Postgame Quotes No. 9 Duke at Virginia

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No. 9 Duke at Virginia
Feb. 24, 2011
Postgame Quotes

Virginia Head Coach Debbie Ryan
Opening Statement:
“Duke’s tough. They’re big inside and have players like Jasmine Thomas on the outside and they’re hard to defend, mainly because of their size, their ability to score and their ability to rebound, which was what really hurt us. We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight and it wasn’t until I changed everything and tried to take their minds off of what was going on offensively that we started to move the ball around the perimeter and take the first open shot, and we really did play well after that.”

On the play of Lexie Gerson:
“I thought Lexie gave us a great boost tonight with energy, and it was under control. She kept people between her feet and did a better job defending, which is really where she’s been working hard. She really played a good game tonight.“

On using a 3-2 zone:
“We threw it in two days ago but I wasn’t sure if we were going to use it because it didn’t look too good in practice, but it bothers people. We aren’t a very good zone team so we were just trying to do what we could.”

Virginia Junior Guard Ariana Moorer
On playing aggressively:
“We just wanted to play; we knew we had nothing to lose. We just wanted to look for gaps and attack the basket as much as possible.”

On Duke’s defense:
“I would say Duke is a different breed. Everybody is big, athletic and quick. They held us out on the perimeter for quite a while, and we weren’t attacking like we should have been.”

Virginia Freshman Guard Ataira Franklin
On the upcoming ACC Tournament:
“We’re just taking it one game at a time. From this point on we just have to win, that’s the main focus. We have to go out to every practice and every game with the same mindset, that it’s do or die.”

Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie
Opening Statement:
“It was a good, strong game for our team. We attacked, which is so important for this time of year. I also think we set the tempo, defensively, early. I thought the team was really trying to get to the basket and create things. Allison (Vernerey) was fantastic and was very, very difficult to defend because she is so aggressive. It was great that we were able to go high low with her. I loved Jasmine’s (Thomas) confidence and poise on the floor and obviously her defensive energy was very important to us. Good game for Duke, but also ready to move on as well.”

On second half:
“It was a poor start to the second half and I think the team responded well and recognized that it was important to come out strong. I was happy to see us turn so quickly and get things going.”

On Virginia:
“That four overtime game versus NC State was one of the greatest women’s basketball games I have ever seen. I told Debbie (Ryan) that before the game. I spent my time watching the Virginia team I know. The Boston College game was an outlier. We discarded that and watched other games. We know that everyone is really good. We respect everyone but do not fear anybody.”

Duke Senior Guard Jasmine Thomas
On minimizing turnovers:
“It really is just me going too fast, it is me needing to slow down and let the play develop. We need to cut down on the turnovers. That is something we are always going to work on.”

Duke Sophomore Center Allison Vernerey
On defensive intensity:
“I think that is always one of our primary focuses, to get out and get the game going by being really aggressive. We obviously did not do that right away in the second half. But, we did get back on the right track. It is something we will always keep working on.”