University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: #6 UT 79, Vandy 49
March 01, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Recap |
Box Score |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
Head Coach Holly Warlick
(Opening Statement)
"I wish every night was senior night. I think we did some great things. It was a great team effort. We played hard. We were tough down the stretch. The first half we turned the ball over too much. We made adjustments and got that straightened up. I'm really proud of our effort and the whole team."
(On the starting guards Ariel Massengale, Jordan Reynolds and Andraya Carter having specific skills to help the team)
"That is a great point. I think it has helped Ariel coming off of not being the point guard and opening here up to other looks and shots. Jordan is so comfortable and very good at pushing the ball for us. Andraya has been kind of our clean up player and defensive stopper. Those three play really well together. Actually I was surprised the first half we were turning the ball over like we did when we basically had three point guards in the game. When we adjusted to that and beat it with the penetration we settled down. Those three play off each other. They each have their own unique thing they bring to the team. Tonight all three of them brought it."
(On Ariel Massengale's game)
"She was working for it. They (Vanderbilt) started face guarding her, but she was working to get the ball. I think in the past games I don't think Ariel worked as hard to get the ball but today she worked extremely hard. I thought that she got good looks. I don't think she took a bad shot all night."
(On Ariel Massengale's career as a player changing from Coach Pat Summitt's first envision)
"That is a lot of pressure when Ariel was named the starting point guard before she got to The University of Tennessee. That is a respect for her game, but that was a lot of pressure. I think she came to Tennessee with great expectations. I don't think she has disappointed. Outside of her injuries, I think she has been solid for us. You look at her stats and she has scored 1000 points. She was one assist shy of hitting 500 assist. I think she has just enjoyed having other people around her so she doesn't have to feel like it is all on her back. I think her career has probably ended up in a great way with the way she wanted it to be."
(On thoughts of type of shooter Massengale is)
"I thought she would distribute the basketball a little bit more. I think she probably didn't shoot a whole lot in high school because they had a lot of big kids and their philosophy in high school was to get the ball inside, so probably not. I probably didn't know she was this consistent with her shot."
(On sharing SEC title)
"Hey it's awesome! These players deserve it and it's all about the credit to them and how hard they've worked and really proud of them. They've worked hard this season and they've worked hard since Izzy got hurt. That's awesome and I'm really excited for them. I'm excited for our staff and I'm not going to lie, I'm excited too!
(On putting Izzy in during the final seconds)
"I just thought it would nice for Izzy to hear the crowd one last time for her at home. That's the only way we could do it. I got nervous, I have to be honest with you, I got nervous when Andraya was coming right towards her with the ball, you know she should have thrown it a little sooner. Just giving Izzy some great respect that I think she well deserves. She's been a vital part of this program and this team. Izzy came in and wasn't a McDonalds All-American, wasn't highly recruited, and she had to play behind Glory Johnson and Vicki Baugh, so she earned her stripes. She's really worked hard to get where she is. I think Izzy is the best post in the country. I hear coaches talk about her, I see her work, I see what she does when she gets the ball. It's been a real joy and pleasure to watch that kid grow up and see her become the player she is."
(On tonight's defensive performance)
"I loved our defense! I thought we did match up on a lot of their three point shooters and they just didn't make shots. One thing I liked is that we didn't quit on a play. We didn't quit on our transition break where it looks like they are going to go in and get an easy two, we pursued the ball and got some blocks from behind, and that's good to see. We didn't see where they just were going to steal it and get a lay-up."
(On it being the end but also the beginning)
"Our goal is obviously to have a great season and to win the SEC championship, but we talk a lot about post season, and what we want to do, and that our goal is to go to the Final Four. You can say it but do you believe it? I think those young ladies believe it because they put in the time and the work. I think you have to build trust, and when you build trust, you do it in practice and Ariel and our seniors work hard in practice, are great leaders in practice, and they have bought into everything we have asked them to do. I think they believe it because they know they have earned everything they have gotten this year with hard work and total dedication and has earned a lot of trust with our team and coaching staff."
Tennessee Senior Point Guard Ariel Massengale
(On job on the three-point line)
"I think we did a tremendous job today, we had a very good shoot around, a lot of energy, making shots and I think everyone was in a good mood it was senior night my teammates came out and played and gave it all for us Cierra [Burdick}, Izzy [Isabelle Harrison] and I. I appreciate each and everyone of them and myself just wanted to have a good last showing here in TBA and when the first one went down I started feeling it a little bit"
(On if she had a good shoot-around)
"I had a pretty decent shoot around it was nothing spectacular so I had no idea this was going to happen but it was pretty solid"
(On being UT's next point guard before she came here and how did it affect you)
"Well I heard about it, I wouldn't say it affected me in any way, my thing was just coming in, I knew I had five seniors that I was playing with and I didn't want them to think that I thought I was going to come in there and be the show but it definitely wasn't that once I stepped foot on campus I had to work hard and compete for that position and they were very encouraging and very supportive of me because they would tell me that they don't want to play the point line, you got it you got it. So it would definitely help me out and its just been a great four years and I'm glad that couch Summit saw that in my and I hope after these four years she's proud of me."
(On if Pat Summit will be special to you and your family)
"Oh most definitely just going through the recruiting process with her and I texted her yesterday afternoon just to make sure she was coming to the game and that we would really love to see her and that we were the last class to play for her and so its kind of special, so having her here tonight and seeing her, being able to give her a hug, and I went and gave her a hug and she told me that she loved me. It means a lot and it's something I will cherish with me forever."
(On the shooting in the last two games)
"It's been just confidence is all. We have been moving the ball, we are sharing the ball we are playing together as a team, and I think once you are in a rhythm and you're doing that it's a lot easier to knock down shots. No one person feels any pressure, the commentators told me I think we made 27 shots and had 24 assist and I think whenever you can play together as a team like that you have a very good chance of winning."
(On what the feeling was like going out on the court)
"No this day was everything I imagined, I cannot believe these four years are not over but like I said in the huddle after the game now is when the real season starts, you know its not over yet coach Elle said there's no reason to cry now we are just getting started we will cry we'll be sad when its over and it's not there yet. So it was definitely bitter sweet it was a lot of fun playing in this arena with these great fans for one last time."
(On the emotions of senior night)
"There was some emotions. I was kind of torn at the beginning, I really thought I was going to cry today but I told myself we had to be strong, Cierra [Burdick] said she was going to cry, she is emotional, so I was like, `I am going to let you handle that, I am going to be strong through all of this.' So I had to hold it down in that way."
(On confidence shooting the ball)
"I think so. I think when it comes to shooting the ball, I think a lot of it has to do with confidence. Just knowing that I can shoot it, I can make shots and knock it down in games like I do in practice. I think that truly helped me and just my maturity and Coach was telling me, `you have to be aggressive, you can shoot.' I will never forget my freshman year, we were playing Kansas in the tournament and I wasn't shooting the ball and Glory Johnson was like, `Ariel, you have to shoot the ball for us to win this game.' So I think having that and the confidence from older players and older teammates just to help you, it definitely helps a lot being a shooter."
Tennessee Sophomore Guard Andraya Carter
(On any doubt where you were taking that ball in the last 4 seconds)
"I had no doubt before she shot the free throw I told Izzy to be ready. So my plan was to just grab it and throw it to her but I didn't want to do that so I just ran right to her and actually told the players to move because I just wanted it to be Izzy's."
(On looking at the seniors' careers)
"I definitely do. All the times they talk about memories from their freshman year and how it feels like just yesterday when they had to come to campus and move all their stuff into their dorm. They have so many memories and they always say it goes by so fast and to cherish it and enjoy it. I remember watching them when they were freshmen and wanting to play with them and being on the court with them. I know it flies by and I know I have to appreciate it and they have definitely set a good example for it."
Tennessee Senior Forward Cierra Burdick
(On the team's confidence)
"We are just a confident ball club, I think we have all the personnel to get the job done. I think we are playing with a chip on our shoulder, we are playing confident but we are also playing with a lot of motivation to go out there and play for IzzyB [Isabelle Harrison] and to end this Final Four drought. I think myself and IzzyB and AMass [Ariel Massengale], we pride ourselves on trying to be the best senior leaders we can. If you look back at the past teams that have made it to the Final Four, they had great senior leadership. We are just trying to do all that we can do to get this team where we know we are capable of being."
(On being named 2015 SEC Regular Season Champions)
"It is huge. We come and we want to win championships when we get here. I would rather have to share it than not have it at all. We want a piece of it and we want to have that regular season championship and then we want to have the SEC Championship and we want to have the National Championship and then we can just leave happy."\
Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb
(On struggles against Tennessee)
"I think the tough thing is that we couldn't get our shooters open, not that we have a lot of shooters right now. The shooters that we have, we couldn't get them good looks. Where we got good looks was in the post and they doubled down and I thought our timing was off in the post. I just didn't think we flowed from our break to our offense. So we struggled offensively. The biggest thing is that we couldn't stop them defensively. We let their shooters get hot."
(On turnovers being a problem)
"We lead the league in turnovers. As soon as we tried to get more possessions and we get the ball back, we give it right back to them and not convert on those possessions. That obviously is frustrating to the players. I think that's been an issue all year with us. I would rather attack in turnovers and be more aggressive and I think a lot of it has just been hesitating."
(On differences when facing Tennessee without Isabelle Harrison)
"I think it's obvious people have stepped up, Burdick, Graves and obviously Massengale. Those three now it's like they're the big three. When you have a strong size inside you still have a force inside so she's being more aggressive. And then you have Burdick who has stepped up and she's been more aggressive as well as Massengale. They're a different team. I don't necessarily think they're better or worse. I think a lot of Izzy she's a great player. She's from Nashville and I watched her play, recruited her, and I'm as sad as everybody else about her injury. It's a tough way to end your career. And I think one of the things she did was she improved more than probably anybody I've seen here at Tennessee over her four years. That girl got better. I know she was doing some good work for them."
Paris Kea
(On using her performance in the game against Tennessee in the future)
"In practice coach tells me I need to work harder, to transfer that over to a game. So that's what I've been doing, listening to coach and it's shown. I don't think we got the results we wanted, but I'm definitely seeing improvement."
