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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 8, 2014Jewell LoydMichaela MabreyMuffet McGrawGREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA Notre Dame – 83 COACH MUFFET McGRAW: I thought we played really well. I thought we did a lot of good things defensively. I was happy with the transition game and the rebounding. It was difficult for North Carolina State without Gatling, and they'll be fine, they just didn't have enough time to prepare. And I know she'll be back for the NCAA tournament and we wish them luck. Q. You've piled up 78 bench points in these two games. Obviously you're trying to rest your starters, but not every coach could bring in the reserves and get the production you've gotten. How good is the bench? COACH MUFFET McGRAW: It's the best we've ever had. I think we have great depth with Michaela Mabrey. She's having a great year. I thought she was the best sixth man in the country this year. Taya Reimer, a freshman, we're expecting great things throughout her career. Markisha Wright comes in and gives us good minutes. It's great to rest your starters and be confident in your bench. Q. Jewell has 998 career points. She would only be the third sophomore to hit a thousand when she gets there. Can you talk about that accomplishment, considering the scorers she's been around and her ability to get to that point? COACH MUFFET McGRAW: If she has trouble making the shot early I'm canceling my subscription to the "South Bend Tribune." I'm not sure Jewell knew that or not. I wasn't going to put her back in the game to get it. I didn't know it until she came out. It's a tremendous accomplishment as a sophomore to be looking at those kind of numbers, with a team as unselfish as we are and Jewell as unselfish as she is, what a great honor for her to be in this position. Q. Coach, you talked about Michaela and what she was able to bring to you. Can you talk specifically when you have a shooter that good when you bring her in off the bench, not everybody can be that good a shooter when they're not a starter. COACH MUFFET McGRAW: She heats up in a hurry. She is a fearless competitor. She doesn't mind missing a couple of shots, we know she's going to keep shooting. She's got the green light. She's probably the first player I've had in a long time that has the absolute green light to pull up on the brake and do whatever. She's really taken advantage of her opportunity this year. Q. Can you talk a little bit about how your team went into attack mode immediately. COACH MUFFET McGRAW:  I thought we had a little bit of a slow start, missed a couple of shots early, but I thought we really got comfortable. I thought we made some nice plays. Jewell made some big plays. Mike comes in and gets a 3 right away. I think that makes everybody feel comfortable. Q. Can you talk about the rebounding numbers? Is that the area that you took the most advantage of regarding Gatling's absence? COACH MUFFET McGRAW: Yeah, for sure. I thought inside ‑‑ we really wanted to go inside and score inside a little bit more. But for the rebounding that the minutes everybody played, I thought the rebounds were well distributed. Madison Cable, leading rebounder with 7. Everybody had five or six. I thought we did great on the boards, both ends, 19 offensive rebounds. We missed a lot more shots than we normally do, but made up for it getting the rebound. Q. You don't know who you play tomorrow, whether it's North Carolina or Duke. Do you adjust your game depending on who the opponent is? JEWELL LOYD: I think it's about preparation. The coach does a great job making sure we're prepared. And we'll go over some scouts and personnel to make sure we're ready for tomorrow. MICHAELA MABREY: Both teams are very good, both teams are athletic, have great players, we know how to prepare for both. Q. Coach, talk a little bit about the two teams that you could play tomorrow, what makes them good? COACH MUFFET McGRAW: Duke has a number of All‑Americans on the roster, probably as many as anybody in the country. Tricia Liston had an outstanding year. Elizabeth Williams a really talented inside player. Haley Peters is a great glue player for them. They've got All‑Americans on the bench. North Carolina is incredibly athletic. They are an amazingly athletic team, and Diamond DeShields is having a spectacular year. She's come on late, playing phenomenally well in the tournament here. She's a really difficult match‑up for every team. I think she'll be a scary match‑up in the NCAA tournament, also. Both teams present different challenges. Both are very, very good. Q. Jewell, can you talk a little bit about what you guys took advantage of early on to get that big lead and then also could you talk about the different ways you were able to score today? JEWELL LOYD: We were making sure we got the rebound first. And Lindsay did a good job of looking ahead. And personally I was just taking what the defense gave me, not trying to force anything, and just trying to follow up on it. Q. Could you talk a little bit about the challenge of being ready, just coming off of the bench and hitting shots and how well the bench has done this tournament? MICHAELA MABREY: I think I've really embraced my role of coming off the bench. I just ‑‑ I'm always ready to shoot and always ready to get my teammates open and in the right positions. I think our bench has really come along. I think in the beginning we were struggling little bit. But I think we've definitely come along very well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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