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Women's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
Quotes: Duke 90, Virginia Tech 40
2/20/2011 3:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement:
“I thought we were going to have 11 players for today's game but that changed pretty quick with Chelsea [Gray] hurting her foot there. It was great to have the energy on the floor there that we did and the attack mode that we did especially coming off of last game. I really like the offensive production with two halves of very, very strong offense. Obviously some very good defense and trying to stop their excellent players, [Shanel Harrison] and [Monet Tellier], who have been very strong for them as of late, as well. So defensively we tried to key on their very good players. I love Jas's game just totally in attack mode and doing some many good things on the floor. For Tricia [Liston], that's what she is capable of doing nightly just because she is always a threat on the floor. For Krystal [Thomas], I thought her rebounds were not only 17 strong numerically but incredibly tough usually with two people on her as she tried to clear the ball. I thought that was a good game for us and we'll enjoy this tonight and then move onto the next.”
On how the team bounces back from a loss:
“Great character, you want to be like that all the time. I know we have had some tough losses and we've had a lot of great wins as well but you want to be in this mode all the time. We've got another tough game next week coming up and we come back Tuesday and we want to have the same mindset, again the attack mode mindset. I think this team is beginning to get that even though I think the seniors might get that a little bit more from their experience but all ages understand that. You don't have to lose to learn or to attack. You need to be in attack mode all the time and that's an important part of what we do.”
On Chelsea Gray's status:
“Day-to-day right now and we're hoping it stays in that category. She's got to get it looked at further but it appears that it's a bad sprain.”
On team's defensive effort:
“A lot of hustle and smarts out there and we're just really trying to concentrate on our defenses and improve them throughout the game. That's a big part of games when you have that opportunity. I liked the intensity, I thought we were really intense out there. I thought we were immediate, relative to being heads up with steals and things. I thought Tricia and Jasmine did very well in that area. I just think it's important to play in every minute, that's the nature of the game right now and forcing turnovers is always a good thing.”
On playing without Chelsea the last two games and how it specifically impacts the offense:
“If everyone is in attack mode you can see us create all sorts of offense. I mean obviously we appreciate everything that Chelsea can do for us penetrate, kick, her three-ball. She offers an enormous amount but I think the character of our team is revealed when there is adversity so if any of our players were out I still expect us to rise. We expect that to happen because it's part of who we are. I had 11 for 11 on the board and it was quickly down to 10 and that's so infuriating. I mean it was infuriating when Richa [Jackson] went down at Maryland and I thought you've got to be kidding me. The point is I have great confidence in our team to score lots of points and defend well regardless if the numbers (on our team) are smaller. It's really about how you take it. I just think that you have to be somebody who gets kind of ticked off with that when circumstances don't go your way and I feel that that has certainly happened to us, particularly with the Maryland game. You've got to get ticked off about that stuff and I usually still have residual for it for the next game. When you start a game and lose a player, start a game and lose a player I don't like that. Chance tries to creep in there and affect it I don't like that because we're trying to do special things together as a team.
On Richa Jackson's status physically and where she fits in:
“Four rebounds and three steals I was very excited about that. She did have some silly turnovers due to over dribbling but Richa has a very important role with us she can board, she is physical when she gets in there and is very good at it. Certainly she can do a lot of things offensively too but there is stuff that she has got to do. She has got to defend and she did a great job on [Nikki Davis] who was penetrating all over the place before they took her out. She's got a nice role with our team. Is she back to full health, no but she has just got to continue to make the most out of every opportunity that she gets.”
Duke Senior Jasmine Thomas
On her mindset:
“I let myself get a little frustrated with my offense over those past 6 weeks and I just came out tonight and relaxed. I missed a lot of layups and I didn't let it get to me. I just kept attacking and trying to get in the paint and it just got me into a rhythm.”
On coming off of a loss:
“You almost wish you could play the next day and correct everything you wish you could have done better, but having that time to practice and let it settle in you realize that your team is so much better than your last performance and you're so anxious for the next game so that's what you see out of us. Like Coach P said, we need to be like that all the time.”
Duke Freshman Tricia Liston
On whether this was her best overall game:
“Yeah definitely, at least defensively. I don't remember the last time I had six steals. I was really trying to be aggressive off the ball and anticipate a little more and I got some tips.”
On shooting for her age in points on her birthday:
“No, I just let it fly because I was open.”
On whether today was a continuation of her effort against Maryland:
“A little bit, especially with the loss. You always want to come back and play like Jas said so I think some of the energy and aggressiveness today was due to Maryland. I think that's just where it all came from.”
On older players helping the younger players dealing with adversity:
“Our seniors are great. In tough games and when we've been losing they still keep the energy up and in our huddles they're still saying stuff and giving us advice and after losses they're not going to sugarcoat it for you, they'll tell you what you did wrong. That really helps hearing an honest opinion and not having someone baby you and let you get away with it.”
Duke Senior Krystal Thomas
On her 17 rebounds:
“Before the game I said I was going to go out and try to get as many rebounds as I could and the coaches were challenging me to get different numbers throughout the game at different periods. I was trying my hardest to get the numbers that they set for me to get. I was a few shy of the end goal but we just focused on rebounding. We got out-rebounded tremendously last game and it was important to come back with a dominating rebounding performance this game.”
On the full-game effort:
“We've always had a mindset to play a full 40 minutes every game. Whether it's a win or a loss we haven't always exuded that or portrayed that throughout the game but I felt like today we did that, not necessarily because of the loss, I don't want to credit that we have to loss to learn or that we have to play terrible to learn. As a whole team we played an entire 40 minutes today.”
Virginia Tech Head Coach Beth Dunkenberger
Opening Statement:
“Tough one today for the Hokies. Turnovers and rebounds were the difference in the game.
On not sustaining competitiveness:
“It's a good question. If I knew the answer to that it wouldn't be a 50 point game.”
On Duke's full-court press:
“Well they do it every single game. We do scout, even though we don't look like we play like we scouted. We only had one day to prepare for it. Obviously, they were pretty good at it. Coming off a 20-point loss at Maryland, I'm sure they've had some talking to and a discussion about their energy and they took it to another level on the defensive end.”
On what the team will take away from this:
“All the things we don't want to do in the future against a good team that is hungry for a win. They did exactly what we thought they would do, and I'm probably most disappointed with our energy and their poise.”
On Virginia Tech's pride:
“It's hard when you find yourself not playing well. It's easy to get frustrated, and we did and that's disappointing.”
Opening Statement:
“I thought we were going to have 11 players for today's game but that changed pretty quick with Chelsea [Gray] hurting her foot there. It was great to have the energy on the floor there that we did and the attack mode that we did especially coming off of last game. I really like the offensive production with two halves of very, very strong offense. Obviously some very good defense and trying to stop their excellent players, [Shanel Harrison] and [Monet Tellier], who have been very strong for them as of late, as well. So defensively we tried to key on their very good players. I love Jas's game just totally in attack mode and doing some many good things on the floor. For Tricia [Liston], that's what she is capable of doing nightly just because she is always a threat on the floor. For Krystal [Thomas], I thought her rebounds were not only 17 strong numerically but incredibly tough usually with two people on her as she tried to clear the ball. I thought that was a good game for us and we'll enjoy this tonight and then move onto the next.”
On how the team bounces back from a loss:
“Great character, you want to be like that all the time. I know we have had some tough losses and we've had a lot of great wins as well but you want to be in this mode all the time. We've got another tough game next week coming up and we come back Tuesday and we want to have the same mindset, again the attack mode mindset. I think this team is beginning to get that even though I think the seniors might get that a little bit more from their experience but all ages understand that. You don't have to lose to learn or to attack. You need to be in attack mode all the time and that's an important part of what we do.”
On Chelsea Gray's status:
“Day-to-day right now and we're hoping it stays in that category. She's got to get it looked at further but it appears that it's a bad sprain.”
On team's defensive effort:
“A lot of hustle and smarts out there and we're just really trying to concentrate on our defenses and improve them throughout the game. That's a big part of games when you have that opportunity. I liked the intensity, I thought we were really intense out there. I thought we were immediate, relative to being heads up with steals and things. I thought Tricia and Jasmine did very well in that area. I just think it's important to play in every minute, that's the nature of the game right now and forcing turnovers is always a good thing.”
On playing without Chelsea the last two games and how it specifically impacts the offense:
“If everyone is in attack mode you can see us create all sorts of offense. I mean obviously we appreciate everything that Chelsea can do for us penetrate, kick, her three-ball. She offers an enormous amount but I think the character of our team is revealed when there is adversity so if any of our players were out I still expect us to rise. We expect that to happen because it's part of who we are. I had 11 for 11 on the board and it was quickly down to 10 and that's so infuriating. I mean it was infuriating when Richa [Jackson] went down at Maryland and I thought you've got to be kidding me. The point is I have great confidence in our team to score lots of points and defend well regardless if the numbers (on our team) are smaller. It's really about how you take it. I just think that you have to be somebody who gets kind of ticked off with that when circumstances don't go your way and I feel that that has certainly happened to us, particularly with the Maryland game. You've got to get ticked off about that stuff and I usually still have residual for it for the next game. When you start a game and lose a player, start a game and lose a player I don't like that. Chance tries to creep in there and affect it I don't like that because we're trying to do special things together as a team.
On Richa Jackson's status physically and where she fits in:
“Four rebounds and three steals I was very excited about that. She did have some silly turnovers due to over dribbling but Richa has a very important role with us she can board, she is physical when she gets in there and is very good at it. Certainly she can do a lot of things offensively too but there is stuff that she has got to do. She has got to defend and she did a great job on [Nikki Davis] who was penetrating all over the place before they took her out. She's got a nice role with our team. Is she back to full health, no but she has just got to continue to make the most out of every opportunity that she gets.”
Duke Senior Jasmine Thomas
On her mindset:
“I let myself get a little frustrated with my offense over those past 6 weeks and I just came out tonight and relaxed. I missed a lot of layups and I didn't let it get to me. I just kept attacking and trying to get in the paint and it just got me into a rhythm.”
On coming off of a loss:
“You almost wish you could play the next day and correct everything you wish you could have done better, but having that time to practice and let it settle in you realize that your team is so much better than your last performance and you're so anxious for the next game so that's what you see out of us. Like Coach P said, we need to be like that all the time.”
Duke Freshman Tricia Liston
On whether this was her best overall game:
“Yeah definitely, at least defensively. I don't remember the last time I had six steals. I was really trying to be aggressive off the ball and anticipate a little more and I got some tips.”
On shooting for her age in points on her birthday:
“No, I just let it fly because I was open.”
On whether today was a continuation of her effort against Maryland:
“A little bit, especially with the loss. You always want to come back and play like Jas said so I think some of the energy and aggressiveness today was due to Maryland. I think that's just where it all came from.”
On older players helping the younger players dealing with adversity:
“Our seniors are great. In tough games and when we've been losing they still keep the energy up and in our huddles they're still saying stuff and giving us advice and after losses they're not going to sugarcoat it for you, they'll tell you what you did wrong. That really helps hearing an honest opinion and not having someone baby you and let you get away with it.”
Duke Senior Krystal Thomas
On her 17 rebounds:
“Before the game I said I was going to go out and try to get as many rebounds as I could and the coaches were challenging me to get different numbers throughout the game at different periods. I was trying my hardest to get the numbers that they set for me to get. I was a few shy of the end goal but we just focused on rebounding. We got out-rebounded tremendously last game and it was important to come back with a dominating rebounding performance this game.”
On the full-game effort:
“We've always had a mindset to play a full 40 minutes every game. Whether it's a win or a loss we haven't always exuded that or portrayed that throughout the game but I felt like today we did that, not necessarily because of the loss, I don't want to credit that we have to loss to learn or that we have to play terrible to learn. As a whole team we played an entire 40 minutes today.”
Virginia Tech Head Coach Beth Dunkenberger
Opening Statement:
“Tough one today for the Hokies. Turnovers and rebounds were the difference in the game.
On not sustaining competitiveness:
“It's a good question. If I knew the answer to that it wouldn't be a 50 point game.”
On Duke's full-court press:
“Well they do it every single game. We do scout, even though we don't look like we play like we scouted. We only had one day to prepare for it. Obviously, they were pretty good at it. Coming off a 20-point loss at Maryland, I'm sure they've had some talking to and a discussion about their energy and they took it to another level on the defensive end.”
On what the team will take away from this:
“All the things we don't want to do in the future against a good team that is hungry for a win. They did exactly what we thought they would do, and I'm probably most disappointed with our energy and their poise.”
On Virginia Tech's pride:
“It's hard when you find yourself not playing well. It's easy to get frustrated, and we did and that's disappointing.”
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