March 23, 2008

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - No. 3 seed Duke (24-9) defeated No. 14 seed Murray State (24-8), 78-57, Sunday evening during first-round action in the 2008 NCAA women's basketball tournament.

Postgame Notes

• Duke is currently 38-14 in the NCAA Tournament all time. They have never lost a first round game in 16 appearances.
• Murray State dropped its first NCAA Tournament game.
• Duke is now 20-1 when leading at the half this season. The Blue Devils led 35-23 at halftime against Murray State.
• The game today was Murray State's 32nd of the season, tying a program record.
• Duke junior Chante Black tallied 14 points, reaching double figures for the 48th time in her career, the 28th time this season. It is the eighth time in the last nine games she has scored at least 10.
• Duke senior Wanisha Smith scored 16 points. It is the 59th time in her career and the 12th time this season that she reached double-figures.
• For the 11th time this season, Duke freshman Jasmine Thomas reached double figures in scoring. She finished with 13 points.
• With four points today, Murray State senior Alaina Lee moved into 22nd place all-time in scoring with 861.
• With five points against Duke, Murray State senior Shaleea Petty moved into 23rd place with 858 points in her career.
• With two assists today, Petty moved into second all-time in school history with 407.
• Petty moved into a tie for second place for the single-season record for steals with 82.
• With one three-pointer today, Murray State senior Amber Guffey extended her school record to 153 in her career. Guffey moved into a tie for first in most three-pointers in a season with 72.
• With four assists, Guffey now is in seventh place for most assists in a season for Murray State with 139.
• Guffey hit two free throws against Duke, extending her single-season record to 179.
• Murray State junior Ashley Hayes reached double-figures for the 32nd time this season, 36th in a row, and 66th of her career.
• Hayes hit 20 points or more for the 14th time this season and 21st in her career.
• Hayes scored 26 points to move her into third place for most points in a season with 590.
• Murray State senior Alaina Lee played in her 114th game as a Racer, moving her into a tie for second in school history. Seniors Shaleea Petty and Gerraca Matthews played in their 111th games, moving them into a tie for fifth.
• After playing 30 minutes against Duke, Guffey has now played more minutes this season than any Racer in history with 1,054, breaking last year's record of 1,024. Hayes has now played 1,040, second only behind Guffey.

Duke Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie

Opening Statement:
"It was great to play. It seemed like a long time since we've had that opportunity to play. I really appreciate the team effort that our team displayed. Everybody was positive and I was impressed by the 20 offensive rebounds and 20 assists. We had some great distribution and some smart play all the way around. I thought that all (Wanisha Smith, Jasmine Thomas and Chante Black) of these women to my right led, took charge and made plays and that's what it's all about this time of the year. I thought we got better tonight and improved in some areas. We look forward to Tuesday."

On what was said during the timeout after Murray State cut Duke's lead to 37-32:
"You expect those kinds of runs during the game. We talked about poise. We did some silly things defensively. It was a combination of losing our poise on offense and defense for a couple of minutes, but you have to give credit to Murray State. I think all the teams in this tournament are really good. I talk about that all the time, that this is a winner's tournament. All the teams are really good and there's a reason why they are here. Ashley Hayes got the best of us because we didn't do anything to stop her. I felt we kept our poise for 30 minutes of the game. I thought we were very much dictating the game and we took a few minutes off. I think all of our guards and our post players showed tremendous leadership. We've been in many different situations this year."

On if this game more dictated by defense:
"I think it always is. You have to play great defense and rebound to advance in this tournament. Also, you have to have people come up with big games like Jasmine did with nine rebounds. I definitely think that defense is the key in this tournament. Obviously, you always want to score points and 78 is OK. That's a lot of points. But the bottom line is can you stop people. That's why I brought up Ashley Hayes because I'm telling you, we were trying to stop that kid and I am embarrassed to admit that. We were trying to stop her. We did not want her to score anymore points and she still found a way to score. I thought she was an excellent player."

On the effective ball movement that helped generate 20 assists:
"I thought we had great teamwork and leadership by everybody and some good patience. Twenty offensive rebounds and 20 assists is a habit we have to repeat. I think we've improved and we had to get some kinks out. I think it was strange being off for so many days, but I do think we improved and I loved how we shared the ball. That's going to be very important to us on Tuesday."

Senior guard Wanisha Smith

On getting the offense started after Murray State closed to within five points (37-32 early in the second half):
"I think at first, it was just a matter of getting the kinks out. Like coach said, we haven't played in a long time so we tried to get into a flow. We realized what plays were working and we continued to do them and get some good looks."

On the Maryland fans cheering for Murray State and booing Duke:
"I think it was something we expected playing at Maryland. We had some good fan support and at the same time, it was kind of weird getting booed by the Maryland fans, but you know, more power to us."

On the difficulty of playing as a high seed:
"No, I don't think there is any pressure on us. I think we put more pressure on ourselves to do the things we know we can do. We're just trying to play really hard because we know that every team we play is going to be a tough battle, so we're just looking to come out with the win."

On the problems Murray State caused them:
"I think the fact that they had four guards was kind of a problem. Even though we've dealt with that and played different types of teams during the regular season that helped us prepare for them, but it still was a challenge for us. Ashley Hayes went off and had a really good game. Credit to her."

On only turning the ball over three times in the second half:
"We always talk about valuing the ball. We were running the floor and throwing bad passes (in the second half) and coming back out, we had to settle down and execute plays, make smarter passes and get the ball where it needed to be. I know that I was being doubled and still trying to dribble. We did a better job of controlling and valuing the ball."

Freshman guard Jasmine Thomas

On executing their press:
"I think we've always got our offense started from the press. We love to run and get easy baskets. We get a lot of energy from our press and we put it on to get some quick buckets. It worked out for us."

On grabbing nine rebounds:
"We had a little guard meeting before the game about how our guards need to step up our rebounding. That was really one area I was focusing on coming into the game."

Junior center Chante Black

On being concerned that Murray State cut the lead to five points:
"We weren't concerned. We were eager to play so we wanted to get our feet wet and pull together. We were excited to be out there and once we settled down we were able to execute plays and come out with a great victory."

Murray State Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Jody Adams

Opening Statement:
"I thought Duke did a very nice job pressing us for 40 minutes which obviously wears on a starting five that plays a lot of minutes. We have to give the credit to them (Duke) also on the boards, they did a heck of a job ... they beat the heck out of us on the boards. I want to give our team credit; you have two young ladies that have been with the program for four years when the program wasn't even on the map, wasn't a winning program at all and they turned this program into a winning program. I do want to compliment these guys for a career that has been a tough battle ... So I'm asking them not to hang their heads because we played a very good Duke team. We followed the game plan, we wanted to force them to shoot outside shots, which began to fall towards the end of the game ... We made some good runs but not good enough to hold off a good team."

On Murray State's composure especially for a first-time team being in the NCAA's:
"I have to give that credit to Shaleea (Petty) and our upper-classmen to be able to weather the storms and bring us together. We had to use some timeouts when we struggled with the press. In our huddles, they were pretty calm and they listen well. At this time they're like little sponges and wanted to know how to beat it (the press) and how to get through it."

Senior guard Shaleea Petty

On Duke's defense:
"The press is a very good press ... we had been working on it for a while but Duke is a very good team and a good defensive team and it kind of got us out of our offense a little bit. We made some good runs against it and made some decisions against it."

Senior guard Alaina Lee

On getting frustrated on missing open shots Murray State usually makes:
"It was very frustrating. I had a lot of open shots that just wouldn't fall, but we've been there before and you just have to keep shooting but it was definitely frustrating for us. We started hitting some in the second half and kind of got our rhythm back but were not going to stop shooting."

Junior guard Ashley Hayes

On having 26 points against a Top 10 team in the NCAA Tournament:
"My thoughts were just to go out and play hard, play for the seniors and give it my all."

On cutting Duke's lead to five and forcing Duke to call a timeout:
"My thoughts were, `We got them and our shots are falling,' the momentum has switched and we just need to take care of the ball, be poised and take advantage of that opportunity."