University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE VS. ALABAMA STATE - POST GAME QUOTES
March 22, 2003 | Women's Basketball
March 22, 2003
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2003 NCAA Women's Basketball Mideast Regional First Round
Postgame Quotes
Saturday, March 22, 2003
University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Head Coach Pat Summitt
"I told the basketball team at halftime that it looked like we had been caged up for two weeks. Certainly, our energy generated a lot of positive things on the defensive end and our board play contributed to that as well. It is nice to see Brittany Jackson and Shyra Ely play well today. If we can count on two more offensive weapons, we will be dangerous. Overall, I liked what I saw. We didn't execute as well in the half court game after the late substitution. We did not want to press at that time. We had one combination that didn't seem to play together as well offensively. Courtney McDaniel got some valuable minutes. She can learn a lot from her defensive breakdowns. Tye'sha Fluker came in and played well."
(on point play) "I didn't think our play at the point was as strong at times and we addressed that. Loree [Moore] refocused and we did well."
(on playing at home) "The media is smart enough to figure out that women's basketball is not where it was five years ago. Now, the parity is in place. It certainly nice to be at home, but you watch these next two teams [Virginia and Illinois] play. They have the potential to come in here and if we aren't on our game to take care of business."
(on season goal) "We want to be in Atlanta. That's been more of their concentration, just playing possession basketball to get into that position."
(on Brittany Jackson) "Not to put any pressure on Brittany, but I told her that if she steps up, we are as good as anyone in the country. She has the range of a [Diana] Taurasi. She has three-point shooting range that stretches the defense out. It gives our team a lot of confidence if she shoots the basketball like I know she's capable of."
(on scouting Alabama State) "We had three tapes on the SWAC tournaments. Obviously Coach [Freda] Jackson said they wouldn't be out-hustled. They won the hustle plays in the first half and we countered in the second. They showed a lot of composure. They stayed inside and gave us some fits. They will be a better basketball team having played in this environment."
(on Ashley Robinson) "She played off the bench today instead of starting. I thought her defense was pretty good. We had some balanced scoring today. Not everyone is going to play their "A" game every day. It is a good reason to have depth."
(on 19 Tennessee turnovers) "19 turnovers are too much for postseason. We tried to play too fast at times and got careless during the game. We know we have to be more efficient and take care of the basketball."
(on Operation Iraqi Freedom) "We don't talk much about it. We talk a little bit. They have been able to focus when they've been in the gym. The have been on spring break and have been able to watch it. It is something that goes unspoken, but they've done a good job of coming into the gym and do what needs to be done."
"Any time you have the opportunity to start, you have to take advantage. I am glad coach had the confidence in me to start in the postseason."
(on 19 Tennessee turnovers) "We didn't make a lot of unforced errors in the first half. We learned from them and just forgot about them."
"I felt pretty good. I always go in with defense and rebounding on my mind and let the offense come to me. I fell pretty good about the game and am looking forward to the next game."
"We have been working really hard. We played really good together. It was great to finally get to play. We were ready."
(on hitting three three-pointers) "I am glad I finally started hitting some shots. It was just because my teammates were giving me the ball. It was great to come out with this win."
Head Coach Freda Freeman-Jackson
"Coming into the game, we thought we matched up pretty well. We matched up pretty good with them at the 4 and the 5. I thought our game plan worked at the onset. We made them take good shots, but the thing we didn't do is rebound the ball. They ended up with 12 points on second-chance shots. They also went to the free throw line a lot and that was a difference. They were playing as well as they can. We can't afford to give up any offensive rebounds. We didn't do a good job of rebounding the ball."
(on free throw difference) "I don't have a comment on the free throws. That's one of the reasons they scored a lot of points. We weren't doing a good job of getting points on the inside. That's why I mentioned the free throw disparity."
(on Tennessee's team speed) It didn't take us by surprise. We were able to play LSU this season. We weren't surprised. What I wasn't happy about is that we didn't get back and defend. We didn't do a good job of covering the lanes. We knew they were quick and more athletic. If we had done some of the things we had talked about as a team, we could have offset some of Tennessee's speed."
(on ASU's effort) "They played hard, considering we were shorter than their guards. We were not able to convert those steals into points. We didn't capitalize on some of the points that Tennessee made."
(On Crystal Kitt's second-half technical) "The Tennessee player said something to her and she made a comment back to her as far as the physicalness of the game. I thought the call shouldn't have been made, but I didn't elaborate on that."
(on feeding Crystal Kitt instead of Shameka Jackson) "Shameka ended up scoring more points during the year. We tried to utilize Kitt's bulk as a matchup advantage. We tried to juice Crystal. We tried to take advantage of her size."
(on overall feeling about the season) "It was amazing. We have had a really good ride with this group of seniors. We had high hopes on this season and scheduled some tough teams. We thought we could fare well with them. Things were detoured because of some of the injuries we had throughout the season. Crystal [Kitt] was out all of the non-conference games. Her presence on the floor gave the girls a lot of confidence. They've been successful. No other class would be like this class. It was our first recruiting class. They set the standards. We will be a better ball club and will know what to expect when we come back next year."
(on playing against Tennessee) "It gives the team an idea of high standards. It is one of the best teams in the SEC. It is top-notch when you talk about the University of Tennessee. I have to commend Pat Summitt. We have to be aggressive and we are going to do better. This is a rewarding experience for the players, administrators and fans to see how it is done on the top level."
Crystal Kitt
"One of the things that got us in today's game was their fast break. We weren't able to stop them. We were out-rebounded this game. It was difficult to get back on defense. There were several occasions when they had 3-on-1 and 3-on-2 chances."
(on what to learn from the game) "I would most definitely take the aggressive play of the game coming into the tournament. The SEC has a high level of aggression. That was something I was faced with. Everybody had to be prepared to play aggressive women's basketball. I just need to continue to work."
