Tennessee vs. EKU Postgame Quotes

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening statement…
"I'm happy and pleased with several things from this game. Obviously, being one of them was the fact that we were able to play extended minutes for a lot of our players. I'm excited that we were able to do that. We had 26 assists on 44 field goals. That's a big number. We did our job on the boards. I think 12 turnovers for us this game was probably not bad. Going in, we would have taken that to start the game. I think we had some good things, showed some good things. Obviously, there are some areas that we will improve on. That's important too."

On how much Tamari Key needed this type of performance…
"We knew we were going to have the size advantage going in, and I thought our players did a nice job of finding her and looking for her in the paint. She was able to score those because of her size, or she was able to get the ball because of her size. She did a good job finishing. I thought it was good for her. You know, I agree. I thought she did some really good things on the boards. I thought she went and attack the boards a few possession. That aggressiveness we've not seen consistently, so that was good."

On Sara Puckett's decision-making skills…
"I think Sara gives you some size and strength. She'll go look for boards. She's a nice presence on the court, pretty consistent player, and then she can shoot. She gives you a lot of advantages while she's out there, and I think we've been trying to move her around a little bit. She's played some perimeter. She's played some four. I think that's also a huge advantage for us."

On Jordan Horston eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for her career…
"It's been fun to coach Jordan the last few years and to see her growth both on the court and off the court. It's been fun, and she's put in a lot of work to continue to get better. I was given her a hard time saying 1,000 points is a lot that's a lot of buckets. I'm proud of her and what she's been able to do. She's affected this program. She's going to be in the record books. She's really talented, and hopefully, she can she can finish this year strong."

On how the early success from beyond the arc helped open up the paint for the offense…
"The game plan was to go inside early, and I think because we were able to get inside early it opened up some opportunities on the perimeter. The pace of the game early on was pretty hot, and I think that was in our favor today. I know they liked to play fast, but I think it gave us some opportunities in transition. As the game goes on—even though we're trying to get it inside—you find those open opportunities, and we were able to knock them down with great confidence to start the game. I don't know if we shot it as well throughout the game as they changed up their defense a little bit and modified some things, but the start was good."

On what Jordan Horston means to her…
"Jordan and I are really close. We're really close. We kid each other that we've been through a lot together. I think there's a pretty big trust there. There's obviously a lot of loyalty there. It's not easy to come into a program and play for a coach that did not recruit you. And she did, but I think our connection early on was really positive. She knows I love her and would do anything to help her, and vice versa. I know she's got my back as well. I think that's been fun. I'm just proud of who she's becoming, and who she wants to be and how she's getting there."

On what Jillian Hollingshead and Jasmine Franklin provided off the bench…
"They do some really good things defensively when they're out there. We can shift some people around. We can be creative with our matchups with those two players, because they can guard both inside and out with athleticism. Some of the things that we've done offensively, I think puts them in a better position now to play together. Maybe we weren't doing that a few weeks ago. I think now they're more comfortable playing together and playing with one another. We like that. I thought they did some good things together. They're two pretty powerful players, when you talk about what they can do offensively and on the boards."

On getting a week before the game and what she wants to get done before then…
"It feels like it's been a sprint, and now it's like you get to catch your breath a little bit. It's not going to be an easy week. We are absolutely going to get after it. We'll have an off day tomorrow, and then I'm telling you, Tuesday is going to be probably one of the toughest practices we've had. They need that. Right now, defensively, we have to get better. We have to be a better basketball team by the end of the week. You can only do that through practice. We've already been thinking about some of the things we're going to work on this week. Obviously, we are going to be heavy on our defense. We have a few things execution wise that we have to clean up. I told them in the locker room—pointed out some really positive things—but told them we have this week that we have to take advantage of. We have to be a better basketball team the next time we walk out on the court. Bottom line. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about what we did today. I'm also excited about what we can do by the end of this week."

On what she saw from Karoline Striplin today, specifically in the second quarter…
"I think she does a really good job finishing around the basket. Obviously, she did that well in the first half. She sprints the floor, works hard and finds good open opportunity. She's probably our best post-up player in terms of wanting the basketball. She gets in there and gets touches as soon as she gets in the game because of her positioning and her effort and her energy. Those things are good, and she's rebounding pretty well. I think for her the next step is being a little more comfortable defensively."

On the changes they made to have success on the boards…
"Well, there's not been any schematic changes, and we haven't harped on it any more than we did at the beginning of the year. I think some of our players are getting some good habits. We're still not where we want to be at all on the board play. I was glad that the numbers reflected some positive changes today, but we still have a ways to go there. We were not 100 percent across the board, doing what we need to do every single possession and that's okay. We still have some time. We will still get there.

On Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston being unselfish with the ball…
"The great thing about those two is that I can run plays to get them the ball or they can find it within the offense, and it doesn't kill your offense in terms of the ball movement. They can find and will pass to the open man. They're confident in their ability, but they're also confident their teammates ability as well. I think when you have players like that, it makes you want to play with them. You want to be on the court with those two. I would love to play with those two. I would have racked up a lot of assists if I played with those two."

Senior Center Tamari Key

On overcoming an offensive slump…
"It was good. I mean, I just want to continue to get better, just keep working. Keep working hard, keep moving forward and just worry about the games as they come. And you know, I can't control any of the games that we've already played, so it's just being able to give my best effort in the games to come."

On takeaways from today's game while going into the matchup against Virginia Tech…
"We're thankful for just getting the opportunity to play together and play hard and play at home, as well. So, I think it gives us good momentum going into the Virginia Tech game. And you know, we have a week of practice to get better. So (there's) lots of time for film and extra shots and all the things. We're looking forward to that game."

On the development of the other Lady Vols post players…
"I think I've said it since the summer - we have a really good post group this year. Everyone works really hard and is just pulling for each other. It's been fun with them. I think we just have each other's back. If you work hard and play well together, then all of that just starts to come together. I'm glad that they're out there, feeling good and getting comfortable out there. It makes me happy to see. I'm excited for them and what's to come for the rest of the season."

Senior Guard Jordan Horston

On hitting three-pointers…
"Obviously, it's not by design that I'm taking more threes. I've always wanted to improve my jump shot. People tend to back off of me, because we've got great shooters like Sarah (Puckett) and Tess (Darby), and I'm known as a driver. It's amazing seeing that the work I've put in is paying off."

On Sarah Puckett…
"Sarah's a baller, like I said. She came in as a baller. She does little things, and she's a hard worker who gives her all. Off the court, she's a great person. Everything that she gets, she deserves. So, I'm very happy and proud of Sarah. No, I'm being real. I'm really proud of Sarah, and she's a glue player for us, honestly."

On how Tamari Key's play boosts the team…
"Oh man, we're a whole different team when Tamari is rolling. So, I'm happy that she got in her groove, getting the ball, getting her touches and scoring and stuff. You know, it happens. She's a great player and still a great teammate no matter what. I like to say, 'You can't control the past, but you can get better from here.'"

Sophomore Guard/Forward Sarah Puckett

On making good decisions...
"I think it's mainly from my experience, just from last year. I'm just going with the flow of the game instead of trying to make things happen. Then if I get my shot, I'll get my shot. But if I'm passing to TK (Tamari Key) inside, I'm gonna give it to her as much as I can. So, I'm just letting the game come to me. I'm not trying to force anything, I'm just doing what I need to do out there."

On the team staying together during the rough start to the season…
"I feel like we kept working, we never backed down even though we did take some tough losses. We had each other's backs. We knew we were there for each other, and we just reassured each other that we're going to continue to work hard and focus on those little things, because that's going to carry on into each game, and that's what we need. So, I feel like it's really good that we have won two home games back-to-back, just because it boosts our confidence a little and gets us back in the groove of Tennessee basketball."

Eastern Kentucky Head Coach Greg Todd

Opening Statement:
"We knew coming in that this would be a tough task, playing on the road against a team ranked in the top 25. We knew it would be tough. We would've liked to get off to a better start. We had a tough first quarter. I felt like our girls competed hard after we got through that first quarter; we didn't quit. We kept playing every possession, and the results showed that on the scoreboard, definitely closer quarters after the first quarter. To come in and get 71 points, I think it's a good number for us, offensively. Against that much length and their size made some difference, but they had 70 points in the paint, and that made it very tough. That was basically as many points we could score for the whole game that they got inside. To their credit, they did a good job getting into the paint, but I felt like their turnovers… we did a pretty good job of keeping our turnovers down. We typically shoot a little bit better, but we also haven't played against that much length and athleticism. There were some positives I think for us. We got to move forward, but Tennessee has a nice group of young ladies. I don't think they will lose a lot of home games for sure, and I think as the season goes along they will be a definite threat to everyone in the SEC."

On how this game came about…
"I think our connection with Sam (Williams) made the difference. It was a good matchup for us to have that opportunity. You look to play one or two games at a higher level against Power 5, higher-level teams, and it just worked out that they needed an extra game there, so we worked it out."

On Pat Summitt and what it meant to play at Tennessee…
"We discussed the history here as Marty (Antwainette Walker) said, we didn't want to be intimidated or be in awe of what's happened here, but hats off to what Pat Summitt did and what she did for women's basketball. Certainly, you have to know that she is an icon for any coach."

On the game plan for containing Jordan Horston and Tamari Key…
"We felt like it would be a plus as a better perimeter shooting team. We wanted them to have to settle for perimeter shots, and we had to rebound. The rebounding was tough today, and I like to think we can do a better job. I know they are going to score some points from the paint with their length, but rebounding sometimes is just effort, and it wasn't one of our better rebounding games. I give Tennessee credit for not only their length, but their effort was very good. Those two players are definitely who you have to scheme to try and keep their points down, certainly with their size and ability to shoot and pass is very, very good."

Redshirt Senior Guard/Forward Antwainette Walker

On her offensive success…
"What we said in the locker room was even though it was a loss, we still gained a lot from it, playing bigger teams like this. We still shot pretty decently, so just getting into our offense a little bit better and taking away little things, kills, what we call defensive stops, little things like that. We are going to take it back to Kentucky and rearrange some things and get ready for our next game."

On Pat Summitt and what it meant to play at Tennessee…
"I think it's pretty awesome. It's a blessing to be able to play here. It's a pretty cool place. I obviously see all the banners and everything. I think it's pretty awesome. I think all of us realized that coming in, however, we still had a job to do, and I think that no matter what – Tennessee or Uconn - we still came in and gave it our own fight."

Redshirt Sophomore Guard Alice Recananti

On her offensive success…
"We knew it was going to be a tough game; they're bigger than us. I think we can just learn from our mistakes and take what we did good and learn from what we did worse."