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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 4, 2017Joanne P. McCallieLexie BrownRebecca GreenwellConway, South Carolina Duke - 57, Miami - 52. JOANNE P. McCALLIE: Well, obviously it was a great basketball game, and I'm very proud of our team for our defensive effort. That's a very strong defensive effort, holding them to 37 percent from the floor. That's obviously very important. I thought we played our very best when we needed to. Fourth quarter was very strong for us. Leaonna Odom, a/k/a Ducky, had a big, big game. Those 13 points were very significant and it was great to see her break out. I think she's one of the best freshmen in the country. I think she's under the radar, but kind of used to that, I guess. With Becca, I thought she was poised in a tough situation for her. They guard well. They're very quick. And obviously they're switching on to Becca and Lexie, so there's a lot of things that have to be worked through. And Becca saved her best for the fourth quarter, as well. And then of course Lexie, same thing, being a competitor, creating a great shot for herself to create for the team, and all of that. I loved the time and score. I actually loved the defensive stops we got. We kept talking about that. At this time of year you can't get worried about anything else but the moment, and I felt we were very, very good in the moment down the stretch, and that's a takeaway that we'll have to take for the rest of the season. Q. Can you talk about being in the ACC championship after being picked sixth? Did you see yourself being in this position? JOANNE P. McCALLIE: Apparently we're the only ones that did. (Shaking head.) That's all I can say. I don't know what to say about that. I'm not trying to make light of it. I don't know what to tell you. These kids know what they can do, and they've known it all year, and they've been extraordinarily consistent all year. So it's not something you like project and say you don't promise it to happen, you just keep focusing on getting better. And I think one thing I can say about this team is they stay in the process very well. They stay in the process of getting better very well, and so -- when you have a team like that and the talent that we have and the way they're willing to play together, then anything can happen. Anything. REBECCA GREENWELL: I don't think we're surprised at all as a team. We knew we had the potential from the very beginning of the season, so we might be surprising others out there, but from the inside we're not surprised at all, and we're just excited for tomorrow. Q. Becca, how big a burden was lifted when those two three-pointers went in? REBECCA GREENWELL: I was a little relieved. But I'm just really proud of our team. I tried to do what was needed for time and score, but I think everyone had really contributed. Lexie was huge for us today and also Ducky came up with some big shots throughout the game. Q. Lexie, they were giving you guys a tough time defensively for most of the afternoon, but just how were you feeling when you came down, had two free throws, and then the huge and-one? I saw you smile and stomp. What were you feeling in that moment knowing you were going to have a chance to go play for a title tomorrow? LEXIE BROWN: Obviously it was just a lot of excitement. That was a tough game. It was a battle. We were expecting a battle. Miami is a great team. They're a super physical team. I think it was the perfect tune-up for us for tomorrow. But when you win a game like that, when you make a big play like that, you watch your teammates make big plays throughout the game, in such a tough battle, you can't do anything but be relieved when it's over. Q. Can you talk about meeting up with Notre Dame? It was really close the last time you guys played. What do you see for tomorrow? JOANNE P. McCALLIE: You know, at this point, obviously they're a terrific opponent. Obviously they've done extremely well. It's really about us. I mean, it's really about what we want to do. We're looking at tying Miami in rebounds. We're looking at shooting 25 percent in the first -- I don't know what's going on in that first -- I don't know what's happening there. I don't know what to tell you. Maybe it's the bus ride. But just the consistency that we're going for. Obviously they're a terrific team and a great program, so I can't take anything away. But I don't think who it matters who we're playing. What I'm saying to that is it doesn't matter because we've got to work on what we've got to work on, as I'm sure they do, too. So again, they're a terrific program, but now it's really turning with us and how we can get better. Q. Talk about the defense a little bit with how they shot today, and also yesterday you shut down Syracuse. Talk about the defensive effort you guys have had the last 20 hours. JOANNE P. McCALLIE: Yeah, it's been amazing, and it needs to continue, obviously. When you look at Peterson and how she struggled, and I'm looking here, I didn't realize how well we did, to be honest with you, with Thomas and Motley, just holding them to single digits. That's huge. Hayes got away from us a little bit, but I think the defensive intensity, the immediacy of our defense, it starts with the guards and how they dictate, and then of course everybody else has to sort of follow. But that's a terrific effort, and that's the reason why we get another game. I mean, that's just simply the reason why we get another game. Hopefully we can -- a third game we can find a way to do the same thing, maybe in a different way, against another team. Q. For the players, turnovers it looks like maybe that is sort of one issue with the Duke team. Are they triggered more by being anxious, or were they triggered more by a good defense from Miami and then yesterday Syracuse? LEXIE BROWN: I think it's a little mix of both. I notice that we do have a lot of like travel calls, which personally, we don't really mind those types of turnovers because they're not live ball turnovers, so they don't lead into transition lay-ups. But it is nerves. For a lot of them and a lot of us, this is our first ACC semifinal game, so we had to get a little bit of the nerves out of the way, a little bit of being tired from yesterday. But also we've got to credit Miami's defense because they were all in our face, they were speeding us up a lot, but we've got to cut down those turnovers if we want a chance against Notre Dame tomorrow. Q. You talked about Leaonna and the great job she had defensively. At the end you had Erin in there. Talk about Erin's defense. JOANNE P. McCALLIE: Erin is just one of the most improved players in the league. She really works very hard. She's very hard on herself. We try to get her to lighten up a little bit. But she has great defensive poise. She can play different spots in our match-ups, and she's pretty confident. I thought it was pretty significant that we had a freshman and a junior in there trying to handle things down the stretch. Our seniors did some nice things, too, but they were just playing well together, and the stops -- the consecutive stops that occurred at the end were obviously very big, and they were a big part of that. So Erin is just a great person and just getting better and better, and we're going to get her to have some more fun, too. Q. Talk us through the defense there on that shot-clock violation for Miami at the end. JOANNE P. McCALLIE: The players might better do that. All I saw was a great defensive effort by everybody. Do you guys remember that? LEXIE BROWN: Yeah, I think it was just our communication. I think we were just really buckling down for that possession, and I think Kyra had a huge contest, and it was an awesome contest for someone her size, especially since she was undersized compared to the person that was shooting the ball. But I think in those time and score situations and crunch time, it's all about communication, and we've really improved on that over the year. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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