Postgame Quotes: UT 72, Boise State 61

March 21, 2015

Tennessee Head Coach Holly Warlick
(Opening Statement)
"I just told the [Boise State] coach, `I don't know how you lost ten games.' It was a great team. Great effort. I thought they had an inside attack. Obviously, they shoot the three-ball really well. We had to step up and play. If that is a 15-seeded team, my hats off to them. They were solid and never quit. We had to bring our best tonight. They are just an outstanding basketball team."

(On the difference between Boise State and Pitt)
"I think Boise State may be a little more multi-dimensional. They shoot the three ball so well and then they can penetrate so they pose a really tough problem for us on the defensive end so we talked about keeping people in front of us and at times we didn't they would kick out and hit a three. I think Pitt gets the ball inside a little bit more, moves the ball, probably doesn't spread the floor out as much and has the capability of everyone shooting the three. So it is just a different style. We will go back and watch tape and prepare for them. I am sure it is going to be a lot different than how we prepared for Boise State."

(On Andraya Carter guarding Brooke Pahukoa)
"We were switching, she was not and then at halftime we made an adjustment and had Andraya [Carter] face guard her. I thought she did a great job. And then whoever went in, I think Alexa [Middleton] defend her as well and then Jaime [Nared} was on her. To stop a great shooter, like Brooke was, you try to limit her touches. That is what we tried to do. We were helping in when shouldn't be and they were kicking out to her and we knew they were going to do that. That is just not being disciplined on our part. I think once we settled down and made some adjustments I think we did a really good job of stopping their offense."

(On closing the gap in seeds)
"I don't think any game is a given. I really don't. I think women's basketball is getting better, there is better coaches, there are better players, they are multi-dimensional players. It is kind of moving away from the traditional, 'I am a five player and I am never going to get outside the paint. I am trying to figure out how Boise State lost 10 games before us. Some teams kind of gel late, some teams peak early. I would think for this team, I understand they weren't very healthy at the beginning of the year. I think once they got healthy and started to player together they have had the result that they have had today."

(On having close games in the tournament)
"Absolutely. Cierra Burdick, she rebounded the ball but she didn't have a good game. It is about people stepping up. I thought we had people step up. I thought Nia Moore stepped up. Obviously Bashaara [Graves] was dominating and that was our gameplan, to get it to her. I thought Jaime Nared had a great game. She just didn't shoot the ball particularly well. That is a sign of a great team. When one of your best players doesn't score and we are still competing that is awesome. I told Ariel [Massengale] this was one of the best postseason games that she has had since she has been here and Bashaara as well. When you have that and people step up, that is how you learn. Would we have learned if we had blown Boise State out? I don't know, maybe. If we did some good things. But I thought it was a great test for us. We stepped up and finished the deal."

(On Bashaara Graves)
"She is an anchor for us. So you understand that when she hits, when she plays well inside that is how it opens up. She needs to play the way she played and we need to get her the ball. That is what we do. We play the game inside out and we want to get our post players the ball, we always have. One thing great about Bashaara is step out now and you saw her facing the basket and penetrating. So she is becoming multi-dimensional for us which helps us. I would love it she would, both she and Massengale, will continue to score the points they score and everyone else step, we will be in business."

(On Ariel Massengale's shooting versus at the SEC Tournament)
"She got in the gym and got up a lot of shots with Coach Law and hers is just repetition and getting confidence in her shot. She is a great shooter. She didn't shoot the ball very well in SECs but I think she took the time, the two weeks off, that we had and went back to the gym. When you make shots you get confidence. One thing great about her, I thought tonight she led the team, she didn't worry about her game, she led the team. It kind of gets her out of thinking what she needs to do and I think she started shooting the ball better. She was open, she took great shots today. She didn't force anything. I probably love how aggressive she was getting to the free throw line because she is one of our best free throw shooters."

Tennessee Guard Ariel Massengale
(On physicality being the key to the win)
"I think so. Also, we had some lapses down the stretch, but I think we stayed together as a team. We have been in tough situations before, and like Coach Warlick said, they are a very good team. They made us play our game tonight. Credit to my team, we got stops when we needed to get stops. One-and-done, box out rebounding--I think when you can do that, you have a very good chance of closing out games."

(On Boise State's Brooke Pahukoa)
"It's the NCAA Tournament, and she was fighting for her team's life. She came out there and played well. That was the first thing we discussed when we came to the locker room at halftime. As you know, Andraya [Carter] is our best defender, so we told her, `Draya, that is you. Lock her up. Don't let her get anymore.' After the game, great job on her part. She finished with 22, so she only had four points in the second half. That is what Andraya brings to this team."

(On advice to Cierra Burdick)
"Just to shake it off. Everyone has their bad nights, but it's a team game. Everyone else stepped up for her tonight. I need her being the other senior out there--just her experience, her knowledge of the game. I told her to bounce back. She'll be fine. She got this out of the way now. We'll get back in the gym tomorrow, get some shots up, get her confidence back and she'll be ready to go Monday night."

Tennessee Forward Bashaara Graves
(On what worked well vs. Boise State)
"I just think I was working hard, and my teammates were getting me the ball. I just had the hot hand today. I wanted to help my team get the win."

(On feelings when Boise State trimmed the UT lead to five)
"I just think we had to stay together. We knew we needed stops at that time because they were coming back. We just needed to play defense. We just came together, made shots and got stops."

Boise State Head Coach Gordy Presnell

(Opening statement)
"Congratulations to Tennessee. They played very well and scored when they had to. They kept balls alive. They got us on the boards, too, and they got second chance opportunities because of that. I was proud of our team. I thought we battled the whole way. It was a great game. Our kids felt like they could win. We walked into this press conference yesterday and Deanna (Weaver) and Brooke (Pahukoa) said `If we shoot well, we're going to win this.' I thought we played hard and battled the whole way."

(On his team's confidence heading into the game)
"I think down the stretch of the season we played at a high level. We were able to grind things out when we weren't shooting the ball well. We thought coming in, Tennessee would out-physical us for sure and that was obvious. But we also thought that our two wings were as athletic or more athletic than theirs - Deanna(Weaver) and Brooke (Pahukoa). Brooke isn't usually out-athleted by anybody. We thought if they could make shots, we would try to run some special plays for them. Then they face guarded Brooke int eh second half and it made it really difficult. We really struggled with the physical thing. They just did a great job throwing diagonal passes to their posts in our zone."

(On UT putting pressure on Brooke Pahukoa)
"We tried clear the base line a couple times and drive and see if we could move and help. She's pretty small down there. We tried some different things. We started running kickbacks to Shalen (Shaw) and Deanna (Weaver)."

(On the outlook for next year)
"We have a good group returning, but we lose a good group. Camille Redmond and Deanne Weaver, Kenzi Poteet and Hailey Laird - they were all big parts of our program and we're certainly going to miss them. We feel good that we can get Brooke a little more developed and Shalen (Shaw). Yaiza (Rodriguez Ortego) will play summer ball for the Spanish National Team again. We feel good that the future is bright. We weren't coming here for any moral victories. Our kids really believed that we could do this and we almost did."

(On UT getting offensive boards)
"The physicality killed us on the offensive boards. Almost every time in women's college basketball, if you get good offensive board and go right back up, you're going to go to the free throw line. That's what we wanted to do that. That's what I meant by being physical. I thought they (Tennessee) really did a nice job of that."

Boise State Guard Brooke Pahukoa
(On the closeness of the game)
"We could have won that game. Kudos to Tennessee for making those shots at the end. Any competitor doesn't want to lose, but I'm really proud of my team. I'm proud of her, the seniors and the coaches. I was happy with our season, happy to know that we competed with Tennessee. So that if we're ever in that situation again, hopefully next year the nerves will be a little bit less. We're excited."

(On what Tennessee did different in the second half to guard you)
"They face guarded me in the second half, not let me get shots. My team is going to knock down shots and they did. It was fine. Shay had a couple threes. it was harder for me to get shots off. That didn't stop what my goal was on the team. I just focused on defense and tried to contribute in a different way."

Boise State Guard Shalen Shaw
(On if Tennessee was more physical than you expected)
"They're a lot more physical than teams we've played, but we expected that."

University of Tennessee Athletics

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