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2 p.m.
Women's Basketball
at Virginia Tech
Quotes: North Carolina 93, Duke 76
2/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement:
“It was a very physical [game]?pretty much what you ask for in a Duke-Carolina game?very physical, very up-and-down, lots of different things going on the floor and I think we perhaps didn't do as well tempo-wise. I think Carolina did a better job with the tempo?obviously they shot the ball better. In some ways we rebounded better but we didn't get the rebounds we needed until late in the game. We had 22 offensive rebounds?that's a good stat?but about eight of them came in the last two minutes. So we needed second and third shots all along the way, consistently through the game and we didn't get all that we desired there. Obviously some lessons here for us to learn for sure.”
On Carolina getting second and third shots when they needed them:
“I thought they were more aggressive through a lot of the game?I don't know about all of the game, but more aggressive to the ball and we got hurt badly by [Erlana] Larkins and [LaToya] Pringle but also number 22?their freshman guard [Cetera DeGraffenreid]?did an outstanding job and that's not something that can occur. I really think that was sort of maybe the ?X' factor for them and something that hurt us was her game.”
On allowing 93 points after averaging giving up around 55 per game this season:
“I would call that very bad defense and I thought they were opportunistic. We didn't take any charges in a game that was full of them?absolutely full of them?it was a very athletic game. We didn't do anything to change the tempo when they were that aggressive offensively. There should have been more bodies flying?putting bodies in front of people and instead we watched people go by.”
On whether she was surprised by Duke struggling defensively:
“You have to respect a team?North Carolina's a very good team. You're just not comfortable with... I mean 48 points in the first half and 45 in the second. It's just something that we've got to bear down. We can not be giving up 93 points?I don't care who we play, when we play, how we play. Defense is going to have to be a part of what we do and that's just something we're really going to have to look at. The film will be telling in terms of the one-on-one stops you're talking about or the second-shot opportunities that occurred.”
Junior Forward Chante Black
On difficulties defending on the boards:
“North Carolina is a great offensive rebounding team and going into the game that was our focus, but we didn't carry that out at all during this game.”
Junior Guard Abby Waner
On lessons to be learned from this game:
“I think it just comes down to all-around rebounding, and that was the story against Tennessee as well. We can't fully rely on posts to rebound, it's a guard thing as well. It has to be a team effort, and it takes more than just the initial box out, you really have to push through the ball. That is something North Carolina is really good at, and you have to be able to take away their strengths and counter that. For one it is rebounding, like Coach said we're going to look at the film and see what we can make of that tomorrow.”
On problems she saw on the court:
“It was a combination of things. There are personal things we know, like #22 likes to get in and go. You have to give her space and back off, and she'll bring it to you. I think maybe being a little bit more aggressive, going harder for traps. Like Coach said it was a bad defensive game, something that is generally a staple for us, so we just need to get back to the basics.”
North Carolina Coach Sylvia Hatchell
Opening Statement:
“It was a typical North Carolina-Duke game. Duke kept coming after us when we got a lead and we got a little rattled a few times and that slowed us down but I thought this young lady right here, [Cetera DeGraffenreid], for a freshman, did an outstanding job. She did an outstanding job at Tennessee, at Connecticut and tonight running our team. She's so coach-able and she's worked a lot on her outside shooting; she just continues to get better and better. It was a great team effort. We made some adjustments that helped us out when we needed them, but Duke kept coming after us. It was a great women's basketball game and we're just happy for the win. These guys did a great job. LaToya [Pringle] just keeps on doing her thing.”
On scoring 93 points versus Duke:
“I thought we got some second shots and that made a difference. To be honest, I didn't think we were running enough. At halftime, I told them we have to push the ball more. We shot the ball well tonight. Our strength is our inside game so we try to go inside first. A lot of times when we've taken threes it's been as the clock has been running down, so they aren't what you call good three-point shots. I was proud to see them make those shots tonight.”
On limiting Abby Waner's looks:
“We put different people on her and threw a couple different things at her. We tried to limit her touches but more than anything else, we wanted to just keep somebody around her at all times and make her take un-set shots. I was upset at halftime because we fouled her too much. She is automatic on the foul line. Coming off the screens, we were trying to double her and then we would put a big person on her at times. We were just trying to do different things and hope something would work.”
On holding Duke to two made three-pointers:
“If you had told me that before the game, I would have said no way. They're so good with [Wanisha] Smith, [Abby] Waner and [Jasmine] Thomas; those kids can shoot. I've seen them in high school and AAU games and they're great shooters. Maybe we made them shoot quick or kept them out of a rhythm or flow on offense.”
Freshman Guard Cetera DeGraffenreid
On playing in big games on the road:
“Playing at Tennessee was the first road game and it was playing against 17,000 fans. I just went out there thinking, you have to push the ball and do what you've been doing and don't get out of control. At Connecticut they were extremely loud and rowdy but you just have to stay under control, do what you're told to do and play how you've been playing. You can't let your environment get to you. There was a lot more support here for us than there was at Connecticut so that helped a lot.”
On playing in her first Duke-North Carolina game:
“Growing up, this is one of the games that you get ready for. You just wait for this game to come and now that it's here, it was everything I ever dreamed of. [It was great] to go out there and play with my team and against Duke. We came out and performed well.”
Senior Forward/Center LaToya Pringle
On rebounding:
“We knew coming in here that the key to the game was going to be rebounding. We really pride ourselves on crashing the offensive boards real hard. We got in there and battled hard. This group of players hasn't lost to Duke that many times except for last year so we took that personally. We came in here to rebound and play hard.”
On getting motivated for this game:
“I'm not used to losing so when I lose, I try to come out even harder the next game to help my team not lose. It's just something that doesn't happen in Carolina basketball. We don't lose and we don't accept losing. I think that especially after the Connecticut game when we thought we had it and let it slip away, our team went to another level in practice as far as pushing ourselves.”
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