Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus #16 Baylor on November 3, 2025 at 12 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs #16 Baylor
Quotes: Duke 68, Villanova 50
12/21/2016 9:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement:
“Really focused game. I'm really proud of our team in terms of our defensive intensity and focus. I do realize there was a pretty good shooter on the other team, but to hold them to 31 percent from the floor and only 50 points, despite the fact that there was a hot shooter for them in [Adrianna] Hahn, I thought that was good. I thought we played smart and made some good decisions overall, and we can build on this in terms of our rebounding stats and fast break points – we'd like to get more there. Bench points – we'd like to get more there. But [it was] a good, strong game, showing that defense is really, really important.”
When asked what adjustments Duke made at halftime to shut down Villanova's offensive rebounding [11 offensive rebounds in the first half]:
“Just the players, they realized that [Villanova] had 11 [offensive rebounds] at the half and we only had one. Now, granted we were shooting 62 percent from the floor, but I think the players said, sort of, 'OK, we need to do a better job here.' And that was a great thing, to control the boards, to not allow them second looks. Obviously, if we had taken out [Villanova's Adrianna Hahn] better, it would've been an incredible defensive gave for us since she had 21 points. But it was great to rebound and there were some great box-outs that made that happen.”
On Duke's offensive balance:
“I think we've got very good offensive balance. If you look at Oderah [Chidom], she's a couple rebounds and a couple points away from a double-double, so to me, when I look at this stat line, I look at basically five people in double figures. I look at [Leaonna Odom] – she had seven points, four rebounds. That's a little bit of an under-performance for her. I think, as long as we have any game and you've got four or five, maybe six sometimes, in double figures, I think that's a great balance. But we're going to definitely find our scoring where we need to find our scoring. We're going to go to Becca [Greenwell], we're going to go to Lexie [Brown], we're going to find spots, and certainly we enjoy scoring more points than 68, but the reality is, it's what you do on the other side of the ball. What I'm proud about the team is, it wasn't a 90-point game for us, but our defense did not let up. It wasn't like anyone lit it up in a crazy fashion tonight for us, but it was steady and it was smart. When you think about tournaments and the NCAA Tournament, that's how you have to play. You have to play steady and smart and take care of things, so I thought we did, for the most part. And Becca having nine rebounds, she's a double-double. She can do that and so can Lexie – Lexie had six [rebounds]. And then you look at Kyra [Lambert], Kyra was down – she had two [rebounds]. So if I can get our guards to pick up all those extra rebounds, that's going to produce more opportunities. That's what we're looking for. I think balance is pretty good, and I think it can be better as we move forward.”
Redshirt Junior Guard Rebecca Greenwell
On whether rebounding was a point of emphasis for her tonight:
“Definitely. That's something we've really been focusing in on at practice. Coach P really demands a lot of us [in terms of] rebounding, especially for the guards. She thinks we have potential to get more rebounds. So that's just something I came into the game trying to focus on.”
On prioritizing rebounding knowing the high number of threes Villanova would take:
“Yeah, we were prepared. We knew they were going to come out shooting so I just tried to put a body on people. I think everyone did a pretty good job to find a body and push back.”
Junior Guard Lexie Brown
On her three steals against a team that doesn't commit many turnovers:
“Defense is just one of my favorite things to do. I definitely pride myself in being one of the defensive stoppers on the team and getting steals and easy offense for us. I just try to dig down and get steals as often as I can.”
On changing her defensive approach against a three-point shooting team:
“I couldn't gamble as much probably as I would have. Other teams, they made us pay a couple of times if you went for that steal and didn't get it, that was a three right in our face. So I had to be a little more cautious of what defensive plays I had to make and I think everybody played it pretty safe and it worked out for us.”
Villanova Head Coach Harry Perretta:
Opening statement:
“We came in here with the philosophy of getting up a lot of threes and obviously we did that. The only way we knew that we had a chance to beat them was to hit 15 or more three's. We knew that we could not go in the post because they were too big and strong. We did a decent job but not a good enough job to win the ball game.”
On defensive game plan going into the game with Duke:
“We were trying to play off certain people and make them drive the ball to the basket. We wanted to make them play high-low. Our goal was to hold them to 70 points.”
On whether he was happy with what he got out of his offensive game plan:
“This is a very young team and mentally they are very fragile. There are a lot of freshmen on this team and they made a lot of mistakes. An older team maybe would have made 18 three's tonight but the team tonight only made 10. I'm not saying that missing a shot is a bad thing but that it is a mental thing. They miss a shot and it is like a snowball rolling down a mountain. Every kid we are putting in the game is a freshman and we cannot get any help off our bench right now.”
On his team never quitting despite their youth:
“I was very happy with their effort tonight. They give me good effort just about all the time. They are a good group of kids; but they are just not ready yet to play against a good team. We need some help coming off our bench and the freshmen coming off the bench are just not helping us right now.”
Players Mentioned
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