NC State
Moore: I'm really proud of the way we were resilient
NC State women's basketball coach, Wes Moore talks about how proud he is of the Wolfpack as they defeated #2 UConn 92-81 on Sunday.
Yeah, just really proud of, uh, the way we were, you know, resilient, um, been real easy over there when you fall down to give up 25 points in the first quarter against a great team like that had been real easy to say. Oh, wow, we're just, you know, overwhelmed here. But, uh, uh they just kept their composure, kept their focus and kept fighting. Um I think we gave up maybe about 13 points off turnovers in the first quarter and 16 in the first half. And we talked about how we had to take care of the ball and limit mistakes because when you make a mistake against them, they turn it into buckets and, uh second half, I think they only got two points off turnovers. So that was a big, big step as well. And then rebounding again, I've always said rebound is the most important part of the game and uh to out rebound that team by, I don't know, 1112, whatever it was. Uh, it was pretty impressive. So, but again, I can't say enough about both of these young ladies. They worked their butts off all summer, all fall and you know, Isaiah had the big game the other night, so I had the big game tonight, uh really proud of them and glad to see them be rewarded for, for all their time and work with questions. Coach earlier this week, you said that you can expose some of your weaknesses. But today, what strength did it expose? Well, like I said, mostly resiliency and, and, you know, in the past, we might, would have hung our heads a little bit when things didn't go well. Um And today we just kept battling and, uh so I think that's probably one of the biggest things. And, uh, you know, again, it's still, still got a long way to go, you know, and I knew going into this game it wasn't gonna break, make or break our season. Uh But obviously it's a great win to have on your resume and, uh it also should breed a lot of confidence. And, um, again, we watched the film, maybe I'll be able to answer that question a little bit better. Today was, you know, your second college game and you're playing the number two team in the country and, and, uh, you know, you kind of get thrown out there. So we had to at times, pick our places and, and let them get their feet wet in the water a little bit and then get them out. But, uh yeah, you know, we're gonna need them. It's a long season and, uh, we're gonna need more depth than we showed today and, and I've got confidence that, you know, those freshmen can handle that. Uh, especially as they get a little more time, uh, on the court coming into that third quarter. Um, I know you guys are down by two, but then you guys came out really aggressive and tried to attack the paint. Was that a focus to try to attack and be more aggressive and get them in foul trouble early? No doubt, you know, we felt like these two especially are really explosive off the bounce and, uh we knew they had picked up some fouls. So we definitely wanted to try to, you know, keep testing them, keep attacking them, uh create shots for yourself or, or obviously for your teammates. Uh You know, so again, that was definitely a point of emphasis and they did a great job with it we've talked about the four hour and can you talk about like two of their best perform that I've seen for a while? Yeah, you know, again, both of them are, you know, they're getting an io money and social security. I mean, both of them are like 26 years old or whatever. So, uh you know, we, we need them to be leaders and to step up and play well, uh in, in games like this really, in every game, you know, I don't want, again, I don't want this to be the peak of the season. Ok. This is a great win, but we still, this is a starting point. We got a long way to go. Uh But those two have a lot of experience, they played in a lot of big games, uh and they're talented. Uh We need them to continue to step up and give us balance because again, you know, these two can't do it by themselves every night and we're gonna have to have some other people step up and take some, some of the scoring on and things like that. But yeah, I thought defensively and on the boards, thought on the boards, they did a really good job tonight and we needed that. Where does this rank in terms of how loud you? Yeah. Now that was, yeah, I can do that if people ask me, how does this game compare to this game or that game? I don't really like doing that a lot, but I tell you what, uh I'm, I'm already deaf and now this didn't help any. So uh we may be doing sign language uh for me now. But uh yeah, it was, it was deafening out there and uh no doubt it, it played a big role in the game. It's, it's hard when you're on the road trying to communicate and you've got that kind of uh presence. So thanks to, to the Wolfpack Nation on that though, you obviously your, none of your players were in Bridgeport, you're kind of the last one standing from that uconn game is there? Oh, sorry, we got one or one. Maybe the only one, the only one Madison that's played in that game, I think is more accurate. Um, is there any measure of satisfaction all these years later of getting to play uconn in front of a non hospital crowd and winning? Yeah. No, I mean, again, that game will haunt me forever. You know, I think back the last possession of regulation, I, I probably could have done a better job. We might, could have won that game and gone to the final four. So nothing's ever gonna replace that. Uh And this is a new team and so, you know, this stands alone. I mean, it was a great win against the number two team in the country. They got three players that are top 15 in the country according to ESPN, they got a Hall of Fame coach down there on the other end. Uh So again, this is, this just the satisfaction of winning this game this year is, is, you know, enough, you know, I had confidence coming in, uh in this group. And, um, you know, we here at NC State, we got the same goals every year. I mean, we're trying to compete for an AC C championship. We're trying to get to a final four and it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks or says we've got to believe that or, or we're already beat. And so, you know, I have confidence in them and, uh, you know, today only adds to that, you know, it should make them feel like, hey, we can beat anybody in the country. And I told them that going in at shoot around today, I said, I really believe we can beat anybody in the country on this court. And, uh, you know, it's a great home court advantage. It's a fun place, fun, fun venue. And so, uh, you know, again, long way to go though, we had some big wins last year and we didn't, didn't finish it off. So we gotta make sure we're just, we're a better team in March than we are right now. You know, probably could have, should have got her in sooner maybe. But, uh, we were holding a lead and, uh, you know, in the first half, we were digging a hole and so I gambled and put her in and then we had sai at the score table when she picked up her third foul. You know, I thought we've gotten away with it and I've been able to steal a few minutes and get her back out. But, you know, uh, again, part of that is having confidence in Zoe that she could do do. Well, uh, obviously we'd rather have, you know, a veteran out there like a ziah and, and all that as much as possible. But with us holding the lead. I just, you know, decided, hey, let's keep her out here as long as we can and then she can play free and doesn't have to worry about picking up another foul. And, uh, but, yeah, I mean, again, she handled it really well after that, the second half didn't, didn't pick up another one. And, uh, so again, just having confidence that she could, we could in the team that we could hold on and then in her that, you know, she'd be smart when she got back out there and, and handled it well. What is it about Zoe? Yeah, I mean, she's one thing, she's super quick with the ball in her hands and so she can create her own shot, she can create shots for her teammates. And again, I think confidence, you know, that I tell every kid we recruit and freshman, whatever. I just tell them the, the hardest part is in high school. You were it, you were the best player on the court and now you come here and there's, you know, 10 or 11 really good players on the court and you may have to sit some and then you gotta have the confidence to know when I get back in there. I'm gonna show coach that I should be out there and uh he's always got that confidence that swag if you wanna call it that. Um and again, we, we gotta have it. I mean, uh you know, these three veterans can't play 40 minutes. So we gotta have that rotation and, and when she goes in there, I got a lot of confidence in her.