QUOTES: Lady Vols 53 Texas 64

Nov. 29, 2015

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Holly Warlick

(Opening Statement)
"We got beat by a better team today. We've got to hit shots. We've got to take care of the ball. One of our goals was to keep them off of the free-throw line and they shot 27 free throws. We wanted to limit threes and they scored six threes. We're just not knocking down shots. In the fourth quarter we were two for thirteen in the paint. In the fourth quarter, Texas got six points from layups and nine from the free-throw line. We've just got to get better. We've got to get a little more disciplined and stop fouling, more disciplined and quit turning over the basketball, and get in the gym making shots.

(On this game being different from previous games)
"Texas is very talented. We had our chances and we just didn't get it done. We've just got to get more disciplined in our game."

(On Mercedes Russell)
"They were in on targeting Mercedes. She would get the ball and they would double or triple team her. She's got to catch the basketball first. She's got to secure the basketball. I think they were making her rush today. That's going to happen, and that's going to continue to happen until you hit outside shots. We've got to take pressure off Bashaara and Mercedes, our inside game, by making plays on the outside."

(On Russell and Graves taking jumpers)
"They're capable of making those shots. I would not prefer those shots that they took. I want them to go to the basket and get it around the basket, and drive to the basket. I think they were settling for jump shots and they weren't falling."

(On Lashann Higgs' shooting)
"It was huge. We went to a zone, and she hit two in a row. You have to pick your poison, and we were concerned with (Celina) Rodrigo and (Brooke) McCarty. She hit big shots. It gave them momentum and deflated our bubble. I thought she hit big shots."

(On Jasmine Jones' injury update)
"I have none. I know they hit pretty hard. I have not had a chance to go back and see her."

(On if she sensed the outcome)
"I didn't sense it for this game, but when we started quick-shooting the basketball and not being on the same page, I felt it. We have to deem what is important. We have to get a bit more disciplined. At times, we were doing our own thing. We have a talented team, but we are not getting it done. It goes back to talent doesn't always win games."

(On Andraya Carter's aggressiveness with leg brace)
"I don't think so. I haven't seen her lose a step. I still think her jumping ability is good. That brace, to my understanding, is just there for precaution."

(On injury update)
"I think Kortney has a pretty bad sprain. Jaime is just trying to continue to heal. Injuries are going to happen. Obviously, they happen to us. They have happened to me since I've been here. We have a solid core of young ladies that can get the job done. For whatever reason, we aren't getting it done. We will figure it out, go back to the drawing board and get this team off to a better start."

(On close games for several top teams)

"I think the talent is better. I think the four-quarters to me has a lot to do with it. After ten minutes you get to go and kind of regroup. If you are having a bad half, you can get it back together after ten minutes. So I think that play has something to do with it. We had our opportunities in the fourth-quarter. We were down four, we get a steal and we miss a layup. I don't know how many layups we missed. We could have had a put back, it goes out-of-bounds. We had our chances, but we just didn't capitalize on them today. You can't get yourself in a hole against a very good basketball team."

(On the four quarters equalizing things)
"I do. That's my opinion. I think the quarters can help you or they can hurt you."

(On Texas's defense affecting you offensively)
"I thought we got great looks. I thought for the most-part of this game we got great looks. We didn't knock down shots. Now we had some 30-seconds calls on us. That's just not playing the game. We're jump shooting the basketball when the clock's running down, and we're being contested. You just don't do that. So from that aspect we have to get better. I still think we are standing a lot. But I thought we got good looks. We got it to the post. Mercedes had eight looks. If you look at the shot chart, we got good looks in that paint, but we didn't knock them down. I thought the first quarter we were quick shooting the basketball. I didn't think we did a good job with quality of shots, but I thought it got better. When you go inside you have to shoot it. It seems like we penetrate then we just turn it over. We are a turnover waiting to happen and that has to change."

Redshirt sophomore Mercedes Russell

(On what she and Bashaara Graves can learn from today's game)
"We've just got to keep working. We've got to get better seals and better movement on and off the block, inside and out. We've just got to move around more to get open looks."

(On this game being referred to as a 'good loss')
"I just think that we need to learn from this. Texas is a good team. We both came in undefeated, and we knew they were going to give us their best shot. We gave them all we had, but we just came up a little short. We got ourselves in a little hole, and we just couldn't get out of it. Overall, I think we played a great game. Looking at the box score, Diamond [DeShields] gave us 24 points and 11 rebounds. Any time a guard gives you a double-double, that's great for the team. I think she really stepped up and played big for us tonight."

Redshirt junior Andraya Carter

(On what she can take from this game moving forward)
"I think we can use this as a positive. There's always the cliche of 'It's not what happens, but what you learn from it and how you respond from it.' We were setting ourselves up for this. Our games leading up to this, we should have won by way more. We were winning by close margins the whole time when we were just more talented than those teams. We came up against a team that was equally as talented as us. They played together, and they beat us. I think this just shows that while you can beat some teams not playing the way you're supposed to, you can't beat the top teams. This is a lesson that we need to learn, and hopefully we'll learn from it."

(On if her knee brace is bothering her)
"No, not so much. It's something that I've gotten used to. I wore it over the summer and wore it preseason. I wear it in practice, so it's kind of just become a part of my body. I have to work a little harder than I did last year. It definitely takes a little bit more effort, as far as getting ready to go. That's something I can make up with heart and hustle, so I don't really think about my knee brace. I have to put in a little extra when I'm out there, and that's what I'm going to do to be how I was last year."

Redshirt sophomore Diamond DeShields

(On the challenge presented by Texas' defense)
"We've been conditioned so far to play through our post. With Imani [Boyette] and [Kelsey] Lang down low, it's really difficult to even get them the ball. I know it was hard at times to get calls, but that was just something that we had to adjust to. Even when we dribble penetrated, they were always there, so it was hard to get shots off or even draw fouls. As far as the challenge of the defense, I felt pretty comfortable tonight because I was able to hit shots. The way that they were packing it in opened it up for me on the three point line. Thankfully I was able to hit shots, but it wasn't enough to win. We're going to get in the gym and get ready for the next game."

Texas Head Coach Karen Aston

(Opening Statement)
"First of all it was a little bit of a choppy, ugly game but I think that typically happens when the two of us get together. It's usually an impressive game with quite a bit of fouling and that's kind of what happened. I was really proud of our team mentality. I think that's the main thing that we've talked about all summer and fall was how to have a better road mentality and really this wasn't about necessarily who we were playing but can we be better on the road because it was an area we weren't real good last year, so very proud that we came in with a better mentality. Second of all, I just thought that our team play was really good. I thought that our defense from a team perspective was extremely good. We got a little bit separated defensively in the second half when Diamond [DeShields] started hitting shots but I did think that we stayed somewhat disciplined. I felt our guards made good decisions, specifically in the first half. That gave us a lot of confidence. They made the right decisions. They made aggressive plays and got big shots. I'm pleased. I think we can get a lot better but I'm pleased with our effort."

(On free throw shooting)
"I thought we could win an ugly game and it was ugly. It was choppy. There were times when both teams did some really good things but it's early in the year and it's to be expected. I would imagine all the games are a little ugly and choppy right now. It's an area where you look at this game. It's exciting for us because we can do better. We can make free throws. We have shot free throws really well this year so we'll be better in some areas. I don't think we rebounded the ball extremely well today, so lots of areas to improve on."

(On defense with Imani Boyette affecting Tennessee)
"We talked about it at half time when we looked at Imani's lineup. I think she may have had two points at half. I made the comment to the coaches that she wasn't scoring, she was absolutely impacting the game because she was able to sag and sort of what we call zone the floor in. I thought she had a huge impact on shots that were made in the paint. Obviously, she was able to get some boards. I do think that the sagging enabled her to impact the paint quite a bit."

(How does this victory help prepare Texas for upcoming games)
"I think the fact that it's a road game. I think it's really early right now, as far as the rankings , and that's something we've talked about heavily is that last year we were ranked number three in the country pretty early and we had some missteps during conference play so we're just trying to get better every day. I think we have a lot of potential. We're not where we need to be and our chemistry is building. I think more than worried about who it is that we're beating or what the rankings are and all that we're just trying to get better as a basketball team and get to a point where we can compete for championships and do the things that we need to do in Big XII play."

(On amount of guards being a factor)
"I think it's really helpful and we find when we look at a player like Lashann [Higgs] and she is able to come in and play somewhat free because of the older players, because of Empress [Davenport] and Celina [Rodrigo] and Brady [Sanders] and those guys, Brooke [McCarty] even has one year under her belt. I think we haven't had that. Now we have players that can come off the bench and feel like they are actually getting mentored by older players who have sort of been there and done that and that's just the evolution of where our team is right now as opposed to two or three years ago."

(On Diamond DeShields)
"I don't know. I mean, Holly [Warlick] would have to answer that question. We have several players on our team that have probably practiced about as much as she has and any time that you have some players that missed an off season, and we have four or five that missed the entire summer with off season surgeries and injuries with Imani being one of those, you're chemistry is not going to be perfect and your conditioning level is not going to be perfect; although, I was really pleased with how we were able to tough some things out today. Anytime you have someone that missed time, then it does take time to develop that sort of chemistry that is championship level chemistry."

(On close games amongst top-ten teams)
"I think there's a lot of parody. I think there are great players all over the country. You saw, I think it was Ohio State, had an upset this weekend and Stanford has already been upset. We have a couple of teams in our league that have some surprising losses so I just think there are a lot of good teams and if you don't bring your A-game every night then you're going to going to get beat. That's something we've talked about a lot just for us to try to develop a mentality where we play at a certain level. We're not there yet by any means, but we're trying to get there."

Texas guard Lashann Higgs

(On mindset entering game as a freshman)

"Coming into the game you're trying not to be nervous. I guess I just tried to rebound and play defense the best that I could and just try to listen to Coach. I'm just trying to do everything she tells me to do, but yeah, I wasn't really that nervous. Obviously, Tennessee is a really good defensive team. I just tried to stick to my game. I just saw the gaps that they were giving me and I just took them."

Texas center Imani Boyette

(On getting the sense that Tennessee was frustrated)
"Yes, I think we did get that sense, but we always focus on our defense. Whether they're scoring or not, our defense needs to remain solid. That's what we were trying to do and Diamond [DeShields] is going to get her points and she did that. We tried to make sure if Diamond is going to score, no one else could."

(On difference in road games compared to last season)
"I think it's just focus. Our first road game we did not play well at all and we just kind of had to come home and refocus and focus on the little things and details and try to make sure that we corrected all that in practice. We're much more composed than we have been. I have never won here in my career so this was nice and when we played here my sophomore year we probably had the same type of game but we were just very nervous and we couldn't string along shots and we got really antsy. Today we just kind of remained composed and they made runs and we answered."