Postgame Quotes vs. Butler
Nov. 20, 2016
Kohl Center - Madison, Wis.

Head Coach Jonathan Tsipis
Opening statement:
"I'm just proud of our group. I think the first half didn't go the way we wanted and we made a nice run I thought at the end of the third quarter and then gave up a couple of plays I think we can control. I just think we stayed with the process. We did a good job.
 
"I think the most important thing offensively in the fourth quarter was we were aggressive and we got to the bonus early. Whenever you shoot that many free-throws in a quarter and end up getting 24, that started at the beginning of the quarter.
 
"We had people make giant plays all night. I thought Gabby's (Gregory) three coming out of the dead-ball situation was huge. Probably the play of the game, it was a one position game and we made a free throw and we were trying to get up to extend them a little bit and we get one person gets caught behind us and Marsha's (Howard) able to get into the passing lane and it's kind of a four-point swing, because they would've had a layup and been able to set their press.
 
"Avy's activeness tonight, was one rebound away from a double-double, 10 for 14 from the line. I thought her free-throws all came at key moments when we were struggling to score. I'm really proud of our group.
 
"I think Thursday off and then Friday was our best practice probably of the year. It wasn't our best yesterday but they put that behind them and came out and battled. That's, as a coach, what you can ask for, is your team to battle for 40 minutes and I think a majority of the time you'll see that as a successful night."
 
On Kendra Van Leeuwen's play today:
"I think it's one of those things that she wants to do so well for her teammates. I think that part, against the match-up zone, she wants to distribute almost too much at times, and I think that when she took that three, she didn't hesitate at all. She took much better care of the ball tonight and even at the end, when they were pressing, we were able to move the ball.
 
"She wants to shoot those free throws. I know she's not shooting them at a level she would like, but she wants to do everything she can to make sure to not let her team down. And I think that's what you ask out of a point guard. To have that unselfish nature and when she misses somebody, they know how to approach her. I was so happy, because she's tried to get Avy (Young) on that rim run the last couple games and it hasn't worked, and threw one to perfection that Avy got fouled on tonight.
 
"I thought she was really good defensively too, I thought she did a good job of understanding when we were switching defenses, to put more pressure on. I think that helped us wear them down."
 
On Cayla McMorris contributing from the free-throw line when it wasn't her night from the field:
"I think it's important that when we are subbing late in the game and we're trying to put a press offense team in, that we can stretch the floor. That if they do foul away, that they'll step up and I think that's what I told Cayla afterwards.
 
"Whether she took it out or came to the ball, we put them in a tough situation because even though she hasn't made a field goal, she's shooting 90 percent from the free-throw line on the year. As a coach, you want to be able to put people in that situation and know it doesn't matter what has happened in the first 37 or 38 minutes, that's a very controllable act.
 
"Part of the reason we were in that bonus that early is a couple of drives that she had that we didn't end up getting to the free-throw line off of that, but we got to that bonus. That part of the attacking mentality I constantly talk about with Cayla McMorris is she can't shy away from that. She can't worry about what she is from the field; her teammates need her to step up to be ready to shoot those free throws.
 
On getting his first win at Wisconsin:
"It's not at all about me. This is about the work that this team puts in and you want to see them have that success by finishing a game. Like Avy talked about the other night, doing those little things in the drills, finishing a drill out, finishing a five-on-five shell out. They get a limited time to do this, and to see them have that part of being successful, you know what, as a Coach I want to win every game, I want them to win every game, but the most important part is, this is their win. It just happens to be my first one here at Wisconsin. But I think for them, again like Avy said, let's build off this momentum, and move forward."
 
Senior F Avyanna Young
On it being the first win for Coach Tsipis:
"It's like a momentum shift for us. We got confidence, which we always had confidence, but it's letting us know that we can win. We can do this, and hopefully we will carry that on to Tuesday."
 
Freshman G Gabby Gregory
On coming off the bench and contributing:
"It's really important to me to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that coach is giving me and to help my teammates and be the burst of energy they might need or just do whatever I have to do to help the team be successful. That's the only thing on my mind."
 
Sophomore F Marsha Howard
On her road back to playing meaningful minutes:
"Coach tells me all the time that I have to keep running to get in shape because I have had a long time off. I'm just working towards that, to be a better player, definitely on defense. Defense wins games and I feel like our team really stepped up and played perfectionist defense today, and so going forward from there."