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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: AUSTINMarch 16, 2017Wes MooreMiah SpencerDominique WilsonAustin, Texas Q. What is the difference between the team that beat all these top-15 teams and the team that lost to Wake and Carolina? DOMINIQUE WILSON: You said what's the difference? Q. Yeah, as far as the way you play. DOMINIQUE WILSON: Well, I feel like the losses, we just weren't making shots and executing properly how we did when we were beating the top-15 teams, and that's definitely something we have to come out and do because either you win or you go home. You can't make that many mistakes. Q. Miah, your coach has talked about he was a little disappointed the fact that you guys had to go on the road, there were I guess five teams in the ACC that lost in the first round; you're here 1,200 miles away. What's the team attitude about that? What kind of attitude do you bring in here as a team on the road? MIAH SPENCER: I mean, right now there's nothing we can do about it. The committee has already selected where we are supposed to play, so right now we just have to take it one game at a time. We can't worry about that we're not playing at home or we're not playing close to home. We're here to win, so wherever we were going to play or if we were playing at home, I mean, it doesn't matter now because we're here now, so we just have to focus on what we do best and just come out ready to play tomorrow morning. Q. You said you're not worried about it. Has it been a rallying point or is there sort of a chip on the players' shoulders like we'll show them kind of thing, on the seeding and other things? MIAH SPENCER: I mean, we've had a chip on our shoulder since the beginning of the year because we didn't make the NCAA Tournament last year. But we knew what we had to do. We knew we had to come out and play every game like it was our last game, and I feel like that's what we did this season. The wins that we got this year, I feel like they were pretty good wins, but I mean, like I said, the committee has already made a decision. There's nothing we can do about it right now. Q. Dominique, what do you like about this team to be able to come on the road out here? To be able to come to Austin where you could have to potentially beat a host team on their home court, what do you like about this team's ability to come out here and do that? DOMINIQUE WILSON: Well, for one we showed that we can beat teams on the road. When we beat Florida State, nobody thought we could do that and we shocked a lot of people, and we beat other teams on the road, too, other than Florida State. I'm just comfortable with our team. If we come out and just execute and make shots, then we have a good chance. Q. I'm not sure if you're aware of it, you come into the middle of the South By Southwest music festival, which is kind of a big deal here. There have been times in the past where coaches kind of let their players walk around and kind of take it in, the music scene that Austin is known for. Have you talked to Coach about all that, about what you want to do off the court? DOMINIQUE WILSON: I didn't know that was going on. I don't think we knew that was happening here. MIAH SPENCER: Yeah. Sounds fun, though. Q. Dom, correct my timeline if I'm incorrect. The last time NC State went to the tournament you didn't travel with the team because it was a transfer year? DOMINIQUE WILSON: Yes. Q. So how validating is it for you to in your last year be at the NCAA Tournament, which was your goal when you transferred to NC State, and how difficult was it to be left behind in your transfer year? DOMINIQUE WILSON: Well, it was difficult being left behind because for one I couldn't play, and they went to LA. I was kind of mad about that. But right now I'm just happy to be here. Like you said, one of my goals was to be in the NCAA Tournament, which we did, and now I just want us to go on a run and just make history for our program. Q. Miah, you mentioned the chip on the shoulder from not making the tournament last year; what was that conversation like in the off-season, and what was kind of the feeling like when the selection was announced that you guys were in? MIAH SPENCER: Well, after the season, you know, it was hurtful because I feel like we had a pretty decent season last year. But we had four returning starters, and we were all seniors, so we knew what we had to do, from the preseason to the summer. We knew that we had to work hard to accomplish the goals that we wanted to accomplish this year, and Coach Moore just told us like we have all the right pieces. We have everything that we need to win big games. I mean, that just showed -- but I'm just excited to be here. It's my last year. Like I said, we have four seniors that start, so we all know what it takes, and we know that we can't take anything for granted right now, just one game at a time, win or go home, and I just know that we're all excited and just ready to play. Q. What is the difference between the team to you that's beating top-15 teams and the team that lost to Wake and Carolina? WES MOORE: Well, first of all, Wake and Carolina aren't bad, either. ACC is tough top to bottom. Every game you've got to be sharp and playing well. I think part of it is shooting the ball well. You have days where maybe you don't shoot it as well, and I think that's important for us. We need to -- we shoot the three quite a bit, so we need to be knocking shots down to be at our best. But sometimes, again, in the grind of the season, maybe you don't have quite the energy or whatever. It's just one of those days, a couple of those games where people shot the ball extremely well against us that day, both of those games that was the case. But I think we're still the same team. The seasons ebb and flow and you have peaks and valleys, and you hope that you're peaking right now. You hope you get momentum and play your best ball in March. Q. Immediately after the selection you seemed a little disappointed to get the No. 6 seed and be sent 1,200 miles away from home. What are your thoughts on that today, and have you talked to your team about that? Is that a rallying point for you guys? WES MOORE: Yeah, you know, at this point it doesn't matter. You move on, and we're excited about playing, excited about the opportunity, and whoever you play this time of year is going to be very good. Obviously Auburn from the SEC, very talented team, very athletic team, press you. One of my coaches came right after the bracket was up said, we're talking about them pressing so much, and he said, well, again, at least they have to score to get in the press. After about five minutes of watching film, we realized that wasn't the case. They press on the jump ball. They press on missed free throws. It does present some -- their style of play is a little unusual, and pressing, falling back into zone, trapping out of the zone, we're going to have to make good decisions with the ball, we're going to have to shoot the ball well, those sort of things. But like I said, really, the seeding at this point, it's a matter of, like I said earlier, hopefully you play your best basketball now and get hot and get on a roll. Q. Have you seen anything in terms of that kind of defensive style? WES MOORE: Yeah, we've probably seen a few teams similar to it, but it is unusual. That's been our main point of emphasis on handling the press, having a variety of ways to attack it, so you have a backup plan if something is not working. And then like I said, in their zone, 1-2-2 and they'll trap you a lot, especially when you first get across half court. We're going to have to make good decisions with the ball and make sure when we do get those open looks -- that's the thing, when you trap, somebody is open, so hopefully we can find that open person and then we can knock down those shots. Q. Auburn's style, is it something you saw maybe more in the '90s than what you do today? WES MOORE: Oh, Lord, I don't know. I can't remember last week at my age. Not necessarily. Like I said, Syracuse plays a similar style of basketball and against them in the first half we really shot the ball well, and second half we didn't. Again, those are going to be important factors. I just think, like I said, there's certain teams that maybe do try to have their own style, and Auburn is one of those. They've done a great job with it, and again, fortunately we at least have had a few days to prepare. It would be a little bit tougher if you had one of those 24-hour turnarounds or one day to prepare, so it is good that we've had a few days. Q. You have four senior starters; how did that not making the NCAA Tournament last season weigh on them during this season? WES MOORE: Yeah, it was very disappointing. We were 10-6 in the league last year and won 20 games, and now this year 10-6 in the league, got a 4 seed and hosting. It's sometimes hard to understand exactly how all these decisions are made. But yeah, I think we've talked about that quite a bit through the off-season last year, through the preseason this year, and I think we've tried to use that as motivation. Last year they said we didn't have enough top-50 wins, and this year I know we had four top-15 wins right off the top of my head. I think they took it to heart and have done a great job. Again, that's the core of our team, those four seniors have been great leaders, great mentors to the younger players, on the court, off the court, in the community, every way you could imagine they have been unbelievable ambassadors for NC State and for our program. I'm excited, too, that they're going to be playing on this stage their senior year and get the opportunity after not getting it last year. Q. I asked Dom this a little bit earlier. Last time NC State went to the NCAA Tournament, we head to LA and she's left behind during her transfer year. Has she exceeded expectations over her three years of being on the court with NC State? Did you see her as 1,100-, 1,200-point scorer for you when she finally got on the court? WES MOORE: Yeah, again, I don't really think in those terms. I will say this: Dom has shown unbelievable improvement over the last year, just her shot selection, so from an offensive standpoint she's been a lot more productive, and then on the other end of the floor we're asking a lot of her in that we're having her usually guard the other team's best scorer. She's having to play both ends of the floor for 40 minutes, not a ton of players out there nowadays that can do that, you know? So very proud of her maturity and where she is going as a player, and that's obviously a big reason we're here now. Again, very proud of Dom and where she's come from even a year ago. Q. At the Christmas break did you foresee a 6 seed? WES MOORE: Yeah, again, I don't look at it that way. It was a rough time. We lost a couple of games November, December, after having a double-digit lead in the fourth period in both of those games. Christmas break came at a great time, and I've had some people question how long of a break we take at Christmas. We usually give them at least five days off, five or six days away from it, and it was without a doubt a big benefit this year because we came back, fresh start, right out of the chute, beat Notre Dame at home, beat Florida State on the road, and again, that's kind of what gave us the momentum to reach the point we're at now. No, it was hard to envision at the time, no doubt. It was a pretty low time, and that goes back to what I said earlier. The season is a lot of peaks and valleys and how you handle adversity, how you handle setbacks, and this team has overcome a lot of that. Proud of the way they responded. Q. Is there a catalyst of change from that point that you can put your thumb on? WES MOORE: Yeah, I don't know. You know, from a basketball standpoint, we were really trying to stress taking care of the basketball. When you're playing Notre Dame and Florida State, you turn the ball over, it usually leads to a bucket at the other end, and that's similar to what we've got with Auburn. We're going to have to take care of the basketball because that's what they feed off of. Some little things like that. But you know, I just think, again, I think they came back refreshed, a fresh start, so to speak, and that's kind of what we have now. Hopefully we have that same kind of result. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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