Quotes: Duke 77, Oklahoma State 68

Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie

Opening Statements:
“I thought it was a great second half for us and a great attack in the second half in particular. I loved our rebounding in the game and the way we had poise and attacked to erase the deficit as quickly as we did. I really appreciate the leadership on the floor. I thought we sort of messed around in the first half. We didn't defend as well and in the second half holding them to no lay-ups made, one transition 3, and 24 points was more up our alley. I thought everyone's game was extremely solid. I think Te (Chante Black) got hit a lot and was very physical on the inside. I thought Abby (Waner) was heady as usual in terms of running things out there, and I thought KJ (Keturah Jackson) was one of the few people that could really defend 10 (Andrea Riley) because she was so quick and athletic. Everybody did something and it was just a great game for us to get started and see what we could do.

On adjustments made for second half:
“We talked at halftime about transition points, there were 18 of them on the board for Oklahoma State and they had 44 points on the board and that was just ridiculous and not the kind of basketball that we play. I think the team pretty much felt the same way and were ready to get out there and play the second half.”

On the change in momentum in second half:
“We just tried to make it up a little bit. It really didn't matter what we played as long as we had energy with what we did. I thought we did have energy at some key points. I thought anything we ran the second half was effective, whether it was man or match up, we just had a different-more aggressive, physical mindset in the second half.”

On starting the season off with tough competition:
“I think it's a great game. Anytime you can have a March game in November-you just got to love that. It was a very physical game and a lot went on out there in terms of making plays and making decisions. I don't you can ask for anything better in terms of starting out, coming back, and staying together as a team. I was very proud of the team and the fight that we had in the second half. I think that you've got to be able to come back from behind as well as play with a large lead. I think it was a very interesting and exciting game, one we can build on for sure.”

On the team's depth:
“We didn't go as deep today as we can, but I think that's a factor of the great competition on the floor. In the rotations against the zone, it can be a little hairy sometimes. I feel very strongly about this team, that we can play a lot of different people. We showed some of that tonight, but not as much as we have to offer. I think we have a whole lot to offer in that area. We are a deep team and we will become more deep as we go.”

Senior Chante Black
On mindset in the second half as opposed to first half:
“I mean being the first official game back, of course energy is going to be pretty high, and it took a while to get adjusted to them playing zone and playing very physical. But the mentality set with the whole team came out there in the second half and we said that we need to come out with an attack mindset and be poised, so just calming down and actually taking my time and putting the ball in the basket, as well as finding the open teammates, and just not trying to rush with the zone.”

On what this kind of game this early in the season does for you and the team:
“I mean, it kind of tells us where we're at, things that we need to continue to improve on, but you know it's motivation for March. It shows our character, and showing that we're not afraid, to see where we are at. I definitely enjoy games like this, and the fans did too.”

Junior Keturah Jackson
On her approach to her defensive assignment:
“Going into the game I just wanted to make sure I kept her in front of me, and always kept my hands up throughout the half. It's difficult to shoot over outstretched hands. Once the game got started I noticed she was favoring her right hand, so then I tried to force her left and make her make plays with her other hand.”

On moving on to next play after opposing player makes difficult shots:
“Definitely, you've got to keep playing because there is no way you can get that play back. You try to make adjustments and remember to keep your hands up, but if you're doing what you have to be doing and she makes the shot, it's a good shot. It doesn't mean it's bad defense. But sometimes it is bad defense, and that's when we have to make corrections, but you definitely have to keep playing through it.”

Senior Abby Waner
On the defense becoming a spark for the offense:
“Yeah there was that run, where I think it was 22-2, and while we outscored them by 20, it was definitely our defense that sparked that. And when I looked at this [box score], I was shocked that Te [Chante Black] only had four blocks, because I really feel like she had about 10 blocks in that span. So yeah it was definitely something we focused on, and it's going to have to be a staple for us as being able to play both. And we weren't stopping (Andrea) Riley by playing man in the first half so we went to a zone in the second half, I think she hit one early, and after that she didn't score until later in the half. So I think it was a smart adjustment on our part, and it's definitely something we know has to be a go to in order to get some energy going on the offensive end.”

On thoughts after consecutive 3-pointers:
“Well, a cold first half and I don't know if two for whatever in the second half is much hotter, but it was definitely tempo and energy that came from the rest of my teammates. You could feel it. I know you could probably feel it in the stands as much as you could on the court. But our team was in the flow offensively and that's when I'm best and I hit my shots, as with everyone I think. But, that being said, I just talked to Jas (Jasmine Thomas) outside and we are definitely going to get some extra shots in tomorrow, after we went a combined like five for 86.”

On teammate Chante Black:
“She inspires me to play. She inspires me to play well. I have never wanted to make a player succeed and score more than I have Chante because she can, and if we can help her, put her in the right position to get her the ball, then we will. To speak of her as a complete player, she scored having four girls hanging on her, about three times in a row, and the very next play she stepped out and handed it off and set a screen for me and got me wide open to hit a three. So I think that she does everything.”

On cause of first-half struggles:
“I don't even know if I would say rushing, I feel like it was less than that. I feel like it was lethargic, actually, that's what it felt like on the court, almost like you take it and see what you can do with it, and we are just kinda going to stand. And that's what we are going to face with the zone. And with Chante (Black), Joy (Cheek), and Carrem (Gay) in the middle, we will undoubtedly face zones more. So I think it wasn't as much rushing as it was we're open, ?I'm just going to shoot it, because there is nobody around me.' So I mean, once KJ (Keturah Jackson) got in the game, she started penetrating a lot more and we started to find that groove a little bit more, click a little bit more about getting the ball inside. Finding that it was easy to get the ball inside, kick it back out. I wouldn't say rushing, I think it was more or less nothing else to do because you were open. Zones are successful because you pack it in and don't let their post players touch the ball, but once we figured out that it really wasn't that strong of a zone, we can get the ball inside, we can penetrate, then we broke it open.”

Oklahoma State Head Coach Kurt Budke

Opening Statement:
“I'll start by saying I think that this was a great women's college game tonight, two good teams out there for game one, battling for 40 minutes. I'm very proud of my kids, coming into a very hostile environment, and to what I think is probably a top 5 team. We played about as good as I thought we could play in the first half, and give Duke credit for coming out and having a strong second half, changing up the defenses on us a little bit, and we missed some shots. I think we can build from this game, I think you can see where we have potential to win a lot of games this year. We have one of the best players in the country, and I think you saw that tonight. Give Duke all of the credit, they have a great coach and a great team, we wish them all the luck in the world.”

On defending Chante Black in the second half:
“First of all, she's a great player, someone who will probably be a Kodak All-American at the end of the year. We were outsized tonight and got into some early foul trouble, which hurt us a little bit.”

On the importance of rebounding:
“I told the girls one of the keys to the game was going to be rebounding. I thought if we could just be even, not out rebound, but even, I thought we could win the ball game. But they were bigger, stronger, so we have to figure out a way to do a better job. It is game one, I didn't think we did a great job of blocking out, but I'm very proud of the kids, and I think we can definitely build.”

On Duke's zone defense in the second half:
“You know what, they are really long, which creates a very big zone. We've faced all kinds of zones, but I don't think we'll face too many this year where they are as long as they were. They took up a lot of space, made it a little tougher to find the gaps, but again it's just something we have to do a better job of, we will get better at it.

“We did expect it. We brought in our ?dream team”, which is our boys, and worked against it hard for the last week, and felt we were in good shape to attack it. I think we played better against the ?dream team' than we did tonight.”

On getting support from the bench:
“Shaunte Smith is just a warrior, a senior, who battles all night long. I couldn't take her out of the game, probably didn't. But we've got to get some help from some of the kids coming of the bench. I think you saw Kristen Hernandez, and what she can do. She got some silly fouls tonight, and she knows that, and it's something we are going to work on. We will need people on the bench to produce for us. Kristen is like the microwave for us, comes off of the bench and produces right away, and I think she did a great job.”

On their transition game:
“Duke was making baskets in the second half. They missed more shots, I believe, in the first half, which allowed us to get out and run. I think that was really the difference.”

On playing a tough opponent this early in the season:
“It might not be the smartest thing I've ever done, I would have loved to have a couple games under my belt, but again, I think we need more games like this in women's college basketball. I think we are to a point now that maybe we can be considered one of the top 20 or 30 teams in the country, and I think it was good for us. Losing to LSU in the Sweet Sixteen, we felt like we could play with a lot of people last year, and we want to throw some of the new ones out there to see what they can do. I was pretty pleased with them. It's my first time here, I've never been here, and most of the girls haven't either. So it's great to come and show them places like this, tradition-rich. They always talk about how Cameron Indoor and Gallagher being two of the loudest gyms in America. They held up their end, so we will do it next year.”

On Tegan Cunningham:
“I'm very pleased with her. I think she is going to have to be one of those people that adds to our scoring. She's still trying to figure out what we are doing here, but you can see she can shoot the three, she's long, she can rebound, and I'm very pleased with her for her first game. Two of the keys to the team this year are probably Kristen Hernandez and Tegan, and how they contribute. Whether they start or come off of the bench, we've got to have that additional scoring punch, and that's going to be a big key.”