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North Carolina vs. Virginia Postgame Quotes
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No. 25 North Carolina 78, Virginia 73 (2OT)
Dec. 5, 2011
Postgame Quotes
Virginia Head Coach Joanne Boyle
On if she was worried having a short bench going into overtime:
“To be honest, no. I felt good in both overtimes. We came out and scored and got ahead. We obviously got tired throughout but I was energized by how we started in overtime.”
On Ariana Moorer:
“She did a really good job. At the end of any game, you just want to get people to the free throw line. So we tried to get her to the rim as much as we could. It worked at times, and other times it didn’t. She’s doing a great job. Her and Frankie (Ataira Franklin) are playing a lot of minutes, they played 50 tonight, so they aren’t getting a lot of rest.”
On what to take away from this game:
“We have to stay the course. We played a tough opening into ACC play. We played two of the better teams in the conference. We’re in every game but there are points that we can keep learning. Fatigue and all that, it is what it is, but there are moments where we can definitely teach off these two games. That’s the idea – to learn as much as we can early. It’s a long season and you don’t finish in the top of your conference in the first weekend. We have to keep getting better and not find ourselves in the same situation every game.”
On playing without China Crosby:
“First and foremost I just feel awful for her, this being the second time she’s gone through it. It’s hard, as a coach, to see a player that loves the game so much not be able to have an ACC season. It is a loss for the team, obviously emotionally, and she is such a team player. She wants them to win. We also now have responsibility on more people being down another man.”
On Ataira Franklin:
“I thought she did a great job just moving, finding the openings and getting to the free throw line. When we’re missing China, we’re down to four guards. People have to own more responsibility and Frankie is doing that.”
On starting the ACC season vs. Duke and UNC:
“There are a lot of really good things to look at. We are competing with the best teams in the conference and ultimately the best teams in the country. So you have to look at it as a positive. Our kids believe every time they step of the floor that they can compete and win those games. That’s half the battle. If they can do that, we can get better at some of the things we talk about in the locker room.”
Sophomore Guard Ataira Franklin
On similarities to the 4 OT NC State game last year:
“Having played in that game, we had a lot of confidence going into overtime. We were getting up four to six points. We definitely let one slip away tonight but we can’t let a loss like this deflate us. We played hard and put forth 100 percent of our effort. We are playing top teams early and we haven’t reached our peak yet.”
On getting open:
“It was tough at times but all we can do is execute our offense. If I can’t get open, if Ari (Moorer) can’t get open, Chelsea (Shine) might be able to slip on a screen or Simone (Egwu). We have to stick with our stuff; we can’t rely on one option.”
On playing without China Crosby:
“It’s definitely hard. China is feisty and everybody knows that. She is definitely a spark for us but she’s not the type of person to mope around. We can’t spend time asking whys and ifs. We don’t have those answers. Right now all we can do is look forward and stay positive. Before the game, everyone was writing No. 1 on their shoes. Right now we’re just playing for her.”
North Carolina Head Coach Sylvia Hatchell
On the game:
“We started off awful – we had all those turnovers. We were just throwing the ball away. I told them we wouldn’t have to go through this if we didn’t turn the ball over so much. But they hung in there, just like the other day against Miami. We were tough down the stretch and we pulled it out. If we could take care of the ball better we could be a pretty good team.”
On offensive struggles:
“We had two freshmen in there at point guard until I put Tierra Ruffin-Pratt at the top. We were calling an offense, and instead of them just playing and reading what’s there, they were trying to force what they are supposed to do. But they are going to learn and get better as we move along.”
On the Joanne Boyle and Virginia program:
“There are a lot of different ways to get the milk in the jug. Of course our way is different and her way is different. But the kids are playing how she wants to play and they are successful and doing a good job.”
On Chay Shegog:
“Chay has been playing really, really well. She is getting double and triple-teamed and just beat to death inside. But she has been a warrior and stayed tough. I’m really proud of her; she is having a great senior year. She has improved so much, it’s just unbelievable.”