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Quotes: Duke 84, Minnesota 64
12/3/2015 9:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement:
“I think we got better tonight. I liked our start and I liked our start in the second half, as well. We had some good starts. Obviously there are things that we can improve, but I just really liked the balanced scoring, rebounds, assists, and the great defense we played. They've got some pretty good players. We didn't do all that we wanted to do, especially on [Rachel] Banham. She still had 21 and [Carlie] Wagner had 23. That wasn't what we wanted there, but we did hold everybody else from doing too much, which was important. I thought Oderah [Chidom] played very strong and aggressive, just getting rebounds and scoring and doing all sorts of great things under the basket. I thought Azurá [Stevens] was aggressive, as well, and very, very effective in demanding the ball, which is important.“
On taking advantage of Duke's size:
“I think the team knows each other pretty well. I think we've traveled a lot together and I think they understand what our strengths are. It's really fun to see them play together, to the tune of 22 assists, and being in the range of 25 assists every time we hit the floor and moving the basketball and pound the ball inside. There is no reason that we shouldn't pound the ball inside and get that ball moving. I thought everyone did that and the assists indicated that as well.”
On Oderah's impact as a big:
“Oderah makes statements in the way that she plays and I think she certainly made a statement about how effective and aggressive she can be. That's really important for us because we're still looking for our third rebounder. We still need some more boards, but I thought Oderah really played well with Azurá.”
On the team's rebounding:
“We're getting closer. That's pretty good. We're excited about it. They noted that. Rebecca [Greenwell] hadn't been rebounding that well and she's a terrific rebounder, so it was good to see her do that from the guard position. Oderah is capable of 15, I mean she can really rebound and she's had games like that. I think she's just getting her feet wet understanding all that she can do because nobody can really box Oderah out when she goes for the ball. She's too quick and she gets around people.”
On the development of Rebecca Greenwell:
“Rebecca is so much more. She is a total player. To be an outstanding player, to be an elite player, you have to be able to do it all. She is a great shooter, yes, but I don't see her as that. She's a triple-double waiting to happen every night. When you have people like that in Becca and Azurá and Oderah and other people that can really, Angela [Salvadores] almost had a triple-double in Cancun, you've got to play to the highest level. It's hard to get there. It's a climb to get there.”
On the team guarding the three:
“I thought we had some pretty good effectiveness. If somebody goes 8-for-23, they're working hard. I loved Oderah on [Rachel Banham], I loved Azurá on her, we had Crystal [Primm] on her, we had Kyra [Lambert] on her, a lot of different people. I thought everybody pretty much stepped up. You can expect that. 33 [Carlie Wagner] was the one that was really irritating. I felt that we should have done a better job on 33 and could have held them to 50 or less points and really been dominant, but she's a competitor and she played really well.”
On the growth of the team leading into South Carolina:
“Absolutely. Those of us that played in it last year, and the players that played in it last year, and the way that ended, that's an awfully bitter pill to swallow. They're a very good team, but right now it's about us getting better and doing the things that we want to do. You can't over concentrate. We've got to rebound better, defend better, and work on some things, but we're excited about the opportunity. What a great opportunity, they're undefeated. No one's beaten them. It's just a great opportunity for our team.”
Junior Forward Oderah Chidom
On height and quickness advantage:
“I just use what I've been doing since I've gotten here and use my advantages to my best ability. The coaches do a really good job scouting and told us that we could pound inside and we took advantage of that. Azurá [Stevens] and I both did a good job of attacking them on the post.”
Sophomore Forward/Guard Azurá Stevens
On team's attitude coming into game:
“I think just carrying what we learned in Cancun, it was really good to get away and be together and we played really well down there so we were just trying to come back here and continue that in Cameron.”
On experience playing for South Carolina head coach Dawn Stanley:
“It was fun, she was a really great coach and I learned a lot just being under her experience and she played for Team U.S.A. too so she gave a lot of insight in that. It will be fun to see her, but we are ready to take them down.”
On South Carolina matchup:
“I think like coach said not over compensation but it's honestly going to be a matchup between me and her [A'ja Wilson] and I'm just excited to get down there and play.”
Minnesota head coach Marlene Stollings:
On Duke's strong play in the paint:
“Well first of all they are very good. Obviously a lot of size. One of our keys coming into the game is that we wanted to be physical and get them away from the basket. We did that at times but not nearly enough. Obviously that was a huge difference in the game. [Azurá] Stevens is just outstanding, tough to go against one-on-one. We tried to send two people at her at times, but she's just extremely talented. Credit to Duke.”
On only being 5-for-25 in 3-pt shooting:
“I thought for the most part we got really good looks, we forced a few shots but overall our looks were excellent. They were the shots that we wanted, we don't typically shoot that poorly from the 3-point line. It was just an off night for us out there.”
Opening Statement:
“I think we got better tonight. I liked our start and I liked our start in the second half, as well. We had some good starts. Obviously there are things that we can improve, but I just really liked the balanced scoring, rebounds, assists, and the great defense we played. They've got some pretty good players. We didn't do all that we wanted to do, especially on [Rachel] Banham. She still had 21 and [Carlie] Wagner had 23. That wasn't what we wanted there, but we did hold everybody else from doing too much, which was important. I thought Oderah [Chidom] played very strong and aggressive, just getting rebounds and scoring and doing all sorts of great things under the basket. I thought Azurá [Stevens] was aggressive, as well, and very, very effective in demanding the ball, which is important.“
On taking advantage of Duke's size:
“I think the team knows each other pretty well. I think we've traveled a lot together and I think they understand what our strengths are. It's really fun to see them play together, to the tune of 22 assists, and being in the range of 25 assists every time we hit the floor and moving the basketball and pound the ball inside. There is no reason that we shouldn't pound the ball inside and get that ball moving. I thought everyone did that and the assists indicated that as well.”
On Oderah's impact as a big:
“Oderah makes statements in the way that she plays and I think she certainly made a statement about how effective and aggressive she can be. That's really important for us because we're still looking for our third rebounder. We still need some more boards, but I thought Oderah really played well with Azurá.”
On the team's rebounding:
“We're getting closer. That's pretty good. We're excited about it. They noted that. Rebecca [Greenwell] hadn't been rebounding that well and she's a terrific rebounder, so it was good to see her do that from the guard position. Oderah is capable of 15, I mean she can really rebound and she's had games like that. I think she's just getting her feet wet understanding all that she can do because nobody can really box Oderah out when she goes for the ball. She's too quick and she gets around people.”
On the development of Rebecca Greenwell:
“Rebecca is so much more. She is a total player. To be an outstanding player, to be an elite player, you have to be able to do it all. She is a great shooter, yes, but I don't see her as that. She's a triple-double waiting to happen every night. When you have people like that in Becca and Azurá and Oderah and other people that can really, Angela [Salvadores] almost had a triple-double in Cancun, you've got to play to the highest level. It's hard to get there. It's a climb to get there.”
On the team guarding the three:
“I thought we had some pretty good effectiveness. If somebody goes 8-for-23, they're working hard. I loved Oderah on [Rachel Banham], I loved Azurá on her, we had Crystal [Primm] on her, we had Kyra [Lambert] on her, a lot of different people. I thought everybody pretty much stepped up. You can expect that. 33 [Carlie Wagner] was the one that was really irritating. I felt that we should have done a better job on 33 and could have held them to 50 or less points and really been dominant, but she's a competitor and she played really well.”
On the growth of the team leading into South Carolina:
“Absolutely. Those of us that played in it last year, and the players that played in it last year, and the way that ended, that's an awfully bitter pill to swallow. They're a very good team, but right now it's about us getting better and doing the things that we want to do. You can't over concentrate. We've got to rebound better, defend better, and work on some things, but we're excited about the opportunity. What a great opportunity, they're undefeated. No one's beaten them. It's just a great opportunity for our team.”
Junior Forward Oderah Chidom
On height and quickness advantage:
“I just use what I've been doing since I've gotten here and use my advantages to my best ability. The coaches do a really good job scouting and told us that we could pound inside and we took advantage of that. Azurá [Stevens] and I both did a good job of attacking them on the post.”
Sophomore Forward/Guard Azurá Stevens
On team's attitude coming into game:
“I think just carrying what we learned in Cancun, it was really good to get away and be together and we played really well down there so we were just trying to come back here and continue that in Cameron.”
On experience playing for South Carolina head coach Dawn Stanley:
“It was fun, she was a really great coach and I learned a lot just being under her experience and she played for Team U.S.A. too so she gave a lot of insight in that. It will be fun to see her, but we are ready to take them down.”
On South Carolina matchup:
“I think like coach said not over compensation but it's honestly going to be a matchup between me and her [A'ja Wilson] and I'm just excited to get down there and play.”
Minnesota head coach Marlene Stollings:
On Duke's strong play in the paint:
“Well first of all they are very good. Obviously a lot of size. One of our keys coming into the game is that we wanted to be physical and get them away from the basket. We did that at times but not nearly enough. Obviously that was a huge difference in the game. [Azurá] Stevens is just outstanding, tough to go against one-on-one. We tried to send two people at her at times, but she's just extremely talented. Credit to Duke.”
On only being 5-for-25 in 3-pt shooting:
“I thought for the most part we got really good looks, we forced a few shots but overall our looks were excellent. They were the shots that we wanted, we don't typically shoot that poorly from the 3-point line. It was just an off night for us out there.”
Players Mentioned
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