Post Game Press Conference vs Duke
Virginia Head Coach Tina Thompson
Opening Statement:
“I’m extremely proud of our kids. We come in here after every game all season and talk about what we could do better. The one thing that I’ve always said is that we’re going to continue to show up, and they’re going to continue to show up, and they’re going to work. They did that tonight. We were always talking about putting a full game together, and putting several or all four quarters together, and starting a certain way, and finishing a certain way. We started the game with high energy, and we were really aggressive, and we carried that throughout the game. Duke is a really good team. We knew that at some point they were going to try to make a run or make a push and when they did, we did not fall apart. That’s what we’ve been talking about all season, keeping our composure and responding and we did a great job of responding tonight.”
On the approach to attack the paint
“”It was intentional. When we were at Cameron the first time that we played them, we got into the game in the second half by being aggressive offensively, running in transition, and also attacking the basket off the dribble. We knew that that’s something we could get to so the last couple of practices and shoot-arounds we were very intentional about making that an emphasis in this game and our kids being really purposeful about trying to get in there and make something happen.”
On the emotions after the struggles the last two years:
“We were celebrating a little early, so I kind of had to tell them to calm down a little bit, there was still about 15 minutes left. More than anything, I saw them come to a place of understanding.We were talking about certain aspects of our team and where we are and that if we could do certain things, we would be able to be successful. When we started to see those things come into fruition, there was like a light bulb that came off in a sense. You could see how they were working together continuously and not going away from that. In our last games, we had a tendency to go away from the things that were working and they didn’t do that. We trusted our game plan and we were adamant about that.”
Guard Amadine Toi
On Letting the emotion out after the game:
“It was a relief. We worked so hard for it. We wanted to win more than anything today. I think we were all locked in. We followed the game plan, and we put four quarters together and that’s what we talked about this entire time, just put four quarters together. This league is tough and that’s what we have to do. Being here and being able to celebrate for her and just for the team, I’m really proud of us.”
Guard Mir McLean
On feeling the anticipation from the rest of the team:
“Yeah, but today it felt a little different in the locker room from the get go. It wasn’t necessarily no energy, it was more of that quiet where you’re focused and locked in. I feel like everyone today was extra locked in and we were able to pull it off.”
On how the past couple of months have been:
“It’s been challenging. It kind of feels like a whole different year, rather than it being the same year. A lot of progress has happened and there has been a lot of stuff put into it to where I’ve been able to be comfortable playing with this team and getting my flow back with basketball and everything. These guys have really helped me and kind of nursed me back into it and supported me through it.”