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Dec. 29, 2015

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Head Coach Joanne Boyle
Opening Statement:
“Happy to come out of the classic as the winners going 10-4 into the ACC, obviously we have things to work on but it’s a good start to the season and just excited for Sunday.”

On rebounding:
“We have been preaching about rebounding so to come out 43 to 31 on the boards was good for us. We’ve been talking about offensive rebounding, I thought Lauren did a great job tonight getting seven for us. Fourteen total offensive rebounds so moving into ACC season we know what is going to help us win games and we know what is going to hurt us. We always talk about second chance points and owning that and in the last few games we have done much better job on the boards”

On what she feels good about as a team:
“We are really pushing tempo and taking good shots for the most part. I think we are getting in the flow, dishing out assists, we are moving the ball well. At times I feel like we come out really strong in the first half, but we’ve been stagnant in the third quarter. I think we kind of settle in and maybe look at the scoreboard too much. I’ve said this before; I think we just have to stop guard penetration better. In anything, in man or zone, we just have to be able to guard the ball better. If we can guard the ball better we’ll have a really good chance.”

On team balance:
“I think we have to balance minutes. It’s a long season so being able to play eight people pretty regularly and being able to distribute those minutes like we did tonight is going to be really important. It’s a long season. You’ll be playing every Thursday and Sunday, so I think we have a good rotation going on now. We’ve established the guard rotation, the post rotation, and even if we have to go into a four guard lineup, so we’ve worked a lot on different rotations and I think the girls are comfortable with whatever we are running.”

On playing Miami Sunday:
“We really have to be in sync as a team defensively. They have two great scorers, but they have a really good support group around them. Obviously they are a transition team, they play very fast. I think they have real good balance this year. They have great chemistry with each other. For us, it is just being able to change some things up on them and slow them down and play at a pace, we don’t want to walk the ball down the floor but we don’t want to get in a track meet either with them. It goes back to will we defend and will we rebound.”

Senior Guard Faith Randolph
On assists:
“Our team this year has a lot of depth. We have a lot of great scorers and it’s not always my job to shoot the ball. I give it to the person who is open and Aliyah [Huland El] and Moné [Jones] were hitting tonight and Mikayla [Venson] is always hitting. They just make my job easier.”

On last year compared to this year:
“The guard’s play has gotten better this year. We are deeper and last year we weren’t as confident in our shots. It just makes it easier.”

On Lauren Moses’ development:
“Her confidence coming in has been huge. She learned a lot from last year about what she needs to do better. She worked hard in the offseason and it’s obviously paying off now.”

On a Miami player:
“She’s a scorer. She can 1-2 dribble pull and attack it. She can get her teammates open and she always has the scorer’s mentality. It’s going to be important to stay in front of those guards and make them work for it.”

Sophomore Forward Aliyah Huland El
On improvement from last year:
“I think the game has slowed down for me and it has been easier to get into the flow of the game now as a second year. I’m not out there nervous and flopping around. I have a lot more confidence behind me and when we are sharing the ball it’s a lot easier to play.”

On buzzer beaters:
“They are momentum builders. They really pick up our energy and make us play at a higher level. Who makes a half court shot and swishes it? Something like that really picks up the energy of the team.”

On offseason:
“Last year was a reality check. High school was a very different level than college. I think that it was important for me to get back to my basics and build my foundation by getting back in the gym. That is really all we can do as players.”

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