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Women's Basketball
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Quotes: Duke 78, Murray State 57
3/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement:
“It was great to play. It seemed like a long time since we've had that opportunity to play. I really appreciate the team effort that our team displayed. Everybody was positive and I was impressed by the 20 offensive rebounds and 20 assists. We had some great distribution and some smart play all the way around. I thought that (Wanisha Smith, Jasmine Thomas and Chante Black) of these women to my right led, took charge and made plays and that's what it's all about this time of the year. I thought we got better tonight and improved in some areas. We look forward to Tuesday.”
On what was said during the timeout after Murray State cut Duke's lead to 37-32:
“You expect those kinds of runs during the game. We talked about poise. We did some silly things defensively. It was a combination of losing our poise on offense and defense for a couple of minutes, but you have to give credit to Murray State. I think all the teams in this tournament are really good. I talk about that all the time, that this is a winner's tournament. All the teams are really good and there's a reason why they are here. Ashley Hayes got the best of us because we didn't do anything to stop her. I felt we kept our poise for 30 minutes of the game. I thought we were very much dictating the game and we took a few minutes off. I think all of our guards and our post players showed tremendous leadership. We've been in many different situations this year.”
Was this game more dictated by defense?
“I think it always is. You have to play great defense and rebound to advance in this tournament. Also, you have to have people come up with big games like Jasmine did with nine rebounds. I definitely think that defense is the key in this tournament. Obviously, you always want to score points and 78 is OK. That's a lot of points. But the bottom line is can you stop people. That's why I brought up Ashley Hayes because I'm telling you, we were trying to stop that kid and I am embarrassed to admit that. We were trying to stop her. We did not want her to score anymore points and she still found a way to score. I thought she was an excellent player.”
On the effective ball movement that helped generate 20 assists:
“I thought we had great teamwork and leadership by everybody and some good patience. Twenty offensive rebounds and 20 assists is a habit we have to repeat. I think we've improved and we had to get some kinks out. I think it was strange being off for so many days, but I do think we improved and I loved how we shared the ball. That's going to be very important to us on Tuesday.”
Senior Wanisha Smith
On getting the offense started after Murray State closed to within five points (37-32 early in the second half):
“I think at first, it was just a matter of getting the kinks out. Like coach said, we haven't played in a long time so we tried to get into a flow. We realized what plays were working and we continued to do them and get some good looks.”
On the Maryland fans cheering for Murray State and booing Duke:
“I think it was something we expected playing at Maryland. We had some good fan support and at the same time, it was kind of weird getting booed by the Maryland fans, but you know, more power to us.”
On the difficulty of playing as a high seed:
“No, I don't think there is any pressure on us. I think we put more pressure on ourselves to do the things we know we can do. We're just trying to play really hard because we know that every team we play is going to be a tough battle, so we're just looking to come out with the win.”
On the problems Murray State caused them:
“I think the fact that they had four guards was kind of a problem. Even though we've dealt with that and played different types of teams during the regular season that helped us prepare for them, but it still was a challenge for us. Ashley Hayes went off and had a really good game and credit to her.”
On only turning the ball over three times in the second half:
“We always talk about valuing the ball. We were running the floor and throwing bad passes (in the second half) and coming back out, we had to settle down and execute plays, make smarter passes and get the ball where it needed to be. I know that I was being doubled and still trying to dribble. We did a better job of controlling and valuing the ball.”
Freshman Jasmine Thomas
On executing their press:
“I think we've always got our offense started from the press. We love to run and get easy baskets. We get a lot of energy from our press and we put it on to get some quick buckets. It worked out for us.”
On grabbing nine rebounds:
“We had a little guard meeting before the game about how our guards need to step up our rebounding. That was really one area I was focusing on coming into the game.”
Junior Chante Black
On being concerned that Murray State cut the lead to five points:
“We weren't concerned. We were eager to play so we wanted to get our feet wet and pull together. We were excited to be out there and once we settled down we were able to execute plays and come out with a great victory.”
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