Multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT) can provide an efficient alternative to full coupled-channel calculations for low-energy molecular collisions. However, the efficiency relies on interpolation of the Y matrix that encapsulates the short-range dynamics, and there are poles in Y that may prevent interpolation over the range of energies of interest for cold molecular collisions. We show how the phases of the MQDT reference functions may be chosen so as to remove such poles from the vicinity of a reference energy and dramatically increase the range of interpolation. For the test case of Mg + NH, the resulting optimized Y matrix may be interpolated smoothly over an energy range of several Kelvin and a magnetic field range of over 1000 gauss. Calculations at additional energies and fields can then be performed at a computational cost that is proportional to the number of channels N and not to N-3.