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Women's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
Quotes: Duke 63, Pitt 45
1/29/2015 9:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement:
“We worked on some things, so that was good. Rebounding was excellent. The assist total was approaching what we would like, but not quite there. I don't think I have to comment on the turnovers. I think you know that that was a bad thing. I really wish we could've got to the free throw line more and been more effective there. I loved to see Oderah (Chidom) out there rebounding and attacking like she did. She has a lot of gifts and a lot of things she can do on the floor, and it was just fun to see her get out there and attack. And also Azurá (Stevens) just being efficient. That was kind of a quiet game. Not too many people can get a double-double like that. That speaks to Azurá's talent. We just had some good things to learn about, and we were also frustrated by some things. We'll work on those as we get ready for Monday.”
On Elizabeth Williams struggling after a great game Sunday:
“That's unfortunate. It's really important to be a consistent player and in attack mode. She had a tough game. The key was her teammates stepped up beautifully. Kendall (Cooper) was great off the bench, (along with) Oderah, Azurá and others. And I've challenged our team. If you're going to be a special player, you're kind of on every night to some degree. That's something we're working on.”
On anything Pittsburgh did to slow Williams down offensively:
“I think we forced the ball and did not put Elizabeth in good situations, but she didn't get rebounds. That's sort of the free-market thing. There are no restraints or regulations on rebounding. She had three. That's not good. You have to find a way to get eight, nine, 10, 11 or 12 and make something out of it. But at the same time, I thought our entries to her were very poor. We need to reverse the ball more.”
Duke Freshman Azura Stevens
On playing top of 1-2-2 zone and low in 2-3 zone:
“Either one is fine. It's just that I have to learn to move my feet quicker on top, so I prefer the bottom. But I don't want to shy away from the top because it would be nice to have me up there, so either or.”
On being hot in the beginning:
“My teammates found me in the right spots and hustling getting rebounds.”
Duke Sophomore Oderah Chidom
On coming back after sitting for two games:
“It's a great feeling. I have never been injured before so sitting out two games is the first time I have ever sat. Looking in retrospect it was kind of respecting the game and not taking anything for granted. It's great being out there and it's great that the injury wasn't that severe. I'm glad that I'm playing today.
On the shoulder:
“It's fine. It feels great. It gets sore from time to time but I'm dealing with it.”
On filling role that Amber Henson could also fill:
“We're focusing on defensive rebounds. Our team is so interchangeable and versatile. One person doesn't define our team. We have so many players to add and contribute to this team and whatever I can do to encourage my teammate to put forth their best.”
On advantage of big players:
“It helps. When we lose one post player there is always one to step up.”
Pittsburgh head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio:
Opening Statement
“Well it was a better second half than a first. Credit Duke, they're so long in their defense and we knew coming in that we had to shoot the ball very well against their zone. We had to try and create gaps and stretch their defense even more to be able to attack it either inside, at the high post or on the block. We didn't hit shots, and they just have so many weapons inside, they can create mismatches with their size. They have two over six feet they have two under six feet, big discrepancy in size and they were able to capitalize on that, but our player fought. I was very proud of the way our players came out in the second half and fought. Defensively it was a one point game difference in the second half. We created 25 turnovers, but we just could capitalize. We came out in the first half and tried a lot of different things defensively, to see what would work, and we came out in the second half to play our game. Pressuring, getting up to pressure the point guard full court, and being disruptive defensively. So I thought we were better in the second half defensively, but we still couldn't get shots to knock down. So it's a disappointing night, and Dukes a very team, especially at home, they're just tough to beat.”
On preparing for Duke's height:
“I mean as best we could. I mean we can't simulate exactly what they do. We have practice guys that have some height, went against the match-up [zone] with them in practice, but I think they forced us to take shots a little quicker, and took us out of our rhythm as we were trying to get off a quicker release. Because they were blocking shots. They did a nice job in the first half I thought of forcing other players to take shots who shouldn't have been taking shots at that time. We talk about decision making, what's a good shot for you and what's not one. They were keying on Bri [Kiesel], they were keying on Monica Wignot so those are the two we need to take shots and Fred Potvin comes off the bench as a spark as a shooter, but credit their defense. They took us out of our rhythm, and we knew that other than having good shots it would take time for us to adjust, to learn to play against them. With three freshman in the lineup and Monica playing basketball for the first time with Bri, you can watch them on film and have a scouting report, but until you get on the court with those players they have no idea what it is actually like so it took us the whole first half to adjust to their size and the type of game that they play.”
Pittsburgh senior forward Brianna Kiesel:
On potential to win:
“No I didn't think I personally needed to have a good night, but I thought us as a team needed to shoot the ball a lot better
They gave us the three we just weren't hitting a lot, I thought we got good looks but we were a little bit rough, and a little out of our comfort zone and I give them credit for that, because they're so long. You see something that's open for two seconds and then it isn't anymore because an arm or something is right there, but if we would've shot the ball a bit better it would've been a very different game.”
On the successful season:
“It's very exciting. It's no news to anyone that it has been a long three years but this year having coach here has changed the mindset of the whole program. After I'm gone I can see the sky is the limit for this team. I am just happy to be a part of it as we are growing into a team that we will be.”
Players Mentioned
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