ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 6, 2024

Megan Gebbia

Alexandria Scruggs

Kaia Harrison

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Postgame Press Conference

Wake Forest 58, Virginia 55

MEGAN GEBBIA: I think all year this team has been resilient, and in the moment that we absolutely needed to be resilient, we came through. It's something that is just innate with this group, that they never feel down and out. We've been down a lot all year and haven't been able to close out games.

I think Alyssa's offensive rebound, put-back and-one was the turning point. We needed that shot to go in and her to make the free throw for us to get the lead. And then it seemed like once we got the lead, we executed well at both ends of the floor. It's really not our best shooting day by far, but I think this group has learned how to play scout, and they did a great job of doing that today, and they battled the entire 40 minutes.

Q. You're undersized and you battled and got some key shots. Tell us today about what you did.

ALEXANDRIA SCRUGGS: I just played for my team basically because I know, like you said, I'm undersized, so I know that probably other teams are probably looking at they're undersized so let's go to our posts.

Yeah, I just knew I had to play bigger than me, like literally and mentally and emotionally and everything. That's what I can say.

Q. Kaia, what did Coach say at the end of the third quarter to get you guys so fired up for the fourth quarter?

KAIA HARRISON: Yeah, she basically said we had to put it together on defense because we gave up a lot of points, and that's what we did in the fourth quarter.

MEGAN GEBBIA: We gave up three until the last two threes.

KAIA HARRISON: We had to really pull it together and find that spark and find our energy and just play our game. I think we were a little tight, playing a little tight in that third quarter, and we kind of loosened up and played our game and had fun and got stops on the defensive end. And I think that was really important for our run in the fourth quarter.

Q. That fourth quarter not only did you all get stops, but it seemed like every loose ball went your way, and I don't think that's an accident. Did you all feel that momentum and that ability to get second and third chances and realize how important that was to making this run?

KAIA HARRISON: Yeah, absolutely. I think that when you want to get the ball, you're going to get it, and I think that's our desire to get the ball. The second chances and the loose balls, like you said, was really important. We knew we had to get those to win the game.

ALEXANDRIA SCRUGGS: Also Coach Meg always told us when you keep going, when you keep pushing, stuff like that will happen to you. You can control what you can control, but some stuff just happens. We put our head down, we kept playing, played the game the best we could, and some stuff just started to go our way.

Q. Is there a reason you've done so well in Greensboro? I think five years in a row you've won at least one game. Any thought of scheduling some games here?

MEGAN GEBBIA: It's hard for me to tell. This is only my second year. I think that might be a better question for the players. I do think it helps that the travel isn't very far and it feels seems like a home crowd to a degree because it's easier to get from Winston to Greensboro. But I don't know if you guys have anything to add with that.

ALEXANDRIA SCRUGGS: I would say it's just a new season. I keep quoting everything she says. Maybe she should write a book or something.

She told us there's three seasons. There's preseason, non-conference, season, ACC, and then postseason. This is a completely different season. Everybody, we're all just playing basketball.

KAIA HARRISON: I think that's just the energy that March brings. I think everybody is just going out for it and just trying to win, and that's why it's fun, and that's why we play this game, because it's fun.

Q. Building off of that, you only have two conference wins all season. What's the mentality coming in today? What made you believe that you could get this win, and what's your mindset going into tomorrow night's matchup against Florida State?

KAIA HARRISON: Well, I think that even from non-conference to even conference, every game, it was a dogfight. Like every single game it came down to the end.

I think that even this game, it shows that we play with a lot of heart, and that's just what our team does. We have a saying, but it's just go in there and just play our game and mess things up, and that's what we do.

I think even though it says we only won two conference games, it feels -- the way we played, it feels like we won more just because of how hard we play as a team.

Q. Coach, team gets down 15 points in the third quarter. It's been a long rough season. It would be kind of easy to cash in the chips and kind of roll with the punches for the last 12 or 13 minutes, but your team found a way to come back. What does that say about them and their heart and their fortitude?

MEGAN GEBBIA: We've been talking about this all year. I know my AD John Currie told me I've never seen a team go through this type of year and still fight each and every game. When I looked at the scoreboard and I saw the score, I said to myself, we've been here all year. This is nothing new. We came into the -- at the end of the third heading into the fourth, and I said, it was a bad third quarter, we've got to put it behind us. Now it's on to the fourth, and this has to be our quarter.

And it was, especially on the defensive end. I know we had to score, too, but we locked down in the fourth quarter.

It made the difference. I just think they're out there playing and probably not as nervous or worried because they're out there playing. I'm looking at the score all the time trying to figure out what to do.

Just really happy for these two in particular that are fifth-year seniors that believed in myself and my staff and Wake Forest, decided to come back and give us their all, and I just really, really appreciate these two.