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UNC guards Grace Townsend and Reniya Kelly and Coach Courtney Banghart after win over N.C. State
Feb 16, 2025
UNC guards Grace Townsend and Reniya Kelly and Coach Courtney Banghart after win over N.C. State
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0:02
all
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right how how great is is this for
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college basketball um two great fan
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bases that came and sold out a sold out
0:11
the gym um cheered hard for their teams
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um and these guys on both sides gave
0:16
them everything that ticket is worth and
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more um and so you know I know there's a
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lot of good basketball right now in the
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Triangle we're just glad to be part of
0:24
it it's a really good team those guards
0:26
are tough we know that the development
0:28
of their postgame has gotten better made
0:30
them even better um and it was just who
0:32
could make one more play uh and we did
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so uh two good teams are you know we
0:38
might get another shot at each other in
0:39
the tournament we'll see um but we're
0:40
certainly thrilled to have Come Away
0:41
with a victory today what can you tell
0:43
us about Alyssa I haven't even seen her
0:45
literally have not even seen her face so
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I I don't know know
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nothing Grace you you hadn't I think you
0:52
were shooting 64% in the line going into
0:55
today and you hadn't gotten there a ton
0:56
kind of what was your mindset going
0:58
through your mind in those seconds
1:00
before you took those last two I mean
1:02
not much was going through my mind I
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think out of all the free thr I taken
1:05
those were the ones I was most calm
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surprisingly but but no um it just I was
1:10
trusting just thinking about two
1:12
dribbles and I shoot my shot every time
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I know my teammates had trusted me my
1:15
coaches had trust to me this is just
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time to knock him down why were those
1:20
free that's a great
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question no I I don't know maybe like
1:24
cuz the crowd was loud too so maybe that
1:26
helped but no I justed myself the
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crowd big big Big Shots yeah what what's
1:32
what what was the final play that that
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was did that draw by Grace what what
1:36
were you looking for there I wanted to
1:38
put it in her hands and get herself to
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the room and the ref is right near me so
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if I felt like I didn't like the look I
1:43
had a timeout to go to go um but I told
1:46
her just just attack I will you play I
1:49
will call it if I need it right um and
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she got herself all the way to the room
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it's just a a senior doing what what
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we've done this you know what we've done
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this whole time is we just need people
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to step up and make a play and and she
2:00
did that got herself to the free throw
2:02
line and then stepped up and made both I
2:03
mean that's uh but we wanted r on one
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side kind of use her as a decoy and and
2:08
and get it to Grace and let her run up
2:10
the sideline and then the defense on
2:11
their final play yeah so we came out in
2:14
zone he called timeout so then we came
2:16
out and man until um until the ref
2:18
handed them the ball went back Zone um
2:20
because I've you guys might remember
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last year or Zia went left and got that
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Lefty lay up to beat us right and so I
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wasn't giving that up I don't know what
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I was going to give up but I wasn't
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giving that up right she's too good a
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player hard to stay in front um so we
2:34
wanted to have just bodies already
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stationary you talked about needing
2:37
players to step up how big was ly Grant
2:39
both offensively and defensively just
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that fourth quarter stretch yeah I mean
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all of them I mean I think like we got
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just enough I mean tre's first game back
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I know her I know she didn't shoot it as
2:48
well as she can but she gives you 11
2:50
minutes I mean you got um you know
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Blanca was able to go in and provide
2:53
value and you know obviously what
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Laney's fearlessness and has really
2:57
stayed locked in throughout her journey
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Grace with huge
3:00
um I would have thought she played more
3:01
minutes so that's how big you were um
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you know like I said we just got just
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enough from everybody what were of the
3:08
challenges when you lose Alysa after two
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and a half minutes I mean you went many
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different lineups I haven't seen nor me
3:13
you know one of the one of the things
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that was hard about losing Alyssa is I
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didn't know what happened and I still
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don't right so I didn't know if she was
3:19
coming back second quarter that we just
3:20
need to um and so then they said at
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halftime like no she's out for the game
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and then then I knew at least um but you
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know we haven't alysa's been here for 5
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years right so she's played a lot of I
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don't really play a lot of possessions
3:33
without Alysa usby right and so if we
3:35
didn't have her we would have practiced
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something perhaps that would be relevant
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to not having Alysa usby because she's
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your Rim Runner she's your rebound
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cleanup she's your um she's your kind of
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she's your heart and soul in a lot of
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ways right and so yeah when she went out
3:49
it was like okay so now we don't have
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her but then you look around at who you
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have and that's why you build a team and
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it's why um you know I did say at one
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point Alyssa wants nothing more than you
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to win this game whether she's playing
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or not um and they found a way R you hit
4:02
some big shots early you hit some big
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shots late um you know I know last year
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you didn't get to play in this game here
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at carmichel uh what got into you today
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I mean obviously it's a rivalry I think
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we hate state so I mean I had to come
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out and play my best and my hardest and
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I think you know salute to my teammates
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I really love them and I wanted to play
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hard for them and I think that's what I
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did especially Lysa since she wasn't
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playing with us so that's why I did it
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for tonight C was it speak to the the
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resilience of this to I mean you lose
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Alissa obviously you're trailing you
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come back you're down six with a minute
4:35
50 exactly how does the flows seems
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resilience that I mean that the how
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resilient they are is is not something
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you draw up on the board right it's talk
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about bringing rocks to rock fights
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right and um you know had you told me
4:49
that Alyssa would be out and the India
4:51
would foul out and at Lany would sprain
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I mean Lexi would sprain her ankle and
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we'd still win I I would have been
4:56
surprised right um and so with a lot
4:59
going against
5:00
they just kept going and I give a lot of
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credit these guys have the ball in their
5:03
hands a lot and you know you teams take
5:05
on their personality of their point
5:07
guards and their coach right um and you
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know there's a resilient there's a
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resilience to these two that that
5:12
they're really shed on to the team R
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what was the talk among the team when
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you know you're going to be without
5:18
Alissa and and just rally I didn't even
5:21
know she was like not coming back right
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but you get here on the floor yeah so
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I'm like we have to rebound she's like a
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rebounding machine no so I was like wait
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why we not rebounding the ball cuz
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Alyssa's not in so I just it was just a
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realization that like she's a big part
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of why we win games like she gets so
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many rebounds and she plays so hard and
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we missed her like dearly and we aren't
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going to miss her so yeah Grace what did
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you see when you coming down the court
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and that possession where you attack the
5:48
rim and what was your thought process
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there I know the crossover move I what
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were you trying to get out of that play
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so she told me Dri up the sideline I
5:55
dried up the sideline and I stopped for
5:58
a second for a second she said go and I
6:00
took off one again that was my thought
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process I saw I went down I saw um I
6:05
forgot her number but I saw her in the
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paint but she wasn't helping and I
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stopped for one second and I heard
6:09
bangart say go and I went again that was
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my thought process did you ever look to
6:13
pass or do you know at what point at
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what point did you know you were taking
6:16
all the way to the room oh when I got to
6:18
like when I got when I took my second
6:20
dribble after the hesi I knew like I
6:22
there was no I was not a smart decision
6:23
to pass it and what about after you a
6:26
two free throws what was going through
6:27
your head at that time so awesome it was
6:29
like did you hear it it was insane but
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no but also when you made the first one
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I was like guys don't make it sound like
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it's such a big deal no I was like no
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overtime that's what I was think after
6:39
the first one I can't go another five
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after the first one that's what I
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thought too but then second one's like
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there's still 5 Seconds when need to
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stop but yeah it was fun it was a good
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environment Coury usually when you lose
6:51
the rebounding about 20 that's usually
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not a game you win but I was thinking
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about you know West just said he thinks
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this is the best defensive team you guys
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had here um do do you feel the same way
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that that feels like that was probably
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the key for the game defense yeah this
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team is is is really good defensively
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and I I hate to say it I just think we
7:09
can be better defensively I thought
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there were uh some possessions where we
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allowed them to be on Islands our tags
7:15
were uh anyway um but yes this is a um a
7:19
really solid defensive team and that's
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without Alyssa don't forget and this is
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bringing back a final four a final four
7:24
team who brought back most of their
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offense um and so Alyssa is such an
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elite Defender and she lets you switch
7:29
everything that typically she um is
7:32
partly why we're so good defensively so
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we learned a lot about our team tonight
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I think they learned a lot about
7:37
themselves and they learned a lot about
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us um but I see their the like on Friday
7:42
when did we play Thursday and we came
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out on Friday and these guys they defend
7:46
it in practice like they just they are
7:48
so you know I have to basically our
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sport performance team tells me when to
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when to stop because they won't stop on
7:54
their own right um but yeah this
7:56
defensive effort against a team like
7:57
this this is I mean this team's a top 10
7:59
for a reason it was pretty
8:02
remarkable Duke is a good defensive team
8:05
and state scor more than 80 points on
8:06
them yeah H how do you putp them down to
8:09
scoring in the 60s uh yeah I mean part
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of it is is that they just got out in
8:13
transition against Duke the entire time
8:15
I made it really simple like we have to
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take away their transition and make them
8:19
play against our quarter Court have to
8:20
have to have to have to have to a
8:22
thousand times and then that was
8:24
basically the key to the game that that
8:26
we cannot allow them to go out and
8:27
transition and make them play against
8:29
our set defense I trust our set defense
8:31
I trust our coverages we were willing to
8:33
switch around we were willing to trap at
8:34
times um and they're fun to coaches I
8:37
can say hey 10 this is what I want this
8:38
possession hey hey Grace and then they
8:40
can get the team to change on the Fly um
8:43
but we took away her transition quite
8:45
honestly and that how I don't I think
8:48
probably straight effort um because I
8:50
wouldn't say we scored it as much either
8:52
um you know but our bigs got back and
8:55
protected the rim um Lexi's effort these
8:57
guys' effort they just they don't jog
8:59
they just don't jog and when you watch
9:01
Back Games there there is jogging and
9:03
those jogging possessions cost you games
9:05
these guys are just not
9:06
joggers coach you elected for that
9:08
bigger line of at times with Blanca
9:10
Maria what was the rationale with that
9:12
and also just your preparation for this
9:13
game with State being you know the
9:15
nation's leader in fouls per game yeah
9:17
well partly we um India got in such foul
9:20
trouble so we had to go to the next
9:22
option right um and so we went big um to
9:25
give India some rest and to let some
9:27
time go off the clock and also to secure
9:28
the rebound which we did did a pretty
9:30
good job of that um so that was good um
9:34
and then the fouls meaning they don't
9:36
foul that you're asking no they do foul
9:39
oh that state fouls they leave the
9:41
nation fouls per game no I think it's
9:44
the opposite yeah yeah yeah so they
9:47
don't foul yeah I felt like we played
9:50
off too you know that was an environment
9:53
that yeah I thought I thought there were
9:54
some times that we didn't get the
9:56
whistle when I thought we could have had
9:57
it right um but they don't give you
9:59
points at the paint they don't give you
10:00
free throws they just don't um and so
10:02
the fact that we even took 13 is or how
10:04
many we take 16 is pretty
10:07
remarkable uh you had 6,300 fans here
10:10
today A whole lot um you know top 16
10:13
reveal came out today it's probably too
10:14
early to to thing about this but is
10:17
there are you thinking about what this
10:18
building will be like if you goaa
10:20
tournament games here I did say which I
10:23
don't usually I told them before um the
10:25
game that no matter what happens in
10:27
these next two hours please take a
10:28
moment MH just to look around at what
10:31
you've earned right this is an
10:32
environment that's really special there
10:34
are people from some of the biggest
10:36
owners in at the school are changing
10:38
their plans to be at our women's
10:39
basketball games um and and so I wanted
10:42
them all because I've learned that I
10:44
don't do that enough and so I did the
10:46
same thing I just took a minute to be
10:47
like okay and I get the whole Anthem to
10:49
do that right um and then you know these
10:52
guys the lines I mean this is a place
10:54
that just like State and just like Duke
10:56
I mean this is there's a reason these
10:57
teams are good this is a place where BAS
10:59
is adored um and if you're if I don't
11:02
care that we're all so close if the
11:03
teams are good enough to host they
11:04
should host you know if we're all trying
11:06
to save money great ESPN can just send
11:08
one crew down and they can do all the
11:12
games but yeah the crowd was awesome you
11:15
saw my kids and their friends all
11:16
wearing their the they saw all you guys
11:18
wear those stupid overalls so they
11:20
wanted them um so it's just fun these
11:23
guys are really getting into this team
11:25
it's fun R you seem to take control why
11:28
you had the first eight points and
11:30
really went off for a really good start
11:33
how important was that for you to really
11:35
take charge I'm I'm just going to say if
11:37
your hands are down like in my face I'm
11:39
going to shoot the ball and I think Zoe
11:41
Brooks was guarding me her hands were
11:42
down I just shot the ball so I think I
11:44
was just taking what she was giving me
11:46
honestly and they they they played you
11:48
more tightly in the second half did yes
11:50
they put Sia rivers on me which she had
11:52
length but I don't really think that
11:54
disrupted me either so she's so good at
11:57
at finding separation and then she's so
12:00
Shifty I asked the practice guys who's
12:01
the hardest kid to guard um and they
12:03
said Ria she's so Shifty so if you get
12:06
close enough then she does the next
12:08
thing right she's so fast she's so
12:10
Shifty I guess pick your
12:12
poison great when when you were told the
12:15
timeout that you would be the player to
12:17
get the ball on the last play what were
12:19
your thoughts if you ever been in a
12:21
situation like that and if you ever hit
12:22
free thrs as big as that my thought was
12:25
I just got to go that was my only
12:27
thought I mean like 11 seconds but the
12:29
day I had to go I couldn't be passive
12:31
and pass up a shot and but I think I've
12:33
I've been in the situation before this
12:34
is my fifth year playing so I was
12:36
confident in myself but no my only
12:38
thought was it was time to go yeah Lexi
12:40
hit that big one to win one you hit that
12:42
big one to win one you Alyssa just does
12:46
Alyssa any other
12:48
questions great thanks boom
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