Quotes: Duke 89, Clemson 60

Opening Statement

“Just a good game for us to get better today. I really appreciated the crowd; it was a great environment for us. Twenty-four assists is a good thing. Good to have assists and lower turnovers. Obviously Elizabeth's [Williams] game was superb and very, very strong. I think it's not so much the statistics, it's the energy. When Elizabeth plays with that kind of energy, I think it bleeds over to the rest of the team. I know statistics end up coming up, but I really think it's the energy and what she was doing activity-wise there. I thought Kendall [Cooper] was another great example of energy. Playing hard, playing aggressive, getting rebounds and looking to score. We had a good day in the post and are trying to get better as a team.”

On rotation changes she needs to make with Oderah Chidom out for the season:

“At this point with what we've been through, I think our team will do just about anything and can grow in ways that maybe we didn't think. It's been a tough year for us for a lot of reasons. The Oderah thing is very unfair - of course life is unfair at times. I just think we can do anything. We'll just evolve. And no, I don't make a conscious effort to change things because of someone not being able to play. I really focus on the players that we have and driving us forward and playing with the energy we need to play with.”

On Erin Mathias' performance:

“I liked most of her game. I thought she was very aggressive defensively, and I think she was really in there offensively. I was pleased with her game. What I got onto her about was hanging her head. I won't put up with that. If you're going to hang your head and feel effected, you're going to be sitting on this bench a long time. The game is too fast and you can't take stuff so personally. You have to put it into your defense and rebounding. I had absolutely no problem with her game and what she gave us. I took her out because of her body language relative to a mistake. The game of basketball is a game of mistakes and we all have to respond to them. You have to respond to them with your head high, and you certainly don't want the opponent to feel that you haven't done your best.”

On Ka'lia Johnson's ability to not dwell on mistakes:

“She has a natural mechanism. I think Elizabeth and our experienced players have a natural mechanism that if something doesn't quite go right and they know it, you can see the intensity pick up, and often there is another play at the other end. That's the nature of basketball.”

On the upcoming four-game road trip:

“There's no guarantee the NCAA [Tournament] is all on the road. Even if you host, you want to get on the road anyway. Point being, that's what it's all about. I feel very fortunate our schedule worked out this way because I feel that it's the perfect time for this. It's time to go on the road and be a much better team upon returning for that last game here and then heading on from there.”

On how well the team has played despite adversity:

“They're a great group. This group is resilient. There's been some tremendous leadership at critical times with some of the losses we've had, whether it be Lynee [Belton], Oderah or Sierra [Calhoun]. Incredible leadership. All I can say is that we're getting better. We need to keep getting better. We need to keep finding ways to work on things, whether it's putting wrinkles in defensively or demanding more of each other energetically.”

Duke Senior Elizabeth Williams

On maintaining team spirit after Oderah Chidom's injury:

“I think we are actually in a pretty good place. I mean obviously Oderah going out in unfortunate, she is really tough, if she could play she would play. But I think today we did a good job of responding in the sense that we still played hard and we still followed our game plan so, like Coach P. said it's all about energy and playing with that flow of getting rebounds doing those types of things from a leadership standpoint.”

On playing four road games

“Well I think it is fun to play these last couple games in the ACC on the road. I think it's a good opportunity for us to finish out the regular season really strong. It's a great conference and I think it's exciting to finish with a couple road games and see how well we can stay together.”

On her nine assists:

“It was fun. People were making shots people were moving, getting shots off of double teams, and even at the high post kicking opposite, they made me look good.”

Duke Sophomore Kendall Cooper

On playing after Oderah Chidom's injury:

“I felt like when Oderah went out we had to step it up or someone had to step it up, so we had to fill in her spot. She is very crafty around the basket so in a sense I had to pick that up for her. So I mean as far as preparation I felt like I was playing more for her than for myself.”

On playing four road games:

“I think the competition on the road is better for us. We tend to play a little tougher on the road, and I think finish out the regular season with these road games is going to make a big difference for us.”

Clemson head coach Audra Smith:

Opening Statement

“First I would like to commend Duke for playing a great basketball game. They look taller and taller every year. They are a very long, lean, and athletic team. They did a very good job disrupting us on the defensive end because of their length. In the first half we were very shaky in terms of reversing the basketball because they got their hands in some things. We had a quite a few turnovers that they were able to transition into baskets. They are a very well balanced team and they played very hard and tough. I am very proud of my team in terms of bringing a young crew and competing to the end against a very talented team.”

On defense:

“The plan was to play more straight up defense. I was worried about how we would come out and attack that if we pressed. Also, the number of kids we were playing didn't allow us to use the press with certain lineups. The other part was not being able to make shots, and then you can't get into your pressure. ”

On translating her success as a player to teaching her team:

“It is very difficult because there is a huge gap from 1992 to 2015. I told them when we walked into the locker room that this was the locker room I dressed in as a player and coached in as a coach when we played Duke. For me the experience of being at all these different places and playing at these different schools in the ACC is hard to translate because they have never experienced it. You can't teach experience, you have to go through it. For us right now, being so young we just have to go through it. It is hard to translate through the scouting report and the film what it's like to play with an Elizabeth Williams, who is a pro. I just have to teach and talk to them about the significance of being in the ACC and the level of competition we have. Our competition is unbelievable.”

On Nikki Dixon coming off the bench:

“Nikki has been more productive coming off the bench than starting. Sometimes she gets foul happy, and sticks her hand in or jump in or she tries to take a charge when she's not in position. It's best for us to bring her off the bench. She comes off and is supportive and brings a big lift leadership wise and offensively.”