University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE VS. CONNECTICUT GAME QUOTES
January 06, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2002
TENNESSEE vs. CONNECTICUT
Post-Game Quotes
January 5, 2002
TENNESSEE HEAD COACH PAT SUMMITT:
"Going into this game, I felt like we would learn volumes from this game. We learned a lot. Hopefully, we can take this and get better. Connecticut was more aggressive and more physical on both ends of the court. Their frontline had so much energy. We didn't have an answer for (Diana) Taurasi. They were active, aggressive, and physical the whole game. We were passive and stood around. We didn't match their physical play. Connecticut is a mentally disciplined and experienced team. We lacked that mental toughness. We were bothered by breakdowns. We'll take this game and learn from it."
"Connecticut did a great job of taking away Kara Lawson. They were very physical on Michelle Snow. She got more touches in the second half. We stood around. I told our players at the timeouts that unless our posts start moving, it doesn't matter what offense we call."
"I hate to lose. I'm a competitor. There's a big gap between No. 1 and No. 2 right now. I'm not disappointed about our talent. I'm disappointed about our execution. We have to learn."
(on whether Diana Taurasi played like a senior) "Taurasi played like a graduate student. They all played with great heart and played well together. It shows up. When they break down, they know how to counter."
"Connecticut was very physical on Michelle (Snow). She looked like a perimeter player instead of a post. She's a finesse player instead of a power player. She stood. I'm sure she will be disappointed in her game today. We've got to get her to move. She put too much pressure on her self. When Michelle Snow and Gwen Jackson aren't scoring, Tennessee's going to struggle. We'll have to work harder and examine what we're doing."
"We did a good job of defending Taurasi on the post up, but we didn't do a good job one-on-one. Give her credit. She knows how to use her body, and she finishes. She was too good today. She made shots today that were backbreakers. They took the wind out of our team. Even with our hand in her face defending her, she was knocking down threes."
"We stood, and stood, and stood. We had no energy, no aggressiveness, no ball reversal."
"At 4:00 tomorrow, we'll watch the tape. We do not have a lot of time to worry. We've got to fix things."
"Connecticut executed like clockwork. They made plays and finished. We had misses. I think, though, they got better looks than we did. We're used to (Michelle) Snow being our big anchor. When that didn't happen, we were in a state of emergency. We weren't playing in sync."
"We have to become more aggressive and more physical. Mentally, we've got to be a lot tougher. We've got 11 more games against ranked teams. That's a challenge. Come March, I like this team's chances. We're not going to fold our tent. We never have, and we never will."
"We're all chasing Connecticut right now. It may be a marathon, but we hope to finish the race."
MICHELLE SNOW:
"We have had teams to play us physical before, but Connecticut wanted every rebound. All of their posts did a great job of rebounding. It's something for us to learn from. We knew this would be a test for us, a measuring stick for us. We know what we have to work on."
"If we get better, we'll have a chance to play them again."
KARA LAWSON:
"They were keying on Michelle (Snow) and me, denying us the ball. They were able to throw us out of our offensive rhythm. We resorted to standing around. We didn't get the offensive boards. It's the first time this season that we've been denied that hard."
(on the play of Diana Taurasi) "Wow. That's all you can say. With a player as explosive offensively as she is, you have to harness her and limit her touches. We weren't able to do that today. We have to play harder and with more heart. Diana Taurasi has expanded her offensive game. She had a lot of confidence last year, even more this year. She looks to be a big time player."
"Our communication broke down. I wouldn't say that we panicked, but we did let the flow of the game affect how we were playing."
CONNECTICUT HEAD COACH GENO AURIEMMA:
"We came in feeling like we had to defend really well and rebound exceptionally well. They were our keys to the game and I think we executed those things well. Diana Taurasi almost single handedly kept us going on offense."
"Diana Taurasi did a lot of things for us today. I don't think there is anyone in the country her size that does the things she can do. Her ability to shoot and drive makes her hard to replace."
"Our four seniors are a pretty special group and I was excited for them."
"You here coaches say that this is like any other game. This isn't an ordinary game. It is a big game because the kids love to play in these games. It is an opportunity you don't get everyday."
(on Connecticut's defense) "Our best defense today was when three of our players was in one set and the other two were in another. That defense can really mess up a point guard, and we were in that a lot today. Seriously, when you have smart and talented players who can make adjustments on the court and stay organized, you are able to show a lot of different looks and that is what we did today."
(on the final adjustment that put Tennessee away) "I don't think there was any one thing that did it. We had a stretch when we were in the right defense and Tamika Williams came up with a steal and someone else came up with a board which led to a fast break and that put us in control."
(on the slow start in the first half) "In that first time out I was ready to fire our front court. Asjha Jones did not really have a good first half and Tennessee came out ready to play. After the first few minutes we settled into our rhythm and really stuck to the game plan. I think Diana Taurasi and Tamika Williams both stepped up and even Jones played better in the second half. You don't win games like this without some one stepping up."
DIANA TAURASI:
(on the improvement to her game since last year) "I have worked on taking the ball to the basket more. Last year, I just used to fire up threes and long range shots. Now, I looking to be more physical and making plays."
"I really wanted to win this game, not only for our seniors, but because I can remember how miserable it was when we lost last year. It is a great feeling to win here."
TAMIKA WILLIAMS:
(on the battle for rebounds) "There were spells were Tennessee would shoot and get the board and shoot again. I really wanted to stop those spells. "
"Everyone thinks I guard Michelle Snow. I didn't guard her or Gwen Jackson, I just bring help off. I try to stay off then until they make their move. We knew that Jackson likes to spin and shoot so we try to fill that lane. With Snow, we tried to make her shoot over us."
