University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Lady Vols 95, C-N 56
November 07, 2016 | Women's Basketball
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Head Coach Holly Warlick
(Opening statement)
“It wasn’t a perfect game, we did some good things, a lot of good opportunities for us to watch tape. I was more worried about our effort and energy, I thought it went in-and-out but I think for the most part, I thought after we came out after halftime, I thought we picked it up. When we play with a lot of energy we’re really, really good. I've got to understand that we had eight kids tonight and I’ve probably got to be a little bit more mindful of using my timeouts but I kind of get caught up in the game and don’t think about it. Overall, I was pleased with what we did.”
(On the team’s stamina)
“I thought it was great. I thought they got tired at times but I think overall this is kind of the first real game we’ve played. It was up and down with officials and the crowd and those things, so really pleased with how we played.”
(On changing up how the team plays)
“We just pressed tonight after free throws and usually we would press quite a bit and we didn’t press as much. We didn’t show a lot tonight; we didn’t do a lot of different things offensively. We kept it really, really simple. The only thing I thought that we can be better at is when we get a long rebound or we get a rebound, we need to run the basketball. I thought in the third quarter we started doing that a lot more. That gave us opportunities to get baskets and if we see five back then we need to come up and bring it up a little slower. I think after I watch the tape I’ll have a little bit better feel of what we need to do. I thought Kamera Harris, she’s just a freshman, she’s not there yet and that’s OK but I though the other ones when we substituted, we didn’t fall off. Meme Jackson and Alexa Middleton did a great job of giving us energy and maintaining what we had.”
(On the team’s chemistry)
“I think our chemistry is awesome. I just think our chemistry is awesome and one of the ways I could tell is we had 23 assists. I thought we distributed the ball, I thought we took really, really good looks. It’s just a different feel and it’s a different feel from the bench and it’s a different feel from the timeouts. They’ve done a heck of a job as far as stepping up and being leaders. You’ve got to have followers and we’ve got people that are listening as well. Really, really pleased with where we are especially with the chemistry. I can’t ask for too much more.”
(On when Kortney Dunbar will be back)
“It was my call, her foot is sore and I didn’t want to press the issue and so she’ll be available on Friday. I wanted her to stay off it a little bit more. She’ll help with our depth.”
(On the defense against Carson-Newman)
“Carson-Newman is a difficult team because they’re small. They spread the floor and it’s tough. Schaquilla Nunn and Mercedes Russell have got to come outside the paint. We’re so used to kind of a traditional game where posts go to the paint. Well they didn’t go to the paint. We’ve got to address that. I thought our ball pressure could be so much better, we’re athletic but we’re not getting up on the ball and we’ve got to trust that our defense is solid and if we do get beat, we’ll get help. Those are the things that I think, our ball pressure can get better and our posts have got to play outside the paint and we’ve got to finish the deal with the box-out. We gave them 16 offensive rebounds and that’s ridiculous. Those are things we’re going to continue to work on but I thought at times our defense was really, really good. They shot 25 percent for the game shooting percentage but it can be better it can always be better. It seems like our defense energizes us, when we picked it up and got after the ball and attacked the ball we played so much better. Which led to us easier baskets.”
(On playing Carson-Newman)
"They played hard. They're a tough team that is very well-coached. They play together, which is why we play them. They are difficult for us to play. They do a lot of things that we aren't used to. They didn't look at the score and decide to quit. They are tough kids. They are going to be a great basketball team. That is why we continue to play them."
(On if the team will wear the Pat Summitt patches all season)
"Absolutely. We are showing our respect for Coach Summitt. We thought the best way to honor her was with the 'P' on our jerseys to represent her and her foundation. She is still part of our program. It's different that she's not here, but I think the patch represents our love for her and everything she has done. We are going to wear it all season."
(On Jaime Nared's performance)
"I think you are seeing the result of what she did this summer. She made a major commitment. She was in the gym quite a bit. She was getting up shots. She perfected her game, her range and ability to go off the dribble. I am not surprised because she had worked at it. I loved her attacking the basket. I told her in the locker room that she attacked the basket more in one game than she did all of last year. I was really proud of her. She took great shots and rebounded. At times, she looked like she was the only one on the boards. She is a big key for our success. She is a missing link for us. She has to be steady and bring it every night. I have challenged her to do that. I think you're seeing the result of her doing well because she put in the time."
(On Jordan Reynold's team play)
"She was the point guard tonight and got us into our offense and defense. She was very selective with when she shot, and I thought she took great shots. She didn't force it. During one of the timeouts, she asked how many rebounds she had. She had eight and was determined to get at least 10. She ended up getting 11. She had seven assists. A lot of our success relies on what Jordan does on the floor. She has to be the one who makes sure the team runs what we ask them to run. I think she was very focused tonight. She is a senior and gets it."
(On if she sees more leadership coming from Alexa Middleton)
"I do. When you're at the point, you have to. I thought Alexa stepped up and did some good things. Anybody running the point has to know what we are in, know the game and have to be able to relay that to our players. I think both Alexa and Meme are going to get better because they are going to get more playing time. This year, we are going to rely on them because we need their energy. I thought both of them came in and were a spark for us. I think the more playing time they get, the better they will get. Alexa will become a better leader just by putting in the time. There's a lot to be said about learning in practice, but game experience is huge. You have to think on your feet and make sure you see things and make a decision. They have to be the decision-makers on the floor. I think both Alexa and Jordan did that tonight."
Tennessee forward Jaime Nared
(On dealing with the limited bodies on the team)
“Shows that we have eight players on the team. Kortney will be back soon; we are limited on numbers, but we will work together on what we have”
(On what does a game like this mean for your)
“I don’t think we were satisfied because we gave Carson-Newman 56 points, as a team we didn’t play as well but it is the beginning of the season, but I think we have to get better”
(On dealing with being away from home this season)
“I think we are excited to get on the road this season, it’s always fun to go to new places. Of course we love playing here and having this home crowd but we like playing basketball, I think that is the biggest thing”
Tennessee guard Diamond DeShields
(On her health)
“I feel better, physically and emotionally and I think that will transcend my game to another level and hopefully allow me to elevate my teammates games as well”
(On the talent level on the team)
“We’re not ill-equipped, we got talent on this team. We got the pieces to do something special. What’s going to happen is that we are going to have to find it within ourselves because it isn’t two or three people that will do it. It’s like what are the nine of us going to bring each and every night consistently to benefit this team and I think that is going to come with repetition and tonight we saw that, we gave Carson-Newman too many points and that is because we got lax on defense, but we see that we can’t afford to rest”
Tennessee forward Schaquilla Nunn
(On ball movement in second half)
"I would just say we weren't forcing it as much, we were playing more team ball. We didn't realize that we were forcing it as much. At halftime, we were able to collect ourselves and figure out what we were doing, and do better at it."
(On first game after a year off)
"I would say I have a lot to work on. Of course there is jitters, I also have to get back in the groove of things. I am on a new team now, so I have to figure out my role and my place here as well."
Carson-Newman Head Coach Mike Mincey
(Opening Statement)
“I felt like we didn’t play particularly well tonight to be honest with you. After our performance we had at (North) Carolina the other night I thought our offense was a lot crisper at Carolina. So I give Tennessee a lot of credit for disrupting what we were trying to do. I don’t feel like the first half was a very good performance by us, we found ourselves down 11, but I think Tennessee helped us a little bit. They missed some shots and then getting into the second half; it was a rough third quarter. We got outscored 30 to 9 in the third quarter alone. I just think in the third quarter we took some shots that could have gone down but we had the lid down on the basket in the third quarter and once again give Tennessee credit. Their length was going to give us issues and so I felt like we started by getting some quick shots and second chance points and they are at a premium when you are playing Tennessee. Overall we are grateful for the experience to come down here and play and Coach Warlick allows us to come down here and play in one of the most storied arenas in women’s college basketball.”
(On what was learned from their games against North Carolina and Tennessee)
“I was talking to our radio about what we have been able to get out of these games the past few years and Carolina gave us a different set of challenges. They threw defenses at us and we were prepared for that. The preparation for Carolina is one thing, but Tennessee is a completely different preparation. The environment and I feel like our kids have gotten more comfortable in the environments that we play in like Carolina and certainly the Tennessee environment is a special one because you aren’t going to find that in many places. But I think preparation is key and when we get back to the Division II level, not that it's easy, but some of the things that we work on are going to be successful versus what you will see when you go up against a size differential like Tennessee.”
(On the taking advantage of Tennessee’s thin lineup)
“We thought about that because we are a bit thin too. We had Kaitlyn Cupples, our backup post player, was out because she rolled her ankle Saturday morning so that hurt us because Jecca Simerly got into foul trouble early and I think she played four minutes the entire first half. When you are playing against Tennessee’s size and length, losing one of your only 6-1 players is not a good thing. It really never crossed my mind to try to up-tempo Tennessee; we didn’t try to wear them out. These are college basketball players they can play a lot of minutes and I figured we would see a lot playing 30-plus minutes and I knew we were going to have to do the same thing. I didn’t want to wear our kids out and as long as Nunn is ok then we both got out of here as an exhibition game without suffering anymore injuries. “
(On what he learned about his team in this game)
“I don’t know what I learned really. We really played exceptionally well against Carolina, we had a lead late in the third quarter, but they will put four kids out on the court that are under 6 feet tall so the match ups were a lot more favorable for us in that game. So coming here I feel like we regressed to be honest with you. I feel like we didn’t play half as well in this game. Not like we are going to take a step back by any means. One of the things we struggled with at North Carolina was our transition defense, but that’s how Carolina plays. They want to get the ball down your back and there are many times we would score and they were right on our backs in a hurry. It wore us down, we were hoping we would improve in that aspect and I don’t think we got back to the paint and built that forward. I feel like we allowed the ball handler to get down the floor before we ever got it picked up and post entries and easy lay ups that isn’t going to work at our level and it certainly wasn’t going to work at Tennessee. So I don’t think we have gotten any better between Carolina and here, but we will get back to work tomorrow and we have a few days before we play on Friday so we will get that corrected.”
(On Diamond DeShields)
“I told our players that we don’t have an answer for her. With her athleticisim and her skill set and what she can do inside and out, my only disappointment there was the only way to keep the game competitive was to make them shoot outside shots with their size and length so if you get the ball near the rim they will probably score. We had to play off those gaps and pitch it out and make them shoot threes so a lot of times when Diamond wanted to get to the rim she got to the rim so we tried to step over and get that away from her so I’m happy she sat out for a portion of the fourth quarter.”
(On Haris Price)
“She is a really great talent. She is fast and quick and she is playing against much bigger guards and she hasn’t scored and I don’t know what she did tonight. She is 2 and 9, but she is a good scoring point guard which is what I like and I think when we get back to our level and our size she will get clicking and she might be a key cog to our team and our success this year. Her ability to come off of ball screens and creates. She got some things in the fourth quarter when it got a little wild and I told her I needed her to shoot the ball more and get it in the basket and she did, she just wasn’t able to capitalize on some of those things. She played really hard in that forth quarter to try to make some things happen and I’m really looking forward to seeing how she propels our team forward when we get into Division II play.”
Carson-Newman Forward Katie Stubblefield
(On how she feels about playing at Tennessee)
“Its awesome. Of course every little girl growing up around here loves this program and wants to be a part of this program so I think having the opportunity to play here is awesome and a blessing to be honest because everyone wants to do it. I’m really glad to be able to play here.”
