North Carolina 60, Florida State 56
BROOKE WYCKOFF: Great ACC Tournament battle between two really, really good teams. Obviously it was a rematch of sorts in the sense of it was a great battle when we played them in the regular season. So we knew it would come down to just a close game.
I'm really proud of how we battled. We started off down 11, and we battled back and had a great second quarter and made the second half really, really tight.
I want us to use this, the things that we learned in this game, what tournament basketball feels like, what it takes to win. I know our team will use this as we move forward into the NCAA Tournament.
Q. Can you speak to whether or not you think it might be offense or defense that really hurt you today? Timpson, can you speak to your confidence with defense?
BROOKE WYCKOFF: For me, it was the rebounding today. We talked about it in March; rebounding is critical. It's almost more critical than making shots. You've got to rebound.
Carolina did a really good job on the boards and were able to capitalize on it with second-chance points.
MAKAYLA TIMPSON: I would say I'm just really confident on defense. Believing able to come over and help my guards if they get beat baseline. That's what we want to do. We don't want to allow middle so they bring the defense right into my area so I just come over and block shots and be the defensive anchor that I need to be for this team.
Q. Brooke, Ta'Niya has had a great year. I don't know if she gets the credit nationally that she should. I'm curious how you've observed her handle being the top of the scouting report every night, continuing to put up the numbers. It's not an easy challenge and she's handled it all year.
BROOKE WYCKOFF: Yep. She's handled it for three years, and that's the amazing thing about Ta'Niya. It's not just what she can do as a basketball player, it's how she carries herself, it's how she handles a lot of pressure, a lot of weight on her shoulders to have to perform, and she's done it over and over and over again and has -- yeah, an entire team game planning for her.
I'm proud of how she's handled it over the three years, how she's grown every year, being able to take on more and more. This game I was just really proud of how she continued to attack and how she defended and how she rebounded. Those are major things that we need every player on our team to do those things all the time. She had five assists, two steals. She does more than just score. It takes a lot of effort.
I'm always so proud of her, and she just does it with just such poise.
Disappointed we couldn't get the win today, but I know she's going to make some big noise in March in the NCAA Tournament.
Q. Coach, this league has gotten so good at women's basketball, been so good at women's basketball. I wonder if you've seen anything from the league perspective, from other coaches, from the ADs, that's really emphasized the sport? We're obviously seeing some issues on the men's side, but I wonder what this league has done specifically to get better at women's basketball, to be really good at women's basketball?
BROOKE WYCKOFF: Yeah, I mean, I played in the ACC. I was fortunate to do that. I think it's always been -- to me, it's been my favorite and the best conference for a long, long time in women's basketball. It has a history and legacy of that.
As players have gotten better and continued to just raise the level of our game, the ACC does a great job of just putting our league and understanding the value of it.
Yes, ACC men's basketball is a big deal, but everything that I've ever felt just from the league office and certainly the teams throughout the conference, we know -- we're here. We have a really great product.
It's on each individual program to be excellent and to carry that banner, and it's on the league office to just push us forward, and I think they've done that.
I love how we represent ACC basketball. I love the competition, the history of it, and I love how we represent just nationally.
Q. Ta'Niya, sort of similar to what I asked Coach, how have you managed the challenge every night of everybody expecting your best and giving you their best, and you continue to perform?
TA'NIYA LATSON: Just staying in the gym, being confident, keeping God first, and allowing my teammates to be themselves and get my teammates involved, but also just knowing that I'm one of the best guards in the country.
That's just how I have to approach every game. I set goals for myself, and Coach Brooke challenges me on both ends of the floor. I have a job to do, and I know my teammates need that.
Q. You sound like you've handled it pretty well. Has it been difficult to do that, and do you think you get enough credit, or do you even allow yourself to look at that?
TA'NIYA LATSON: It has been difficult throughout the season, but Coach always talks to us about responding, and just like this game, it was a tough loss, but we have to respond in the tournament. I feel like we can put up a good fight in the tournament.
Like I said, I'm just trying to be confident for my teammates. I feel like I do deserve more recognition nationally, but that's going to come. I can't focus on that. I have to focus on the next game and focus on what my teammates need from me and to continue to get better.
Q. Coach, you kind of mentioned on Monday you knew short of winning it all you probably weren't hosting, but is it kind of nice to get a really good game in and kind of get a break before you figure out where you're going?
BROOKE WYCKOFF: Yeah, that's what I was telling the team after the game is that we've done so much great work in the regular season to set ourselves up for, I think, a nice seed in the tournament and a great matchup wherever we go.
Yeah, we get a chance to regroup, refresh, and come back with renewed energy and hope and belief and ready to make a tournament run.
Q. For the players, does this give you something to work on, having a really good game going into the tournament? Anything specific you want to work on in the next two-ish weeks?
MAKAYLA TIMPSON: I would say just finishing plays. They had a lot of second chance points, so when we guarded their first action they went to their second and third and they got a lot of points on us because of that.
But just finishing those plays and getting those rebounds that we need and just being aggressive, I would say that's a big adjustment that we need to make going into our next game.
TA'NIYA LATSON: I would say another adjustment we need to make is just responding quicker. This was a good team. We were up at half and they came and made a run. We knew they were going to make a run, but we had to be poised and hit those lay-ups.
We missed a couple of them around the rim. But just playing strong and responding quicker will help us going into the tournament.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports