Head Coach Brenda Frese
Opening statement:
“That was just a lot of fun. Just really enjoyed seeing the work that we displayed together. Obviously the unselfish play to be able to beat a great team like Rutgers. Just the poise and the confidence and the toughness that you had to have in this game was tremendous.”
On the second half:
“Malina [Howard] comes along and gets her offense going for us, makes a big difference. Then you got Lexie [Brown] down the stretch - with three 3s - Big Shot Brown comes and nails the threes that I thought really put the exclamation mark on the game.”
On how the team was projected to finish in the preseason:
“What people I think didn’t understand was just the chemistry of this team, the heart. They play for each other and you’re seeing it unfold when we play like this. Great things are going to continue to happen for this team.”
Redshirt Freshman Forward A’Lexus Harrison
On her career high in minutes played:
“There are times when you feel like your body is going to hit the wall and you just have to push through that wall because at the moment my team needed me more than anything, so at the times when I felt like I was tired it was no longer about me, it was more so about my team so I had to push through.”
Sophomore Guard Lexie Brown
On the team effort:
“When we’re playing like that, when everyone is contributing, that’s when we have the most fun, so if we can play like that as often as possible we definitely want to play that way and I think when we’re all playing together, getting everybody involved, making easy plays, then I think we’re almost unstoppable.”
On confidence throughout the game:
“I think the game kind of slowed down a little bit in the second half. That press kind of bothered me a little bit in the first half, so it kind of took me a half to get used to that ball pressure, but then I calmed down. My teammates gave me all the confidence to keep shooting the ball so I shot the ball and they went in.”
Redshirt Senior Laurin Mincy
On being undefeated in Big Ten play:
“It means a lot. It says a lot about our team. We’re going to come and play hard every night. We’ve been working countless times in the summer and during the season and we deserve it.”
Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer
On Maryland's second-half run:
"I think Lexie Brown knocking those 3s down and the young lady on the outside buried us. Let's recognize that Maryland is an outstanding team. I appreciate their poise. Their guards are very confident. It was very clear that they knew what they wanted to do."
On the play of Betnijah Laney:
"I think she is easily one of the top candidates for player of the year. She is just a real rarity and I do not know what we are going to do without her. She can score inside and outside, 3-point range and post up. She also gets it done defensively. I can't say enough about her. I have never seen a player make such a transition from her freshman year to her senior year."
