University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: UT 102, UCA 47
November 15, 2015 | Women's Basketball
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Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick
(Opening statement)
"It was a great game. It was great win, a fun win. It's fun when I don't have to do a whole lot, so that is a good sign. I thought our defense was solid. I thought we set the tone with our ball pressure. We had 17 steals and forced 28 turnovers. That is what we are looking for right there. Offensively, everybody moved the ball. Everyone got touches. We were really high--26 assists on 39 baskets. I'm really pleased with that. We rebounded, got second-chance points. I was really excited and thrilled about our production today. I want to address the players that sat out and why we only got to play six people. It was due to injuries and violations of team policies. They had great attitudes. That is all I ask. We have moved forward. That is all I want to say regarding that matter, and if I could just comment on the game, that would be great. These six young ladies that played were outstanding. So, that is who I want to focus on."
(On Kortney Dunbar's play)
"You don't [take her out]. Kortney has done just a fantastic job. I think we have found a great position for Kortney Dunbar. She can shoot the three, but she has really committed to getting on the block and working. That's tough to defend. I think Dean Lockwood has done a great job with her working with her inside. She did not do any of that last year, but we needed to get her on the floor. I think at the four spot we found the opportunity to get her on the floor. She has been solid defensively. I told her to keep people in front of you. She doesn't have to be spectacular on defense, just be solid."
(On Dunbar being best three-point shooter at Tennessee)
"She reminds me a lot of myself shooting the three, really. No, we didn't have the three-point shot when I played, so that was not a good comment. I think she has the longest range. I think she is the most consistent. I think she is one of our best, consistent three-point shooters. It is effortless for her. A lot of kids have to get room. She can shoot it without a lot of room. Quite frankly, she has the green light. I think she has confidence. In preseason and this fall, she has done nothing but build on confidence. How would you like your coach to get mad if you don't shoot a three? That is how I treat Kortney. I get mad if she doesn't shoot it."
(On Diamond DeShields' assists)
"You saw why Diamond came to Tennessee, to have the opportunity to play with a team. That is not saying anything to slam North Carolina. I just think she wanted to have the opportunity to play a solid game. She is an unbelievable passer. I will say this about Diamond DeShields. Not too many people have a feel for the game. She has an unbelievable feel for the game. She sees the floor. That is hard to teach. Players like that can see things develop two to three plays before they happen, and that is one solid thing that Diamond has. I told her before she went in, `Enjoy this. You have been out for a year and couple months. This is what you wanted. This is why you came to Tennessee. Have fun.' She has. Her attitude here has been unbelievable. We haven't had any problems whatsoever. She loves the game, and her getting back on the court was the most important thing for her."
(On watching clips from the 1985-86 Celtics)
"They were one of the best teams in the history of the NBA. They are great passers. They had Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, Kevin McHale and Bill Walton. They just passed the ball well. I thought with the talent and abilities that we have, we could be really difficult to guard if the ball didn't get stuck in our hands. I just used them as an example. At times, they made the defense look silly. It's all moving the basketball and playing with your team. We are just trying to get them to get great shots and not good shots. In the past, the Celtics got great looks, and I saw signs of that tonight. I asked them if this was a one-hit wonder or an all-the-time things. I let them check the box, and they checked all the time, so now I am going to hold them accountable to that."
(On having multiple three-point shooters)
"Don't forget Mercedes Russell. I thought she did good. She has great hands, and when you have a post that catches passes and makes and-ones, it does nothing but open up the outside. We didn't do a lot of offense. I didn't call a lot. That is just basketball. At the end of the day, you just have to play basketball, and that is what they did. They are very capable of it. I just don't want them to stop and think where they are supposed to go. I want them to play basketball and react."
Tennessee guard Diamond DeShields
(On making her Tennessee debut)
"I still am getting back into the groove of things after being hurt. But I'm very blessed to have the ability now to run up and down the floor. It has been a long time coming, so it was kind of emotional for me at one point. We've got a long road ahead. We're trying to get to the end, so whatever I've got to do to stay healthy, I'm going to do that. We can only go up from here."
(On how she felt on the floor)
"Just being out there with my teammates was part of the happiness that I was experiencing. Being out there after a long year was part of the happiness. Just being able to play in front of -- I believe we have the best fans. To be able to come out in front of our home [fans], it was just a confidence booster for everybody."
(On racking up seven assists)
"I wanted to send a message that I am a team player. The points will come. Yeah, I had [12 points] tonight, but they'll come. I'm not worried about that. But getting my teammates involved, it's not about me. The fact that I was able to have a Kortney Dunbar, a Mercedes Russell, a Te'a [Cooper], Andraya [Carter], Alexa [Middleton], I think that you have to utilize those assets and I'm going to do that. I'm very capable. I'm going to utilize my vision at all times."
Tennessee guard Diamond DeShields
(On her confidence level)
"I feel a lot more confident. That dates back to even last year. Coming off having a little bit more playing time in the exhibition game, I just wanted to kind of go off of my last game and come in high energy. We had six girls and we really pushed each other. We knew we were behind each other 100 percent tonight. When we have that ability and that high heart coming in, it's pretty easy to play."
(On Diamond DeShields and Te'a Cooper)
"Practicing with these girls and seeing what they can bring, especially tonight with that high energy, I'm very excited for this season. We can only go up, especially with these two. I doubt we don't go up, so I'm excited for the season."
Tennessee guard Te'a Cooper
(On what her priorities for this game were)
"I just wanted to get my teammates involved, be a point guard, push the ball down the floor, talk and be a leader."
(On if she was expecting to play 36 minutes)
"I don't really expect anything. I just go. Once you get your first wind, you're really fine after that."
Central Arkansas head coach Sandra Rushing
(Opening Statement)
"Wow. I don't even really know what to say. They're amazing. They play extremely hard. They're big, they're really big. They're very well coached.
"This was an opportunity for us, and I appreciate the opportunity to come here and play Tennessee with all the tradition. When you talk about women's basketball, the first thing that comes to your mind is the University of Tennessee. I think Holly [Warlick] has done a great job. She had some big shoes to fill.
"My disappointment is that we gave up 102 points. I know we're out-sized, and I felt like at times we let down. We turned the ball over 28 times. You're not going to win many ball games like that. The one thing I was looking for was just trying to get up and down the floor with a little bit more effort, and blocking out.
"I still believe in this team. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. How do we play Friday night then turn around and play Tennessee today? How do you prepare for a team like Tennessee? They do a lot of things well."
(On the nerves coming into today's game)
"We need to learn how to handle big games. I would like to be in this situation at the end of the year at our conference tournament. You hope we can grow from this experience. That's why I wanted to play Tennessee."
Central Arkansas guard Brianna Mullins
(On the experience of playing at Tennessee)
"It was a great experience. I don't feel like we did the little things, as far as blocking out, running down the floor in transition. For me, it was a great experience. I'll take it with me. We're prepared to be in this type of situation at the end of the year, after the conference tournament. We plan to be back playing bigger schools."
(On Te'a Cooper's play)
"She was a good player. She didn't play like a freshman. She didn't play like I thought she would come in and play. She didn't play timid. She came out, she was scoring, and her defense was amazing. I just feel like she was a good player."
Central Arkansas guard Maggie Proffitt
(On the experience of playing at Tennessee)
"We definitely don't want to see that score again, but it was a good experience playing against their size and athleticism. We don't really see that a lot in our conference. We're going to have people that are going to play defense like Tennessee does, so we've got to be able to handle the ball and not turn it over. I just felt it was a really good experience to be here in the arena. It was awesome. We've never played somewhere else like this."
