University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
January 24, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2005
North Carolina Coach Sylvia Hatchell
Opening Statement
"It was a great game. I was really proud of my team. We played great defense, and we got on the boards.
"They (Duke) are a great team. They're big. We knew they were going to have some blocks, and we knew some things they were going to do, so we just felt like we were going to do what we could do, which was play defense and rebound. And we want to go up and down the floor, and I thought that was in our favor, so I'm just real proud of our kids for being tough and pulling it out."
On improvement in defense and rebounding
"We've just had a lot of tough games. We've been on the road. But I think we've learned from all the experiences we've had. And our kids just wanted to play with a lot of heart."
On the team finishing
"It's been the one thing that we haven't done well. Every game that we've had this year, we've jumped out to a pretty good lead, and then we relaxed and we lost a couple of those games, and so we were just trying to stay focused. We talked about it before the game, and the kids were just ready to play."
Junior Nikita Bell
On her feelings after the win
"It's great. It was a fun game, and ... oh my goodness, beating the No. 1 team, and it's Duke? So it's a double, double victory for me, I guess. I'm really excited."
On getting Duke to turn the ball over
"We had real intense practices, and Coach stressed how we need to get in the lane, deny, play real intense, and that's all I was focused on, just being intense. I just wanted to step it up another level and just give it all out and let it all hang loose, right Coach? I'm a senior, and that's what Coach expects. She gave us that responsibility - always be intense - and I'm trying to do my job."
Duke Coach Gail Goestenkors
Opening remarks
"Just congratulations to Carolina. I thought they played an exceptional game, their pressure really bothered us, their traps really bothered us, and we just didn't do a good job adjusting so I thought the tougher team won. I thought they played tougher. I thought they were the aggressor for the most part, and I thought that made a big difference."
On how the traps affected their game
"Our court-to-court defense I thought was exceptional. They were not scoring in there. Court-to-court offensives, they were scoring in there off of offensive rebounds so when we had three turnovers in a row, and the turnovers led to lay-ups that we couldn't even ... they were at half-court so we couldn't even get back to play some defense. In a game like this where every possession really matters, I think those were huge."
On Carolina's defense
"I give all the credit in the world to their defense. They did a great job.
It was the most pressure we've seen all year, and their traps were very effective."
Junior Monique Currie
On whether toward the homestretch of the game she felt she needed to take over the game and make more shots
"I knew we had to play with a sense of urgency, and we couldn't be tentative at all. We were trying to come back, and I guess I was just trying to get the best shot I could, try to get more aggressive and get more involved in the game."
On if her four fouls affected how she played toward the end of the game
"Not really, I knew I just had to get after it. I had to be smart and still get after it. It was in the back of my mind, but I was just trying to do what
I had to do."
