Duke commitments King, Singler, Smith make McDonald's All American game.  Prospect Patrick Patterson will play too.

Harding -

On whether rolling her ankles affected her play:“It really didn’t, because it happened in practice and you just kind of shake it off and keep playing.  I rolled my right one.  I was crossing the ball, I think I crossed myself over, and just rolled my right one.  And then in the second half, I rolled my left one again, but it was fine.  I just shook it off.”

On students tenting for tonight’s game:“They were out there for how many days, in the cold, in the rain?  It was raining and it was freezing.  I wanted to come out there and I wanted to give them a show.  I wanted to win for them, for myself, my last game, for my team and everything.  They get you pumped up with a lay-up, one score, one steal, they continue just to keep you pumped up.”

Bales -

On her offensive performance:“Last time against Carolina, I didn’t really score, especially in the first half.  I really wasn’t aggressive enough.  I was getting my shot blocked.  So, I wanted to come into this game, forget about that game and really come in aggressive, and I did and luckily my outside shot was falling.” 

On going undefeated in the regular season:“In the long run, you don’t get a banner that says ‘undefeated for the season.’ It is an accomplishment, and I think that right now we’re very proud of what we’ve done so far this season, but also in the same regards we’re still ready for the next part of our season.”

On the team’s expectations:“I think our expectations are the same as when we started the season.  We knew we were going to be good going into the season, and I don’t think that going undefeated changes what we want.  At the end of the season we want to be national champions.”

On the crowd support:“Duke’s known for its Cameron Crazies, and I think that it’s just an amazing feeling to have them be as supportive as they were tonight for the women’s team just like they are for the men ... It was really exciting to have them support us like they did tonight.”

 

Nothing could be finer than defeating Carolina!

Abby Waner -

On defending Ivory Latta:“We realized that last game she did go 3-for-20, but most of her looks were wide open, and when you’re a good player like she is, you’re not going to go 3-for-20 again.  We were consciously aware of where she was at all times.  Especially in a zone, it’s hard to lose somebody except for we all knew what side she was on and paid a little bit more attention to that side.”

On getting steals at the end of the game:“I told Ali[son Bales] at halftime that when I get beat, sometimes it’s just because I feel like letting her get a block.  It’s a comfort level that you can pressure and if you happen to get beat then there is that next line of defense.  And also, towards the end of the game, they had some of there bigger players up top, like Camille Little and Rashanda McCants, handling the ball.  As a defender, you have to learn to recognize that – when you can go for steals and be a little bit more aggressive – whereas if somebody like Ivory [Latta] had the ball, she’s a little bit quicker and you have to be more conservative.”

Seniors Alison Bales and Lindsey Harding led top-ranked Duke to its first unbeaten regular season. Now they're looking for something bigger - a perfect postseason. Bales had 16 points and 12 rebounds - Continue