University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Lady Vols 81, Texas A&M 58
January 08, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2015
Recap |
Box Score |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
Head Coach Holly Warlick
(Opening Statement)
"Great team effort. We just played hard. I just thought we stepped up, individuals stepped up. Our team defense was just, it was just solid. Our offense was probably the best, most efficient that we have had in a while. Really, really, obviously extremely proud of our basketball team and just hope we can keep it rolling."
(On the success on offense tonight)
"I don't think that Texas A&M was as physical as it has been on Izzy [Isabelle Harrison]. They are a great defensive team and I think they rely a lot on perimeter pressure and I just don't think they were as physical and double, triple-teamed her as the last couple of games. We moved her around, actually, we moved her around a little bit more and she was kind of free to move around, wasn't bumped as much. That helped."
(On Isabelle Harrison's success tonight)
"I think it was big for Izzy. I think our team has really handled her not probably producing the last two games as she has been. I think we have handled it, I think Izzy has handled it pretty well. It is really fun to see when you best player is putting up points and moving and doing the things that she is capable of doing. It is nice to see and it gets us in a rhythm. I think it frees us up on the perimeter and outside as well. I can't remember too many bad shots that we took tonight. I don't know when we have shot, the first half we shot 58% and then for the game, 52%, that is huge for us."
(On Nia Moore)
"We have been asking Nia [Moore] where did she go, so she came back to us today. I wanted to make sure Nia knew that, just because Izzy is back that she doesn't have to settle for anything, she needs to continue to compete. I think that tonight she did. It think she gave us good minutes, big minutes. She had big shots. She was 4-for-4. I thought she hit big buckets for us to start our roll as far as pulling away a little bit. So I thought she did some really good things for us."
(On the effectiveness of the zone)
"Actually I thought we were going to use our zone a little more. Didn't know if we were going to go zone or man until we started the game and made a decision to just go with our man-to-man. I thought Texas A&M, they were isolating us and they adjusted so we made that adjustment to go into our three-two defense. I thought it was solid. I thought they got one shot out of it and that was it, whether they made it or missed it, they got one shot. We were solid rebounding out of it. I thought the first half we put them at the free throw line a little bit more, in the second half they only made three points, so that was huge for us."
(On whether or not this was part of Texas A&M being a good team having a bad night on the road)
"Well I hope it was something we did to cause them to have a bad game. I have a lot of respect for Gary Blair. I think he does a great job and his kids are solid. He did have one of his kids out because they were hurt. I'm sure that probably affected them as well. I hope we did some things to make them have to adjust, adjust their shot and other things they normally do."
(On Andraya Carter's grandmother passing away unexpectedly yesterday)
"She was very close to her grandmother. It was a little devastating to her. I spent a lot of time on the phone with her last night trying to think should she go home or not. I think in the end she wanted to go. I gave her my blessings. She stayed down there. I don't think she slept hardly at all and got back for shoot around. It is just a tough situation for her. I think this team is important to her as well. I thought she held on probably a little bit more. She played 30 minutes. I thought she held on a lot better than I had anticipated she would. She was her same self. That is one thing when you get on the basketball court, you can forget about any problems you are having or any stress you are having or anything that has gotten you down. Basketball and playing those 40 minutes can make you forget about that. I think that is what she did."
(On what the team can take now to prepare for Arkansas)
"I don't know if I'm going to answer this correctly. I just think that we have bought into the defensive end. When you do that, your offense comes but I have preached to them. You know I am defense and rebounding. I think they have bought into it and really believe it. They are really determined to be a great defensive team without me saying 'ladies what do y'all want to do?'. I think they have really jumped onboard and put defense as a priority."
(On a coach not overreacting to a performance of one game whether good or bad)
"You can't. Now I will watch this game tonight. Tomorrow I will get up early and watch Arkansas. It is one game at a time. You enjoy this and I know the kids will enjoy it. We are off tomorrow. You just have to get ready for your next opponent. Playing great or playing bad, obviously it is a lot easier when you win to prepare for the next game but you watch what the other team does and put a game plan together. You go with it. We will enjoy it until I get home then we start to worry about the other opponent. Kids can enjoy it a little bit longer than us, I guess."
Tennessee Guard Cierra Burdick
(On spreading the ball around)
"I think we moved the ball extremely well. Holly complemented us on having 24 assists on 33 field goals. I think that speaks for how successful we were on the offensive end. We were playing team basketball, and that is when we are at our best. We don't need one or two players taking 25-30 shots per game. We came in, played together and had great ball movement, and that is how we were so successful tonight."
(​On getting the ball to Harrison early)
"Well, we always try to work inside and out. When you have Bashaara and Izzy, two All-Americans in the paint, it is hard not to go to them. Izzy did a great job of getting open. She was setting offensive screens, and that is a big thing to her offensive game. If she is open, we are going to give her the ball. She is a great player, and she gave us that early spark, and it carried through the entire game.
Tennessee Center Isabelle Harrison
(​On scoring points quickly)
"​We stayed together. When we were on the bench, we stayed close to each other. Our huddles were so tight. We were keeping our energy up and gathered around each other, and that is what helped us get our lead."
Tennessee Guard Ariel Massengale
(​On playing in transition)
"I think that is where a lot of us are at our best. I know that it is my favorite part of the game. One thing Coach Warlick was talking about in pregame was challenging them in transition and getting the ball up and down the floor."
(​On if it was a surprise to be 20 points ahead)
"I feel like if we do what we know we are capable of doing then things like that happen. I am really proud of our team. In the first half, we really got after them. Our coaches had us prepared with different things to do. When we stick to our game plan, we are usually successful."
(​On surpassing Kara Lawson for 5th on career assists total)
"She was really happy about it. She actually just walked into the locker room, before we came to media, and told me congratulations on that. It is a great accomplishment. When you come here, coaches tell you to leave your legacy, so it will be a great accomplishment in the records books. I am excited about it."
​​
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
(Opening Statement) "Tennessee looked like a top ten team today. You knew that 33 percent shooting was not going to stay. This was a team that--a lot of us during the season are trying to find ourselves as we go forward. The best way to find yourself is when you play at home, then you have some seniors step up like Isabelle Harrison and Ariel Massengale and do the little things right that you had to have in the ball game. Our first shot defense has been pretty good all year, believe it or not, but tonight y'all were getting every midrange shot that you wanted, the high post shot was wide open and you didn't kill us on the boards, for once, for one reason--you made every shot. That's a misnomer, sometimes, when you're looking at `Well, you stayed with them on the boards.' Not really. They still rebound the ball better than any team in the league. It wasn't our best of days, but sometimes that's what the road will do to you and a good opponent like Tennessee. I've had a history of coming over here and playing a whole lot better than what we did tonight, but I just didn't think we had it upstairs. It wasn't our legs. It wasn't the cold weather. I just think mentally we lacked a lot of effort and want to that we've got to do. [Courtney Walker] played her butt off. She had a chance for her dad to come over from Atlanta and be able to see her play for the first time this year. It's good that she was able to come over and see her play."
(On Isabelle Harrison) "I think she was probably quiet sometimes. Maybe she needed a top ten game to bring it out of her. She played Missouri and she played Vanderbilt, and they did a good job on her. Sometimes, she had to defer to the other teammates. I don't think Holly knows exactly who the go-to player is going to be every ball game. You have to spread it around. This is a team that she doesn't have a Candace Parker or Chamique Holdsclaw. Whoever is hot, get them the ball, let them play, don't take them out. I'm not telling [Warlick] how to coach, but obviously it was obviously [Harrison's] night. I tell you what, Bashaara Graves is pretty good, too. This time, they needed Harrison. Sunday, you might need Graves. They're both hard to stop."
Texas A&M Guard Courtney Walker
(On her 25-point game) "It felt good seeing my shots go continuously. It seems like these last couple of games it'd be the first half or the second half or not at all, so that was cool. Some things I have been working on is moving my rhythm, finding more open space. Coach has been telling me to find more space. Also, the shot blockers--giving them a pump fake because I'm not tall enough to just jump with them, especially with a team like Tennessee who is big and long."
(On defensive effort)
"Coach talked to us before the game about toughness. I think that's something we have to have. Nobody is 100 percent right now. It's freezing outside. School is about to start. We have to listen and lock in before the game and be tough to play through it."
