NC State women’s basketball is moving on to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The win that punched the Wolfpack’s ticket to the next round was over the Lady Vols, 76-61.
After the game, NC State head coach Wes Moore met with the media. He was asked about injuries, defeating Tennessee’s press and more.
Here’s what he said.
More From RTI: Three Quick Takeaways: Lady Vols Basketball’s Season Ends With Eight Straight Losses
WES MOORE: Yeah, I’m just real proud of this team. Especially when Zoe goes out, we’re a little shorthanded. Zam played about the whole game here and Khamil out there on a busted foot and she’s playing tough.
We got the match-ups on the bracket, Tennessee pops up. We had already played them once this year so we knew it was going to be a heck of a battle. So, again, proud of our group for finding a way to get it done. I thought we handled the press decently. We still turned it over some, but I thought we handled it pretty well. That’s the biggest thing when you play them.
Didn’t quite keep them off the boards. That’s another challenge when you’re playing them. Other than that, I thought our players stepped up, showed some toughness and we knew that’s what it would take.
Q. Coach, can you tell us a little bit more about Brooks’ injury? Was it a knee? Is it a serious situation?
WES MOORE: No, it’s a foot situation and don’t really know any more than that. But obviously she was in some pain or I’m sure she would have been out there. Hopefully we can get her back, but at this point, all I know it was a foot, which is better than a knee.
Q. You switched to a zone defense and it looked like the Lady Vols had never seen that before. My words, not yours, obviously. I’m so curious from your vantage point, what did you see your girls do really, really well in that moment?
WES MOORE: Yeah, we’ve been playing more zone, probably, than I ever have in my year this year and then in watching — we watched, obviously, a lot of games and there were several teams down the stretch that played zone against them. We felt like we needed to have that, especially Cooper. We had no answer for her. She just killed us. I think at halftime she had 14 of their 29 points.
But I thought we did a pretty good job of getting to the shooters that were out there. That’s a big thing right there. We tried to stress — a lot of times they had two or three people out there that were pretty good three-point shooters and I thought we did a good job of getting to them.
The tough part in a zone is rebounding and we gave up way too many offensive boards. We were fortunate that that didn’t end up costing us, but, yeah, again. I’m pleased with the way we handled it and I thought it was good to us.
Q. Coach, obviously a super efficient night for your girls tonight on offense. What did you see that allowed them to shoot at that clip?
WES MOORE: Yeah, of course, Zam obviously was hot and did a great job getting downhill, getting to the rim. And then Khamil, again, on the boards and being able to get a few buckets, posting up of off the roll.
Again, a lot of it, too, probably came off the press. I would have to see the film but it seemed like we scored a lot on the back of the press. I’m a big advocate of people are going to press, you’ve got to make them pay. You can’t just get it across half-court and tuck it under your arm. You got to make them pay. I thought we did a good job of that and that’s where our guards made good decisions and knew when to give it up. I think that was probably a big thing.
Like I said, we had 16 turnovers. That’s a lot, but when you’re facing full-court press the entire game, that’s probably not the worst stat in the world.
Q. Janiah Barker not playing, did that change anything about what you wanted to do or how you were planning to attack Tennessee in any way?
WES MOORE: It definitely made a difference. I’ll be honest, I didn’t find out until probably 30 minutes before tip. I probably should have found out before then, but she was someone that we definitely wanted, Cooper and her were two people we wanted to give attention and help in the gaps and that sort of thing. She’s, you know, a great offensive rebounder. She knocks down threes. So, yeah, there’s no doubt it made a difference.
At the same time, next man up. They got a lot of talent over there so they’ve got people that can step in and do a nice job. But really, it didn’t change our game plan much. It probably did when we were out there defending and we’re not having to cheat to her and we can maybe concentrate on Cooper a little bit more and give her 24 points, but, yeah, definitely made a difference in how you defend.
Q. You mentioned Zoe’s injury. What did you like about the response from your team when she went out? It didn’t seem like they panicked or anything. They were calm, collected, able to extend the lead. What did you like in that response from them?
WES MOORE: Yeah, again, everybody else stepped up and it’s already been mentioned. I thought Ky’ She did a great job. She’s the one who had to step in and take over that role. When you’re a freshman and you’re seeing the press. I mean, she did solid. Two assists, two turnovers. Not too bad when you’re bringing up against the press and as was mentioned, she was able to knock down some big free throws for us, four for four. Had three steals. Did a great job.
Now, again, Zoe is a special player so that’s a big blow to have her go out of the game, but I was proud of the way our players handled that and had other people step up.
Q. I know it’s super fresh and y’all haven’t been able to do, like, a ton of evaluation, but have you been able to see Zoe since y’all came off the court and kind of how she’s feeling?
WES MOORE: Not really. Again, they took her in when she got hurt. When I went out on the court, of course she was trying to be tough and saying I’m okay, but then I didn’t see her the rest of the game, so that’s not good. But I’ve been told, again, it’s a foot and they’re trying to treat it as well as they can and we’ll see. I have no idea how severe it is. But obviously she’s an important part of what we do.
Hopefully my Johnson Bible College education and my direct prayer line will come in handy tonight.
Q. I wanted to ask you as well about Qadence Samuels and her performance today. 12 points, four of five shooting in this game but also two steals and really good lockdown defense several times when you guys absolutely needed it. How big was her performance today?
WES MOORE: Yeah, when you brought it up, I just looked at the stat line here. She had a heck of a night, didn’t she? So, again, probably should have bragged on her in the locker room a little bit. But, yeah, again, we had her guarding Cooper, which, again, Cooper still got her points but that’s a big responsibility to chase her around all night.
And then, like I said, be able to get five boards. That was a big help. Obviously five defensive boards was second most on our team, so those were all really important. So, yeah, and four out of five, pretty nice.
So, again, when she plays well, it makes a big difference for us. And with Zoe being out, for her to step up and give us that extra boost at the guard on the perimeter was a big plus.
Q. Looking back at the game today, what are some things that you’d evaluate your team did well and what do you hope you can clean up a little more come Sunday?
WES MOORE: Yeah, obviously I haven’t seen the film yet and usually when I speak before seeing it, I end up having some regrets. Yeah, again, you start with the defensive rebounding.
I’m sure Michigan’s going to look at this and say, hey, we got to get to the boards. Michigan shoots the ball unbelievably well. My assistants have worked on them. I haven’t really seen a lot of film. I did see on TV their game with Connecticut earlier in the year when they had a chance to win that game, so I know how capable they are.
Also, I know they press some as well so we’ve got to be able to handle that. But, you know, again, right now I’m proud of our team. We’ve had our ups and downs this year. It’s been bumpy at times. But when you play in a great conference like the ACC — it kills me when the committee starts talking about your last ten games. If everybody is playing the same last ten opponents, that’s great. Let’s use that. But when you got to go on the road to Notre Dame, Duke, whoever, it’s tough. I feel like we’ve been tested and we’ll look forward to the opportunity. I’m excited about the opportunity for sure.
More to follow: March Madness betting lines
