University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: #8 Lady Vols 74, #10 Oregon State 63
December 28, 2014 | Women's Basketball
Recap | Box Score | Notes
Tennessee Head Coach Holly Warlick
(Opening Statement)
(On her feelings about Tennessee's defense against OSU)
(On not helping as much inside the paint)
(On having Isabelle Harrison back when defense isn't going as well)
(On what Isabelle Harrison brings to the game)
(On balancing offense and defense with guards)
(On Alexa Middleton earning more playing time) (On missed free throws attempts)
(On building confidence prior to starting SEC play)
(On recruiting from the state of Oregon and whether Oregon State has been a factor)
(On Ariel Massengale and her potential to start)
(On whether there is concern over shooting three point shots)
Freshman Guard Alexa Middleton
(On her improved play in Sunday's win over Oregon State)
(On whether she's comfortable as a freshman in a big-game environment)
(On her comfort level defensively)
(On handling the tempo of Sunday's game)
(On Oregon State's offensive game)
(On the team's defensive adjustments on OSU's guards in the second half)
(On how having Isabelle Harrison defending inside helps perimeter defense)
(On Alexa Middleton's timely baskets in the second half)
(On taking over mopping duties during a second-half stoppage)
(On the team getting to the free throw line 34 times)
(On what it means to have beaten two top 10 teams in a row)
(On the effectiveness of the press)
Senior Center Isabelle Harrison
(On blocking shots against OSU)
(On becoming more comfortable playing with a knee brace)
(On playing a season-high 35 minutes)
(On point guard Ariel Massengale mopping the floor after her)
(On the points the team got from Alexa Middleton)
Oregon State Head Coach Scott Rueck
(Opening statement)
(On points off turnovers)
(On free throw disparity)
(On rebounding and physicality)
Oregon State Guard Sydney Wiese
(On starting second half - talks first)
(On lower percentage long-range shooting in the second half)
Oregon State Center Ruth Hamblin
(On physical nature of the inside game)
"It was very physical. Obviously they have a very good low-post presence. It's kind of my job and Deven (Hunter's) to hold it up down there. I thought we did a pretty good job responding to their physicality and making them work for what they got."
(On getting school blocked shots record)
"This was just a solid, well-coached basketball team and that's a huge win for us. They're just a difficult team to play. They can shoot the three and penetrate and when you do that, it makes your team really have to get down and play solid. Look, they're an excellent basketball team. Somebody asked me, `Should they be in the Top 10?' No question. No question, they should be in the Top 10. They're doing great things there. I'm excited for our players. I thought when we had to make stops, we did. We didn't defend the three ball the first half very well but we made some adjustments and I thought we didn't give up the three. It goes back to how hard we play and I thought we played extremely hard, had some hustle plays and those types of plays got us going and moving. I'm just proud of everybody's effort."
"Oh, that's a great question because I was concerned. Like I said, we haven't been a very good team defending the three ball. So, we had to take that away and then we had to defend penetration. To hold them to six three pointers and none in the second half, it was huge. And I thought what was really hurting us wasn't so much the initial pass-and-shoot, it was that we were getting beat on penetration and they were kicking out because we were having to help. Then, they had a solid kid inside. That kid is tough, so they were solid in every position and everybody had to come ready to play. If you saw, we started switching on the ball screens, which I thought helped us, as well."
"No, we didn't help as much. Yeah. If they were going to score, we were going to give up twos and not threes."
"It does. Yeah, I mean, Izzy's volleyball to me... I love kids that played volleyball because she goes up and blocks shots and doesn't go into people and she knows her timing. I think every shot that she blocked was huge. It was huge and when she has that ability, it's fun to watch."
"Well, I'll just tell you this. As Izzy goes, we go. She's our rock. She gives us energy. We rely on her and she's our leader. She's a vocal leader, she's a leader off the court and we have to have her on the floor to win. It's just that simple and I think what Izzy did tonight, she faced up and you can see the versatility in her game. She scored from the outside, catch-and-shoot, and then they had to come out on her. That's when she started driving around people so, I think whatever Izzy puts her mind to and when she's healthy, the sky is the limit for her. She keeps getting better and better and she's our rock. She really is and we rely on her quite a bit."
"Well, I'll tell you, I thought Alexa [Middleton] is a deceptive defender. I thought when we got going was when that kid kind of turned her back and Alexa got that steal. That gave us energy. So, I'm not really concerned about her on the defensive end and I think she's pretty solid. But I think what [Jordan] Reynolds and [Andraya] Carter did on the defensive end was outstanding. That doesn't show up in the box scores. That just doesn't show up but they made them work. They made No. 24 work and I thought especially in the second half."
"I think with Middleton, I want her to have more minutes. You know, she's got to be solid when she's on the floor and can't turn the ball over and throw it behind her back and it goes up into the stands. That is not real cool but especially when we need a bucket. But I like her competitiveness. I like her energy. I just think she has a great knowledge of the game and that's something, you can't teach that. She has a feel and she knows the feel so, I like her on the floor. I don't worry that, `Oh, she's going to get burned on the defensive end.' She is solid and yeah, she probably will get a little bit more minutes."
"You know, we work on them every day and we'll continue to do that. I don't have an answer. It's just getting in and repetition and just getting confident at the line. You get confidence by just volume shooting. You've just got to shoot and shoot and shoot and that's what we've been doing and we'll continue to do that."
"It's huge. I think it started with Rutgers. That was a must-win for us and our kids knew it. Then, we knew we were going to have a difficult time with Wichita State on how the prep and how they play and then Stanford. These have been very solid games for us and I think our players understand the importance of our preparation. We talked a lot today before the game about discipline meaning, `Stick to the game plan.' If we see that it's not working, then the coaches will change it but you have to stick to the game plan. You've got to be disciplined. Then we want to make sure that they play hard. Just let great things happen when you go out and play hard and I thought that kind of turned the corner for us when we got on the floor, got jump balls, got steals and those types of things. So yeah, these four games are huge going into the SEC play because the SEC - you all know - we've got how many teams how many teams in the Top 20 and there are not easy games. There is no easy win on the road anymore. It's just a solid conference and you've got to bring you're A-Game whether it's here or on the road."
"Yeah. I hate that we missed a couple of players that are on their team because they're solid. Yeah, it just happened that we got our three players and we got in on them early on the three that we love and we're glad they're with Tennessee. I'm sure that with Oregon State's success, they will have the opportunity to keep them closer to home."
"In my mind, I talk about I want to start her but I like her coming off the bench. That is not an issue with her starting. I think she understands what she does for this team and the value of this team and I love her coming off the bench. I told her, on the Stanford game, when I watched the tape it was like a blur with her getting up and down the floor. I've been trying to get her up and down the floor and I thought she did that today. But that's a solid player coming off the bench who is a senior and who is, I think, a great basketball player. She gets things done and makes things happen for us so as long as she can keep doing that and Jordan [Reynolds] seems to get us off to a great start. I'm good with that, too. We talk to our kids and I know every kid wants to start and that's a big thing. They want to run out through the smoke but what are you doing at the end of the game? That, to me, is more important. You don't have to start. I know your peers and your parents and everybody wants you to start, but what are you doing during those minutes? She played 32 minutes, second behind Izzy, and they were productive. I think at the end of the day, a kid wants to play and she wants to contribute. And I think that's what she's doing."
"Our game plan was not to shoot threes. We didn't want to quick-shoot the basketball and I thought at the beginning, people were sagging off on us. That's great and I think when we move the ball, we get great looks. If we can get a 10-foot shot that we'll shoot at 60-something percent, or a three that we'll shoot in the 30s, I want to take the two. You know, we really didn't need to today and I kind of like getting three the old-fashioned way, where you get fouled, go to the line and make an and-one play. But we'll continue to shoot them because we're going to have to do that, as well. I just didn't think it was really in our game plan to shoot threes today."
"I've been making a point to get up extra shots and I think I had that confidence. We had a good practice yesterday so I guess that carried over."
"For sure. I have great upperclassmen like [Ariel Massengale] and [Andraya Carter] and they talk to me everyday in practice and just give me that confidence. I love game likes that, close games, where you have to grind it out."
"I've said before this is the most I've ever worked on defense playing basketball and I feel so much more comfortable and confident in my defensive ability since I've got here."
"I just came in knowing that defense was the most important and I wanted to make sure I worked hard on that end first and the offense would come. Coach Elzy and Coach Law always say, `just play hard defense, offense is going to come,' and I think that's what happened."
"They're a very good offensive team. They have great spacing and, like Ariel said, I think we made some adjustments at halftime and just made an emphasis on guarding the three-point line and we came out and did that in the second half."
"I think we just put an emphasis on it. Sometimes we were helping in on the penetration and coaches told us at halftime that we want to force them to make layups, that we couldn't let them get anymore threes off. As a team, we kind of had a team goal where we were going to give them no more than six threes in this game because we know that's what they like to do. At halftime we saw the stat sheet and it was like, `alright, we can't give up anymore.' So I think everyone took heed to that and we made sure we that we guarded the three-point line."
"It's unbelievable. As a perimeter player, it gives you the confidence to know that you can get up into somebody and defend because if you do happen to get beat you've got somebody back there who's going to take care of it for you."
"They were very crucial. She came in with a lot of confidence, and like she said, she's been working on her jump shot. That's something that's going to come -- she's a freshman. The tempo of the game is a lot faster than high school so I think she's getting adjusted to it. Today she was able to come in and make plays on the offensive and defensive end for us."
"You know, whatever it takes for us to get the win. They said the floor was a little wet, and that was our offensive end, so I had to make sure if Izzy [Harrison] caught the ball on the block she didn't slip or anything. So whatever it takes."
"I think on the offensive end we played very aggressive. We were the aggressor on the offensive end and we attacked. We knew we had to make them defend and make them move on the offensive end so I think that played in our favor today."
"We're still a work in progress. Coaches always tell us there's always room for improvement, we can always get better. As we know, we have a tough SEC schedule coming up ahead of us. Everyday we have to continue to improve."
"I think the press was very good. I think it was a good call by Coach Warlick. We just got after it. We made them work hard and once they got the ball into their front court they were kind of tired like, `oh, we've got to score now.' I think it definitely played in our favor. I got to give a bunch of credit to Andraya Carter. She was tremendous tonight. I know [OSU's Sydney Wiese] had 14 or 16 points in the first half and in the second half she held her to 1-of-8 shooting. So I think in the second half we just definitely knew that we had to get stops on the defensive end and we could not keep trading baskets with them."
"I just saw those guards looking toward the rim and ready to drive and I wanted to help our guards out if they weren't able to get them up top. So, I just wanted to be that presence in the paint for us tonight."
"You know, I have to embrace that. I have to know that I'm able to play with it for as long as I can. I can't worry about it and it's going to be a part of me for as long as I need it. I've just got to stop worrying about it and play my game."
"It was a lot. I haven't done that many minutes since last year and you know, I got my cardio for sure today and it helped but I'm going to have to get used to those minutes, as well."
"She was so cute out there, wasn't she? Thanks, thanks."
"They were huge. You know, I try to locate our shooters and definitely, Alexa is a great shooter. I try to locate her and just want to get her open, so I continue to set people's screens and she did a great job of reading them. I'm glad she stepped up for us today." >p>
(On Oregon State feeling that the game was a blood-bath inside the paint)
"Yeah, for sure. But I'm used to it and I have to embrace it. [Assistant Coach] Dean [Lockwood] tells us every day that we're the blue collar workers and that's just a part of our game. You can't get frustrated and at times, I do. I just have to remember that I'm a post and it happens."
"I was really proud of our team today. I was really impressed by Tennessee. Holly and her staff do a great job. It's a first-class place. ... We knew going into it, this was going to be an absolute war today. This is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, without question. The discipline they rebound with, the intensity that they play with, I was excited about that challenge for our team as we continue to grow as a group. I knew we'd be tested in a huge way today, and that happened. I'm really proud of our effort though and the way the team approached this game mentally. They were ready to go from the first minute. There were a few more people here than a couple other places that we've been, and that didn't phase them a bit. I thought it was a great 40-minute battle. I'm disappointed that we came up short but proud of the effort. It's one in which we will continue to grow from and get better as we head into conference play."
"They have the ability to pressure you more than most teams. I knew that was going to be the game for us. We can't give them the ball, and we can't give them second chances. That's how they survive and live. They thrive off that. They do a great job when they do force a turnover and capitalize and turn it into points. Some people don't, but they're about to do that. It really hurt us today."
"We're not a team that shoots a ton (of free throws) because of our 3-point percentage or the number of threes we shoot. We shoot a lot of point blank shots too because of Ruth (Hamblin). Today, I thought they beat us to the ball several times. I thought that was the difference in the second half. When they did miss, they got offensive rebounds. That tends to lead to fouls. We did a few things that I thought were a little careless that we need to clean up. But overall, I thought it was because they were a little quicker than we were."
"I've watched the Stanford (vs. Tennessee) game about 18 times. That was an absolutely bloodbath. It was an absolute war underneath. People were getting thrown to the ground and there were no whistles. Today, there were a lot of whistles, and it was hard to adapt to because they are as physical as they are. You have to hold your own to have a chance, especially here. I thought our team did a great job with that. The times that we missed our box outs, they made us pay for it. But overall, less than 20 turnovers and rebound within three, I knew we'd have a chance if our numbers were like that."
"At halftime, we discussed winning the first five minutes to set the tone, to hit them first and to not stop. Credit to them. Every time we would score, they would score. We were trading baskets for a while. After the game, coach said it felt like we were up by eight at one point, but we were only up by two or four. They did a great job responding to every time we scored a basket."
"Credit Tennessee's defense. They rushed us a little bit and kept us off our spots. Coach Rueck discussed with me a few times just to stick with the system and not force as much. Just trust what we're doing as a team. I think there were a lot of shots that we normally make. We had good looks. It just didn't fall for us today."
"Coming here, Coach Rueck has just drilled defense into me. I've learned to really love it. It's cool to see that pay off, especially in a statistic record at Oregon State. It's just really cool to be a part of that."
