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Quotes: Duke 73, Miami 58
1/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
On the game overall:
“Interesting game for us, a tale of two halves. I really like our team's energy and execution and fight in the second half. I thought that we really brought great composure there. I like the rebounding, that's a consistent stat that we really have to continue to work on, it was evident last game and was evident again this game. It needs to continue to grow as much as possible. I thought that Karima [Christmas] was outstanding. She's very strong, very confident, and just bringing what she can bring to the team. I think that's so important. Joy [Cheek] has brought us a lot of energy, she made some interesting plays in the second half to really bring us to another level and that was very much appreciated as well as some of the other things that she did on the floor. I love Joy getting four assists because we need more of those and Joy is capable because she has such a great passing mind and can see the floor well. Some good things tonight, things to get better, but definitely some good things especially the second half.”
On the first half letdown:
“I think a couple of things happened: we got away from what got us there, being patient and getting the ball inside. We went six or seven minutes with the inside players not touching the ball, we took quick shots, we turned the ball over, and
On the resiliency of teams:
“We've played a lot of games where knockouts haven't worked the first time. What I mean by that is that we've played a lot of one half basketball games where we've had a dominant half and that has made the difference. I don't think that's new to conference, we've played some teams that have been with us, stayed with us, and done some things, Providence for example, but in order to be a team, you just have to be consistent. You have to know what gets you there and stay focused and keep doing what gets you there, you can't break from it.”
On the bench play:
“It's all kind of the same to me. To me, I feel like anybody on our bench can be anyplace. They can come off the bench or they can be in the starting five. I feel that we've got depth, so lineups are going to be switched up throughout the course of the season because we've got too many players and we'll try different things, that's part of getting better.”
On thinking about
“We start thinking about them now. All the games matter, there are 14 conference games and every one of them is of equal value. I know that there are rivalries but as coaches we do the same thing for every single game. It is no different. Every game matters.”
Junior Joy Cheek
On coming off the bench:
“I just think that we have to be ready to play. You can't win and you can't go far in a season if you don't have a bench. We have just as much of a responsibility as the starters do and pick it up when we come in. I think that's all it is, is just thinking that we have to contribute. We can't go out there and do nothing and slack. I have a chance to look at the game, look at the flow, know how the refs are calling the game, know how they're playing defense on us, what's open, what's not open. It helps me to not start sometimes because I can see what's going on and then make those adjustments when I go in.”
On Karima [Christmas]' play recently:
“She's just aggressive, and she attacks. When she goes to the hole, she's going to make it most of the time. She's just playing with a lot of confidence, and I think we have a lot of confidence in her. I just think she gives us a lot of energy offensively and defensively. I think her game really feeds off of her defense, so she's always around the ball, always getting deflections. Lately, she's just been attacking and being aggressive.”
On the upcoming
“I agree with Coach P; you just prepare for each team the same way. You can't look at
Sophomore Karima Christmas
On her career high scoring game tonight:
“I think I'm just eager to get into the game, to try and make something happen, try and feed off my teammates, and make them feed off of me. I'm just motivated when I get in the game.”
On improving her shooting:
“One of the things we have as a goal is to get extra shots in, so everyone takes extra shots, and I take the initiative to do it myself.”
On hitting big shots tonight:
“I wouldn't say I really felt a responsibility, but I just know that my teammates trust me to make a good decision when I have the ball, so I just have to trust myself and take the initiative and go attack.”
On the game overall: “We're going to have to be a gritty team. I don't see any other way to get through the ACC season without being gritty. It's funny, my kids go in after a game and they write up positives and negatives, and exactly what they had written up was on my board ? rebounds, loose balls, and live ball turnovers. Karima Christmas blew our scout ? we don't have her scouted for some of the stuff she did tonight, and that makes Duke a very tough team if she's going to shoot the ball like that. Other than that, I think it was our missed opportunities. We really focused on live ball versus dead ball turnovers, and I think coming into Cameron with the crowd, with their length, you can turn it over, you just can't turn it over to a Duke player. ... The live ball ones get you. I think that got us. If you're going to play Duke at Duke, they're a real fine basketball team, one of the best in the country, you have to take care of those three things. That's the story of the game.” On the play of Epiphany Woodson: “That's a great player. I'm very proud of her. She had a stress fracture and I'd missed her for six weeks to start the season. She was coming in as one of the best point guards in the country, one of my best recruits that I got, and I expected a lot of her and had to shut her down. She hadn't played our first 9-10 games so she's finally getting in a rhythm and that's huge for us. I think she really showed a lot.” On Chante Black's play: “When you scout Duke, you spend a lot of time on Black and Abby [Waner], and Abby helped us out with the foul trouble, which was purposeful too ? we wanted to draw some. Chante is so multi-dimensional. I knew her when I was the coach at On Duke's mental toughness: “Duke is very mentally alert, and that's a compliment to the staff. They're making adjustments on the fly. You can see them talking to each other and fixing things together. If we beat them one way, they'd adjust and come back, and it was a real ebb and flow there. That's a smart team. They're athletic but have the smarts behind it. They choose angles well. They're a smart basketball team and I thought they made good adjustments tonight.” Miami Point guard Epiphany Woodson: On returning from injury and her play tonight: “I think in a lot of different ways it did make me stronger ? as a point guard, a player, and as a person. It's tough to sit out. It was really the first injury of my life having to sit out. It was real difficult to have to sit out and be a point guard from the side and be a teammate from the sidelines, because I love being in the game. Tonight, I feel like we didn't give up. I expected to have a good game ? I always expect to have a good game whether it goes my way or not. Even if I'm not scoring, I try to have as many assists as possible. I try to stay in the game and be a good leader for my teammates, and try to keep my spirits up. We all fall short sometimes, but tonight I did expect to have a good game.” On Duke's press: “I think Duke is a good team ? I grew up watching them. Their pressure is the same as any other pressure we see. They're tall, we're not huge, but they just got out and had their hands up and played hard.”
Players Mentioned
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