Postgame Quotes: Lady Vols 85, Navy 55

Nov. 13, 2016

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Tennessee Head Coach Holly Warlick

(Opening Statement)
"Just a tale of two halves, I will say this, Navy is a very well coached team. Five guards extremely hard to defend. We don't see that too often; we didn't see the same thing at James Madison University. (It's not the) same thing we're going to see at East Tennessee State so it was good for our kids.

We didn't have energy we didn't have passion for whatever reason and our halftime was not a lot of drawing up things, it was just a healthy discussion on what we need to do. I thought the second half was so much better. We had some kids step up and that's why we're doing this. Navy made us do some things we're not used to doing.

Excited for our kids, loved the second half. The first half I don't know if I would have stayed to watch the first half. We got it right, we got a good understanding of what we need to do and it was a good win for us."

(On being demonstrative on the bench)
"I guess when the jacket comes off I'm just glad I kept my pants on. My expectation for them is high and these kids understand it. I saw things I haven't seen in practice for whatever reason. I'm just not going to tolerate no effort. If I have to threaten them if I have to do whatever I need to do, they just under-achieved. Navy is a good basketball team, they made us do things. They made our four come out, they made our five come out and play away from the basket. It's hard, it's difficult, it's things we don't see. That doesn't have anything to do with how hard you play. I thought we just settled, we started feeling sorry for ourselves as well. It's not going to work I was trying to do whatever I needed to do to get this team up."

(On shooting over 50 percent)
"Two things, I think we're getting Mercedes Russell the basketball and she's demanding the basketball. So she is drawing a lot of attention and two we're not forcing shots the way we did last year. We're taking shots that were set, we're taking really good looks. I'm going to go to three, we've gotten into the gym and worked on it. Alexa Middleton, six for seven, that's a result of her getting into the gym and putting in the hours and putting in the reps. That's the result of especially Alexa working at it and that's the result of it."

(On Mercedes Russell getting to the free throw line)
"Yes I think her free throw shooting has gotten a lot better, she worked on that as well, but she's rebounding, I think she is solid on the defensive end, she's just more physical, she has more confidence, and when she does that, I mean we are going to try to get her the ball, she's 6'6" and she's a big frame and she's a big target, great hands and one of the smartest players on our team. If she could, I think she would be a great point guard because she knows everything about the game, where we should be and what we should do, she's taking the physical part of the game and it is not affecting her. Last year, her freshman year, she got bumped around a lot, she's not getting bumped around this year because she is physically strong and mentally tough."

(On the difference for Diamond DeShields right now)
"I think last year you all saw the not healthy Diamond DeShields until February. As a player Diamond's magnitude as a player is tough, it's hard when you can no longer do what you're used to being able to do and Diamond is a great kid; she is a very sensitive kid, she loves this team and at times when she gets focused, it can appear that Diamond gets selfish. She's not selfish and I think you see the result of this team pulling together, understanding each other's role, and I will say this Diamond wants nothing more than to see this team succeed whether it is through her, whether it's through Mercedes, Jaime, any of them, I think she's just wants to see us succeed as a team."

(On Alexa Middleton's progress potential move to starting lineup)
"I think with Alexa, she just needed confidence. I think at times she was in and out last year of being injured and you know when you put in the time she has put in on things like the agility part, playing on balance, defending people, getting her shots, it gives you confidence and I think she did that. I hope, I always thought Alexa Middleton could be a difference maker for us and I've told her that and she knows how I feel about her, so hopefully she is seeing the result of my confidence in her and I'm going to put her in situations, I'm not going to jerk her in and out, I'm going to let her play through a turnover and she knows when `I've gone too far,' yea you did so let's fix it, so it's not a revolving door for Alexa. I'm going to let her play through some things and I just think it is confidence for her, I think she feels that I have confidence in her, the team, so when you know when people are behind you. I think you see the result of how good Alexa is playing."

(On Schaquilla Nunn coming off the bench)
"Yeah, I think Qui (Schaquilla Nunn), I'm not going to fault anything that Qui's doing, she's not getting a lot of minutes. She's having to pull away from the basket and guard a 5'8" kid, and she's never had to do that. So I think when we get in the meat of our season. I think Penn State, they got big kids Qui's success will be determined on the style of play we're playing against, and these last two games have not been really conducive to show what she what Qui can do. We've kind of taken her out of her element because we've needed to. Mercedes kind of has that under her belt because we've pulled her away from the basket and made her guard. Qui has never had to do that, so I think with time she'll be comfortable, but I think with certain games she's going to be very valuable for us."

(On military appreciation/Was "We Back Pat" shirts for Navy a nice touch?)
"Very much so, very much so. You know, we have a lot of respect for the military and what they do for us. You know, it's so much for them it's what we want our team to be. We want to have that dedication, that honor, that passion, that purpose of what you do, and I think the military does that, and so we're trying to get our kids to do that as well. Total respect for any military personnel, any vets. That's why we got the freedom we do. Great thing in their honoring Pat, and we're honoring them, and that's how it should be."

(On commemorative basketball as gift during pre-game)
"It was a basketball. It was, I think, `Thanks for you service and dedication to our country,' there's so many crazy things going on right now, and we all got to pull together, and I think it starts with our military. It's there to help us and to make sure that we can. I can be a female coach in women's basketball, and these young ladies, black or white, can go out and perform, and they have that opportunity. We pay for their education, so that just comes from people fighting for our freedom. So I just think it's very fitting that we had Navy here playing during the Veterans' Weekend. So, really glad we got to honor them."

Tennessee Guard Alexa Middleton

(On three-point shooting)
"I think it comes from getting in extra reps outside of practice. There's been a lot of us getting in the gym - I know Jordan was in there last night before the game - and I just think that has a lot to do with it. We trust each other. I think it comes from trust and confidence in each other and in ourselves."

(On addition to offense)
"I think it will be great for us. Consistency is key. We've got to keep doing exactly what we're doing right now getting up extra shots. I know a lot of people last year said we couldn't shoot the ball but we're trying to make sure we can hit those open shots. People are sighting in on Mercedes and she's going to kick the ball out where we've got to be able to hit those shots if we want to do well."

(On energy transition from first to second half)
"Coach Warlick definitely got into us. It was night and day. We were saying we can't start like that. They had 5 points in the fourth quarter and we were saying that's something we've got to be able to do all four quarters. We came together and talked saying `This is what we've got to do. We've got to be determined, take care of yourself, and help each other out' and that's what we did."

Tennessee Guard Jordan Reynolds

(On first half energy with schedule)
"I don't think should ever be a problem with us. Just knowing our schedule and playing in the NCAA tournament, you're going to have back to back games, so we're used to it. I think we came out sluggish because we weren't focused. We picked up in the second half, like Alexa said, and Coach Warlick really got into us. She let us know we can't play like this versus everybody because you will get your butt beat. So, we came out with a better intensity and a better focus in the second half."

(On expression of stat sheet)
"I was talking to Alexa and I didn't know she had six threes. I told her that was amazing."

(On adjustment to Navy offense)
"I think our defense wasn't used to it. We've seen teams in the past that haven't taken a shot until the last second, so we needed to disrupt their offense because they're a patient team. I don't think we did that until the third quarter so we allowed them to run their offense and be efficient in their scoring because we weren't disrupting them. I think they did a good job running the offense. They knew what they were doing. Defensively, we have to put a defensive stance disrupting their plays, like I said before, so that we can get better defense that will create offense."

Tennessee Center Mercedes Russell

(On receiving double team defense)
"I think it's something that I have to embrace just because it happened all year long last year. As we have been talking about, our guards are starting to hit shots, hit open three's, and that's obviously going to cause defensive teams to start getting out of the paint a little bit more. Credit to them."

(On Navy's height and how it affects her)
"I don't think it really affects any way that I go into a game. We go into the game the same way and no matter who we're playing, or what their size is.

(On improving perimeter defense)
"Sometimes I'm going to be in that position, so just working on it in practice and getting down in that stance, and trying to keep the player in front of me. I think a lot of reps in practice has helped."

Navy Head Coach Stefanie Pemper

(Opening Statement)
"It was a tough game for us. I thought that we came out with a great attitude and good confidence. We hit some shots and I thought we got some stops. Rebounding wasn't a concern in the first half. I thought we really needed to keep scoring with them, and that's what we weren't able to do. I think we need to give credit to Tennessee for picking up their pressure in the second half and getting into passing lanes and forcing us into some turnovers. They really got hot from the three-point line. I think that was the difference in the game. I'm proud of our team and we're going to build on this."

(On the significance of Tennessee wearing military warm-ups and Navy wearing 'We Back Pat' warm-ups)
"I can only assume the significance for them. For us, it's a woman that we all have a lot of respect for and admire. It's a cause that's really important, and I think it's only going to continue to get more important in our society, and in particularly, with women. We want to show support for that and the respect we have for the program, for her and the foundation."

(On counteracting the lack of height on Navy's team)
"We have learned that you can win big games getting out-rebounded. We're working on boxing out. We're working on getting all five people to rebound. We're working on being scrappy and turning people over more than we have in past. We're trying to speed them up and force them into poor shots, where we have a better chance to rebound than they do. We know it's going to be a concern. We like our depth. We like our athleticism. Certainly, in the Patriot League, we have enough size to be successful if we follow the game plan with rebounding. "

(On being pleased with how Navy played in the environment they were in)
"We want to get to where we are executing and just playing good basketball. I think tonight we had some really nice moments of that, where players made really smart plays. We struggled against Tennessee switching everything. They had length and athleticism in those situations. We're not going to play a lot of people who have that length and athleticism and choose to switch what we do offensively. That isn't necessarily the right way to go. So, that's something we're going to continue to get better at. I'm proud of how our women stepped up. As you see, we're playing 10 people pretty regularly. So, we're trying to figure out how we can find some identities within that. So, I thought we took good steps this weekend with some women who really played smart basketball at times."

Navy guard Taylor Dunham

(On the difference between the first and second half)
"I would say that fatigue played into that. Tennessee definitely stepped up their pressures."

(On having more energy in the second half)
"Playing Tennessee, everyone is really excited. So we have a lot of energy and we were hitting shots. Everyone was making plays. I wouldn't say that our energy was that much different in the second half, but Tennessee definitely picked theirs up. So, it was just about us matching their energy."

Navy forward Ashanti Kennedy

(On the significance of Tennessee wearing military warm-ups and Navy wearing 'We Back Pat' warm-ups)
"Growing up as a kid, I used to always watch Tennessee and just like Coach Pemper said, it was an honor to be here and play against then and wear those shirts. What it embodies is so special to us."