Goestenkors And Beard Quotes On Upcoming Connecticut Game

Dec. 30, 2003

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke women's head coach Gail Goestenkors and National Player of the Year Alana Beard particiapted in a teleconference Tuesday in regards to the upcoming Duke-UConn basketball game.

Duke Head Coach Gail Goestenkors

"I think at Carolina last year, there were maybe close to 10,000 people and that was pretty hostile. That's probably the closest thing [we've had to the environment at Connecticut]. Fortunately, we've been to the last couple of Final Fours where the crowds have been huge. They probably weren't quite as biased, though sometimes it seems that everybody at the Final Four is a Connecticut fan. This will be a new experience for us."

On what was learned after playing Connecticut a year ago
"I don't know if it's so much being more knowledgeable as it is being more experienced. Playing Connecticut last year, it was our first sell-out crowd at Cameron, which was something we had not experienced. The hype that involved and surrounded that game was something we hadn't experienced before, either. Hopefully, just the experience that we gained from last year will help us with this type of an environment this season."

"I think Connecticut just does such a good job setting the tone. They really came after us [last year] and they attacked us and got us back on our heels. We weren't used to that. I think the players learned a great deal from that, as to how you need to approach the game and come out in a hostile environment. You need to be the aggressor. I think the experiences we gained from last year were invaluable and helped us the rest of the season. We'll see if we really truly learned our lesson when we go up there."

On the blossoming Duke-Connecticut rivalry
"I think it's good for the game that you develop other rivalries. It's been for a long period of time, Tennessee and Connecticut. I think the Connecticut fans welcome another opponent that they can consider a rival. Certainly we do. We consider it an honor to be a rival. That, I think, shows us some respect, and our program some respect. We're anxious to develop those rivalries with Tennessee and with Connecticut and with Texas, those types of teams."

On the development of the Duke team
"I think considering the injuries, we're in a great place. We're much further along than I thought we would be, considering what's happened with some players that I think could be key for us down the stretch. We're certainly not in the same place I think we will be a month from now. That's exciting for me, because I think we're in a good place now and I think a month from now, we're going to be so much better."

"Connecticut is probably still the same [as last year]. Obviously, they have the same team back, but they're more experienced. They're just such a great passing team and a great shooting team. They make unbelievable reads. Geno [Auriemma]'s done a great job with the sets that he runs for his kids, but they're so disciplined and they play basketball. They don't run specific patterns just to run patterns, they make great reads out of the patterns, and that's what makes it so dangerous. You can try to stop a pattern, but they're going to make the read and they're going to counter you. I think that because they're a year older and they've played together another year, they're even better at making those reads and reading one another. You all have to be on top of your game. Defensively, it has to be a great team defensive effort. One person, two, three, even four people, doing the right thing is good, but if you don't have that fifth one doing the right thing, [Connecticut] is really going to take advantage of it and make you pay for your mistakes."

On Monique Currie's comeback
"Mo is doing a great job. During our finals week, when we had a full week to practice, she came back 100 percent. [Before] she was physically 100 percent, but mentally she was not attacking the basket, she was a little tentative and not playing the kind of defense we needed her to play. I feel like now she's 100 percent. When she's 100 percent, she really can change games, like Alana Beard or Diana Taurasi can change games. She's that type of an impact player. She's also one of our physically and mentally toughest kids. In the big games, whether it's the NCAA tournament, or a Connecticut or a Tennessee, you need to be physically and mentally tough. We felt like last year down the stretch we missed that a little bit. We're expecting her to really make a difference for us."

"[Monique] really does [take a lot of pressure off Alana]. It's really nice to have those two on the wings. Alana knows she doesn't have to score 25 points every night for us to be successful. She's got somebody who can pick up the slack as well. It's not just Mo, we now have an inside game, which is something we really didn't have last year. I think that's just taking a lot of pressure off of Alana and let her do some more things as far as passing the ball. Her assists are up from last year because she knows she has other people that can score for her."

"I think [this game] a perfect opportunity for both teams, because it is so early. It gives us the opportunity to go against a tremendous opponent that we know we could see in the NCAA tournament at some point in time and gives us some kind of a measuring stick to find out where we are and where we need to go. It's really, I think, a win-win situation."

On trying to defend Taurasi
"I can't tell you what the best way to deal with her is, because no matter what you try, because they have so many other weapons, they're going to find a way, and she's going to find a way to be an impact. Whether it's with a rebound, whether it's with a three-point shot, whether it's with her posting up or passing, she's going to find a way to impact the game. It's not going to be our goal to shut her down, because she'll find a way to have an impact."

On Iciss Tillis
"I think Iciss wants to have a great senior year and we've asked her to do some different things this year, as far as getting down on the low block a little more. She's trying to do everything that we've asked her to do. She's had some rough games here lately, not up to par as far as she's concerned, so I think she's been a little frustrated with herself and we're trying to get her back on track. I think it will be good to have three practice days to just get back in the gym and get after things. I think having Brittany back will help her a lot. She and Brittany do such a good job getting up and down the floor. When Brittany's in there, she does such a good job on the boards, it allows Iciss to get out on the break and get some easy buckets. I think it'll really loosen things up for Iciss once we get Brittany back."

"To us right now, this game is just another game. We've got four games in a nine-day stretch-this is one of the four games. It's not going to mean a lot if we go beat UConn, then come home and lose to Florida State. We're looking at it more in the grand scheme of things. We have a really tough stretch coming up, and if we put too much focus and energy in one game and not enough into the others, we'll be in big trouble. Obviously we want to go in there and come away with a win, just like any championship team would want to do. Whether we do or don't, I don't think it changes who we are, it doesn't change our program."

Alana Beard

"[Last year's Connecticut] game definitely helped [through the remainder of the season]. I think anytime you play in a big game like that, it's going to help you in every aspect of your game and teaches you about yourself, about your character as a team and about your chemistry. The first couple hours after the game weren't hard at all. We left the court knowing how good we could be, and we just had to come ready to play in every single game. In the first half of that game, I think it was a new experience for us and something we didn't adjust to well. But you learn about it and you're ready for it when it comes again."

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