No. 9 Duke head coach Kara Lawson met with the media to discuss the 83-65 win over NC State.
NOTE: Click the video player above to watch the full press conference!
Opening statement...
It was a tough game, we knew it would be. I got some players that are tough to guard and we struggled to keep them in front. But I thought the way we started, the competitiveness we started with, the pace that we started with was great. And obviously got bogged down in the third quarter a little bit, I thought we lost our pace.
And as a result, we lost our rhythm and our momentum on the offensive end. And they did a great job of taking that away from us. So we're really pleased with the fourth because we were able to get back to that. That's what we were talking about in the huddles, play fast. Play fast and play with pace. And that's when we're at our best, running the floor. I thought we navigated the game really well.
Obviously had to extend some people to minutes. We got in a little foul trouble in the first half. I thought Woody was a key player in the first half for us. She plays the three and the four for us. So her ability to toggle between those two positions, depending on if we have foul trouble somewhere, is really valuable for us. And I thought her minutes in the first half were key for us at that four position.
Kara, can I ask, Toby, you came in here a couple weeks ago pretty mad after the Wake Forest win because you thought your team was playing down to the score, wasn't playing to their level. Was the third quarter, you touched on a little bit, was that more of what they were doing or was it what your team wasn't doing, I guess, for lack of a better phrase?
I think in a game, when a team goes on a run, it's always a combination of both. I thought we stopped getting stops. We were poor in one-on-one and that stretched and we were fouling. And then that dictated our pace on the offensive end. And they obviously went to zone there in that third quarter.
And, some of the looks we got in the first half that we were making, we weren't. And I thought we got a little jump shot happy in that third quarter as well. We need to continue to get the ball inside, even if they're playing zone. So that was a combination of factors. But they did a good job of getting the momentum back in the game there.
Toby said that her free-throw shooting was one of the first things you mentioned, the locker room afterwards. And, just 26 points, four rebounds, that free-throw shooting against a tough front line for NC State. How impressed were you with how she played tonight?
Yeah, I mean, she's one of the best players in the country. And, listen, everybody likes their player. I get it. I think winning matters. I think it does. Like for awards, and for Player of the Year, and for All-American, and for all conference, like it matters. It matters that you impact winning. It matters that your team wins. And she's doing that. She's doing that. She's impacting winning. And, she can score. She can rebound. She's one of the top defensive players in the league. She's doing a lot at a high level right now. And I love her bounce back.
I didn't think she played great on Sunday. And that happens sometimes. But, the thing about her, which makes her different than a lot of players, she impacts the game even if she doesn't play great offensively. Like she had 12 boards, three blocks. And so, there's a lot of good players in the country. But I think you'd be hard-pressed to find, more than on one hand a forward that impacts winning more than one game. It's tough to find what she's doing.
I want to ask you about rebounding, particularly the fact that your 5'9 point guard had more rebounds in stacks three post plays combined. It was plus 16 in the boards. That's a pretty good recipe for a win.
I thought Mair didn't play well. Okay. And she knows that. And what I love about her is she knows when she doesn't play well. But if you want to be a team that wins, your players when they don't play well still have to impact the game. And so Mair's got 11 boards and nine assists in a game that was below her level. Like she missed shots she normally makes. She got beat one-on-one defensively. She's been a solid defender for us.
And so in the face of all of that, do you have players that still compete at a high level, have a toughness to fight through a stretch they're not playing well or a game they're not playing well? That's how you win. And those two are winners. I talk about them a lot.
We've won more games in the ACC than any other program in the last four years. And that would surprise people, right? Because of those two kids, because of Ashlon and T, they win. And so, again, find players that win. And hopefully at the end of the year they'll be rewarded for that.
Coach Lawson, one of the things that Coach Moore said about you guys is they're who we thought they were. I wonder, has your group been who you thought they would be?
Through the screen?
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. First off, I have a lot of respect for Wes. I think he's the best coach in the conference. And I think what he has done at NC State and how hard they are to play and how hard they are to beat every year, no matter the players he has, we have a hard time with them always. And so the other thing about him that I really respect is he shoots you straight and he's unafraid to give you a compliment.
And in coaching, sometimes that's really hard for people to give fellow coaches a compliment, and that's never been hard for Wes. I respect him a lot. Obviously, he was close with Coach Summitt. He was coaching at Chattanooga for all those years. And, one of the greatest compliments I've gotten as a coach has been from Wes. He actually said it to me again tonight. He said, your teams remind me of Coach Summitt’s teams.
And from another coach that coached against those teams in that era, I don't know that I could get a higher compliment. So I know that doesn't answer your question, but I want a compliment coming from him is as high as you can get for me in our conference and in the country. And I think that our team is growing to a place where I thought we could get to.
At the start of the year, even before we played a game, I felt like if we grew and continued to work through the year, that we could get to a place where we were, equally as competitive on the defensive end and the offensive end because of the talented scorers we have and the length that we have. So we're growing to that. We are not there yet. And they know we're not there yet, and I think that's probably the best part about them.
Coach, this isn't a game-specific question, but you mentioned your two seniors are going to be drafted. Your senior year, there wasn't a CBA in place your whole senior year. Do you remember being concerned about that at all? And are your kids, I know they're all focused obviously on college, are they concerned at all that there isn't an agreement?
I wasn't concerned. I didn't think a lot about the WNBA my senior year. I mean, I knew I wanted to play in it, but I wasn't consumed by it.I've talked about, with both of them, had conversations about the professional level and where they need to grow in their game to get to that level and hopefully make a team and stay at that level.
But, yeah, we haven't talked about the labor stuff. I'm sure they're aware, obviously, with social media and all that. But we haven't talked about the labor. We brought them to unrivaled when we were in Miami, and they got a chance to watch that level. I just want them to see that level.We didn't just bring those two.
We brought the whole team. And then, obviously, Chelsea comes to our games, and he's just been to our game, and Ryan Howard and those guys. And then they got to see the USA team up close when they were here. So, for me, it's just more about exposures to the level than it is that. So, yeah, I don't think they're losing sleep at night worrying about it.
I also have a non-game-specific question. But since we're getting closer to March, I don't know if you were aware that the quadrant breakdown in the net for women's teams are different than that of the men's.
If so, is that, like, for example, your win over Notre Dame is a quad 2 win right now. On the men's side, that would be a quad 1. Is that something that the coaches on the women's side have talked about? Is it something that they have an issue with? If they're even aware of it.
I was not aware of that. Well, I think I was aware that the neck— I mean, I'm aware we have different rules in the back in a lot of ways, right? Like, there's just different rules. So, to be honest with you, I don't spend time, like, studying the differences. When I was a broadcaster, I did. I don't know if I was calling men's game or women's game.
So, no. We do focus on, what— we know the games that are quad 1s and quad 2s and things like that. And those have been flowing through the year because people continue to win or lose. So, yeah, there's an awareness there. But I see folks not winning as many games as possible, you know. I mean, a win's a win.Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 is still a win. Wins, I don't think, hurt you that bad, especially with the schedule we play.
So, yeah. I think there's always discussion in our spring meetings about those types of things, coach meetings when we get together. I'm certainly involved in those. But I haven't heard one of, like, saying we need to be more like them or they need to be more like us.
I think we just focus on what we feel like is best. And the good thing about that is it's the same for every women's team. Right? And it's the same for every men's team. So at least we're all judged on the same rubric.
In the first half seemed like Delaney and Eri were getting frustrated with probably the foul call. I was wondering what was your message to them, especially how every, bounce back, go for it, come up. And speaking of arm wraps, I wanted to know what your thoughts on Chelsea winning the one-on-one contest.
With the foul trouble, it's a part of the game. And, we need to – if there's something that they're doing specifically that caused the foul, we're obviously going to coach and correct that, in the moment when they come off to the bench. But then after that, it's about looking forward. One, it's about supporting your teammates, which I thought those two did a great job. Like, when you get in foul trouble, you can't – I mean, you get, like, maybe 15 seconds of power.
But then, like, you've got to give energy to the team. And so I thought those two did a good job of that. And then in the second half, I thought they both impacted and made winning plays and helped us. I mean, Roberson late was terrific, right, her shot-making ability and her length. And so that was really good.
And, I'm unsurprised, you know, with Chelsea. I mean, having, been around her a long time and certainly having coached her with the USA team, she's just fearless. And when the stakes are highest, she's really good, man. She's really good.
So, my money's always on her, not just because she's a Duke grad, but because I know the type of competitive spirit she has. And, yeah, it's great for her. And we're real proud of Chelsea and all her accomplishments.
Speaking of the high energy coach, there was a stretch in the first half where you were hot into the media timeout, came out of that, forced into state to burn another timeout almost right away. And then you came out of that timeout and you're still hot. How do you keep that sort of energy up and keep pushing on when you're getting a little bit weak?
Yeah. I mean, most of the good things you see I have nothing to do with on the court. I thought just their shot-making during the stretch in the first quarter was really good. And, they went to zone in the first half to try to slow it down, and we go boom, boom, two threes in a row. So I think it was that we were making shots. That makes you look good.
And I thought we were defending at a high level as well in that first quarter. So, yeah, it was a good stretch for us to try to elongate that. When you're playing well and you're shooting well, you're trying to extend that to as long as possible. But it was good to start the game, well on the offense end.
It was a physical game, and as we talked about the foul trouble, and then it got a little chippy there in the third and fourth. How do you feel like your team handled that? And,as the things heat up in March, the chippiness can be a regular part of it.
Yeah, it's just a part of the game. It's competing. I mean, like I said, we have a lot of respect for those guys and their players, and we've had good competitive games with them. So, sometimes it happens. They get the double team, like move on. I thought both players moved on and kept playing. They want to win. We want to win. It's competitive nature, and, yeah, I didn't think it was anything that crossed the line.
