Postgame Quotes: Lady Vols 77, Central Arkansas 34

Tennessee Head Coach Holly Warlick

Opening Statement:

"I'm proud of our team's effort and excited that we shot 80 percent from the free-throw line. I loved our defensive effort. We had 13 steals. It was just a great team effort and our shot selection was outstanding. I'm really proud of the entire team."

On practice skills and effort transferring to the game:
"They're understanding what's important, and they're actually listening and taking it in. We worked a lot yesterday on us, and that's really the first time that we've really zeroed in on us. We did a lot of one-on-ones, so I think it helped. Well, I don't think it helped, I know it helped. We're going to continue to do that every day. Ours is just effort and heart, and I thought we got down and defended tonight."

On the height advantage versus Central Arkansas and getting redshirt senior center Mercedes Russell the ball:
"We want to get the ball inside regardless of players being 6'1" or 6'5". We play inside-out, and we want to establish our inside game. I thought Mercedes worked really hard to get the ball tonight, and I thought our players worked very hard to get her the ball. She didn't fade away from the basket. She went up strong. When she demands the basketball and turns with confidence and power, she's going to shoot a high percentage, and we're going to continue to get her the basketball."

On Meme Jackson's effort:
"I love Meme's energy. She is more mature. She's a junior, and she and I talk a lot about her defensive presence. She's our defensive stopper. She had four steals tonight which is big for her. Meme has the capability of shutting down anybody's best player. It's a mindset for Meme, and I thought tonight she did a really outstanding job. (She was) 4-for-11, and I'm surprised because I thought Meme took some really great shots as well. I know she missed two or three layups, and we're going to give her a hard time about that, but I just love her defensive presence right now and her effort and her energy. We feed off of it, and I think tonight we fed off of what she did on both ends of the floor."

On Tennessee's defensive effort in the second half and getting the entire team playing time:
"It's huge. In Cancun, we emptied our bench, and our bench is solid, but we didn't have great effort. We talked about it, and I thought tonight they came in and not only did we maintain, we took a step up. I had no idea that we held them to zero points (in the fourth quarter). We really wanted to focus on us. We talked a lot about that at halftime and before the game, and I thought we did. They came in and didn't let up. I don't think we've ever held anybody to zero points, and I think that's the lowest we've held somebody in the second half, so you've got to be doing something right. I thought we were all on the same page, and we were really playing well together."

On freshman center Kasiyahna Kushkituah's injury:
"(Kasiyahna) just tweaked it a little bit yesterday in practice. It's day-by-day. I don't anticipate her being out long."

On senior forward Kortney Dunbar earning more playing time:
"Kortney has really accepted the challenge of being a better defender, and I've been really proud of her. Kortney has the ability to do that, she just has to get confidence and she's worked hard at it. I will say this: Kortney has been one of our hardest working practice players, especially in the last month. I wanted to reward Kortney because of that. And today she got rebounds; she had a great pass. I just think you're seeing Kortney play with a lot of confidence, and she deserves it because she's played extremely hard in practice."

On the student who unstuck the ball from the rim in the first half:
"He's a one of our practice players. I tried to get the smaller one to do it, and he wouldn't do it, so I gave him a hard time. We practice against those guys every day, and they've blocked a couple shots, so I knew he could get up on the rim. He loved it though. He did it after the first try. We couldn't get it after the first two or three tries. I hope he made ESPN-something."

Tennessee Junior Meme Jackson

On her confidence in this game and the difference from last season:
"Just being aggressive. Holly always tells me I need to attack the basket more and stop settling for three-pointers, so today I just tried to attack the basket and do whatever it took to help my team."

On if she was aware that Tennessee held Central Arkansas to zero points in the fourth quarter:
"Really our mindset is just to get defensive stops. I don't think we were really worried about them not scoring, we were just worried about getting stops."

On what the posts blocking shots does for the Lady Vols as a team:
"It gives us a spark of energy. I love when they block a shot. It gets us hyped."

Tennessee Redshirt Senior Mercedes Russell

On what she hopes to accomplish in this home stand:
"I think our goal is just to improve and get better every single game on both ends of the court, both offensively and defensively, but defense is our first priority. I think tonight we set a couple records, and our defense was really strong. And holding (Central Arkansas) to zero in the fourth quarter was huge."

On ability to consistently perform:
"It's huge, especially when all of our guards are hitting shots outside. They can't just stay in the paint the whole time. It's huge for the transition and hitting three-pointers."

On what a defensive performance like tonight means for the team:
"It's definitely huge for us. We've been emphasizing (defense) more and more in practice, because every night we're not going to shoot as well as we usually do. We can always rely on our defense, and I think tonight we did a really good job."

Central Arkansas Head Coach Sandra Rushing

Opening Statement:

"I'm glad it's over, that's all I can say. I felt like, I mean, Tennessee is good. They're bigger. They're faster. They're stronger. I think this is one of the best team's that Holly (Warlick) has had. They're playing together. We knew going into the ballgame, no matter what we threw at them, they had an answer. We never really got a good double in the post. Our biggest player is maybe 6'1". In transition defense against Tennessee, you can't get back to half-court. You've got to get all the way back. I've got a lot of respect for Holly and what she's doing. This is a good experience for our program. I'm glad, especially, a lot of our younger players stepped in. I thought Taylor Sells, a sophomore, did a great job for us. She played a lot of minutes. I'm disappointed as far as our effort. With blocking out, we can still be in position to block out, and we were watching the ball. We may not get it, but at least I wish we were in better position."

On the culture shock of playing an NAIA team and then playing on the road against Tennessee:

"Well, it was quick. We played Baylor, and then we have two more. The reason that was set up, our schedule like that, because I have eight new players. It gave my freshman the opportunity the other night to play a lot. Nothing takes the place of experience. That was really why we did that. We've played Tennessee before. We knew exactly what we were going to get. Players need to show up. You can't decide when to pick and choose when you're going to play. I think we need to practice harder. It wasn't a shock when they were bigger and faster, but I wanted us to compete. That was my biggest thing."

Comparing Baylor and Tennessee:

"They're both really, really good. Of course, I don't want to stick my nose out there to say one is better than the other, but I did talk to Holly. She knows how I feel. So, I'm going to keep it at that."

On not scoring in the fourth quarter:

"I think Tennessee's tough. I think we were scared. I had a senior that had a layup, and we missed it. I had freshmen in there, too. I chose not to play TB (Taylor Baudoin), KJ (Kierra Jordan) and Kamry Orr. I wanted them to sit over there. I think we need to show up at the beginning of the game. I thought TB played a good first half, but we've got to be consistent. Tennessee was just doing what they wanted to, when they wanted to, how they wanted to. We tried a zone, and we knew with our little, short guards, they were going to lob it over. They do a great job on the off-side. They're going to seal, throw it up. There's just no comparison. We knew what we were in for. I just thought we could've given a little bit more effort."

On Tennessee's guard play:

"They can get in there (in the zone). They put it on the floor. The thing is, they play well together. One thing I've noticed about Tennessee, this team, this year, they really play together. They play well off of each other. When you've got your team playing that way, they play unselfish. From what I've seen on film and here tonight, everybody's encouraging each other. They're tremendous. I'd like one of them."

On what she gets out of coming and playing Tennessee:

"Well, I think it's national recognition for our program. Of course I wish the score was a little bit closer, but it gives our players an opportunity to play on the big stage. We've been fortunate the last couple of years to go to the NCAA tournament and play on the big stage. I want them to see it early. We have Baylor, we have Tennessee, and then we are going to Texas A&M. Our young players need to experience that. I don't want (to lack experience) if we have the opportunity to get to conference and play in a championship or go to the NCAA tournament. I want them to experience this. I remind them that we have. I did remind them that we were on the big stage and that we need to relax, but tonight we took and forced some really bad shots. At Baylor, we were able to hold the shot clock and take it at five seconds. Tonight, every time I turned around, it was going up. Then, you miss, and we've got to go down and defend Tennessee. That's why we play them. I want our players to know where we want to be with the effort and tradition. It's not like we'll ever win a national championship, but we can win championships and go to the NCAA tournament."

Central Arkansas Forward Taylor Baudoin

On how playing high-level competition will prepare her team for conference play:
"I think it prepares us, because it shows us what we really need to work on. Better teams are more likely to expose your weaknesses. I feel like that's what Tennessee did tonight, and I feel like we have a lot to work on. It prepares us for the conference, because we're going to practice and really working on it. Tennessee prepares us for the more athletic teams, like Lamar and SFA (Stephen F. Austin) in conference.