Creighton - 57, Marquette - 44
THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from Coach and then take questions.
CARA CONSUEGRA: Yeah, I mean, honestly, I think we played well enough defensively to be in this game. I think we've played Creighton well defensively all three times we've played them. We just picked a really, really bad day to be really poor on offense. The number of paint shots that we missed, the number of turnovers in the first half that contributed to our poor offense, it's a story of the game. Sometimes the ball bounces like that and that's unfortunate.
But I am really proud of our group. I think we have to understand -- you know, outsiders picked us to be second in this league. We understand that we're in year two of building a team that we put together in 10 days and then added a couple this year. So we have a long way to go and we're focused on the process, not just the outcome here, at Marquette. And the kids that have been here over these two years and this core that's been together have done a tremendous job of helping to build our culture, of winning 20 and 18 games back-to-back, again, on a team that was put together in 10 days, you guys.
So I'm proud of our group. I'm proud of the things that we've done. I know that the future is really bright. It hurts because you want more from this. But things don't always happen when you want them to. They happen on time. So we have to keep putting the time in and we will and we'll keep growing.
THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions.
Q. You had strong, successful seasons. You had your junior year and you're coming back next year. And seeing what players like Kennedi and Lee and some of your teammates that helped build in terms of culture, where do you see Marquette basketball positioned kind of for the future?
SKYLAR FORBES: I mean, Kennedi, Lee, all of our seniors really kind of helped build the culture that we have now, so moving forward and going into the future, it's going to be on the rest of us that are still here to make sure we still uphold that standard that we have for ourselves and for each other and kind of still implement our principles that we have to make sure we do the best that we can for ourselves, for our coaches, and for our teammates.
Q. Skylar, this is a game that obviously you guys came in to win and it didn't go your way. What are your thoughts on the season and just reflecting on coming together with the girls -- or the women that you would call your sisters?
SKYLAR FORBES: I'm proud of us for the run that we had. We obviously faced a lot of adversity with, you know, injuries and whatnot. So for people to step up, like Bridget or Charia, Jordan, and be able to kind of impact our team the way that we need them to and be able to still make a statement when we're down a few people, it's been an amazing ride.
Q. Even though it's not the way you guys obviously drew it up, where to from here, essentially, kind of goals -- post-season tournament goals? Like, what's kind of the way forward for anyone who is inclined to answer?
CARA CONSUEGRA: Well, we can't control what happens next. We've done what we've done, and I think our net is in a position that we should be, in our opinion, a WBIT team. But we can't control that, and at the end of the day, we just have to continue to prepare and see what happens.
Q. You guys faced a lot of defensive pressure in this game. Can you talk about how proud, if you are, about the resilience of your team.
CARA CONSUEGRA: Yeah, I think the scouting report is out on us. We have really good coaches in this league, and we haven't taken the care of the ball well this year at all. Obviously, we've worked on it a lot, watched a lot of film, done a lot of work. Just sometimes there's years like that. So the pressure is something we expect. The thing about it is we know we can do it. If you look at the difference, I think we had 13 turnovers at halftime and we finished with 17. So we can do it. We just have to continue to work to find ways to be more consistent when it comes to that.
Q. At halftime you guys were in this game. It's a game that you can win. You go into the locker room, what do you say to your team?
CARA CONSUEGRA: The biggest thing we talked about was having confidence. Obviously scoring whatever we did, nine points in the second quarter, and a very long drought, it's very easy for players to hang their head. We were playing well enough defensively, and we've been together for this year, and I know that this team oftentimes, as good of a defensive team we can be, a lot of our confidence comes from our offense. So the big message at halftime was stay believing, stay confident, shots are going to fall. And obviously we were coming out in the third quarter and the shots don't fall, so it's just tough. It's just tough when that happens, but our kids kept fighting to the end and that's important to our culture and who we are.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports