University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols vs. ETSU Postgame Quotes
December 21, 2018 | Women's Basketball
Tennessee Head Coach Holly Warlick
Opening Statement:"A big, big difference in our effort tonight from Stanford. The Stanford game – I don't get upset that we don't make shots, but we didn't have the energy and the effort. Tonight, we had really good energy and effort. We had, which is uncharacteristic for us, too many turnovers, but I like the aggressiveness and the attacking. Our defense was up and down, but our defense has suffered because we haven't had the opportunity to work on it because we've been in exam week and been limited on what we can and can't do. So, we'll look forward to them coming back and really focus in on that. We had 20 assists, so there's a lot that I'm going to take away from this game that was really positive. The number one thing is our energy and effort."
On the difference Meme has been making the past few games:
"Meme has been in the gym all summer and been in the gym outside of practice. When you do that, you gain confidence, and she made shots because she's had volume shots on her own. Meme has a lot of confidence. She's shot the ball well, and she has a really good first step and drive to the basket that she needs to use a little bit more. She shot the ball well tonight because she shot open shots. She was open for the threes. She didn't force it and her teammates got her the ball."
On the smaller lineup in the third quarter that helped extend the lead:
"I didn't realize that Cheridene only played 15 minutes. That wasn't by design, but when we made that run, Mimi Collins is on the top of our press and she just makes things happen. We got steals and some easy buckets. We were solid on the defensive end and came down on the fast breaks. It was an up-tempo team and Mimi Collins comes in and seems to give us that energy on the defensive end."
On the mentality behind sharing the basketball:
"You sign kids that are really good offensive players, and we talked a lot about taking great shots, not good shots. There's been times where we've shot floaters in the transition, we've shot one-on-three, and those aren't good shots for us. We talked a lot before this game about spreading the floor and taking great shots. We got a couple charges out of the transition, and in a timeout, we talked about getting a pull-up jumper and make the extra pass. This group, really for the most part, is really good at doing what you ask them to do. I thought tonight they did that."
On what she's learned about her team after these past few games:
"Yesterday, we went from 9 (a.m.) to 3 (p.m.) and watched a ton of tape. They're learning how to understand that the films don't lie. They're learning how to play with each other. You take a group that has been the star on their team – the ball's always going to them – and now this group has to play together. It's been hard at times, but the for the majority of the time that they've been here, they've been willing to share the basketball. That speaks highly of these young ladies wanting to put the team first. I've had to get buy-in from them to play on the defensive end. They're athletic. They can do it. It just takes a lot of effort. Kids like the offensive end – I get that. But see, defense can lead you to a great layup and easy bucket and a great pass, so I try to get buy-in from there."
On Kasiyahna working her way back into the lineup after injury:
"She's rusty and has got to get back in shape. She's only practiced a couple of days before the Stanford game, too. The break will be good for her. She's going to have to get out and do some things on her own, but I have a lot of confidence in Kasi. We need her. Before she got hurt, she was physical, was big, was scoring and getting rebounds. We need to go back to where she left off."
On Kasiyahna Kushkituah's play the last couple of games:
"She is rusty and has to get back in shape. She had only practiced a couple of times before the Stanford game. The break will be good for her. She is going to have to get out and do some things on her own. I have a lot of confidence in her, though. We need her. Before she got hurt, she was physical, big and got rebounds. We need to go back to where she left off."
On what she saw from the play of Jazmine Massengill:
"She had the opportunity to play a lot of minutes. She is a point guard and a great leader. I'll tell you who's helped her: Evina Westbrook. If you look at Evina's stats and say she didn't have a great game, she was a great leader tonight. She spends a lot of time with Jaz and gives her confidence. Tonight showed the things that Jaz is capable of doing. She felt good and was healthy. I thought she did a great job of leading the team."
On Evina's communication from the bench:
"It's huge. I asked if she wanted to go back in, and she said no. She had jammed her thumb a little bit, but I think she wanted to give Jaz an opportunity to get some playing time. She's constantly helping Jaz. Jaz looks up to her for leadership. Those are the things that don't show up in the stat sheet. Evina has had some great games, but you can't measure a game by your stats, especially if you're a point guard. It's about getting your team ready to play and where they need to be. She did a great job of that tonight."
On if she thinks Mimi Collins is starting to get more comfortable:
"She is. Mimi is that kid that is always around the ball, and that is a great thing. I didn't think she took a bad shot tonight. I had her out on the wing and put her inside. I am really proud and pleased with her. She has to cut down on her turnovers, but that comes with facing the basket and handing the ball better. Mimi just continues to get better and better. I have a lot of confidence in her. She plays hard."
On the issues with turning the ball over:
"We are bigger and stronger than ETSU, so they had to do things to keep them in the game. When you're passing into the post and float one in, they would have already come around and gotten in front. You can't float passes. You can't throw passes to the side where the defense is because those kids are quick. They get around and get their hands on a lot of balls. That is just us knowing how to pass and where to throw the basketball. We had a lot of those in transition, and I am ok with that. If we are in the half court and float a pass in, I am not ok with that. Those are things we will go back and work on. You have to know who you're playing."
On her relationship with ETSU head coach Brittney Ezell:
"I have a great relationship with Brittney. I don't care if she played at Alabama. She played softball and basketball with a passion, and I respect that. I respect what she is doing at ETSU. She's played the toughest schedule in the country. I don't know what their RPI rating is, but she played us, South Carolina and Rutgers. She has played a tough schedule. I told her all she did tonight was get ready for her conference. That is what it's all about. We play the teams we play to get ready for our conference. We just happened to win more games than she had. She's played a lot of big schools, and that is tough. She does a great job. Her kids played hard, didn't look at the score and took on her personality. I have a lot of respect for her, and I hope she continues to win moving forward."
Sophomore Forward Rennia Davis
On Tennessee's effort and if it improved:
"I think the effort was better. I think we still have defense to work on, but the effort was better this game."
On how it feels to go into Christmas break with a win:
"It feels a lot better. The Stanford game was tough for all of us, but this game we tried to bounce back. Especially from an effort and energy standpoint."
On the team having 20+ assists and sharing the basketball:
"That is how we play. That is how we score a lot of our offense, just moving the ball around. Evina (Westbrook) was able to have nine assists in the game not shooting the ball well but doing other stuff which is what we need."
On using a lot of lineup combinations:
"I think Coach Warlick is just trying out different stuff. Just trying to see who plays well with who. Like Mimi (Collins) said, (we're) just trying to figure out certain combinations for defense. I think that Coach Warlick was trying to figure that out tonight. As players, regardless of what lineup is in, we need to continue to be team players."
Freshman Forward Mimi Collins
On the defensive lineup in the second half:
"I would say she went with the straight pressing type defense. She wanted to go with a smaller group because she wanted the tempo and the energy faster. We just picked up our tempo and started trapping. She mixed up a whole bunch of lineups just to see how they would work. Mostly every lineup that she did put in worked. In that group that she put in, she wanted it to be a pressing defense. She wanted the energy to pick up faster so they would turn the ball over."
On the way Meme (Jackson) was shooting and what it does for the offense:
"I think it does a lot of great things because it opens up all of us. When I pass it to Meme on the wing and I got closed out on, I passed it to her and she knocked down a three. After she made her fourth three, everyone was like lets guard Meme and it opened up for all of us. All of us started scoring because of what she did. She became a threat, which is what we needed as a team. We do need threats. When she became a threat, it just opened up for all of us."
On her aggressive game and working on balancing her game:
"I would say I am just testing everything out. I understand the rules of the hand checking, and just me having the momentum, I do get caught hand checking. Other than that, my thing is just to go for everything SEC, and the SEC is a very physical conference. My thing is to keep on being physical and having that standard, because the more physical we play, it is easier for us, and we can have more wins that way."
Senior Guard Meme Jackson
On being senior and knowing her time is limited:
"My time is limited, and I just want to get out there and play hard every time I step on the court."
On what has been the difference in her play the last few games:
"A lot of times I am in the gym with Coach Dean (Lockwood). He works on my footwork a lot, and it just comes with being patient on offense and my teammates giving me great looks."
On the point in the game where she realized that it could be a great game for her:
"When they were not closing out on me and my teammates were giving me good looks, I was just shooting it if they were not there."
ETSU head coach Brittney Ezell
On her team's performance tonight:"I told them in the locker room after the game how proud I was of them. They are actually starting to find themselves and believe me when I tell them they have a chance to be pretty good. With our record it is easy to be discouraged; it is easy to cave in and roll their eyes and think I am crazy. They might do that behind my back, but in front of me they are still smiling and acting like they get it."
On playing Tennessee:
"Playing the Lady Vols is an opportunity that every little girl in this area wanted, and it is my job to provide that. It is their job to go out and play with that kind of energy and effort. That is something they will hold onto for the rest of their lives. They did such a good job. If we would have hit a little more free throws and had better transition defense, I'm thrilled with it. I'm not into moral victories, but I am the biggest cheerleader our team has, and they need to know I'm always in their corner, and tonight they really got me going in their corner."
On Meme Jackson:
"Meme Jackson is from Middle Tennessee, and she will not be getting a Christmas card from me. She shot the ball extremely well and has been playing with a lot of confidence, and I know Holly (Warlick) really likes that about her. Her game against Texas was something to behold; it was fun to watch, so as a coach in the state, you pull for in-state kids. I am happy for her, I just wish she would have sat on the bench tonight."
On this Tennessee team:
"They've got talent, they've got length, they've got kids that can shoot it, they've got a dynamic point guard. We always pay attention tot the team that we played, so we'll be paying attention to them. And as hard as it is as an Alabama graduate to say, I'll be pulling for the Lady Vols."
On if ETSU ran out of gas in the third quarter:
"Give (Tennessee) a little bit of credit defensively, they started locking up a little bit more and making it very difficult for Carley (Lytton) to get open looks. Micah had a couple open looks. Erica never really could get going. We came out a little stagnant in the third quarter... but give them some credit. Defensively they got really tough there in the third quarter and we were kind of shell-shocked for a minute. I even called timeout with one of their players on the free-throw line just to get them regrouped. But I think that was the big turning point in the game, that and our inability to stop them on the fast break."
On how they prepared for the pressure:
"That's a credit to all of our kids, they really listened. Coach Kelly Mathis had the scout for today, and I thought she did a phenomenal job of talking to our kids about their pressure. But it's hard to prepare for their length. Some of the things they were able to do caused us problems. Kaia Upton being a freshman point guard and handling the pressure the way that she did really shows a tremendous amount of growth. I think all of them really bought into our game plan for breaking their press, and we worked really hard on it in practice, but that's really a credit to the kids. I can give them the best scheme in the world, but it's up to the kids to go do it, and they did a great job of embracing that."
ETSU guard Micah Scheetz:
On being a Knoxville native and playing the Lady Vols:
"It was really fun. Like coach said, it is every little girl's dream around here to play against the Lady Vols. It was fun to be out there. Me and my teammates were talking, I am so proud of them, it really did not feel like we lost. We played really well, probably the best we have played in a couple of games."
