University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: UT 97, Penn 52
November 14, 2014 | Women's Basketball
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Tennessee Head Coach Holly Warlick
(Opening Statement)
"I'm just extremely proud of our team. We had a game plan and I think they stuck to it. You have eight turnovers in 40 minutes and we rejoice over that. 27 assists, (Alexa) Middleton had 11, setting a record for a freshman in her first game. I told her that if I had known, I would've gotten her out because she probably broke one of my records, so I'll be sure to keep up with that next time. Overall, freshmen scored in double figures and they didn't have a turnover, so they're growing up and they had to grow up in a hurry. Nia (Moore) had another solid performance and you're seeing the result of somebody that has put in the time (and) had to come off the bench, play with two or three minutes to go. She hung in there, had extra shots with Dean (Lockwood), I can't say how proud I am of her.
(On the positive taken with four players suspended)
It's been positive. You choose to do things and you don't play and you give somebody an opportunity to step up and everybody's stepped out. When Jasmine (Jones) went down or Izzy (Harrison) went out, we had six and never missed a beat. This has been a positive thing for these ladies who hadn't played a lot. We get two (Ariel Massengale and Andraya Carter) back on Monday and they have their work cut out for them because these young ladies have set a standard and I'm extremely impressed with them.
(On the injury status of Jasmine Jones and Izzy Harrison)
Jasmine got hit in the head and the girl rolled in on Izzy and I think they're evaluating her, so we'll find out tonight and in the morning.
(On Nia's multiple amazing performances)
Nia, you got to get more than 24 points (next time). She just goes out plays the game and she plays it hard and that's what I love about her. Her expectations for herself are to just go out and play as hard as she can and I think that's what she's doing right now.
(On Kortney Dunbar making shots)
I think she thought the world was going to end because she didn't make a three in an exhibition game. My thing with Kortney is that she's a scorer; she's going to get her points, but what is she going to do on the defensive end and that's what we've tried to emphasize with her. I thought tonight she was solid on the defensive end and I think that gave her an opportunity to relax and play a role on the offensive end.
(On what the difference was during the first half)
We talked a lot about rebounding and we pressed a lot in the first half. We made them take a quick shot and then we wouldn't continue to pursue the ball and rebound. I thought in the first half they got a lot of second half shots. That was our emphasis at halftime: no second-chance points, box them out and give them one shot. We kept having to rotate our defense too much. I thought we attacked their 2-2-1 press defense in the second half and we got some easy looks. They're going to. A team is going to come out the first ten minutes and give it their best, but I think we wore them down and that's what we do. We're in great shape now. Our practices are pretty long and intense and competitive. We just try to outwork you and outrun you and that's why we run the drills that we do. I think it showed in the second half.
(On Adjustments during game)
"We started switching a little bit more and got them to talk a little bit more. We recognized a little bit of their patterns and talked about it in time outs. I think, for us, communication is just a key for us. I told them if you get hung up just switch. I thought they did a great job and we settled in and kept them in front of them giving them one shot. We had nine blocked shots and that's okay but I want us to come over and help on the weak side and I would love to have seen a couple of charges but that's just me."
(On Nia Moore's confidence)
"I think Nia is successful because she keeps it simple. She does all her work before the ball gets there. When you do the work before the ball gets there then it's a simple shot. I think that's what Nia does. She goes to work, she doesn't wait until the ball comes to her. She makes her move really before the ball gets there and I think if she continues to do that then she is going to shoot a high percentage shot."
(On new branding initiatives at UT)
"See, I don't know why there is a negative talk to us. Our logo has not changed. I don't get it. We are the same logo. The Lady Vols--and I don't care what anybody says--the Lady Vol logo is about tradition, and if you haven't played that and been around that, you don't understand. But, you will understand if you've played it and been through it. It's not a demeanor towards women. I went in and told our team we were keeping the Lady Vol logo. They cheered like they won a championship. So, I don't know what the big fuss is about us with the logo because it is us. That is what we are, that is who we are, that is our brand. Like it or not, that is who we are. As long as I'm here, it is not changing. I don't understand why people are upset. You can be upset if you think it's demeaning towards women. That's your choice. But, that logo means championships. It means history. It means strength. It means competitiveness, relentless. It's taken a lot of people to build that brand, and I'm very thankful that Dave Hart never even came to me and said anything about changing that logo, and had he done that, I probably wouldn't have been very happy. It's our signature, it's what we go by, it's what we stand by, and it may not be the name for the times, but you know what, it's our name, and that's what we're going to stand by."
Tennessee Junior Forward Bashaara Graves
(On Season Start)
"It's a new season. I'm know I didn't have the season I wanted to have last year but it's a new season and this was a great start for me. I just want to continue to be consistent just like this."
(On Nia Moore)
"Nia is just a monster. She's just been going to work every day. In practice, she's proven that she wants to be out here and she's getting the chance and making the most of it and you can tell. I'm just so proud of her and we just want her to keep it going because we know she can do it."
(On change of play between first and second half)
"I think we just started pushing the ball and playing better defense than we started out on. I think that helped us. We got a couple of steals back to back and that definitely pushed the tempo. We had better ball pressure and we were denying a lot more from the get go."
Tennessee Freshman Guard Alexa Middleton
(On Kortney Dunbar)
"It's always great when someone knocks down threes like that in big moments and big plays. She was definitely more relaxed and you could see that on her face, so I was happy for her."
(On Freshmen performance)
"I mean when you are running up and down the court, pushing the ball, and playing good defense, you are going to get winded but we make sure in practice we are running and doing those situations. I guess just being out there for the first time, my first collegiate game, the excitement and running up and down the court. But, we made it, we're alright."
(On high tempo play)
"I think it's very important. Transition baskets are always a big part of our game. Coach stresses push the ball, push the ball, whenever we get it out. I feel like tonight we ran the floor really well and found those open lanes and passed well and finished well."
Tennessee Junior Center Nia Moore
(On her performance)
"My focus is just when I get the time, go out there and contribute and help my team out in any way possible."
(On guarding Sydney Stipanovich) "Well honestly I thought it was a good match up. It helped me out, playing somebody as the same height as me, I just tried to basically score."
Penn Head Coach Mike McLaughlin
(Opening Statement)
"Tremendous atmosphere for our players to learn and develop. I was proud of the way we came out. We challenged ourselves with the first 10 or 12 minutes, not because the score was right where it was, but we had control of the pace. Even at that point, it was getting a little too fast for us, I thought. I thought we responded well that way. Just when we couldn't score for awhile, I think we lost control of the pace of the game, the tempo, everything on that line. Kind of got a little fast of us. We gave them too many run outs, too many open court baskets. We just couldn't get back. We started sending two back, but that still, at times, wasn't enough. That's an area we have to obviously work on, but give them credit. They get the ball up and down the court as quick as anyone we've seen. It was something we haven't seen yet, and we may not see again, but give them all the credit."
(On difference between Ivy League and SEC) "The difference is just the size of the athletes. We have a good league. We have some size in our league, but you don't see the combination of size and athletic ability that we saw tonight. The guards are bigger across the board. Then, they hurt you like they did tonight on the offensive glass. We tried. It's just the size and the speed is just something we don't see. We played some really good teams. We played Texas last year, we played Miami (Fla.) last year, we played Notre Dame. Different group than we had last year. It's just the size of the athlete."
(On scouting Tennessee center Nia Moore)
"I know who Nia is. We have a Bolingbrook player as well, so I actually saw Nia play a lot in high school. Keiera Ray played with her and is friends with her. We didn't have a ton [of video], but enough that the girls got a good scout on her, for sure."
Sophomore center Sydney Stipanovich
(On learning experience playing Tennessee's front court)
"I think one of the biggest parts is just to hold your position and not let them get easy dump-ins. For the blocked shots, I just try to keep as many shots from going up as I can. Like I said, the positioning is big. A lot of it is on the two-three defense--just working together and having a team effort."
(On problems as Tennessee increased the lead)
"I think one of the big factors is what coach kind of talked about--their run outs. We didn't get back as much as we wanted to, and we just had to stay consistent throughout the whole game, and I think we had some ups and downs that allowed them to get runs."
Penn Senior guard Kathleen Roche
(On experience of playing Tennessee)
"It's always exciting coming into an atmosphere like this. It's a little different, and it's a lot, I know, for our younger players, especially relying on our point guards. But, I think it's a great experience for us to come in, play in this environment at Tennessee. It's a historic place to play. So, you just have to come in, take it as you want it. I think the first 12 minutes, we really took it to them. Going forward, we just want to learn to play straight through all 40 minutes. Learn how to play like that through all 40 minutes. Overall, I think it was a great learning experience for us to start off."
