Lady Vols vs. Air Force Postgame Quotes

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening Statement:
"I am happy with our win today. I think we did some good things that I praised our team for, and we will show them positive plays during film sessions. (I'm) disappointed in our rebounding today. I have been concerned about it. The numbers have not reflected my concern until now, but we knew at some point it was going to catch up with us, and it did today. Our team knows this, and hopefully, it will get us in gear this week to feel more urgent with our technique and our box out."

On if this game was a wake-up call to the team in regards to rebounding:
"I think it is important that sometimes you just have something to back you up. They hear you and understand it, but I am hoping that this tangible stat sheet is what it takes for them to understand we have to buy in at another level. I also told them I hope it doesn't take a loss. It would be a great opportunity to learn a lesson and to correct it."

On what she saw that led to her concern over rebounding:
"For us, we saw too many missed opportunities on the offensive end to crash the boards. A lot of times, we were just standing there watching the game. Defensively, a lot of times a shot goes up, and we were ball watching and not running to the paint. We weren't physically boxing anyone out. This team crashed the boards as hard as any team we have played thus far, and if you didn't go put a body on them, they had people running free to get some rebounds. We still got a lot of rebounds because we are big and can get a lot of rebounds, but we missed more this time because of their effort."

On what goes into stopping the weapons on the outside:
"I think for us, we had a lot of really good half-court defensive possessions today, and I think it started with our ball pressure on the point guard. You start making folks uncomfortable. Our contest are long. We can really get up and contest at a high level because we are tall, long armed. I think sometimes those shots may not be the opponent's first option. It's not what they want to do. They maybe want to get on to the basket. We are a little bit intimidating at the basket with our size. I think there were several factors today that maybe could change."

On if she has figured out the team's identity in the first seven games:
"We are working through it. I think our team can be a good defensive team, and we have shown promise, and we have a long way to go. I think offensively, we can be a good tempo team with a good pace. I think we can share the ball. I think that another month in, we will know even more."

On philosophy with non-conference scheduling going forward:
"My scheduling philosophy has always been that you've got to prepare your team. Prepare your team for conference, and if your team is good enough to be in the NCAA tournament, you've got to prepare them with a schedule that gets them there and allows them to be successful. You can go back and look historically at our teams' schedules, and they've been gauntlets; we've put our players through some really tough challenges in November. We may have struggled in November, and our record probably reflects that, but we sure were pretty good in January, February, and March, and that's when it matters the most. I think we'll really try to make sure that we're challenging our players to the best of our ability early on, because I think that's what they need."

On the growth of Rae Burrell:
"Rae has got a bundle of energy. She is a player I would say plays downhill. She's constantly attacking, aggressive, and I think it's good for our team. She is aware of her growth, and I think she knows she can still be a better basketball player in the decision making process, but we don't ever want to lose that aggressiveness that she brings. I love that about her. There are a few things we're going to be able to work with her on through film sessions and consistent reminders, but I'm really proud of her effort and where she's at. I'm excited about how we can even get her better."

On overall team size and if that's a priority in recruiting:
"We love our size. Our size has been a huge advantage for us this season already. I don't think it's the end all in recruiting, but I think it's definitely been a strength of ours. When we go out and recruit, the length is something you're drawn to when we watch players. We'd like to have it, but it's not everything."

On whether she talked to Rae Burrell about increased expectations after Zaay Green's injury:
"I didn't. We didn't have that conversation. In my mind, Rae's role hasn't changed. All of our guard's minutes went up when Green got hurt. Rae's role is to be a sparkplug, to come in and give us aggressiveness, give us energy defensively, get on the boards, and I think she's been doing that. And our job now is to continue to help her grow as a basketball player."

Junior Guard/Forward Rennia Davis

On what she liked the most about the way the team played:
"I think, on the offensive end, we were able to attack today, especially in transition. That was a focus for us. I think we did pretty good at attacking and getting the shots that we wanted today, especially getting the ball at the top."

On what the team needs to work on defensively:
"Just the little things as far as like boxing out, which I think today it kind of caught up with us. We did not win the rebounding battle which was a little disappointing for us with our size, especially. In that area, just being cleaner with our box out and going to get the rebound instead of just trying to jump over everybody, which we can't do sometimes. Just the little things in that area specifically. Boxing out is something she (Kellie Harper) is really focused on."

On how much of a challenge it is to play a team that you're predicted to beat by a large margin:
"Coach is very much preaching that it's more so about us and not who we're playing. We're trying to get better for ourselves, especially the games that we have non-conference and the SEC every single night. We'll see better teams than this, so it's not just about now and the team that we're playing now. It's more about us getting better for future games to come."

On the potential for the defense to be the strength of the team:
"I think every single night we can come and we can shut teams down. I think we have the ability to do so. It's more so just about us committing to do it for the full 40 minutes. I think there are times throughout most games that we do it for the most part of the game, but then we have a small fall off. Then we'll gather ourselves back together. Just staying consistent in that area is what's going to be the biggest thing for us."

Sophomore Guard/Forward Rae Burrell

On her offensive performance:
"I think my teammates were just putting me in good positions to finish the ball, and that's really just all I had to do, just finish. My teammates were doing the rest for me."

On what she's learned about herself and her team during their undefeated start to the season:
"For myself, I've just learned that decision making is important for me. That's what I've been working on—trying to work on my decision making, especially with these types of teams. As a team, we've just been really working on the details. Like Re (Rennia) said, even though we're more athletic, we need to work on the details of boxing out and just doing the little stuff."

On what's led to her four-straight games in double digits:
"Like I said earlier, my decision-making and just being smarter with the ball and making better decisions with scoring, passing, defense, all that."

Sophomore Guard Jazmine Massengill

On if she likes blocks or assists better:
"I don't know. I guess it depends on how I'm feeling that day."

On having six assists against Air Force:
"(It's) feeding players in the right spot and really just trying to emphasize getting them the ball. We have a lot of scorers on this team, so it would be selfish to not give them the ball at the right time."

Air Force Head Coach Chris Gobrecht

On her overall takeaway from her team after this game:
"I think it is pretty obvious that we gave away serious numbers on pounds and inches. We had to make up for it scraping and clawing and trying to come up with possessions. I was really pleased with what we did with possessions. I think, unfortunately, the thing that cost us was that we gave them 20 easy shots. If they weren't able to get the breakaways, and if they weren't able to get put backs, they would have had a hard time scoring. We felt good about that. Those were the things we knew would be tough because of how big and long they are. When it comes time to try score against them and the passes that get through against regular teams, you don't get it through with kids of that size. And the fact that we knew it would be very tough to score around the rim, we did get to the rim pretty well. We chose our spots on where to get to the rim. So, the things that cost us the game were going to be very hard for us to do a lot better than what we did, like I said, with the offensive rebounds, put backs and turnovers that turned into layups. But I thought with every other aspect of the game we did as well and maybe outplayed them in some areas of the game."

On Riley Snyder's success against Tennessee:
"Riley has great instincts for the rim. She just knows where the rim is, so a lot of times she is deceptive because you don't realize that she has that much awareness of the rim. I thought she really played well and it was really great to see her have such a good game as we get ready to get into conference because she is that kind of player."

On who stands out besides Rennia Davis when she is scouting Tennessee:
"To tell you the truth, they all get my attention. But as I watched film, it was hard to keep track of one more big body after another going into the game. Obviously, they are very dependent on Jordan Horston. They have her out there as their lead defender, and I think she probably has the most versatile game. That size is just… we have played against Oregon, we have played against Arizona State, we have played against really good teams, but we have never seen that much size. It is just one big kid after another coming into the game. I finally told them, you get the big kid on the left and you get the big kid on the right. You get 21, you get 11, or whatever. They could be an exceptionally good defensive team, and I really think that is what they need to hang their hat on. I think they've got some challenges in terms of a lot of their offensive skills, but they can be so good with that kind of size to protect the rim and that kind of length and athleticism on the perimeter. They can just really be good. I really hope they can buy in to that. I think they have enough offensive fire power, but I don't think it is exceptional, and I think that is what they have to hang their hat on."

On how this game got scheduled:
"We called them because we have a player, an outstanding young lady, by a name of Sarah Pierce, who is from Tennessee. She has really been through it and is just a terrific leader and probably the best shooter on our team. She had battled back from two ACL tears, she was in great shape and playing really good basketball and tore a third ACL in the preseason. So, Sarah didn't suit up, but if there was anybody that I would still be happy to go to their hometown, it would be Sarah Pierce. She just continues to inspire her team and be a team leader even though she hasn't played hardly any minutes. She is going to be a great officer in our Air Force. You will be happy to know that she is in charge of our country's defense."

On if it still resonates with the team that they visited the Summitt:
"Oh, absolutely. I mean what a terrific experience. I think that part of what our challenge is being the Air Force Academy is that the world is really big. The world these guys have to be paying attention and dialed into is much, much bigger than women's basketball. So unlike the regular universities, where your students spend the majority of their focus and time and energy on basketball. I am not saying they don't go to class or anything, but let's face it, it is about being in that gym. These guys have massive things they have to track. They spend their summers going to places around the world and country and doing different training programs and different leadership programs, so it is kind of fun every now and then to come back here and realize this is something that they love. They love their sport. They love their game. It is really fun to do it in a place that is super appreciated and (has a) very rich tradition. And to be reminded, at least for their basketball part of their life, it doesn't get any better than this. That is a fun experience for them."

Sophomore Forward Riley Snyder

On how she was able to score on Tennessee:
"I think it was just with my coach and I talking about controlling the tempo and taking good shots. We were that open, so it was just knocking down the shots that were open, and we had to move the ball. We knew that we had to play fearless and go out there and attack them. That is what we did. We had a lot of success with it."

On how she was able to almost match her career-high against a team that is much taller:
"I knew that they would be longer and bigger, so it was just having my feet set and being ready to shoot the ball when I was open. We had to go out there and find their bodies to try and draw the fouls, so I just kind of tried to create off of that."

On if the reason behind all the shot clock violations was because of Tennessee's length:
"I would say absolutely. When our offense stalled a bit, it was tough. We talked about before the game about not turning the ball over. So, we would rather have shot clock violations instead of turning the ball over and then them scoring off transition. They are great in transition, so we would much rather eat it and have that shot clock violation instead of turning the ball over. It was due to their length. They are big. You have to get your shot off when you are open."