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Women's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
Quotes: Duke 56, Stanford 52
12/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement:
“I'm just very proud of the team ? what a gutty, gutty performance tonight. There are so many things that we did well, and so many things that we can do better, and I think that the team just hung tough, hung together, fought hard. Stanford's an excellent team; they're extremely physical, and I was just very proud of our team's effort and ability to force the tempo through committing to pressing and getting them to turn the ball over, and to do something else besides feed their post players who are very, very talented. Everyone played a role, Karima [Christmas] off the bench was fantastic, exactly what we needed, and she played both sides of the ball, rebounded and was aggressive as well, so we're excited about that. [It was a] great basketball game.”
On rebounding during the second half:
“I didn't have a major discussion. I think the players know what they want to do. I don't think there's anything that I said or did. It was just that kind of game. It was a knock-down, drag-out, heavyweight fight in some ways, and we were trying to make it a lightweight fight a little bit and get up and down the floor more, but I think it was the intensity of the team, just picking it up in the second half and realizing that they wanted to execute.”
On the success of the press:
“These ladies are very athletic and quick, and we've been pressing since day one, so it's nothing new, but when you see a team like Stanford that dominates on that front court line, you certainly want to get in their face and pressure the guards and do your best to keep the ball from crossing center court and getting into the paint area, so everyone works very hard at it. We've got multiple presses that we use, and it's just very important, I think, to have multiple defenses.”
On having strong players come off the bench:
“We had some foul trouble, I know KJ had two, she went out, and she's the steadying force at the point guard position, and I also know that Jazz got two, so we were looking. It was back to the point guard again, and this time with a little bit of foul trouble, so we were just trying to rotate people. I thought B did a nice job as well. I thought everybody came off that bench with a little something, and everybody that was in the game and played the most minutes stayed focused and kept attacking, and that's really important. I love that we went to the free throw line 22 times, you see they got 27, they got a little bit more, but I love the concentration that we showed there as well.”
On Karima Christmas's game:
“I see a game like this coming from a lot of people. These women are working very hard. Karima has worked very, very hard, a very talented player, again, defensively she can do so many things. She can press and run and defend and also take it hard to the rack like she did, and yes, it's not surprising, but these things start happening as the season plays out. People start stepping up at different points, and that's really important to us.”
On how this win affects the team:
“It's great for the team. You look at our bench points, and you get excited about those things. We need that, we need those things. The rebounding prowess in the second half, especially. The time and score management, terrific stuff down the stretch. Everybody talking and doing the right things, making plays...Karima going to get that ball. You take every bit of it and you have to manage it. You have to manage success just like you manage failure. Tonight was a great basketball game; we got better. We had a wonderful crowd...But after awhile, you fly out to the west coast and you've got to settle down and get ready for another game...You have to start all over and refocus for a new opponent, and I think we're doing that.”
Senior Chante Black
On the physical nature of the game:
“It was a very physical game. I faced a lot of double teams the majority of the game. I'd say about 80% of the game I was double- and triple-teamed. But then when they backed off I didn't really notice it, so it caused a lot of confusion. It kept me rattled for most of the game. But [Stanford] came and they brought it, and tried to knock me off balance and made me make a lot of turnovers, so I guess it was a part of the game plan.”
Senior Abby Waner
On the play of Karima Christmas:
“We'd like to see this every day from Karima, because we all know she has it in her. There's nobody that has more confidence in her than her teammates, and when that's the case you know you have a good foundation beneath you. In practice we're all telling her that she's one of the best athletes we've ever seen so [she should] show it. ... Tonight was unreal.”
On what the team has learned since the
“I'd say accountability. We learned how to take accountability for ourselves, the way we play and the things that happen to us and what we can control. It was a very mature thing for a group of 12 girls to do after a loss like that.”
Sophomore Karima Christmas
On her mindset coming off bench tonight:
“I think I just take it one game at a time, always having the same mindset and always being able to attack and be ready to go in at some point. I guess I just wanted to step up this game and make a presence.”
On her career-high in three pointers:
“I didn't feel like they were going in when I shot them, but once the first one went in I was like, I'm going to take another one.”
On diving to save the ball in the final moments of the game:
“I just knew I had to get the ball. It was the last few seconds and we couldn't let them get another possession in ? just had to get the ball and take care of it.”
Stanford Head Coach Tara VanDerveer
Opening Statement:
“I thought Duke came out and was very aggressive and worked very hard. I thought we played very well defensively, holding them in the 50's, but we didn't really give ourselves a chance. If you can't make layups and free throws, I think you're going to be in for a long night. I'd like to compliment Duke for how well they played, but I'm really disappointed with what we did.”
On the physicality of the game:
“I think the physical play, to a certain extent, is part of the game, but I think that when bodies are crashing around and hitting the floor, first of all people get hurt, but it takes away from the women's game and the athleticism. It's something you can't control as a coach because officials are going to call things, but I think our team has to be able to battle and be aggressive and deal with the physical play. It was physical on both sides, and again, we had plenty of opportunities at the free throw line.”
On playing against Duke's defense:
“I don't think we did a great job against their press. We turned the ball over too many times. Against the zone, we didn't shoot as well as we'd like to, and there were times where we should have gotten the ball inside better. I think some people that we're counting on to make shots got some good looks and hit some shots later on, but not the way that they've done so far this year. [Duke's] size is disruptive and their athleticism is disruptive.”
On seeing Duke's style of play again later in the season:
“We're going to play against this more than this one time, and I thought we did a good job early, but then we got sloppy and people tried to do some things that they shouldn't have done. We turned it over too many times. There were a couple charges we had in the first half and then some really errant passes and we got trapped on the sideline in the second half.”
Players Mentioned
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