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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 1, 2018Wes MooreAislinn KonigAkela MaizeGreensboro, North Carolina NC State 77, North Carolina 64 . MIKE FINN: Coach, just a brief opening statement, and then we'll go to questions. WES MOORE: Again, I was worried about getting off to a good start. Obviously they played yesterday and we didn't. So sure enough they came out really playing well and shooting the ball well, and we got in some early foul trouble but I was proud of the way our kids hung in there, kept our confidence, and was able to make a run back and actually take a halftime lead. This team's done that all year as far as bouncing back, keeping their heads up, and obviously that was big today. Ais hit a lot of big shots for us. Akela rebounded and scored, both, they were close to a double-double, so both of these young ladies had great days, as well. Q. Tar Heels got up early and you took that and ran with it and didn't look back after that. Did you see something click or see them flip a switch, or was it just something as simple as the team hitting their shots? WES MOORE: Well, again, Paris Kea is a great player. She came out really hot. I thought as the game went on. I thought Kiara Lesley did a nice job. We actually put Ais on her some and had her face guard, so we tried to mix up our defense some. But I thought we did -- we started doing a little bit better job defending her and then as you mentioned, we were able to hit some shots ourselves. We started out kind of slow and again, this team has a lot of character and they keep battling and they did that today, as well, even though we dug a little bit of a hole. Q. It was a highly physical game, especially you and Janelle. How were you able to like not let that get to you and continue going? AKELA MAIZE: Well, for one, I'm a senior, so I know how much it means for me to be on the court. So I just had to keep my composure and not get caught up in the things that were going on in the game and the things that she said. Q. Chelsea gets two quick fouls first minute of the game. Is this, and I apologize for not knowing this, was this something you have had to play with a few times? What changes on the floor, and your impressions on how they deal without her that first half. WES MOORE: Well, I think we probably are used to having to go without her some. You know, Chelsea plays extremely hard. Sometimes maybe too hard, overaggressive. You know, she probably could help our football team some if we would let her go out there. You know, again, if everybody played as hard as Chelsea, we would be extremely difficult to beat because she lays it out there every day. But, that being said, she's got to be a little smarter and know when to back off, and our team has had to do it several times. They did a nice job. Erika Cassell and DD Rogers, both of them were able to come in and give us some good minutes. Q. You had a 36-18 advantage points in the paint. What did you tell your bigs going into the game to prepare them that this would be crucial today? WES MOORE: Well, we've got a lot of confidence in Akela and Chelsea and our other post players. I think this year, that's been a point of emphasis to get post touches. I just feel like it's kind of like football: You have to have a running game to set up your passing game, and I think when you can get the ball inside and score, or get to the free throw line, I think it makes a big difference. So we want to play inside-out. It doesn't always work that way. But that's what we want to do. Again, I think a big part of it is we've got two seniors, like I said, in Akela and Chelsea, who are very, very good scorers around the rim. Q. Ais, you guys outscored them 36-18 in the paint. How does that help you open up the floor to make those threes? AISLINN KONIG: I think when the post players are drawing the defense in, it really makes the other team have to collapse in and help defend on the post, which opens up threes, and then once we get into rhythm, I think it comes a little bit easier from the outside, as well. Q. For either player or both, what's it like for you when Chelsea gets in foul trouble, and how do you have to adjust? AKELA MAIZE: Well, for me, that's like my partner. So when I don't have her on the floor, sometimes a lot of the pressure, instead of being split between us, it can go on me. So having her on the floor, like especially for rebounding, I can trust her to go get defensive rebounds and things like that while I'm boxing out. Also, to help defend. So that's a really big thing, having her on the court. But. You know, when she gets in foul trouble early, it kind of disrupts us a little bit, but like Coach says, we're able to, you know, come together as a team and make up for that. WES MOORE: And she'll be well rested tomorrow, so that's another plus. Q. For Coach, you lost to Duke the first time but that sparked a turning point in your season and you've only lost two games since then. What's different this time around? WES MOORE: Well, obviously as coaches say, we're one game at a time. Assistants have been putting together the scout on Duke. I was able to watch the Duke and Carolina game, clip it from a week ago, so got a little head start on them. But really, have to watch the film. Duke, they play a lot of zone defenses and mix that up on you, so you have to really be patient and take what they give you. And then from a defensive standpoint, they have some great shooters, and then Lexi Brown just lit us up when we were over there last time. So hopefully we can figure out a way to at least slow her down a little bit. Rebecca Greenwell is a veteran player for them that's a really good shooter. It's going to be important. We've also got to get back to rebounding the ball. We won the rebound battle by a few, but that's been a strength of ours, as you mentioned, these last 12, 14 games, whatever. So we need to make sure we get back to doing the things we were doing well early. Again, I am proud, though, because we started out 1-3 in the ACC and the Duke game was one of those, and since then we have really gathered ourselves and played well. So hopefully we can do that tomorrow. Q. Akela, obviously you and Chelsea are the faces of the front court, but Erika put up a solid performance today, six points, ten boards. With the added fact that both you and Chelsea will not be here for the next season, how well do you think that Erika has come into her own, and the progress of her moving forward? AKELA MAIZE: Well, I'm really proud of Erika. I tell her every day that she can be a really good scorer. She rebounds very well, and I just encourage her moving forward to keep that momentum going and to keep that confidence up because that's really something that she'll need going into next year, you know, when me and Chelsea are gone. So I personally have great respect for her and I think that she'll do a really good job next year. MIKE FINN: Thanks, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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