LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Second-Seeded Pack Silences Seven-Seed Hokies

No. 2-seed NC State head coach Wes Moore and junior center Elissa Cunane met with the media via Zoom following the Wolfpack's 68-55 win over No. 7-seed Virginia Tech.

NOTE: Click on each thumbnail to watch each press conference.

Wes Moore

Opening Statement

“This game always scares me to death because the other team has played a game. I really feel like they have an advantage in this first game. If you're trying to win the tournament, the whole thing, then obviously it's great getting that double bye, but that first game they've gotten the tournament jitters out of the way. They've been able to shoot in here and get up and down a little bit.

“So I always worry about this first game. So I thought it was important we got off to a pretty good start, had a lead at halftime. I thought they struggled to shoot the ball. It just happens. People don't understand, that's an aspect of a team and coaching and preparing. At some point you've got to hit some shots, and they struggled a little bit in the first half. I was kind of disappointed we didn't take better advantage of that because they're a team that can get hot and get on a roll.

“But again, proud of our team the way they hung in there. I thought we handled things pretty well. Elissa Cunane, obviously she makes a big difference, so having her in this game obviously was really, really a big part of it.

“Didn't play our best game by any means and we had some people that struggled, so hopefully tomorrow we can -- now that we've got this out of the way, hopefully we can get a little momentum.”

You said after Sunday's game that in order to go deep in this tournament, in the postseason, you guys would need Jada Boyd to be great. What did you see from her tonight?

“Yeah, again, a double-double. Awesome. I just think she's so good at getting to the rim. Obviously she played a lot more minutes tonight. Does a great job of getting to the rim, getting to the foul line, obviously getting to the boards; 10 rebounds, pretty strong.

“Again, she's a little bit of an X factor for us. She can help take us to another level. Like I said, today we had some people get in some foul trouble a little bit and not have their normal game. And again, I thought it was a good lineup.

“When you have her and KJ and Elissa Cunane, all three in there, you've got pretty good size, and it gives you an opportunity to really do well on the boards.”

You guys went 2 of 9 from three-point range in the first quarter and then in the second quarter Jada attacked the basket and scored inside with Camille. Did you make a concerted effort during the break to tell them to get it inside?

“Yes, and we got away from it late in the game. You've got a lead, come down, you've got Elissa Cunane who's pretty doggone good down there on the block. Again, if you're going to Vegas you're going to play the odds. The kid shoots over 60 percent from the field. Get her touches, get her the ball.

“We just came down and settled for threes some and shot early in the clock. A little disappointed in the way we played in the fourth quarter from that perspective. We've got to work inside out, get touches. It was a rough day.

“Again, we didn't shoot it great from outside, so I'm proud of them for being able to defend and rebound and do the other things, so that was good. But we've got to be smart and pick our opportunities to take that shot, and other times maybe slow down and work the ball a little bit.

“But yeah, we definitely were trying to get some post touches.”

I think the first game you played Virginia Tech they hit 12 threes. I think they hit 11 in the second. You guys held them to five today. How much of that is sometimes the variable they couldn't shoot and how much of that was you guys did a good job of running them off the line when you had to?

“Well, we obviously were trying to run them off the line, and I'll tell you what, some of the ones they hit -- that last one that Cayla King hit, I don't know how. That was unbelievable. We had hands up and everything else and she's falling backwards.

“Again, they've got some kids that can really shoot the ball. They're an NCAA Tournament team and they're going to be tough now. You've got Kitley down there who's really, really good scoring inside, and then you've got some people around her that can -- we were fortunate Sheppard didn't shoot her normal game. I think she had about 27 on us in the second half at Virginia Tech, so we were fortunate that her shot wasn't going as well.

“But like I said, we didn't shoot it well, either, for that matter, and hopefully we can get back on track, because definitely Elissa is better when we're knocking some threes down around her. Hopefully we can get that going tomorrow. Again, first game in here I do sometimes think it's a little tough, so hopefully we got it out of our system.”

With COVID and just the unbalanced ACC schedule, you did have a chance to play them twice. How much did that help you from a scouting standpoint coming into this game?

“Well, obviously we know each other very well. Coach Brooks, Kenny, does an unbelievable job preparing them and they scheme really well. They take away things. They try to exploit you on offense based on how you're playing. He does an awesome job, and like I said, part of it is hopefully, yes, I think we did defend pretty well. I thought we did a nice job.

“But yeah, there is another aspect called HTM: Hope They Miss. Sometimes we play that HTM defense. But again, I thought we did have good energy. We flew around. We tried to cat and mouse a little bit at Kitley because she's so good when she gets it down there on the block.

“Yeah, I think, again, we defended pretty well.”

You put Dontavia in for the last minute of the first half and kind of made me think of Camille Hobby's minutes in last year's ACC Tournament. Do you make a conscious effort trying to get some of the younger players into the game in these tournament situations, kind of give them some confidence into the future?

“Well, I wish I was that smart. I was more concerned about foul trouble. But no doubt Dontavia is somebody. She is super athletic, and I would like to give her some chances out there. Probably should have subbed a little bit more maybe, especially Camille. Elissa was just playing so well.

“But we've got to realize this is -- hopefully you're going to play multiple games, and so you need to be aware of that and try to pace them a little bit. Again, Camille gave us some -- I thought in the first half she gave us some great minutes and did some good things. But Dontavia, she's probably one of the best athletes on our team, if not the best, and so it would be nice if we could try to get her some minutes and get her some experience so we'd have a little extra depth in the NCAAs.”

When you subbed in Camille midway through the first quarter, was that a foul trouble thing with Cunane or was that trying to give Kitley a different look?

“Yeah, it's a combination. You know, Elissa we obviously wanted to keep her from getting her second one that early. Camille has played so well for us and I thought Elissa looked a little winded, and when she gets tired, that's when she's more likely to foul.

“Then if somebody goes in and plays well -- I thought Camille was playing well so I rode with her. That's what all these players got to understand. If we're playing well as a team, I don't touch it a whole lot, as y'all probably see. I'm going to let them stay out there.

“Again, I thought Camille did -- I should have got her in in the second half. I regret that I didn't play her more. Again, hopefully have opportunities tomorrow.”

You alluded to it a little bit, and I know you have so much experience from last year's team, but how does this first win kind of help your players mentally prepare to go into the semis tomorrow?

“Yeah, like I said, I think the first game is tough. Last year we played Georgia Tech the first round and it went -- I know the last five minutes it was a close ball game. Like I said, I've got great respect for Virginia Tech, their offensive weapons and Coach Brooks, so I was scared of this game.

“It's good to have it under your belt. Hopefully, like I said, our players -- people ask, Well, do you have pressure on you because you won it a year ago? I look at it the other way. We won it a year ago, so now we know we can do it. We know our process, our preparation works, and so hopefully that gives us a little bit of an edge from that standpoint.

“Definitely hopefully we can get the momentum going. Like I said, Raina played too many minutes. That was because Jakia got in foul trouble, didn't get her out. Kai Crutchfield played too many. We've got to hope that we don't have to do that. Hopefully we can stay out of foul trouble and keep the rotation going.”

Kenny Brooks since he's been at Virginia Tech, this has been a really competitive game. Not just this year with those guys beating you, but seems like every time they give you a run. How worried were you going into this game? Do you see the Hokies as a team that really could compete at a high level in the NCAA Tournament?

“Oh, no doubt. Again, they've got so many weapons. We really struggled with Amoore, keeping her in front of us today. She can set the table, but she can also put up points herself. Like I said, Cayla King, some of the ones she shot and made today were unbelievable. Kitley, if you just let her sit down there one-on-one she's going to eat you up.

“I thought Elissa did a great job, but we also were trying to cat and mouse with her some and make it a little bit tougher, and she still scored 20 on us.

“And then Sheppard, obviously she's one of the best players in the conference. Had a rough day today. I know she tweaked maybe her ankle last night or something. That could have been affecting her, as well. But you get her back on track, and with that lineup, Baines is obviously very good, great offensive rebounder, gets to the rim, you can't really help off anybody or they're going to make you pay.

“I think they're a very dangerous team. I'm glad -- hopefully if we see them again it's going to be deep, deep in the NCAA Tournament because I don't want to see them early. They're very good.”

Elissa Cunane

You didn't have to pass out of a double-team, so that's good. I wanted to ask you, you got the ball several times today so low that there was really nothing they could do. You just had a lot of easy lay-ins. How were you able to get so free?

“You know, Liz got a quick foul in the first quarter, which really affected her defense, she couldn't play as physically, just as I did as well early in that first quarter.

“We knew we could attack the bigs. They don't have much depth like we're fortunate to have, so we were able to just go in and attack. They didn't want to get fouls, so we were able to make easy lay-ups.”

You were pretty aggressive from the start, closing out in the fourth quarter. How much of your performance was a combination of not having played in the previous two Virginia Tech games and always coming back to your home and playing in front of family and friends there in the Greensboro area?

“Yeah, there was definitely a lot to play for today. I had some time to make up after not playing Virginia Tech the first two times this season, and we're on a bigger stage now. It's tournament time. One loss and you're out, so we really have all notches turned up, offensive and defense.

“We're coming out here because we've got business to do.”

Did you feel like you guys were even more comfortable and confident going into your tournament opener this year than last year knowing the success you had last year?

“A little bit. It helps that we have played on this stage before and know what to expect with the fans that are here and just the adrenaline. But every single tournament is different. Every single game is different. We really just had to step out here. Coach Moore said like the team that plays first always has a little bit of an advantage, so now that we've got this game under our belt we're going to be ready to go tomorrow.”

How comfortable are you with an opponent after playing them two times earlier? Obviously you didn't play, but just having two scouting reports on them, how much better do you feel about this game coming in?

“You know, it was definitely tough. Playing any game twice is hard, especially in the ACC, so coming out here for the third time, we had a lot of scout to watch, which is a benefit. And obviously didn't have me last time we played, so things were going to be different, but we were able to know what their guards were going to do and we knew what they were going to do, so we just had to execute the scout and play defense.”

I was just wondering your thoughts on the matchup you've had against Kitley over the years and the matchup between NC State and Virginia Tech since you've been there. There have really been a lot of good games.

“Yeah, you know, I always love playing against Liz because she's my friend and also a great post player. So playing against her I learn a lot about myself and I feel like my game grows. It's just cool to play against somebody from my hometown, and added on that she's have you been of any good friends.

“I think us being friends and Cayla too, it's really turned NC State-Virginia Tech into a rivalry. There's a lot of friendship on both sides, but when you step on the court it's about to go down.”

Can you elaborate on that a little bit? How long have you been friends with them? And what was it like playing against them again in this scenario instead of in high school?

“You know, I was friends with Liz since like maybe my sophomore or junior year of high school. She joined my AAU team and it was really just -- Cayla was already on my AAU team so we played together for the three, four years that I was in high school. Played against each other in high school. She was at Northwest; I was at Northern.

“So we've had our fair share of match-ups, not only against each other, but also playing on the same team. We've also like shot a bunch of times together, worked out. We've really just kind of like -- our games are very similar because we kind of grew up playing together in high school.

“It's definitely just a battle every time we step on the court. It's tough because you want them to do good. Like I want my friends to do good, but when we're on the court, you've got to put all that aside.”

I wanted to know if you've ever gotten schooled by Ralph Kitley and if you've taken any of his moves and used it against Elizabeth in any games?

“Ralph has definitely schooled me a couple times. He's a big man so he just puts the ball over his heard and lays it in. I'm not quite able to do that yet. Maybe grow a couple more inches.

“But yeah, he's schooled me a couple times. I'll admit to that.”

Camille came in about midway through the first quarter and played a really valuable eight minutes there in the first half when you picked up an early foul. Just knowing the way she's been able to come off the bench and contribute valuable minutes, does that help you play a little bit more free and maybe a little bit more aggressive when you're on the court, not so worried about foul trouble?

“You know, I always still worry about foul trouble because I know my team needs me, even though we do have Camille. And she did, she came in and she played some great minutes. She did awesome against Virginia Tech the two times we played them before. But I think all around knowing that our team has depth allows us to run the floor harder because we know we can have a sub if we get tired.

“And definitely played more aggressively, not to foul, but just aggressively and used more energy to leave it all out there on the court.”

You were talking about depth a little bit. How valuable was what Jada did for you guys, especially when Kayla and Jakia were a little bit off offensively, dealing with a little bit of foul issues. She really gave you some toughness and a lift inside.

“Yeah, J.B. shows us why she was the Sixth Player of the Year. She's able to step out on the court and make a difference as soon as she gets out there and she's so explosive. When the guards were shoving a little bit she was able to step in there, defense, and just attack, and they couldn't guard her inside. She's unstoppable.”