Lady Vols vs. ETSU Postgame Quotes

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening Statement:
"I'm glad we won the game. Obviously, for us, it was a little sloppy at times. Our execution needs to be better. I think the good thing is that we got to see a feisty team, a team that's athletic on the perimeter. Hopefully, that will help us in our next few games. I'm disappointed in our execution on both ends of the court. We've got to get a lot better, but we've got time to do that, and I'm confident that we can."

On what the team needs to do to build leads of 20+:
"Our first quarter, I think we shot over 60 percent from the field. The problem was that we had too many turnovers to start the game. We just needed to get shots up. If you get shots up, then you're putting points up on the board at a pretty good clip. I think defensively, in the second half, I didn't think we guarded very well. I don't think we guarded 1-on-1. We've got to get down and guard. That has to be a priority for us, to defend better. Really, those two things will take care of a lot. If you take care of the basketball and get more shots up, you put more points up on the board. Then, if you prioritize defending on the other end and limit some of their easy buckets, then that lead grows."

On how far Rae Burrell's game continues to progress:
"We have seen this all summer and all fall. This is who she has been. She's been consistently playing this way. She's played so well. The difference for her is that she's playing with so much confidence right now and making really good decisions. However, she's still playing aggressively. I think when you're playing aggressively, and you're making good decisions and finishing like she is, it leads to some pretty good play. I'm really proud of her, and it's been fun to watch her. Again, that performance is not a surprise for her."

On what she has learned about the team through two games:
"I think our post play has been pretty consistent. I think we need to get the ball inside more. Our defense has to get better. I think that's across the board. I think our pace has been good. Getting up and down the court has been good. Obviously, after this game, we're a little inconsistent with our decision making. We can still get better offensively and make a big step there."

On if this was a good game for the young players to take lessons from:
"I think so. One of the things I like about this team is the options that we have. We have a little bit more depth. We have people that we can bring in. I think that's going to require you to step your game up a little bit. You've got to go out and perform. That doesn't just happen. You have you have to work for it, and it's not always easy. Hopefully that lesson is learned, and we can still find some positive productions from all of our players moving forward."

On how the team can improve before a Sunday matchup at West Virginia:
"There are a couple of different things that we're looking at now. First, we need to correct some things from this game. We need to be a better basketball team, regardless of looking ahead. I think we can be a little bit better disciplined at boxing out. We talked about taking care of the basketball, valuing it each possession – working hard on offense to get a higher percentage shot. Overall, top to bottom, our defense needs to be better. Those are things that, not only will they help us be a better basketball team moving forward, it will help us in our next game, regardless of our opponent. I think those things are really important. I think our players understand that. I was disappointed. I'm glad we won, but I was disappointed. I wish we would've played better. Hopefully it's a learning experience and we have to look at it as tomorrow we have an opportunity to get better, and we need to. If we want to continue to be competitive in every game, we've got to find ways to get better. That's true of any team at this point."

On Jordan Horston's impact off the bench:
"She's obviously extremely talented. Having her come off the bench right now gives us a spark. When she comes in, you know she's an instant impact when she's out there. I thought she played a lot more relaxed. I thought she looked much more comfortable out there and made some plays. The game kind of came to her. She knocked down some shots. Obviously, she's a dynamic player. I think the good thing is that we've got so many players that we think can make plays. So, there shouldn't be any pressure on anybody on our team to make plays. That's how she played tonight. She came out and just let the game come to her and found some success doing that."

Tennessee Senior Guard/Forward Rennia Davis

On getting into foul trouble early in the game:
"It's very frustrated. Especially for someone like myself, who you know has been working on playing without fouling, and today I just picked up two early. So, that was kind of irritating. And having to sit the whole first half was also irritating. Then going in the third quarter and picking up another foul was also irritating. Just being able to play through that I thought was a growth moment for myself. Just going back out there being able to be efficient and doing whatever the team needed me to do. So, I just feel like I grew in that area today."

On being a leader during time on bench:
"Yeah I just I've just got stay communicating with this team. I know that I understand that, so since I was out for so long today, I was able to see a lot of stuff from the sideline, and I was communicating that back with the five that were in the game, especially point guards. I was talking to Jordan Walker a lot today and just telling her some stuff I've seen over there, and it was translating on the court."

On what she has seen from Rae Burrell through the first two games of season:
"Well, I think to start off, I think she's been more consistent. I think she's been aggressive. Obviously, (she's) looking for a shot, which I think she has been, but I think now it's coming within the offense, which is great for us. I like having someone else on the wing that can score equally as well, then team's have to guard us straight up. They don't have to just focus on one person, so it's nice playing out there with somebody like that."

Tennessee Sophomore Guard Jordan Horston

On steals being a focal point of game plan:
"I wouldn't say steals, I would just have to say locking down and playing solid defense. And then steals will come along when you lock down and play solid defense. So, my goal was just to make sure my girl didn't score and have my teammates back if they needed my help and steals will come along."

On mindset coming off the bench:
"It doesn't really change either way. When I get in the game, I just know I've just got to play my game, and I've got to bring what the team needs. No matter if I'm starting or if I'm coming off the bench, I'm just glad to be here. I'm glad to be in the game. When I get in, I've just got to make the most of it, play my game, play hard and just do what I got to do."

On root of turnovers throughout the game:
"Honestly, I don't know. I would have to sit back and watch film to really answer that question. Like Rennia (Davis) said, we have been taking strides in the right direction when it comes to turnovers. Even in practice we showed that we are a way better team than when we played today. We just have to get after it in practice and just work hard and really focus in on taking care of the ball. Like Rennia said, we have shown that we are a way better basketball team than that. We just had had a bad game with turnovers."

ETSU Head Coach Brittney Ezell

On her team showing a lot of heart during tonight's game:
"Yeah, I thought to be combating a team that was returning 80 percent of their scoring and rebounding, and knowing that we weren't returning much in terms of production, I thought we showed some guts today - (we) had it at 10 at halftime. Came out smart, started slow in the third. It bloomed to 20. We called timeout, got it back down to 16 and just could not get over the hump. Really, what I just told the kids is, 'I'm not happy anytime we lose.' I'm the worst loser probably in America, but I'm proud - proud of their effort, proud of the way they stayed together. I'm proud for some of these kids, especially like Jakhyia (Davis) who grew up, you know, in the shadows of this stadium and loving the Lady Vols and having an opportunity to compete against them. That's awesome, and I was really proud of the way the kids fought and represented our university."

On halftime adjustments against Tennessee:
"They went to their spread 2-3 buzz-zone gave us some problems. We turned it over a couple times early in third quarter. I wouldn't say they really changed a lot. It was difficult to match up when they brought two bigs in and played two fives at the same time. Their size just standing down on the court is something to behold. I mean they've only got two kids whose height starts with a five. You know our entire roster is five across with exceptions. You know it was tough to combat that when they decided to get on the glass. It's tough, and I thought that Burrell did a really good job for them today. I like her game a lot. She was 7-of-11, and then Davis didn't play that many minutes, but her minutes are so efficient. She was 6-for-10 and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, so they led them in scoring obviously, but you kind of expected it. It's who we thought."

On gaining experience from tonight looking ahead to conference play:
"I think it's just something to build on. Again, it's part of the way that we schedule. It's an experience. It's something that we take with us and build on. We can go back and point out moments in this game, 'Hey we were down, or we were undersized or out-manned. There's a lot of things that we can point to, but this game is good for our program. It continues to be good for our culture. It continues to be a good rivalry game. I appreciate Kellie (Harper) continuing the series, and we enjoy playing them every year. I don't think they take us lightly anymore, and that's the first step into really making it a rivalry. We got to sneak up and win one for it to be a true rivalry, but I don't think they take us lightly anymore after these last couple of years."

ETSU Freshman Center Jakhyia Davis

On returning to Knoxville and playing against the Lady Vols:
"It was very exciting. My family was able to come. I've been a Tennessee fan for a long time, so it was very fun to come out and play against them."

On momentum and effort in first half
"I was not doing so well at the beginning of the first half. So, the end, I had to pick it up for my team."