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Quotes: Duke 64, Mississippi State 56
3/22/2015 3:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Rebecca Greenwell, Duke Guard
On the team's approach to start the second half:
“We really tried to come out in the second half with an attack mentality, but also with a high IQ, and I think that really showed and helped us go on some good runs.”
On guard Ka'lia Johnson's impact on the team's 26-5 run in the second half:
“I think Ka'lia also gave us a really good boost. We ran a play and she scored two back-to-back layups, and that really gave us an edge.”
Elizabeth Williams, Duke Center
On playing her last game in Cameron:
“It was just 'survive and advance.' We're excited to keep playing; it is my last game here [at Cameron], but it's been great and I just love my teammates and I love playing here, so it was nice to get a win in my last game here.”
On what changed the direction of the game in the second half:
“I think we had a string of consecutive defensive stops and I think that's really what fueled [our comeback]. It wasn't just a stop here and a stop there, we had consecutive stops and I think having that string is what really helped us. And we weren't turning the ball over during that time period, as well.”
On Mississippi State guard Victoria Vivians' foul troubles and how her exit led to the team's 26-5 run:
“She was always ready to shoot for them, and offensively they clicked when she was in the game because they could rely on her as a consistent shooter. So I think we did a good job knowing that she had those two fouls, making her pick up another one, and then exploiting that [opportunity].”
Azurá Stevens, Forward
On limiting the team's second half turnovers:
“Going into the locker room at halftime, we knew that was something we had to focus on. And we know we're capable of keeping our turnovers down, so we were really just focused on that going into the second half.”
On exploiting her size advantage at the small forward position:
“I think I just realize who's guarding me. If there's a shorter girl on me, I can post them up and my teammates do a good job of getting me the ball; if there's a bigger girl, I can bring her out and go around her, and again, my teammates help me by finding me in the right places to score, so that helps a lot, too.”
On guard Kendall Cooper's brief exit in the second half with an injury:
“I think it was very inspirational. We've been through a lot as a team, but we're using that to fuel us on during the tournament, and that was just another thing that we had to go out and fight harder for.”
Joanne P. McCallie, Duke Head Coach
Opening statement:
“What a great game, great second half for our team, and great energy. I'm very proud of our team, just great, great energy and focus. We had 14 turnovers in that first half, which was difficult adjusting, and we only had three in the second [half]. I thought Elizabeth [Williams]'s game was just steady, focused, aggressive, and her defense, which might go unnoticed because we always seem to think about offense, was incredible. She owned the paint, she just took a lot away - a lot of sight lines - with her stances. She played in different places for us in our defenses, which was great. Azura [Stevens] played 40 minutes - I just learned that. I guess I forgot that I never took her out, but she was absolutely fantastic and that's something. You've got to be really strong to be able to do that and pull the numbers that she did. And then Becca [Greenwell] was just ready as usual. She was just ready all the time to attack, she was in attack mode, and the three of them were outstanding. I like the rebounding - 42 to 31, excellent. 16 assists - pretty good, approaching 20. 52 percent from the floor - I love the percentage. This team has worked so hard. They deserve everything in my opinion. So we're very excited to be moving forward. We'll take this day and evening to enjoy this because it's very special, and then we'll get ready for [the next game].”
On what she said to the team at halftime to address the 14 first half turnovers:
“I didn't use the word [turnover]. I just said, 'Slow down.' I explained to them that if we had been slower, we would be up about 10 or 12 points based on my calculations. So I said, 'Either you'd like to be up 10 or 12 points or you like this being down four thing.'”
On the crowd at the game today:
“Obviously we've had some pretty big crowds here, 9,300 sellouts, so it's been awesome. It wasn't that [today], but I'll tell you what - it was a very spirited crowd and a very dedicated crowd who very much wanted us to do well. So it was a smaller crowd, but it was a crowd that understands everything that this team has been through. And that crowd, that foundation, we heard them loud and clear, and they made it a lot of fun. ”
On what her thoughts were when Kendall Cooper went down with an injury in the second half:
“I think I'm probably immune. I'm sorry to say that. It's probably not a good thing to say. I looked out at that and there was part of me that wanted to go out there with her, and I said to myself, 'No, I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that right now.' You know, because I'd bring attention to it, so I did the opposite - I called the team over and said, 'Let's go.' And I started barking at them for things, just as a means of distraction to allow her to leave. I didn't have any idea what had happened to her, and then finally [Assistant Coach] Rene [Haynes] later said, 'She's going to be back at the eight minute mark.' And obviously that was great, for her to come back.”
On what it means to her for this team to have reached this point after all it's been through:
“This team is very special, their chemistry, their focus - they want to do well. No team deserves it more in terms of having a run, a long run or any kind of run that we could possibly have. They deserve it and for me, I couldn't be more rested and excited because of their energy. They're just a lot of fun to coach and you just want to keep on coaching them. It's a very, very special group. We love going west [for the next game]. There's nothing wrong with going west, and we're very excited.
On what Duke did differently on defense in the second half to slow down Mississippi State:
“We played a lot of different defenses. We changed them a lot so we didn't stay in anything that they could get comfortable in. We started the game in some basic things and then we had to see how the game broke. Then in the second half, we changed defenses much more so than we did in the first half.”
On the play of Kalia Johnson at the point guard position:
“We do have a point guard - Kalia is terrific. But what I'm saying is we don't have a natural point guard. She was a three player in 'her day'. But she's become a very good point guard. I think she went a little fast in the first half, and then I think she settled down beautifully and had those two great takes off a play. Ironically, it was off a read - the play was for Elizabeth [Williams] and Becca [Greenwell], so she was an indirect scorer on that. But she read that beautifully twice, and that gave the team so much energy. Two really key plays - she was terrific.”
On the play of Azura Stevens:
“Azura has just grown so much. If she isn't Freshman of the Year, I'll tell you what, I don't know who is. She's been incredible how much better she's gotten along the way, and she knows how to use her height. Of course, we're trying to get the ball inside and recognize those mismatches and also set some screens and get her active. I can't say enough about her. The fact that she played 40 minutes - again, I really didn't know that. I thought I took her out. That is incredible. If you saw Azura play in December, she couldn't play 20 straight minutes. She would've been just dying to come out, and to see the intensity that she kept and how she played, I'm pretty happy I'm kept her in. But I think it's a great lesson for her. She's a special, special player.”
Kendra Grant, Mississippi State Guard
On what Duke was doing defensively against Mississippi State:
“Like Coach [Vic Schaefer] said, Duke is a great team. I think the biggest thing is that they're long. I'm not used to guarding a 6-5 person out on the wing. I think that was the biggest thing.”
On how it feels to be a senior and see how far the program has progressed:
“It feels amazing. When Coach Schaefer and his staff came in, we had to get used to them and they had to get used to us. Just to see what we came from – whether it was from attendance or the way we played – for me to witness it transform over the years, it has been amazing to be a part of it.”
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State Forward
On struggling to find her rhythm shooting the basketball in the second half:
“The second half was a little tough because they were face-guarding me and Dominique Dillingham. You're trying to get open for your shot and get it off quick, and I think that's what affected my shot most.”
Dominique Dillingham, Mississippi State Guard
On how important it is to have Vivians on the court and how the offense changes when she's not:
“It's really important to have her on the floor because she can stretch the defense. In the first half, [Duke center] Elizabeth Williams was guarding her out top and she head-faked her, drove in and got a free-throw jumper. She stretches the floor for us and lets us drive and attack and kick it to other people, and when she's not on the floor, they kind of packed it in on us. It was hard to get it to our posts.”
On similarities between games this season where Mississippi State couldn't hold the lead:
“I think it's just us not putting 40 minutes together. The effort and everything is there, it's just the offense. Sometimes we get in these dry spells where we just can't score or there are parts where we're just not very good defensively. I think it's just us needing to put 40 minutes together, and then we'll be fine.”
On the future of Mississippi State women's basketball:
“The future looks very bright for us. We're a team that has a lot of freshmen and sophomores on it, so I think we have a lot to build on from this season. We just have to go into the offseason and work really hard and improve on things that we weren't as good on this year.”
Vic Schaefer, Mississippi State Head Coach
Opening statement:
“I appreciate everyone being here today. Hopefully you enjoyed the basketball game. I'm proud of my team, proud of my fight, and my kids. I'm proud to be at Mississippi State University and have the SEC represented on the national stage today against a great basketball program like Duke University. I'm just really proud of my kids. We had a really long, hard journey that started back in the summer when we went to Europe. I think it played a big part in us in the success of our season. These young ladies … you have no idea the price that these young people pay. From practices to no holidays, no Christmas, no Spring Break, no Fall Break, no Thanksgiving. The price that they pay, and to see them go out and lay it all on the line today, it's just a great sense of pride to be the head coach of this team. I'm proud of each and every one of them. This kind of represents the gambit up here: my freshman, my sophomore and one of my three seniors that I inherited who has been with me three years. It's been a great journey for me as a coach. They've certainly made me a better coach. Again, I'm proud to be their head coach, and I don't think anybody who watched us play today and if you're a Bulldog, I don't think there's any doubt the sense of pride that you have in our program, and in these young ladies, and in our University. Certainly anybody across the country, the impact that watching these young ladies has, how hard they play, I'm awfully proud of them.”
On contributing factors to the loss:
“I mean we didn't shoot it very well. We only turned the ball over 11 times, which is maybe the fewest number of times we've turned it over in a month. Is it because of maybe our depth at five? Maybe we left Martha [Alwal] in a little too long and you go with a green tomato in Chinwe [Okorie] and she gets pinned on one quick ball reversal and they get a duck-in layup. That's a kid that's a freshman who's still learning her way and she's going to be a great one, but I think you've got to take your hat off to Duke. They attacked us in some areas where we were a little bit vulnerable in that stretch and can't score-can't defend is a bad deal in my business. We went through that against Kentucky in the second half in the SEC tournament. We went through that a little tonight. Victoria [Vivians] is five out of 17 and she had some decent looks. We had some other kids who made some good looks. I'll say this: Victoria went out tonight and we took the lead. It's not that Victoria goes out and we struggle tonight. Kendra Grant came in and played great. She had 10 points at halftime, so you gotta take your hat off to that kid. We were a better team tonight in the first half then we get Victoria back in towards the end and she made two or three shots towards the end of the half that kind of got us back and got us ahead. In the second half, it does become a problem when you're not making that first shot and it's hard to go get a rebound in the forest. There's a lot of big people in there. Obviously we don't have that. Dominque Dillingham gets four rebounds today—four offensive—and that kid plays like a six-footer. She's just a monster of a basketball player, and what a sweet kid. When the lights come on, she's a bulldog. She's what you want. She's a winner and you just can't take her off the floor. In the first half she made some big shots for us, so I think it's kind of been what I've said all year. We've fluctuated offensively. We go up and down and I'm still waiting for us to have that great game. Unfortunately now I'm going to have to wait until next November to have that great offensive game. Again, I think you have to take your hat off to Duke a little bit. They're good at home. They're a pretty good basketball team. I'd like to play them again in two days back at our place in the Humph, but I'm pretty sure that is not going to happen. We had a little point guard issue tonight. Morgan [Wiliam] struggled early and she finally settled down when JJ [Jerica James] got into foul trouble penetration two times in a row for layups. Dominque's chasing Rebecca Greenwell all over the floor and in both of those situations on the drive, it's Dominque's [problem]. I praise her and love her to death, I can't take her off the floor, but that's her [problem]. That's her charges that's being dribbled up her back while they're laying it in. Part of that is our depth issue. You think we have depth, but in reality, it's hard to take kids off the floor. I don't take Dominique off very much, so it was just one of those deals tonight. I was proud of our fight. We got back in it late, and I was proud of how we hung in there. That's how this team has been all year. We've talked about embracing the grind. That first half was a grind, and we won. But it's a two half deal.”
On Duke's size:
“The kid that beat us is Azurá Stevens. That was Victoria's match-up when Victoria is in, but that was Kendra's match-up when Kendra is in. You show me another team in the country that's got a 6'5” 3-player. You can count them on one hand if there is another finger. She posted us up. She made one shot from the perimeter, and she can have that one every day and twice on Sunday. But she posted us up down low and hurt us down there, and it's just a bad match-up. I could go big and get six foot on her, but what's the difference between Breanna [Richardson] guarding her and Victoria? They're both the same size, and maybe it hurts me offensively. That's the kid that beat us today. We held Greenwell to one shot the first half, and in the second half we lose her to start the second half, then we get back hold of her. I thought Dominique was special on her today. I really thought Dominique fought her tooth and nail the whole day and won most of the battles.”
On first-half defensive strategy:
“Well, we forced 14 turnovers at halftime. We only forced three in the second half, so I'm sure they [Duke] talked about taking care of the ball and they did a tremendous job of that in the second half. They shoot 55 percent in the first half and they're down four, but they got 14 turnovers, and that was the key. That was our game plan. We were going to turn them over. We weren't going to pressure them, we were going to let them run their pretty offense. We were going to make them play one-on-one basketball, and we executed it to a tee. The second half, whether it's focus, tired, just an inability to focus for forty minutes. Whatever it is, we lost that for about a six or eight minute stretch and we just ran out of time at the end. I think the three turnovers in the second half … they still shoot 50 percent in the second half but they got 11 less turnovers, so that to me is probably the ballgame.”
On second-half offensive play without Victoria Vivians:
“Well, Kendra was three out of seven at first half if I'm not mistaken. Kendra doesn't score but one basket in the second half and I think we drew it up. Kendra really picked up the slack and made three three's when Victoria went to the bench. Then we brought Victoria back in, moved her to point and she handled that very well. She got some looks through the top, something we hadn't even worked on. I'm a big creature of habit. We had no shoot around this morning because the game is at 12 o'clock eastern. It's the first time I can ever remember in my career not having a shoot-around on gameday, but I just couldn't see getting the kids up at six o'clock this morning to implement things that we wanted to do, so we basically had a two-hour practice yesterday to get things done. Victoria handled that beautifully, running the point. That's the biggest key, when Victoria went out we didn't still have that same punch from the two-guard spot, and we just really struggled getting Martha any looks at all, and she got nine shots. She only made two of them. Breanna was 1-for-7, 0-for-6 at half and had some really good looks at the rim, so those kids played their hearts out. Breanna battled her tail off like she always does. I'm proud of our effort, but at the end of the day, sometimes you gotta make shots, and we just didn't make shots.”
Players Mentioned
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