Postgame Quotes
2/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2004
Wake Forest Head Coach Charlene Curtis
"We gave what we could against a really, really good Duke team. Every year we try and come down here and play hard and I have a lot of respect for what they do here, but I was really proud of our team the way we started the game, a much different start than the one we had back in December against Duke. I thought our players had their heads in the game. They were very focused, but we had some mental letdowns and Duke picked up their intensity defensively. That was the ball game in a stretch towards the end of the first half and the beginning of the second."
On Duke's blocks: "I don't know the exact time but I know that was the difference when we started getting careless with the basketball. They were stepping in the passing lanes or taking the ball out of our hands and then converting. That's what makes good teams good, that's what good teams do to you. They get steals and they make transitions. I know that was a big part of what happened. We didn't talk a lot about the blocked shots before the game. I knew we'd have some issues with it, but we did talk about needing to penetrate more and trying to go to the basket. I think we tried to score over them too many times and that wasn't a real smart move. But their [forcing] turnovers and the way they convert from offense to defense--that's why they're good. If you can avoid the turnovers and not let them score in transition, you have a chance to be in the game with them for a lot longer."
About the gap between Duke and the rest of the ACC: "Well, Alana Beard creates the gap. I mean that's just the bottom line. If she's not the best player, she's the second best player in the country; that's why there is a gap. She helps to create somewhat of a gap. When you have Alana Beard you have a special team. Not to take anything away from the rest of the players, because they've got good players, very good players."
Wake Forest Guard Liz Strunk
"I think that throughout the ACC they have really good trapping teams. Duke is probably one of the best. We're learning how to attack it better and we need to be stronger with the ball and realize that even though they have inches on us, we've got to pump fake and go under it or pass it quick enough not to get trapped."
Duke Head Coach Gail Goestenkors
"I am happy to come away with the win. I thought Wake Forest did an excellent job, especially in the first half changing up their defenses and attacking the offensive glass and just doing a great job on the boards. I didn't think we were as aggressive as we needed to be with our defense, our rebounding or even attacking. I thought we were much more aggressive in the second half and we did a much better job."
"I thought our defense was pretty good overall. I thought we did an excellent job giving help. We usually don't go for that many blocks. We usually take more charges. It just so happens tonight that we blocked more shots. A lot of times our defense helps create our offense, but we didn't seem to get out in transition the way we normally do. We blocked shots, but they got a lot of offensive rebounds. We took ourselves out of a lot of plays."
"I thought our initial defense was excellent, but allowing 11 offensive rebounds was where the frustration was."
In preparing for North Carolina on Saturday: "We will be working a lot on rebounding, most definitely. I know Carolina is working on their rebounding because they were out-rebounded in their last game. It is going to be an all out war on the boards."
On the play of Alison Bales: "I was really proud of her. She is getting better all the time. We have always been on her to be more aggressive and I think she is doing that. She scored inside and she blocked several shots. She is doing exactly what we need her to do and she is just going to get better. I was really excited about her play."
Duke Forward Iciss Tillis
On returning to play after her concussion last week: "It felt good, I was really excited. I had been excited all week. You never know how much you miss the game until you can't play. It's such a part of my life that not having it was really strange. It's good to be back."
"I'm feeling more comfortable inside, and I was looking and trying to watch Mistie [Bass] to see what she does. Mistie's great at posting up. I was just trying to get the opportunity to do stuff like she does, and it was working."
Duke Guard Lindsey Harding
"I think that our quarter-court defense was great. We trapped very well and we were out in the passing lanes for the steals. We were really aggressive on the defensive end. Our post stepped up and helped us a lot when we had dribble penetration and they were just there at the right place at the right time."
Duke Guard Alana Beard
On the upcoming game against North Carolina: "I don't think any game should determine how we come out as a team. The team's going to come out with a lot of energy and a lot of intensity. Of course it's going to be against UNC, and it's always a good game. It's always a hard-fought game, and it's going to be a war out there. I'm pretty sure that they're going to bring it to the court, so we will have to bring our intensity to the court also-which I know we will do."