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Coach Lawson Media Availability Quotes
11/5/2024 8:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke women's basketball head coach Kara Lawson met with members of the media Tuesday afternoon via Zoom. Lawson recapped Monday's victory over Radford in the season opener before previewing the Blue Devils' upcoming road games at Liberty (Nov. 7) and Maryland (Nov. 10) this week.
HEAD COACH KARA LAWSON
Opening Statement
"This is a challenging week for us - two road games against two excellent teams and so the test comes early, which is a good thing. Winning on the road is a great indicator of how good a team you have, and also exposes a lot of things that you need to work on and keep getting better at – things that translate to winning. So, we'll see how this week goes for us and looking forward to just continuing to grow with our group. We're in full preparation for Liberty at this juncture and know that it's going to be a tall task for us to get a victory up there."
On the takeaways from yesterday's home opener game against Radford…
"I thought the first, third and fourth quarters we were pretty good defensively. I thought we had moments in the second quarter when we were undisciplined in the fouling, but I thought overall it was a pretty good first effort for us on offense. The balance was great, and we had a number of players make some good plays on the offensive end. Not just scoring, but passing, and we had a lot of players contributing on the glass too. So, I guess probably my takeaways were, that it was a solid team effort on both ends of the floor. It's kind of how it's going to have to be for us this year. So, it was a good first game."
On Jordan Wood's improvement from last season…
"I think Woody, from her freshman to sophomore year, there's a lot more maturity and a lot greater understanding of all the things I need to do to be a good player. I need to have a routine. I need to have a pre-practice routine. I need to be focused in practice. I need to have a post-practice routine. I need to have a bedtime routine, right? Like all these things that go into being a good, really good player. So, the discipline, her discipline and her maturity, is greatly improved, and I think that's why she's getting more consistent results. You guys saw one game, right? Woody's been pretty consistent for us the last month in practice. So, I felt like she would have some consistency in her game performance. Usually, the greatest indicator of game performance is practice performance. If you can, in practice, be a good player every day, or most days - not every day, most days – you will translate, and so she had to become a good practice player before she became a good, good player in the game. Now, her challenge is this - let's hope this isn't Hayley's comet, right? Does this happen for her once every 86 years? Or does it happen for her twice a week? Does it happen on Thursdays and Sundays?? That's a challenge for all of our players, not just Woody. Can I have a good game one time? Can you have a good game two times a week, three times in a week, eight times in a month. That's hard to do, and so that's our next challenge - to be able to do that. And a good game is not just because she scored and rebounded. She did that yesterday. For me, I'm looking at the positioning and understanding - where she's supposed to be on offense and defense, and a byproduct of being in the right spots. It will be statistics some of the time, but I'm more looking at those things. So that's a good challenge for her, to see if she can do it again and again and again. We need her to. She's going to be an important part of our team this year. We definitely need her to give us consistent minutes this season when she gets in the game, so it's good to see her have a good opener."
On the specific challenges that Liberty presents…
"They present a lot of challenges for us. You can just pick an area you want. Every area. [They have] a really, really good interior player – 6-6, scores, great size, three-point shooting, unbelievable. They've got wings that just don't miss, so think about each of those traits in isolation. Like if you have a great big, you feel good as a coach. You're like, okay, and if you didn't have a great big, but you have great three-point shooting, you feel really good. And then when you have both, it's like, you try to take away the big and now this [opens up the] three-point shooting. You try to take away three-point shooting, now [they feed] the big. It's hard, it's hard to guard. And then on top of that, incredible experience, right? Incredible experience. And they've played together - four seniors, return four of their five starters - it's a lot of experience. Then defensively, they're very good defensively and they have that [6-6 player] in the paint now, so it's hard to get there, it's hard to get to the rim against a very disciplined defensive team. They're gonna present a lot of problems for us. We're gonna have to play well to be in the game for sure."
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
50 Seasons of Duke Women's Basketball
The 2024-25 season marks the 50th anniversary of Duke women's basketball, a program rich in tradition, excellence and success. From its early foundations to national dominance, the Blue Devils have become a powerhouse in both athletics and academics. Join us in commemorating five decades of sisterhood, championships and iconic moments as we set the stage for the next 50 years. For more information, please visit goduke.com/WBB50
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
#GoDuke
HEAD COACH KARA LAWSON
Opening Statement
"This is a challenging week for us - two road games against two excellent teams and so the test comes early, which is a good thing. Winning on the road is a great indicator of how good a team you have, and also exposes a lot of things that you need to work on and keep getting better at – things that translate to winning. So, we'll see how this week goes for us and looking forward to just continuing to grow with our group. We're in full preparation for Liberty at this juncture and know that it's going to be a tall task for us to get a victory up there."
On the takeaways from yesterday's home opener game against Radford…
"I thought the first, third and fourth quarters we were pretty good defensively. I thought we had moments in the second quarter when we were undisciplined in the fouling, but I thought overall it was a pretty good first effort for us on offense. The balance was great, and we had a number of players make some good plays on the offensive end. Not just scoring, but passing, and we had a lot of players contributing on the glass too. So, I guess probably my takeaways were, that it was a solid team effort on both ends of the floor. It's kind of how it's going to have to be for us this year. So, it was a good first game."
On Jordan Wood's improvement from last season…
"I think Woody, from her freshman to sophomore year, there's a lot more maturity and a lot greater understanding of all the things I need to do to be a good player. I need to have a routine. I need to have a pre-practice routine. I need to be focused in practice. I need to have a post-practice routine. I need to have a bedtime routine, right? Like all these things that go into being a good, really good player. So, the discipline, her discipline and her maturity, is greatly improved, and I think that's why she's getting more consistent results. You guys saw one game, right? Woody's been pretty consistent for us the last month in practice. So, I felt like she would have some consistency in her game performance. Usually, the greatest indicator of game performance is practice performance. If you can, in practice, be a good player every day, or most days - not every day, most days – you will translate, and so she had to become a good practice player before she became a good, good player in the game. Now, her challenge is this - let's hope this isn't Hayley's comet, right? Does this happen for her once every 86 years? Or does it happen for her twice a week? Does it happen on Thursdays and Sundays?? That's a challenge for all of our players, not just Woody. Can I have a good game one time? Can you have a good game two times a week, three times in a week, eight times in a month. That's hard to do, and so that's our next challenge - to be able to do that. And a good game is not just because she scored and rebounded. She did that yesterday. For me, I'm looking at the positioning and understanding - where she's supposed to be on offense and defense, and a byproduct of being in the right spots. It will be statistics some of the time, but I'm more looking at those things. So that's a good challenge for her, to see if she can do it again and again and again. We need her to. She's going to be an important part of our team this year. We definitely need her to give us consistent minutes this season when she gets in the game, so it's good to see her have a good opener."
On the specific challenges that Liberty presents…
"They present a lot of challenges for us. You can just pick an area you want. Every area. [They have] a really, really good interior player – 6-6, scores, great size, three-point shooting, unbelievable. They've got wings that just don't miss, so think about each of those traits in isolation. Like if you have a great big, you feel good as a coach. You're like, okay, and if you didn't have a great big, but you have great three-point shooting, you feel really good. And then when you have both, it's like, you try to take away the big and now this [opens up the] three-point shooting. You try to take away three-point shooting, now [they feed] the big. It's hard, it's hard to guard. And then on top of that, incredible experience, right? Incredible experience. And they've played together - four seniors, return four of their five starters - it's a lot of experience. Then defensively, they're very good defensively and they have that [6-6 player] in the paint now, so it's hard to get there, it's hard to get to the rim against a very disciplined defensive team. They're gonna present a lot of problems for us. We're gonna have to play well to be in the game for sure."
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
50 Seasons of Duke Women's Basketball
The 2024-25 season marks the 50th anniversary of Duke women's basketball, a program rich in tradition, excellence and success. From its early foundations to national dominance, the Blue Devils have become a powerhouse in both athletics and academics. Join us in commemorating five decades of sisterhood, championships and iconic moments as we set the stage for the next 50 years. For more information, please visit goduke.com/WBB50
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
#GoDuke
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