Quotes: Duke 79, Wake Forest 50

THE MODERATOR: Quick introductions before we open it up for a statement. Pleased to introduce Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie, student-athletes Jasmine Thomas, Chelsea Gray, and Haley Peters. Coach, when you're ready.

COACH JOANNE McCALLIE: Just a good strong game for us. Great 40-minute attack. Certainly things we can do better, obviously with 20 turnovers. But I just thought we played really focused, and I liked how we finished in particular, executing some great basketball, sharing the basketball, and shooting high percentage shots and that type of thing.

We're very fortunate that Jazz is okay. That was a very scary knee hyperextension. It was great to have Jazz back in the game and know that she could move a little bit. I'm sure it will be very, very sore.

For Haley, I just loved her aggressiveness and the way she attacked out there. I thought she consistently was going after it.

And also, it was great to have Chelsea back. We've been unfortunate with some illness and injury this year. We've had to deal with some adversity. Chelsea's had some of that, and it was just great to see her back out on the floor.

Q. Question for Haley Peters. Can you describe just the energy that the subs and all the freshmen brought during that period where Jazz was out and just how important was it to kind of attack Wake Forest in that moment? It was like a 19-0 run or something like that.

HALEY PETERS: Well, I think Shay Selby was big in that stretch because she had a lot of energy and was talking to everybody and getting everybody going and understanding that that was a moment we needed to capitalize on.

We talk all the time about going 11 for 11, and everybody needs to produce and just have a lot of energy and play hard and put everything out there. So I think we did that. And I really think Shay showed a lot of leadership in getting us going there.

Q. This is for Coach. You had four freshmen on the court at the end of the game. Was that by design, or were you trying to see how they would play? Or just what was your substitution there?

COACH JOANNE McCALLIE: It was just the natural order of things, really. If you looked at the way the game was flowing, those are the right subs at that time to be on the floor based on how aggressive they were being. So it really -- for us, I think Haley makes a great point. We're trying to be 11 for 11. I think that's really hard to be. I think it's very important to be 11 for 11 to get through a tough tournament.

So we're off to a good start, and it will be fun to keep that going as a group for the next game.

Q. Coach, you know, just kind of as a followup to that question, you got 49 points today from the freshmen class. How neat was it, if they still use that word, for Richa? Talk about Richa being the leading scorer.

COACH JOANNE McCALLIE: Just aggressive. Richa, it's been tough for her in terms of finding consistency, and I think we have all sophomores and up right now based on the game experience that everybody has. I think that Richa feels that way. I think she's pretty hungry because she's had her chances and then she hasn't had her chances. Tonight she took full advantage. It was -- I think I can speak for the entire team. It's great to see that. We loved that aggression.

Q. Jasmine, what were you thinking when you went down? How bad did it hurt? When did you find out you were going to be okay? How did that process go?

JASMINE THOMAS: I was thinking ouch, ouch, ouch. And then, I mean, initially it hurt pretty bad, but I could start to feel it loosen up. And I knew that I could get up and walk. I was just thinking jog, walk off the court the best that I could because I knew they would take care of me. Not worried about it.

Q. Question for Jasmine. Jasmine, what does it mean to win the Kay Yow award for you?

JASMINE THOMAS: It means a lot, especially winning it two years in a row. She was a great lady. I got a chance to meet with her and talk with her and all the things she's about. To receive an award in her honor, it is just a great thing.

Q. Question for the two freshmen. Coach P says you're sophomores now, but this is your first tournament experience. Does it seem different somehow? If so, in what ways?

CHELSEA GRAY: I think throughout the season we prepared for these type of games, and the upperclassmen just prepared us for it and what we were going to expect. So it was good.

HALEY PETERS: To me, it didn't feel that different. We've talked about being in the ACC Tournament before. We've had stretches of game where we'd play Friday, Sunday, something like that. And we'd always talk about, in the ACC Tournament, you're playing three days in a row, not just a game and then a day off and then a game. So we've been preparing for this for a while.

Q. Question for Chelsea. Compare the way -- compare your movement today versus against Carolina on Sunday, and how sore are you after this game?

CHELSEA GRAY: Well, going into Carolina, I was -- my foot was dragging, like I didn't have any movement, and I was really stiff. And then coming into this game, I had more movement. I was able to push off and jump and everything. So it was a good confidence booster that, I mean, I'm able to play now. So it was good.

Q. What were you thinking when Jasmine went down there? You can win games without her sometimes, but what has she meant to your team? What does she mean now?

COACH JOANNE McCALLIE: Well, I can't really -- that's tough to speak like that. I can't even put into words what Jazz means. When I saw it, I just kept saying no. No, no, no, meaning no, it's not anything, like no. Get up, Jazz. Get up. That kind of thing. I kind of learn that with injury I try to immediately put energy in that says get up. No, you're fine. Not having any idea if she's fine at all, but just thinking that way because that's the way we have to think.

I can't put into words the work ethic that Jasmine has represented. I can't put into words what she's done for the ACC. The game winners offensively and defensively, the schedule that she's played and led her team through. There's nobody in the country that has taken on what Jazz has taken on as a senior. She means the world to our team because everybody knows that she means what she says and she leads by example. And that's a pretty special person.

So I would just say she's having a phenomenal senior year. She's All-American completely and in every sense of the word. And I'm thrilled she won the Kay Yow Award for the second straight year, however not surprised. Again, there's nobody you could point to anywhere that's led her team in this fashion and has a team like this with five young players that she has brought along in a beautiful way.

I think it was amazing how Shay rallied the troops, and I know that the subconscious was we're going to play for Jasmine now. We're going to play for her. That 19-0 run is reflective of that. That goes back to her work ethic, her commitment, and what she's done at Duke. I think it's rather remarkable.

Q. Jasmine, just wanted to ask you a little bit how your knee's feeling now, now that it's over. What was the official diagnosis for what happened with it? Now that it's over, now that the game's over, how is it feeling now? How do you expect it to feel, I guess, tomorrow morning?

JASMINE THOMAS: I knew exactly what happened to it when it happened. I came down, and I don't know who ran into me. It might have actually been my teammate, but I just hyperextended it. Just initially, it felt weak. It felt a little sore right in the spot where whatever happens when you do that. Now it's fine. I know it's going to be sore once I rest a little bit, but we'll ice it and do whatever we need to. But I can definitely run. So I'm fine.

Q. Coach, I noticed when you were on the bench, when Wake Forest was making the little bit of run second half, you were yelling to your troops, focus, focus, focus. Did you detect some type of mental lapse during that time?

COACH JOANNE McCALLIE: I don't know exactly what part you're referring to, but I can say yes, probably. I think it takes incredible focus to play this game at this level. And lapses in judgment and focus, you know, you can't have them, not if you're going to be a special team. So I think you're probably accurate about that.

THE MODERATOR: Without further ado, pleased to have up here at the podium, Mike Petersen, head coach of Wake Forest, as well as Brittany Waters and Sandra Garcia. Coach, when you're ready.

COACH MIKE PETERSEN: Sure. We just didn't make our shots. We played pretty hard. We made them run in the second half, when we made a couple shots. But, you know, I know this sounds like a copout, but it's a make miss game. They made shots. They did a good job. They hit shots whenever they were open.
Our kids played hard. Dub took the same shots she was taking yesterday. It just didn't go in. She had it right at the rim and it doesn't go in. Chelsea took the same shots as yesterday. She goes 1 for 10. They were good shots yesterday. They were good shots today. They just didn't go in.

For some reason, we were never really able to put foul pressure on them. It's hard when a team plays as much pressure defense as Duke does, who is as physical as Duke is, who plays as hard as Duke does. It's hard to attack them when you only shoot seven free throws in a game. We didn't do a good enough job of putting enough foul pressure on them and getting a whistle on some of our drives and some of our post ups. That's on us.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

How much is Duke's depth a problem for your team, and how far do you think it might take them in the postseason here?
COACH MIKE PETERSEN: It's a problem for everybody. They're 27 3. It's not like they beat us 26 times and somebody else once. It's a problem for everybody. They're deep. They have good players, and they play hard. So, yeah, it's an issue.
It's an issue for us. It's a real benefit for them. Their kids play hard and deep.

They've got a lot of pieces. Today their shots, 9 for 18 from three. Some of them were open. Some of them were guarded. You know, they made some good shots. But there's no question, it's a benefit to be deep and talented like that and then play as hard and as together as they do is why they're ranked wherever it is this week, fifth, sixth, whatever it is.

Brittany, you were very effective early in the game, and then your production tailed off. Did you feel that Duke was paying extra attention to you defensively or just the same shots didn't go in?
BRITTANY WATERS: I think it was like Coach was saying. I was getting good shots and good open looks but just had trouble finishing on the rim. They just weren't falling like it was yesterday. Nothing different. Just got to hit shots.

Sandra, just wondering how you guys felt, you know, coming off the game yesterday, how you felt physically. Were you full strength?
SANDRA GARCIA: Yeah. I think we were full strength. I think the game yesterday didn't affect us at all. Like Coach Pete said, I think we had open shots. They just didn't fall.

Question for Sandra. Just the great stat line you have. What were you able to do that maybe in exploiting the Duke defense that maybe your teammates were not?
SANDRA GARCIA: I think, well, as far as me in the first half, I don't think that I think I was rushing my shots, and I just wasn't being Sandra Garcia. So I think I was just sealing up more in the second half and just wanting the ball more.

Brittany, you're a senior, correct?
BRITTANY WATERS: Yes.

This time next year, can you envision yourself playing basketball somewhere?
BRITTANY WATERS: Most definitely.

Where do you have in mind?
BRITTANY WATERS: Wherever it takes me. Whoever wants me to play for them. I just want to keep playing. That's what I love to do. Hopefully, God will place me somewhere where I can still show forth my talents.

Question for Coach. Coach, I know you had kind of big expectations for the season considering the way that you finished last year. Can you sort of speak to this, sort of what went wrong this season and what you kind of are looking for towards next year to sort of move your program further along.

COACH MIKE PETERSEN: Yeah, sure. We just weren't as competitively mature as I thought we might be. And having said that, I told the team, when we met, I think they did a phenomenal job the last three weeks maybe of correcting that. You know, we were struggling. You know, we had to look in the mirror a little bit as a group and say, why are we struggling? And we held ourselves accountable, and I think they did a great job.

When our attitude and our focus are right, we're pretty good. It took us a long time to get that right this season, and I don't know why. The bottom line is in December and January we gave about five games away at that time of year. And, you know, if you don't give those five away, instead of having what we have    what have we got, 15 wins? It says 14. It's 15, isn't it? 15. Don't cheat me. Instead of having 15, we have 20, you know.

And that's on us, frankly. We just didn't do a good enough job of competing as a group in some games in December and January, and we gave away some games that we should not have given away. That's completely on us. When I say us, I mean every one of us    players, coaches, everybody.

And, again, post game, we don't take long usually post game, but the one thing that I pointed out to everybody is that this is a group that should have high expectations again next year. We return basically everybody but Dub, and we get Camille Collier back off of her knee injury. That affected us a little, but we're not going to use that. We've good freshmen coming. Next year's team will be built to be very, very good, like this year's team was.

The good news is I think    and, again, I don't have this 100 percent right, but somebody told me this the other day. The good news is that we have raised the expectation level to the point where being in the middle third of our league isn't good enough anymore. But this team went 6 10 against ACC teams this year, 5 9 and 1 1 in the tournament. I'm pretty sure there's only two teams in the history of the program that have a better league win loss percentage than that. Is that right?
So we took a step back, but it's not like we stepped into the great abyss. We took a step back. We took a few steps forward and then a couple steps back. Next year we need to take a few more steps forward to make up for the steps back this year. We'll be all right.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you all.