University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: #8 Tennessee 73, #21 Texas 57
December 04, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2011
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TENNESSEE HEAD COACH Pat Summitt
(general comments)
"Overall, I was pleased with the way we played today. I thought Ariel (Massengale) had a great floor game and really got us going. I thought that everyone who stepped on the court contributed for us today.
"It was a super basketball environment for us. We had another great crowd, and I can't say enough about how they motivate our team.
"We came into the game with a lot of energy and sustained it throughout the game."
(on rebounds)
"Winning the battle of the boards was key for our team today. We knew Texas would go hard to the glass, and we really challenged our team not to have a rebounding letdown. I was pleased with our 20 offensive boards and 17 second chance points - both were big stats for us."
(on Shekinna Stricklen)
"I was really pleased with the way Shekinna played today. Obviously, she shot the ball well. We gave her a tough defensive assignment, so she had her hands full on both ends of the floor."
(on paint points)
"Paint points were hard to come by...they were definitely earned by both teams today. It was a physical battle in the key."
(on turnovers)
"For an up-and-down game, I've got to be pleased with just nine turnovers. That's not a stat I am going to argue with today. We had great ball movement."
(on Vicki Baugh and Glory Johnson)
"Obviously, I was very pleased with the way Vicki played today. She was really efficient, finished around the rim and rebounded very well. Both she and Glory had a great paint presence for us today."
(exam week)
"You can always tell when it is exam week. The players are so focused on finishing up the semester strong. We always take that into account with our practice days and off days this week. This group is very focused academically."
(next four games on the road)
"The next four-game stretch is really going to be a challenge for us. We are going to take them one game at a time. All four teams have been playing well and each will certainly be a challenge for us."
"It's always exciting when you can take a team to Madison Square Garden to play. We'll start getting ready for DePaul tomorrow.
TENNESSEE ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH Holly Warlick
(Opening Statement)
"When you think of Tennessee basketball, you think of rebounding and defense. Tonight we had 20 offensive rebounds. When Glory Johnson and, in particular, Vicki Baugh play the way they did and as hard as they did, we're going to be really hard-pressed to lose. I was extremely proud of them and you understand the value of Vicki Baugh to this basketball team.
"Shekinna Stricklen was an All-America tonight. She's been an All-American on paper, but tonight she proved it. She played both ends of the floor, she guarded their best offensive player, she hit big shots. I'm just extremely proud of her effort and what Shekinna produced.
"As a coaching staff, we are thrilled we had only nine turnovers. We had 24 turnovers against Virginia, we've had 20 - tonight we had nine turnovers. That makes me smile, it makes me happy, it makes the coaching staff happy when we don't turn the ball over and give them opportunities to score."
(On changes from the preseason talk of full-court pressure)
"People are preparing for our full-court pressure. We've got to tweak it a little bit. We did, but Texas had a great game plan against it. They shot a couple of layups, and we felt we couldn't stay in our full-court pressure."
(On Vicki Baugh's key defensive plays in the second half)
"What Vicki does is an intangible for us. You don't think of Vicki Baugh being able to get out and play on the perimeter, but that was a key play for us to force a 30-second call (violation). That's what Vicki can do. Vicki can play outside on the defensive end, she's very physical inside, and she had that big steal on a pass into the post when they were making their run. A healthy Vicki will take us a long way. We have a lot of confidence and look up to Vicki. If she plays the way we she played tonight, we will win a lot more ballgames."
(On Meighan Simmons making her first three shots)
"It was huge. I like it when Meighan scores. She's been struggling. She's had the opportunity to get shots in practice, and when she gets finals out of the way Meighan will get in the gym a little more. It's just confidence. Great shooters are going to keep shooting the ball. She got in, got some shots up and got a little confidence when she hit her first shots. Meighan's (shooting) is all about confidence."
(On Alicia Manning's playing time decreasing)
"We just had some people step up. Now with Meighan getting a few more minutes and how Cierra (Burdick) played our last game, it decreased Manning's minutes. But by no means have we decided she's not playing. It's just kind of the opportunity - who we're playing and how people are producing on the court.
"I thought we had good combinations tonight; everybody contributed. Taber (Spani) may not have had her best game, but Taber continues to fight. We just felt the substitutions we had were good."
(On this being a better zone defense team than man-to-man)
"It's both. As coaches, we're going to use both. At the end when we started pulling away, we had to go back to our man-to-man. Our zone got us a little bit of a lead, and then they adjusted so this is going to be a man and a zone basketball team. In the past, you probably think of Tennessee being a hard-nosed defensive man-to-man team; but that's not the case with this group. As much as I love man-to-man and I want us to play it, I want to win the basketball game, too. If we have to play zone, if we have to play whatever, we're going to do it to win the basketball game, and then we're going to continue to get better in practice in our man-to-man."
(On what Ariel Massengale brings to the offense)
"If you have a great point guard, you open up the middle. Glory, Vicki and Izzy (Isabelle Harrison) were getting good, single-covered looks. Anytime you can stretch the defense - that's what Massengale does. She's becoming a pretty consistent outside shooter and she can get to the basket. And then when you have Shekinna Stricklen and Taber Spani on the wings, that's difficult to double-down on our inside players, on our posts. She's brought a different dimension than we've had on our team in a very long time."
(On whether Massengale has the ability to take charge of the team on the floor)
"Absolutely. And while it's important that she take charge, it's probably more important that our upper classmen listen. She has the opportunity to run this team, and I think she's done a great job. She's in a tough situation being a freshman trying to get everybody going to the right spots. But when you have the ability she does and you work as hard as she does - she has a lot of respect on this basketball team. They are going to listen to Ariel."
(On the importance of grinding out a win today)
"The game was close with eight minutes to go. We gave up two transition layups, and probably the weakness of our game tonight was our transition D. But I don't think the game was out of reach. It was a tough game at the eight-minute mark. We seemed to get in to a little lull where we went about three or four minutes and didn't score. That's a concern, but the only thing they were scoring on was transition baskets. That's something we have to adjust to.
"I was proud of us for hanging in there and putting the game away with a little less than four minutes to go. This team is pretty resilient. They get down and they keep fighting back. We've had teams in the past that would get down and not have that extra punch. This team seems to battle, and that's what I love about them.
"That's probably one of the best Texas teams Gail (Goestenkors) has had. She's got great guards and she got Cokie Reed back, who I think is one of the top post players in the country. That was not an easy game, and Texas is going to beat some people. Gail and her staff have done a heck of a job with their team, and I think they will do quite well in the Big 12."
TENNESSEE SOPHOMORE Meighan Simmons
(on hitting that first three today)
"It felt really good. My confidence is getting back. I've been able to stay after practice recently and get shots in, and like I said, it's been building my confidence back up, and today, I think it showed."
(on improved defense)
"In practice, like Vicki said before, we have some amazing guys (male practice players) who come in and practice. I think what you do starting off in practice comes to perfection in the game. Even though I'm in a shooting slump, I'm able to make adjustments and help the team out in any other way, so defense has really been helping as well."
TENNESSEE SENIOR Vicki Baugh
(on defensive possession and shot-clock violation)
"It was huge, but nothing we're not used to. It really helps in practice that a lot of the times the posts are guarding guards in practice, so it paid off at the right time."
(on confidence in guarding guards)
"I was most definitely confident. Like I said, we practice with great guys, and they're great guards. We guard them all the time, so I was extremely confident that we could compete with each other."
(on how playing against Baylor/Griner affects playing other teams)
"Brittney Griner is one of the top posts in the country, so most definitely if you do well against her, it's a confidence booster. It kind of does show you that you can match up with anyone and, also, just competing with our players at practice really gets you prepared for what's going to come."
(on consistency)
"I'm certainly a lot more comfortable. I think what it is, is that I'm able to be out on the floor and not have to sit and watch on the sideline, and in practice as well. I've been involved at almost every practice. I think I've only missed one."
(on playing as a guard in high school)
"Yes, I did. I had to get familiar with the post position. It was a second position to me."
TENNESSEE SENIOR Shekinna Stricklen
(on how much Vicki/Glory help in the paint and Meighan/Ariel as guards have freed her up)
"It feels great. I'm finally playing in my spot on the wing. Having two good post players now and a great point guard, and two shooters on the wing, Meighan and Taber, it's been great, and I think our team is complete, and we've been able to play a lot of positions and do a lot of things."
(on her deep 3-pointer)
"Pat doesn't say anything about them this year, I think because I do shoot them now in practice, and she knows I can shoot that deep. I don't think they're really going to say anything." (Vicki and Meighan interject): "Further back...That's her range."
(on scoring through a tough defensive assignment)
"I'm just letting the offense come to me, but my main focus has been defense. It's something that I really want to improve, and the last couple games I have. I've been guarding top players, and the coaches are really happy about it. Today was my best defensive game. I guarded #24 [Chassidy Fussell], and she's a great all-around player who can shoot. Holding her to 14, but really seven in the first half, it was really good."
TEXAS HEAD COACH GAIL GOESTENKORS
(opening remarks)
"Well, I was proud of my team overall. I thought we were ready to play, ready to compete. We made some big comebacks, some good comebacks, so I felt good when we cut it to six (the deficit). I felt like we were in a good spot. I think we ran out of gas a little bit when we started fouling. We had a couple of turnovers, and (against) a great team like Tennessee, you got to take advantage of every opportunity that you have. We talked before the game that we felt we had to obviously keep them off the boards because they're such a great offensive rebounding team, so our emphasis was really the boards and threes. They score a third of their points from the three-point line, and that's the area we fell short. We gave up 20 offensive rebounds and 11 threes, so you've got to do the little things well to be successful against a great team especially on their home court, and we didn't do that tonight. I saw some great things, and I also saw some things that we need to work on, and we will, and we'll get better."
(on expecting Tennessee's press)
"I thought they'd start the game in their little 1-2-1-1 that they have. They show that quite a bit especially early on. I think they do have big respect for our guards, and we knew they'd have the half-court press as well and then the 2-3 zone that they trap out of, so I felt like we were very prepared, and I think a couple of times they did press us a little bit. Every time they pressed, we scored, so I think that made us feel very confident, and I think probably they decided to back off of it a little bit because we did handle it, I think, pretty well."
(on being surprised Tennessee played lots of zone defense)
"I think they do a great job trying to find what works, and when we stopped attacking when they went to the zone, I felt like we started to stand around a bit, so they stayed in a zone. It didn't surprise me. They've got a variety of defenses, and I think they continue to look at what's going to work for them, and when they find it, they stick with it, so it didn't surprise me because we were standing around against the zone I thought for a while. Later, I thought we did a much better job in the second half attacking."
(on the difference Vicki Baugh makes for Tennessee)
"To me there's no comparison. She's such a great competitor. She's a great leader both on the court and off the court. You can always hear her. When I watch the tape, I can see her jumping up and down on the bench as well, so I think she brings a tremendous poise, confidence and leadership to their team that I think they need, and she's a big post that can take it coast to coast. She's a very difficult player to defend."
(on Tennessee going on a run late after Texas had cut the lead to six, was that Texas running out of gas or Tennessee turning up the pressure)
"I think a little of both. I think we felt good, but then when I look at the stat sheet and I see we fouled three times in a row, that's fatigue. To me that's fatigue when you foul, and I think when Shekinna hit that really late, big three that was so far out, I think that took some wind out of our sails, and I think that was a great energy play for them because they came out of that with so much more energy. I think we were a little fatigued, and that's a bad combination."
(on Tennessee's wing players)
"They're big and they can shoot the three, and so it's a tough match-up. We were giving up size really at every position except the point guard position, and they can all shoot. Really, they're able to spread the floor out, make you go one-on-one. Any time we helped off of a shooter, they made us pay for it."
(on the progression of Cokie Reed)
"She can and will get a lot better. We got her nine shots, which is good. We need to have that low-post presence, but to go 2-9 (from the field), we need her to go 7-9, and I think she will. She still gets fatigued pretty quickly. She was out for a full year, so it is a long recovery. She still doesn't practice every day with us, so it's just going to be a process. We feel good about where she is, but more importantly, we feel good about where she can go."
TEXAS SENIOR ASHLEIGH FONTENETTE
(on scoring 1,000 points in her Texas career)
"I think it's a great opportunity. I didn't even know I was close, so I'm kind of shocked right now. I think it's great. I think we did wellas a team today. We just couldn't put it all together."
(on when Cokie Reed returns to full health)
"It's going to be great. She's slowly getting back into things, so I think once she gets her legs back under her she is going to be hard to stop."
(on what was the difference down the stretch)
"I think, like coach said, we got fatigued near the end of the game, and we started fouling. We are going to go back and work on rebounding, because that was the main thing today."
