NC State WBB Quotes vs. Syracuse
NC State vs. Syracuse Postgame Quotes
W, 74-66, Jan. 23, 2025
Zoe Brooks
On gutting out the win:
I think we are very used to playing in front of a very big crowd at home and sometimes when you go away, it’s hard for us to feed off the other crowd’s energy because obviously it’s not as loud, but… we played together and found a way to win.
On the value of playing close games:
On any given night, any team can win at the end of the day. We are all Division I basketball players so anybody can win, it doesn’t matter if we are supposed to win… Whoever wants to win more is going to win the game.
Madison Hayes
On gutting out the win:
It was just big. We had to really rely on our bench and Lorena [Awou] gave really great minutes, just rebounding for us and being physical… A lot of our rolls didn’t go our way, but that’s fine. We just played through it and that was the biggest emphasis of blocking that out at halftime.
On having those big open looks from beyond the arc:
I am just trying to give more opportunities for my team. I’m just trying to help wherever I can while being aggressive. I feel like that’s what I did tonight… Just rebounding defensively, being a big even though I’m undersized, so just trying to be better on that end. There are always things to work on, but I feel like I did a good offensively.
Mindset of team coming back from behind:
We were just confident and trying to keep our team together. We just kept making sure to keep getting stops because it’s hard to win a game when you are going score to score, so just trying to get stops on their end and score on our end and that’s what we did.
Wes Moore
On the win:
I knew it was going to be a tough game. We struggle looking at scores and comparisons and you just can’t do that in this league, especially with them coming off a rough loss Sunday. I knew they would come ready to play and that [Felisha Legette-Jack] would have them ready and we came out not ready… We have a night where Saniya [Rivers] and Aziaha [James] both struggled and some other people had to step up. Zoe [Brooks] is playing at a really high level right now, her assist to turnovers, and really just anything. She’s doing a lot for us. Madison Hayes posted almost another double-double and then Lorena [Awou] came in and gave us some solid minutes. Her presence inside helped a little bit defensively because they were having their way on the block, but it just shows you that you have to be ready to play every night in this league.
On individual performances:
Zoe Brooks - on evolving into the point guard he imagined:
Yes, she is. She had six assists to one turnover tonight. Last game she had seven assists, one turnover. Her ratio right now is unbelievable... She can score on her own definitely, but she is also getting everybody else involved, which is what you want from a point guard. And then she went out and got eight boards tonight so like I said, almost had a double-double, so heck of a job.
Madison Hayes:
We ask Madison to do stuff we probably shouldn’t ask. She is having to guard on the block some, she is having to really be a contributor on the boards and then obviously she knocks down some big three-pointers for us. She does a little bit of everything and she is playing at a high level right now… We need her to keep going like this. She is maybe playing her best basketball right now.
Lorena Awou:
Her presence, she has the length and all of it to really be a factor [inside]. To be honest, we were kind of struggling at the spot and the coaches were encouraging to try her and she stepped up in a big way. We see glimpses of it. If we can get her consistent because she’s a freshman… Luckily when she got in there she did a nice job and that probably earned her some more opportunities.