PORTLAND,
Oregon – The Duke women's basketball team met with the media and held its final practice at the Moda Center prior to its Sweet 16 matchup with UConn. Tipoff against the Huskies is set for March 30 at 8 p.m. (ET), on ESPN.
The Blue Devils' started their day with meetings with the talent from ESPN as well as a press conference and an open locker room session with media members in attendance.
Junior
Reigan Richardson and
Taina Mair sat down with Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli and Angel Gray to talk about the Blue Devils as a team and their path throughout the 2023-24 campaign. Head coach
Kara Lawson, Richardson and
Kennedy Brown stepped up to the dais for the press conference, answering questions about the growth of the team, their leadership as well as preparing for the Huskies.
"I mean, for us, things pretty much, our keys pretty much stay the same," said Lawson. "We want to make things difficult defensively for people. Want to make people take challenged shots. We don't want to give open ones. We want to control the boards and we need to take care of the ball. We've been good in some games this year, some games not good [in terms of] taking care of the ball. We just want play with great pace on both ends."
"I feel like I've seen a lot of growth on the defensive end for a lot of them," said Brown. "Learning schemes for each game, because every game is different, really locking into the gameplan for that specific team. Learning the other team's plays. It's one thing to learn your own plays, but then having to remember another team's plays, what they're going to do, locking into that. I think their pace on the offensive end [has improved]. Knowing when to push and when to kind of slow down. Okay, we don't have numbers, we have an advantage here, kind of pull it back out. I think there's been a lot of growth in that, as well."
Seeded seventh, Duke (22-11) is making its 18th Sweet 16 appearance and first under Lawson. UConn (31-5) is the No. 3 seed and playing in its 30th NCAA Regional semifinal in program history.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB".
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
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