University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes - Duke 74, Carolina 67 (OT)
January 26, 2015 | Women's Basketball
January 25, 2015
Postgame Quotes
UNC Head Coach Sylvia Hatchell
Opening Statement
“Well the first thing I want to do is thank our fans. It was a sold-out crowd. They helped us fight back in the second half and tie the game up. At the end when we drove it in, I thought we were going to win the game. It was a great crowd, great atmosphere. I just want to thank our fans and apologize to them for not winning the game. It was a great game. We had our chances. At halftime we were up by ten, and rebounding was only two. They ended up out-rebounding us by 14. I thought that was a really big factor. Also outside shooting. Normally Jessica [Washington] and Brittany [Rountree] are pretty good on those outside shots. Neither one of them made a shot the whole game. If we made some threes, that's how Boston College beat them the other night. We took 30 threes. I think Boston College took 35. They made 13. I think we made 5. But with their size, you've got to do that. Then Elizabeth Williams, before the game I told her, 'Elizabeth, what do you want for graduation?' We have a great relationship. She's a great kid. I said, 'What do you want for graduation?' She said, 'I'm not really sure.' I said, 'I'm going to buy you a graduation present.' So she hugged my neck and everything. Like I said, I was just picking at her because we do have a great relationship. She's a heck of a player. We couldn't do anything with her. She always plays really well against us, and she did that tonight. We get to play them again so we'll learn from it and move on. I thought we battled hard and fought back. We tied it up and had a chance to win the game. I think the rebounding was a major factor.”
On the defense
“Well first half, we played really good defense. Second half they started taking it inside all the time and coming off screens a lot. That really bothered us. When we were pressuring the guards, it really helped because they had quite a few turnovers. Once they got it down there and they were running that triple post thing and feeding high-low, we weren't keeping Elizabeth [Williams] from getting the ball. She touches the ball and she's going to turn to the right side and she's really good at just laying it over the rim. When we play them again, I'll probably put two people on her and just let one of them go and say you can't get 33 points. I'll let you have 10 or 12 but just keep Elizabeth [Williams] from getting 33. She's a heck of a player, and it was a great game. We had our chance to win it.”
Stephanie Mavunga
On playing without another post player
“It hurt more than anything. It was really hard. I remember thinking, “Wow. This was so much different when Z [Xylina McDaniel] was here. Then at the same time, we've been playing without Z. Then you know you've got to suck it up and can't make excuses like, 'Oh, if Z was here than this, that and the other.' She's not here so you have to get over it. I just feel like yes, of course they have like five 6'4” players or however many they have. They have a huge line up, and we haven't really gotten a look like that this year at all. So that's difficult to deal with. Then at the same time, they are slower. That's what Coach Hatchell says. At the same time, we should use our speed to our advantage. I don't think we did that a lot. I feel like we should've just gone into them more and really drove. I swear we found our strength in the game and we started trying to fade away from that in the second half. That makes a big difference because we were doing that in the first half. We got a lot of them in foul trouble. Had we continued to do that, then it might've been a whole different ball game.”
Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement
“I think it's been a great day for Duke. On behalf of my team and coaches, I want to congratulate Coach K in getting 1,000 wins. Something I certainly will never see in my coaching career. We're very proud about that at Duke. We're pretty proud of Duke Basketball, and we're very proud of the boys, or the guys, I call them boys because I'm a mom, that we were able to do that in Madison Square Garden. In regard to our game here today, I'm very, very proud of Elizabeth [Williams] and the way she was in attack mode and really getting after it. I thought the game was very physical. I thought she handled herself very well under the physicality and had a super game. And for Becca [Greenwell] to do all that she did, plus get 14 rebounds, I think that's incredible from a guard position. I don't know too many guards that get 14 rebounds, and I think that sets a new bar for Becca. So they were both fantastic. I thought the team was fantastic. Ka'lia [Johnson] added, obviously, enormously. Oderah [Chidom] coming off the bench was terrific. We needed her and she was back from her injury so we were happy about that. And I really thought we had a tough go of it. A lot of people had foul trouble in the first half. One, two, three, four, three or four. And we only shot three free throws, to 16, and that was a problem in the first half. Second half I felt our team redirected their energies, and did a great, great job.”
On the defensive game
“It was a scrappy game. It was a very good defensive game, without question. Just I think a lot of heart and hustle on the floor. I think you saw a lot of dives, a lot of loose balls. I think it was a heart game, very much, a heart game.”
On the message at halftime
“Well we just weren't very happy about it. We wanted more energy. We wanted more aggression. It's very important to be better in the second half than you are in the first. And I think I've talked to Elizabeth about that and Becca. It's great to have a good first half, any team or any individual, but the players, the real players come alive in the second half to make things happen. And I think that was significant for us today. We had improvement, and aggression, and more energy in the second half and even rolling into the over time.”
Rebecca Greenwell
On the overtime discussion
“It was working, definitely, just trying to get it inside to the post players. And then once we did, E had a great kick-out to me, so it opened up the inside and outside.”
On the open look on overtime
“Yeah, definitely. And once I had it, I was excited, hoping it was going to go in. And thankfully it did.”
Greenwell on her play
“I was just trying to be aggressive, especially on the boards. And just trying to attack the offensive boards, and just adjusting to the physicality of the game because it was a very physical game.”
Elizabeth Williams
On the size advantage
“I mean I think it helped a lot. And obviously I have to give credit to my teammates for getting the ball inside and for us to execute really well. And I think Oderah was definitely key for us, as far as running up the offensives and setting the screens, and doing the little things. I think that's what really set us over the top.”
