University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. MTSU - Post Game Quotes
December 13, 2007 | Women's Basketball
TENNESSEE HEAD COACH PAT SUMMITT:
(opening remarks):
???Middle Tennessee does a great job with their spacing. In the second half, we stepped it up and guarded the three-ball better. We got some good minutes off our bench. We???re going to have to have that.???
(on bench play):
???We were able to spread our minutes out. (Sydney) Smallbone had 15, Vicki Baugh had 14, and Alberta (Auguste) had 21. Our staff did a good job of keeping our players fresh, considering as much as we pressed and pushed tempo.???
(on 47-26 rebounding advantage):
???We had a good effort. Considering the size advantage that we had, I would have been disappointed if we didn???t have that advantage. From a defensive standpoint, we did better.???
(on MTSU???s three-point shooting):
???We were able to put them in late-second situations. When you keep the pressure on, it wears on teams. When they get in their half-court game, they???re efficient from three-point range. They have good perimeter players. Amber (Holt) creates for herself and others. They???re committed to the three-ball.???
(on Tennessee???s inside play):
???We had an advantage on the inside. We didn???t settle for fall-aways and the face-up game. Candace (Parker) stepped up, Nicky (Anosike) was efficient in her game.???
(on Shannon Bobbitt???s injury):
???She had more than a couple (stitches). She???ll be fine. She???s a little dizzy. I didn???t see it happen. She took a tough blow to the head. She has a gash, and I???m sure she???ll have a headache.???
(on Alex Fuller):
???Alex had seven boards. She was very efficient. She got on the glass, and that???s good news for us. I was pleased with her overall performance.???
(on MTSU???s Amber Holt):
???She???s a competitor. She plays with composure. She makes good decisions. She???s tough to guard. The best way to guard her is to limit her touches. She was very efficient, going 8-for-16 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. She only had one turnover, and that says something about her game.???
(on Alexis Hornbuckle):
???Alexis is playing with a lot of confidence. She???s playing under control and is showing that she can score. I like her efficiency.???
TENNESSEE JUNIOR ALEX FULLER
(on her play off the bench):
???I wanted to come off the bench and play with energy. (Coach) Pat (Summitt) has been harping on that in practice. We wanted to keep our energy up.???
(on facing her former high school coach, Rick Insell):
???I just look at it as any other game. I try to help my teammates out. The terminology may be different, but the plays are the same from high school. (Tennessee assistant coach) Dean (Lockwood) is thorough on scouting.???
TENNESSEE SENIOR ALEXIS HORNBUCKLE
(on her own performance):
???I???m playing within myself and not trying to force things. I???m just feeding off of my teammates.???
(on Shannon Bobbitt???s injury):
???00 will be OK. She had a little incident, and there was a little blood. She???s a soldier.???
TENNESSEE JUNIOR CANDACE PARKER
(on Tennessee???s inside game):
???We knew that we had a size advantage coming into this game. They???re a feisty team and like to press. We wanted to get paint points tonight, and I thought we did a good job.???
(on Tennessee???s size advantage):
???I have to go up strong and protect myself. We???re playing aggressive. I thought we did a better job in the second half and were able to get to the free throw line.???
Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell:
(On his team???s performance)
???Our young ladies played hard. I???m proud of them. They didn???t quit or give up. Tennessee???s got the best team in the country. What can you say? They played hard and I???m just really, really proud of our players at Middle Tennessee State.???
(On how close the game was late)
???Honestly, I was not surprised that (the lead was) six points (with seven minutes left). I thought we had some good looks early and didn???t knock those shots down and then we did knock shots down and got back in the game. That???s when (Candace) Parker took over. She???s a great player and got the job done. (Nicky) Anosike went to the boards and it was kind of tough trying to control the both of them. They did what they had to do and that???s why they are a championship team.???
(On Amber Holt???s play)
???We???re a young team and we???re going to get better. Amber (Holt) has to have more trust in the team and that???s something we worked on tonight. She has to trust them and then they have got to reward her when she trusts them. I thought they did a good job of that.???
(On the rebounding margin)
???We out-rebounded Maryland, so we can hang our hat on that. But we didn???t out-rebound Tennessee. They are just so big and strong. They send Anosike to the boards and then they have Parker too. They are just so smooth around the rim. Our kids can block out and jump and they are athletic but it???s not enough. We could have done a little better job, I think.???
(On Starr Orr)
???We???ve been waiting for Starr Orr to break out. She came out sharp tonight. She???s got to continue that. She???s the leading scorer in Alabama high schools. She scored 4,000 points in high school and we???ve got to get her taking more shots.???
Middle Tennessee senior guard/forward Amber Holt:
(On her play tonight)
???Like coach said, I have to trust my teammates. When I come out to shoot the three they have to guard that and when they shut that down, I can drive or pass to my teammates.???
(On playing Tennessee)
???I tell the team, ???don???t be scared of anybody. Just go out there and play your game.??? I told Emily Queen when she???s got to guard Candace Parker, ???Don???t be scared. She???s just like you. She???s just another person.??? And that???s what they did. They just played their game.???
