May 27, 2011
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NCAA Championship -- Semifinals
Stony Brook, N.Y.
No. 2 Northwestern 11, No. 3 North Carolina 10
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller
Opening statement...
"Obviously, we're thrilled to be moving on to the championship game. We had our ups and downs today, but as we showed throughout the season, we have a strong will to win. We made things happen when the going was tough and I think our girls really stepped up and made plays when necessary. I'm really proud of them and I hope this gives us some good momentum heading into the championship."
On high-quality shots faced...
"I think our defense did a pretty good job, but we didn't do a very good job on draw controls. We fumbled a couple that could have been easy possessions for us. We need to refocus on that because possession is key. We're used to having a high percentage of the shots, but when we needed stops, our defense really came up with some big stops. Obviously Breezy (junior GK Brianne LoManto) played great tonight and came up with some huge stops as well."
On focusing on holding leads...
"It's really crucial, but you can't expect to constantly hold onto leads at this point in the season. For some of these players, it's their last game in their career. They are not going to let up. We understand that there are ebbs and flows in the game and we just have to be resilient. Even though we let loose a lead today, we were resilient and we came back. Hopefully that will be a defining moment for us and a lesson. We can get stronger and move forward. These types of things happen, I don't think it's the fault of a particular player or the team, I think we have to do our best to come up with the little plays and we did when we needed to."
On keys to the game against Maryland...
"I think we have to play our game, we have to play together as a team, and we have to come up with possessions. Draw controls are going to be crucial. Maryland is very explosive offensively so we have to make sure we can clamp down defensively and come up with some stops and take advantage of those stops. I got a chance to see a little bit of the game earlier; Duke was able to come up with some stops, but they weren't able to convert, so converting will be key."
On offensive balance around Shannon Smith...
"Tonight, they tried to shut Shannon Smith off, but in some ways that created opportunities for us. In any championship setting, you're going to have your great players, but you have to have complimenting players around them. They have to play well and play big, that's what makes championships. In the championships we've been involved in in the past, we've always had big performances from role players and that's going to be crucial."
On Maryland coach Cathy Reese as a player...
"I remember her freshman year, she was a role player on attack. She seemed to get better every game. When the Final Four rolled around, there was Cathy Reese scoring big points for us and making huge plays for us. She kind of had ice in her veins and her team definitely exemplifies those characteristics. She's done a great job at Maryland and we're very privileged to play against them Sunday."
Junior Shannon Smith
On her game-winning goal...
"I had the ball behind the net and I was just waiting for the clock to go down. I was going up to the right side, the girl slid, then I got fouled. Then I ran to the goal and the one girl who was doubling me slid off and then I just took the girl one-on-one and got lucky that it went in. I had all the confidence in myself, I like the last shot, that's what you play for as an athlete. I knew it was going in when I had it."
Junior Brianne LoManto
On what North Carolina was doing to get by the Northwestern defense
"They looked at their game last time against us and tried to change some different things. They have a lot of great players that can finish in the middle so they tried to capitalize on that. They did get the ball out front a lot and a couple times they dropped it or they capitalized on it."
On the opportunity to get a rematch with Maryland...
"I think the biggest thing for us is going to be our ability to control our emotions and not let what happened to us last year take over. We have to stay focused out there on the field Sunday."
Sophomore Erin Fitzgerald...
On the opportunity to get a rematch with Maryland...
"We're really excited to get back on the field with them. It's something that's been in the back of our mind all year as an extra motivating factor."