that to be true this year. They've both made very, very good leaps for us.