Jose Fernandez Game Quotations

It definitely hurts in the locker room. We're an NCAA (Tournament) team. We've just got to win these games. These are the type of games that you need to win to put you over the top.

We didn't make shots, but at the same time, at the end of the game you have to get some stops on the other end.

Before the game, we told our kids our backs were against the wall. This was the most important game of the year. If we wanted to go to the NCAA Tournament, we needed to win. And the kids responded. They have an excellent opportunity ahead of them.

Parsons was injured in the West Virginia game (Feb. 25) and wasn't feeling good. But we will go back with Parsons against Notre Dame. She's our best interior defender. We have to do a good job against (Lindsay) Schrader, a good job against Duffy and not get into early foul trouble.

She had a great game tonight. She had a good bounce to her, running up and down the court, defending as well. She was assertive and looked good until the fall.

The big thing about her is that she has a tremendous work ethic. If you look at her stats her freshman year, you can see how much her game has evolved and improved. She's worked on her range. It really shows how committed she has been to improve on her game. She's not even close to her potential. She's a really good shooter. She uses screens well, but she needs to improve her perimeter passing.

She's been in and out of the doghouse all year. She's been far deep in there because she struggled defensively. I thought this was a game that could really show some of her offensive skills.

It's a tough way to lose. I told our players that games aren't won or lost in the last 30-40 seconds. We shot 50 percent from the free-throw line in the second half, and that's not going to get it done against the type of teams we're playing in this league.