Quotes: Duke 81, North Carolina 80

Opening Statement:

“[It was] a really hard fought game. I'm really proud of our seniors and Becca [Greenwell]. Just the second half was a really great reflection of what we are capable of doing. Some of the stats are good for us, as well – second-chance points, points off turnovers, points in the paint. I just really liked our whole second half and thought the team showed great composure because we were down 11 at that point, but they were very focused and very clear. Becca played with an enormous amount of confidence. Elizabeth [Williams] had to deal with some foul trouble that I didn't think was fair, and she dealt with it beautifully. And I thought Amber [Henson] was huge for us. Very confident, very poised, and obviously hit a big three but did other things on the floor, as well.

On what happened at halftime to get the team back on track:

“I don't think anything fancy happened at halftime. I think we talked and tried to figure out some things. We were a little perturbed about some things, but at the same time, very focused and knowing that we've been in this position before. To be honest with you, Georgia Tech was on my mind. We crawled all the way back at Georgia Tech and didn't finish. I thought it would be time for us to crawl back and finish. That's what I was thinking and at some point I said that. It's just what the game is all about. It's a 40-minute game. You have to play it all out, and I thought the team did a great job of doing that.”

On how snapping a three-game losing streak with this win rolls into playing in the ACC tournament:

“I think it depends how we use it, and I think we're going to use it well. We're going to get some rest and get ready for Friday. I think this team knows what it can do. We really want to put together some great 40 minutes. This might have been 25 minutes. We really want to get everyone on the floor for 40 minutes. I would like to coach a game where I don't have to make a sub because of fouls. We know our situation, we know what we can do, and I think this gives us great energy to move forward.”

On the fight of Duke winning the game on defense:

“[We had] some great stops in some tough situations. Balls bounce funny ways, especially when long shots are going up. I just thought there were a lot of fight and resolve and attitude. And that's important. That's really, really important down the stretch.”

On the role of Amber Henson early in the second half:

“She is so seasoned. She played with a lot of poise and a lot of confidence. That bleeds over a lot from Amber. All of us know what Amber has been through. We couldn't feel it like she's felt it, but she really is making the most of things. I just thought that was a great message to send her team.”

On some of the defensive tactics she used during the game:

“It's tough because they can spread you out and they have so many guards that can handle the ball. I thought transition-wise, even though they had some scores, they didn't have enough scores to get them going, so I thought our transition defense was a real important concept.”

Duke Senior Elizabeth Williams

On getting to the free throw line:

“Yeah that was something we talked about at halftime. I think we only had six free throws coming out of the first half, so we did a good job, we were in the bonus with 13 minutes left in the second half so I think we did a good job of really attacking from the beginning.”

On taking command of the game:

“I just tried to get good position and stay mobile, I think when I stay still it's a little easier for people to find me and guard me so I just tried to move a little more and focus on ducking in harder after setting ball screens.”

On motivation:

“It's really important for us to end the conference really well because we haven't been doing that recently, so I think from that standpoint it was definitely a big game.”

Duke Senior Amber Henson

On fight and spark during midgame run:

“It's the end of the season so everyone knows what we do, so just to be able to step up that time, look for my teammates, be aggressive, shoot the ball to get things going and loosen it up a little bit that was important for that time in the game. It's always a good feeling seeing the ball go down especially when you have been struggling but I mean just keeping the confidence to shoot the ball because it is going to go down. I know what kind of shooter I am and I know my abilities so I just keep shooting.”

On experience:

“Obviously I wish I could've gotten in that zone for more games this season, but at this point there are 10 more games left on the table and I have to give it my all, I am a senior. So just giving it my all whether it's passing, rebounding. I mean I have been here for four years, I have that experience, so it is going to be big for me to give that to our team and let it bleed over.”

Duke Sophomore Rebecca Greenwell

On the win after a three-game losing streak:

“I think it gives us a great lift and is a confidence booster. We know how good we can be and I think we really tried to focus on that at halftime and came out to show how well we could play together.”

On her two consecutive steals:

“It felt really great especially with the awesome crowd today, that really fueled my defense.”

North Carolina head coach Sylvia Hatchell:

Opening Statement

“I am really proud of these two kids sitting beside me. These are two super ladies and great players. I am looking forward to the ACC tournament. We ended 23-7 and it was pretty obvious we miss Xylina [McDaniel]. They doubled us inside 40 to 20. We were playing Allisha [Gray] at the four position the last 12 minutes or so. The first half we played great, one of those times you don't want to have half time. Between now and the time we go to Greensboro we are going to take boxing lessons, we need to get tougher if we want to battle inside and hold our own. We need to get back in the weight room and get tougher. It was a great game, but in the second half we just couldn't get things going. We learned from it and everything happens for a reason.”

On defensive philosophy:

“The second half we started off in man, but then we switched to some zone. We tried some box and one on Rebecca [Greenwell]. The defense in the second half was supposed to be just like the first half. We had some break downs and got really rattled on offense which hurt our defense. I knew it was going to be a game of runs. I told them in the locker room what was going to happen. Their size really bothered us. It was an extremely physical game. Again, we need to get a little tougher.”

On playing without Xylina McDaniel:

“We tried a lot of different things for that four position. We saw in the last minutes tonight that Allisha might be our best four player, however we like her outside. We are really small when we got to that lineup though. We need to be really tough and box out.”

UNC player Jessica Washington:

What was the key of getting back into the game after Duke's long run:

“We tried to really take care of the ball. Also we really focused on one possession at a time and tried not to turn the ball over.”