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Guard Grace Townsend, Coach Courtney Banghart & center Maria Gakdeng after #UNC rolls by Coppin St.
Dec 8, 2024
Guard Grace Townsend, Coach Courtney Banghart & center Maria Gakdeng after #UNC rolls by Coppin St.
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0:00
well whenever you're in yeah you know
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it's always good when everyone on the
0:03
roster has a plus a positive plus uh
0:05
minus contribution means when they're in
0:08
they made uh good things happen um and
0:11
created an advantage uh a lot of good
0:13
things to see on the offensive end I
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know that they'll be that'll be talked
0:15
about um defensively a lot of good
0:18
things too we forced them into making
0:19
tough shots they did at times but you
0:21
know you've got 27% from the field and
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21% from three you know they're doing
0:25
their job there um there's always going
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to be things to correct we're kind of in
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the middle here getting ready to the
0:30
Grind of exams and things like that um
0:32
just fun to have a moment of of fun with
0:34
these guys that're getting better as we
0:37
go the uh three-point shooting I mean
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several games now with double digit uh
0:43
points double digit three-pointers then
0:46
there the the part of it is they could
0:48
key on Plexi last year but they can't do
0:51
it this year because there's so many how
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does that open up things for everybody
0:55
yeah I mean it's obviously really
0:56
helping Maria that she plays in a little
0:57
bit less of a crowd um but really as the
1:00
ball moves which I put a lot of emphasis
1:02
in for our lead guard Play It's the ball
1:03
moves that we're able to attack close
1:05
outs which give open shots right and
1:06
I've been saying it all along it's the
1:07
team that can shoot um over you know
1:10
when when they have great great shots
1:12
these guys generated really great shots
1:13
we can stretch the floor at multiple
1:14
positions um most of the time we have uh
1:17
four legitimate three-point shooting
1:19
threats in the game um and they're
1:21
really starting to figure out how to
1:22
find each other it's fun to
1:24
watch versus Kentucky it was he driv in
1:28
pain tonight behind the arc that to
1:30
switch it up and shoot well from all
1:31
over the court um what doors do it open
1:34
for your team yeah that's a that's a
1:35
good question because yeah exactly we
1:37
have to play to be a really really good
1:39
team which is the step this program
1:40
wants to take uh to being great is we
1:42
have to play a variety of ways and we
1:44
know that right we feel like we're built
1:46
that way um but in terms of having to
1:49
utilize the interior and the paint and
1:51
one opponent and then the next night
1:52
when they tried to Sag um and try to
1:54
take away the interior we have to be
1:56
able to move the ball east to west and
1:58
and take open shots right and and
2:00
thought Grace did a really good job
2:01
finding her Lanes um you know because we
2:04
were able to space the floor um so yeah
2:06
you've got to win a variety of ways um
2:08
and this team proved to do that back
2:10
toback which is great we got a big week
2:11
coming
2:12
up U Marie can you talk about the the
2:15
impact of so many three-point Shooters
2:18
on your ability to get open inside and
2:21
also the height Advantage you had today
2:23
yeah of course um yeah having
2:24
three-point Shooters really opens opens
2:25
up the floor and now that Liz is a
2:27
three-point shooter um we don't as much
2:30
help off of and there's not as much
2:31
doubling so I can get to um my baskets
2:34
really easily um so shout out to them um
2:37
I think it really helps as well with um
2:39
passing back out um them being able to
2:41
hit those threes is really good for us
2:44
feels like if you play more minutes you
2:45
could have really p on the points but uh
2:48
yeah good balance
2:51
M has three point shooting been an
2:53
emphasis on
2:55
practice more than usual right we just
2:57
we recruited it right um and and so that
3:00
was part of it is it has been every bit
3:02
of our Focus for Alyssa every bit of it
3:04
you know that was a a lot of time spent
3:07
on her shot in the spring and in the
3:08
summer um you guys all see Alyssa every
3:11
day every game day we get to see her
3:12
every day you know she deserves uh the
3:14
progress she's made there um we brought
3:17
in um Grace because we knew that when we
3:19
space the floor she'll be able to be
3:21
really dangerous in the paint area um as
3:23
well and then but yeah I mean we if we
3:26
we certainly do drills this year that if
3:28
we done last year we would never have
3:29
been able to finish them right um we get
3:31
through them pretty quickly now um but
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part of that as you know a lot of The
3:34
rosters new and those are the guys that
3:35
can shoot it back on OB last year team
3:38
saged on Big Time and they can't do that
3:41
this year that that's going to open up
3:43
uh driving lanes for her I'm sure for
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sure yeah and it just I mean it's hard
3:47
to recreate your shot when you're an
3:48
First Team all ACC performer right I
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mean it just says a lot to who she is
3:53
that she she knew that her staying um
3:56
and really adding that layer to her game
3:58
would be important it's easy to say that
4:00
and then to go to the beach it's easy to
4:01
say that and then to um take two days
4:04
off right that kid didn't take any days
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off and and um really let let us break
4:07
her shot down from you know from
4:10
literally from where the ball sits in
4:11
her hands um and so for every shot she's
4:14
made she's taken 10,000 other ones you
4:16
know to prepare for this opportunity um
4:19
and so she's easy to re root for um she
4:22
knew that that Maria's we think one of
4:23
the best post players in the game at any
4:25
at any at any age um and so we wanted to
4:27
give her more space uh we knew that that
4:30
Grace would be able to find Shooters and
4:31
and as well find her own finishes which
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I thought she did a good job tonight
4:35
doing um you know that it it helps our
4:38
team a lot Grace Happ been talk to you
4:40
since you transferred last summer uh
4:43
how's the transition going and and how
4:45
do you like the way this offense is is
4:48
becoming pretty pretty no yes I the
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transition has been very smooth I think
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a big part of it's like I'm not the only
4:55
new person here so being able to
4:57
communicate with the coaches with all
4:58
the players that have been here and new
4:59
players have really we've been able to
5:01
jaw together and communicate better but
5:03
also in terms of being able to know what
5:06
I came here to do like coach bankart
5:07
said find the gaps for other people but
5:09
also open lanes for myself so definitely
5:11
still growing and I'm really enjoying
5:12
the transition so far had a really nice
5:16
twisting where did that come from um I
5:19
don't know CB might have to get prop for
5:21
that one for me getting back on the back
5:23
side of that one but you you're one of
5:26
the elements that that are giving uh
5:28
coach bangart tremend the step in the
5:30
back court what what kind of weapon is
5:32
that for the team to have that many
5:34
people I think bringing in as many
5:36
guards as we have we're able to like you
5:38
said like the back court is our weapon
5:40
but also we're able to push the pace
5:41
play with more guards even if we play
5:43
small we're able to compete at every
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position so I think sometimes we play
5:47
small but also having such a deep
5:48
backward that we have we can attack we
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have multiple ball handlers people that
5:51
can take shots create shots and uh
5:53
create shots for other
5:55
people yeah and the experience right
5:57
Grace has played a lot of basketball in
5:59
college and I think she's spending some
6:00
time adjusting and and we're helping her
6:02
remember that she's here for a very very
6:05
we we you know she was the one we
6:06
targeted um and so her experience is
6:09
going to really prove valuable as we get
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into the ACC season and kind of knowing
6:12
what it's like to have to show up night
6:13
after night um you know so which is
6:16
great we knew we that Maran company
6:17
needed some other guys that have a lot
6:19
of experience because you're going to
6:20
have a lot of young guys so her and Trey
6:21
are are critical as we get into the ACC
6:24
season now and then you had the foul
6:27
quirks in the last game where you had
6:29
free throw in the first three a bu of
6:31
them and then Alyssa gets five of the 11
6:36
fouls against you yeah it's really weird
6:39
yeah you know the first one the last one
6:40
I do think that she kind of she should
6:42
have used a she should have bounced it
6:44
down or she should have used a Euro or
6:46
um but you know I say this all the time
6:48
I'm not going to worry about Alysa you
6:49
know she'll figure it out she's a a
6:51
veteran and you know if she's going to
6:53
foul out of a game like this we'll live
6:54
with it um because it's never from a
6:56
lack of effort um so I don't even
6:58
remember them I I remember when she got
6:59
her four the bench told me she had four
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and I was like you kidding me and she
7:03
said yeah I said well maybe she'll get
7:04
her fifth sure enough she
7:07
did what's your what's your big takea
7:09
away from this
7:11
game you know I I think these guys are
7:13
getting more comfortable offensively I
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know we've proven we can defend um
7:16
especially as we um really lock into the
7:19
opponent um but I think offensively you
7:22
know for Grace to play so well we needed
7:24
that right for Blanca to get key minutes
7:25
we needed that you know but just the way
7:27
that they're they're now playing more
7:28
comfortably that they're growing on the
7:30
offensive end I know a lot of being
7:32
talked about our defense and it should
7:33
be it's a really good defensive team
7:35
right and they're committed to that side
7:36
but um you have to be able to score and
7:38
March to win right and and um I feel
7:40
like we're we're getting better
7:41
offensively game to game um there
7:44
certainly you know I actually took notes
7:46
well the game was happening you know
7:48
because I think there's still some other
7:49
things that we can do um and and they'll
7:51
be ready to help us out and grow which I
7:53
which I love about this team what are
7:55
those things you still need to do well
7:56
you have to see on the floor you have to
7:57
see it in live time you have to see it
7:58
in live time
8:00
okay any other
8:03
questions great thanks everyone else