Gail Goestenkors Team Quotations

We knew we were coming up against a strong team with a great tradition. I'm extremely pleased with our effort, especially with our defense in the second half, which I felt was the difference.

Mo has always been the tough one on the team and she leads by example with her toughness, but this year she's become a much better communicator with her teammates because she knows we're young and she needs to be very positive with them as well. All of the players have remarked that she's become a great leader for us. She really wanted to become a great leader and now she has the freedom to lead a little bit more than she felt she had in the past.

I don't know, we may see them again, we may not see them again. If nothing else it has help to prepare us for any other team that we may see who is extremely athletic and likes to press.

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, and I think it was good for our confidence.

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.

I think it's quality depth. A lot of teams have a lot of players, but our bench is productive, probably as productive as any team in the country.

Overall, I was really pleased and I thought it was a great team effort. Everybody coming off the bench played really well for us and that's important.

I would love to have Alana for the rest of my life. I think I was just very fortunate to have her for four years. When you have someone that special to get to spend four years with, while helping them learn and grow, it is special. It was her time to go and it's someone else's time to shine. I don't think it's one person in particular but maybe just this team in general.

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.

The fact that they are playing with great freedom -- they seem to have a chip on their shoulder while they've been here, talking about respect. I don't think that anyone now could possibly not respect them. It would be interesting to see if they can still say that because, in my mind, they've beaten the No. 1 team (North Carolina) in the country twice so I see them right now as the No. 1 team in the country.

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.

We knew it was going to be a battle. It was a great team effort. Five players in double figures, and everybody who came off the bench contributed something to win the game.

We knew it was going to be a battle. It was a great team effort.

I've let that pressure go. I feel like we're going to win it at some point. I know we're going to win it at some point. I think in the past, I wanted it so badly for the team that I tried to force it to happen, and I found out that's not really possible.

They're the most athletic team in the country.

I told the team I'm kind of glad. I know that we will be better because of this game.

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.

It's the little things (that will decide the game). When you get to this stage, every team is a great team. You're not going to make changes at this point in time, so you have to do the little things very, very well. It's the box-outs, the screens. It's the attack mindset on both ends of the floor. It's the little things that make the big difference.

It's their athleticism. They do a great job with their traps, and you don't see it every day, so it's hard to prepare for. They're the most athletic team in the country, and it's difficult to prepare for that.

It's always difficult to beat a team three times. It's extremely difficult to beat a great team three times.

It was a great team effort. That's what I told the team in the locker room -- five players in double figures, and everybody who came off the bench contributed in some way, shape or form. I think this was just a tremendous team effort on our part.

I knew they were going to come out fighting and battling and they did. When you've got a team with such tradition and at home, it's a very dangerous combination.