Nov. 17, 2004

Recap | Final Stats

Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

On Charel Allen’s strong play… “She’s really come a long way. When we came in for individual workouts, she wasn’t used to playing man-to-man. Originally we planned to have Breona [Gray] guard Monique Currie, and she did a little bit, but Charel really shut her down.”

On the team’s aggressive play… “I thought the referees did a good job. They were very consistent, and now we know how it’s going to be. They’re going to let you play. Megan [Duffy] did a really good job of protecting the ball. She was getting bumped a little bit, but she can handle it. She’s that kind of player.”

On Jacqueline Batteast’s foul trouble… “Jackie had three fouls, and she knew she couldn’t get another one. I thought she played with a lot of intelligence from that point on. Duke was making a run, and we wanted our best players in there.”

Notre Dame junior guard Megan Duffy

On the intensity of the game… “Both teams were having a good time out there. There was so much emotion and excitement playing with so many fans behind us. It was intense and it got heated at times, but that’s a tribute to our team for sticking in there.”

Notre Dame senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast

On her style of play… “I think this was the most excited I’ve been in a game. It’s the most I’ve ever yelled or pumped my fist.”

Notre Dame freshman guard Charel Allen

On adjusting to man-to-man defense… “In high school, I didn’t play man-to-man, only zone. So coming in here, I had to adjust to watching the player’s number instead of the ball.”

On her offensive play… “My coaches kept telling me to shoot more. They yelled at me last game because I didn’t do it enough. So today, when I had an open shot, I took it. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and my coaches, though. I credit them.”

Duke Head Coach Gail Goestenkors

On the game… “They really wore us down and played smart at the end of the game. It was a tough game for us but we’ll definitely learn from it and get better. I’m glad we’re playing again on Friday [against Penn State] because we’ll see what we’re made of.”

On Notre Dame senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast… “She was in foul trouble for a good part of the game, so when she came back she was very rested and very determined. We were fatigued at that point and she took advantage. Our double teams didn’t come quick enough and she did a good job to beat them.”

On Notre Dame freshman guard Charel Allen “She killed us. We weren’t planning on the two big threes she hit and she really caused us some problems.”

Duke senior forward Monique Currie

On her frustration during the game… “I think we made a lot of mistakes toward the end. We played pretty well for the first half but then we didn’t have the same intensity when we came out in the second half. It was a little frustrating trying to get things going.”

On playing nearly the entire game… “There may have been a few times I didn’t crash the boards because of fatigue, but I felt good for the most part. Some of the small things get away from you sometimes when you’re tired.”