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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 7, 2019

Greensboro, North Carolina

Florida State - 51, Duke - 41

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Duke. To my left is Coach Joanne McCallie and student-athlete Haley Gorecki.

COACH MCCALLIE: Obviously a defensive game. No question it was a different kind of game. A lot of defensive plays. A lot of stops that were needed. And rebounding played a huge role.

We didn't accomplish our goals at all. The rebounding was very poor as a team. The numbers indicate that. And when you look at a 10-point game and missing free throws and not rebounding, you can quickly come up with 10, 12 points, 14. And that can make a huge difference.

Credit Florida State for rebounding much better than we did. And credit them for making a few more plays than we did. And the free throws they had they made them. So that was lessons to learn for us as a team.

Very disappointing. I really liked the run we had, that last run, to end the season out and sort start a new season. Always proud of the team. But very disappointing, for sure.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Going 12-of-20 from 3 last night, you only attempted two in the first quarter, only finished 2-of-12 overall. Could you explain that difference between yesterday and today shooting the basketball from deep?
COACH MCCALLIE: It's a totally different game. They played a different defense. It was a totally different game. It wasn't a game for 3s; it was a game for driving and getting to the free-throw line and attacking.

You have to be able to play any type of game. It would be nice to get some transition 3s and make a few. But if that's what we're going to hang our hat on, that's going to give you ups and downs.

We needed to rebound. You see the rebounding stats. They're very clear. We have nobody on the whole team -- six are the most anyone has on the team. So it's a very poor rebounding night. It was a blue-collar game.

Offense sells tickets. That's what happened last night. Defense and rebounding win championships, and that was evident in this game tonight.

Q. Up until the fourth quarter you guys only took two free throws. Do you feel that was just like a product of their size, or was it an effort to stay outside and attack the mid-range shot?
COACH MCCALLIE: We shot 11 total; they shot eight. There wasn't a lot of free throws being shot. You had to make the ones you had. The officials, I think they let it play it a little bit. But I think they did on both sides. They shot eight. We shot 11. So we did a bed of work there but we've got to convert those.

That's a standard of a kind of game like that. A lot of blue-collar, letting some physicality go. Not in a real bad way, but letting some go. You've got to be able to hunker down and concentrate.

One of the most disappointing thing is the three 3s that No. 15 got rather easily when we scouted her and she was in the exact spot that we knew. Again, this was not a game that was going to be 80 to 90. It was not that kind of game. It had to be -- it was an ugly game. And you have to find a way to get those things done -- making free throws and rebounding are two that I can think of.

We had 58 shots at the bucket. They had 51. Plenty of opportunity there that we've got to learn from. It's very important lesson for us to learn. Very important.

Q. Coach, you didn't get much offensive help for Leaonna and Haley, especially the two freshmen had the deer-in-the-headlight look. What do they have to do so this doesn't happen again next year?
COACH MCCALLIE: They have to take the experience -- obviously it's lessons learned, things to be worked on, playing off ball, cuts to get open, playing off the bounce.

It's not always a game of catch-and-shoot. It's a different game. You've got to be able to play off the bounce. That's one of the things I appreciate so much about Haley's game. She'll catch and shoot, but she'll play off the bounce. And that's one of the reasons why Haley had 17 points.

That's one of the reasons why she was a leader and attacking in that game. She certainly drew excellent defense. But those are skill sets that need to be developed and given over time of experience.

So Onome learning, Miela learning as well, Jade as well. Jade had some opportunities that she'll be better for in the future in terms of finishing on the block. So there's no question there were different areas to look for for offense.

This was going to be -- this game was going to be basically a 60-or-below game. It wasn't going to be great offense. That's not the way tournaments work. You're playing back to back. You're playing in a row. You're playing in a situation where people know each other pretty well.

So once you get deeper into this kind of tournament it's harder -- it gets a little bit more difficult. It gets a little more defensive-oriented. And, again, some of the other things we talk about need to happen.

Q. One thing you guys did well was forced 15 Florida State turnovers. Do you believe your aggressive defense helped you guys stay in the game, or how were you successful in that department?
COACH MCCALLIE: I think a little bit of ball pressure. I think it was nice. We had eight turnovers. That's a real positive. That's seven more times we took care of that ball. That's what put us in the position to get that game was the turnover margin.

That's a positive. That's something that we'll look at. Imagine having eight in most games. Imagine what we could have looked like with eight turnovers in most games or 10. So that's an outstanding stat and that's something we need to consider, especially since the ball pressure was pretty significant. Pretty good ball pressure out there. Pretty good pressure. Pretty good defense.

Q. First ACC experience. What have you learned in this last couple of days that will help you lead your team next year as you move forward to the next level?
HALEY GORECKI: I think just having -- you're in a tournament, so this is kind of having the mindset, this could be your last game. So taking that over and just bringing it quarter by quarter, just getting stop by stop, just knowing that it could be your last game.

Q. Haley, kind of a variation of the same question just asked, but half an hour ago you were expecting to be playing tomorrow. So you've got to make that quick transition. It's the offseason now, but you're one of the leaders, most experienced players. What do you do starting tomorrow, starting next week, starting next month, starting the offseason to make sure Duke's not sitting here with 15 losses again next year?
HALEY GORECKI: Just bringing my experience and leadership to next year. I think as the season went on everyone grew as a player and just bringing that to next year. And the offseason as well, just getting prepared, what Coach P was saying, developing and getting better day-by-day.

Q. Coach, do you think that the rebounding differential, do you contribute that to playing back-to-back, or do you think it was just mostly Florida State outworking your team?
COACH MCCALLIE: It was pretty much, I think, probably a combination. But rebounding has been an issue. And putting bodies -- the contact was so important.

15 for them, Gillespie, and 12 rebounds, she had her way a little bit. And No. 13, that's a guard rebounder getting three offensive rebounds in there.

It's a really important part to finishing our defense. There were times we could have great stops. It's all five on the defensive end. Everyone's got to stay in and make contact. We've had that lesson before, unfortunately. And it's important to take this on.

There's a time to sit back and think about tremendous growth our team has had through the season and all the things that we're proud of about getting better. And there's a lot of things. And there's a lot of things this team put into place and was dealt a very difficult situation, and that's all true and that's all been documented.

But right now, for us, the most important thing is to take this head on. Okay. To look at this and understand how this game, despite the fact that it was poor shooting for us certainly, despite all the problems, we were in a seven-point ball game and a six-point ball game in the fourth quarter. That's what the message is. You just find a way. It was not about perfection. It was not about any of those things.

We were in a position to take that game and be competitive and move forward for most of that game. And we've got a spot that, even if as a player I'm not as hot or doing all the things I can do.

So it's just really good -- it's hard because we've been playing very good basketball and very well. And unfortunately everyone ends in a loss and it's not a good feeling at all. But you spend 24 hours kind of, as you talked about it, you've got to think about it a little bit. First thing we've got to do is think about it and then move on and take the lessons from it.

Q. Haley, maybe not the season you expected. But a really solid end to the year. How do you and the team plan to take these last four or five games head on and take it into next season with the roster that's mostly coming back?
HALEY GORECKI: I mean, obviously, unfortunately, like you said, Faith and Sofia aren't going to be here. But having the team that we have, but like you said, the last five games, the experience and the hard work that we've been putting into, it's great to see. So carrying that over to next season, I'm real excited.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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