Story Links
Jan. 11, 2007
POSTGAME QUOTES
Debbie Ryan, Virginia head coach
On the start of the game:
“We didn’t have any rhythm to start the game, and I didn’t think we were running enough. We were rebounding the ball well. Then when we picked up the pace that really helped us and got the ball inside some and that picked things up some for us.”
On Virginia’s rebounding:
“I feel like the rebounding was very good. They had 19 offensive rebounds, which is way too many and I just felt like we didn’t do what we needed to do in that respect. Corinne Groves had seven of them by herself, and they were just bouncing right to her and we just weren’t boxing out and that stretch where they caught up that was the problem. We needed to take her off the boards. No matter who we put on her they didn’t do a good job. That’s something that’s correctable, and we’ll be working on it tomorrow for sure.”
On the keys to holding the lead throughout the game:
“Our poise down the stretch was important, building a good lead in the beginning of the second half. I felt like we were going to run away with it in the beginning of the second half and then we had to face all those time outs and that really slowed us down. That was a mental thing, the time outs came bang, bang, bang, and it just took all our momentum away and it also disrupted our rhythm. So that hurt us some, but in terms of the key it was getting it back into a running game, getting it back to our tempo and finishing at the end.”
On Wake Forest’s run in the second half:
“We lost out momentum, and we weren’t rebounding well, and that’s really what made the difference there and that’s something the team needs to understand is that they can’t play at two different levels and two different paces.”
On senior Siedah Williams:
“I was getting on her, because she’s a senior and I should get on her. I give her a lot of responsibility and a lot of freedom and with the freedom comes a lot of responsibility, so she’s got to perform in certain situations, and she knows when she misses box outs or when she’s getting tired or something, but she played 31 minutes, gave us good minutes, gave us good offense, 11 rebounds is a really good performance for her and I think she capable of even better than that.”
On playing well after two losses:
“This team has been a great team coming back after losses. They practiced very well this week; they really worked on their communications. We still had a few glitches between two freshmen at times tonight, which has to be corrected and has to be corrected quickly, but we’re getting better and that’s what matters. The defensive end of the floor has to improve a whole lot.”
On getting wins in the competitive ACC:
“You’ve got to take them when you can get them, and you’ve got to try to figure out where the momentum is. It’s all about match ups now. This is sort of like survive and advance and you have to wins as many as you possibly can.”
Senior Siedah Williams
You had 3 blocks tonight, is that something you look for?
“Not really. Blocking isn’t really part of my game. If I see it and I have the opportunity, then I’ll go for it…without fouling.”
How important is it to get ACC wins?
“It’s very important in terms of making to the tournament. Getting these ACC wins is very important to the bid coming down this stretch of the season. It’s a very good win for us.”
Junior Sharneé Zoll
Being 2-9 last year at this point, how does it feel now?
“It’s definitely in our minds, and we don’t want to go down that road again. We’re gonna fight it out this year.”
Have you taken the opportunity to address the issue with the younger teammates about preparing for the ACC games?
“Definitely. You can tell them as much as you want to. Even when I came in, people tried to tell me that it was more physical, it’s faster paced and more intense than you think, but you have to experience it. You think you know a lot. The freshmen, they listen to us, but you still have to experience it for yourself. I think they’re adjusting pretty well. We have a lot on their shoulders so they have to adjust quickly. They’re trying and they’re doing the best that they can.”
Mike Petersen, Wake Forest head coach
On a successful first half:
“We had a lot of really good looks in the first half. Corinne had a lot of good touches inside, and Alex I thought had some really good looks. You just have to make those shots if you’re going to win. You just can’t shoot twenty-seven percent in the half and be surprised when you’re behind. I was very happy with our response to getting down the court. I thought our effort was really good tonight.”
On the bench:
“I think we got really good play off of our bench tonight. Courteney Morris came in and played very hard. Christen Brown played very well tonight. Jessie Cain came in and played really hard, and all that helped us. Having said that, we scored 70 points, and 4 players scored 66 of them, so I don’t think that’s great evidence for depth.”