POSTGAME QUOTES FROM PORTLAND STATE'S 69-62 WIN OVER MONTANA STATE (JAN. 8, 2010)

PORTLAND STATE HEAD COACH SHERRI MURRELL

On rallying from 20-points down:
"I couldn't be more proud of the heart and the courage and the composure my team had to come back from a 20-point deficit."

The keys to the second half run:
"Katy Wade had some big blocks and some big defensive boards. Claire Faucher did a great job of hitting those wide-open shots. I thought Kelly Marchant did a great job of getting to the rim. It was really a collective effort, but those three really got it started."

On what happened in the first half:
What happend was we missed little shots and we got our heads down, and so we would not give the effort on defense. We are such an offense oriented team and we let that take our composure away. At halftime there was absolutely no adjustments. I told them 'stay with the game plan, just play harder and if you stop them you'll get more possessions.'"

On a big conference win at home:
"The conference is so good and the parity is amazing. You have to win at home. If you don't win at home you're not going to be in a position to win the conference."


PORTLAND STATE SENIOR POINT GUARD CLAIRE FAUCHER

On what the difference was between the first and second half:
"Effort. Effort absolutely. We talked (at halftime) about how when we don't make our easy shots we get quiet and don't play defense. That's when they (Montana State) went on their run. We decided not to let that happen in the second half. Even when we weren't making shots we had to come together and play defense. We shut down Bussey in the second half. She didn't have a single point."

On what it feels like to come back from a 20-point deficit:
"It's the best feeling you could ever imagine, especially never beating them here and I think we've only beat them two or three times in my four years here. I'm so happy right now."

Note: Portland State had lost two straight at home to Montana State. The Vikings did defeat MSU at home during Faucher's freshman season. Overall, PSU has won three straight over Montana State, and they are 4-4 against them in Faucher's three-plus seasons.