Lady Vols vs. Vanderbilt Postgame Quotes

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening Statement:
"I knew this was going to be a tough game. We're obviously really excited to get back in the win column. Vanderbilt withstood some of our runs and made their own runs. It was tough. It was a tough game, but I'm proud of our team."

On Jordan Horston's performance, with just two turnovers on the day:
"I thought Jordan was really aggressive to the basket, looking for her opportunities early on today. She still had the aggressiveness, but there was a little bit of poise there. She played with great confidence."

On the sequence in which Rae Burrell's shoe came off during the play:
"I was praying that we would not throw her the ball as she was putting her shoe on. I was just hoping that would not happen. We at least let her get her shoe on, but she had a stretch there where she was playing downhill and she was being aggressive, making plays. Our spacing was good during that stretch. She played tough. She struggled in the first half and really was able to come in in the second (half) and give us big, good, solid minutes."

On the team's attitude when facing adversity:
"We had good, positive talks in the huddle. I thought the communication was where it needed to be. I wanted a little bit more sense of urgency in the third quarter, but they didn't get down on themselves when Vanderbilt was making a run. They hung in there. I thought it was all pretty positive."

On if she thought the losing streak, along with Vanderbilt's comeback attempt would negatively impact the team:
"I think this team has had a pretty good mindset and a pretty positive outlook throughout this stretch. You also worry about, at any moment, the weight of those losses being too much to pull yourself through. We didn't want a close game. I didn't think a close game would be good for us, but obviously we were able to overcome it."

On how nice it feels to come away with the win despite struggles from the field:
"We've been shooting the ball really well (lately), with high turnovers. Today, we flipped the script a little bit. We got shots up and gave ourselves a chance because we took care of the basketball a little bit better. Obviously, that was a good trend. That was good to see. We'd like to see that continue. I think 14 (turnovers) would be a realistic goal. It might be a lofty goal for us right now, but if we could get 14, I'd say we would have to be pleased."

On Kasiyahna Kushkituah's shot being a big play:
"Kasi's two bucket in the second half were big. Her jumper was crucial, she didn't hesitate. Her offensive board on the free throw may have been an even bigger bucket. She got an offensive board and a put-back on a free throw. They were both big. I will say this, Kasi was in the gym shooting this morning. I was watching, and that is the shot she shot a million of today. And as soon as she caught the ball, my mind went right back to, 'Oh, that's all she did this morning.' Hopefully those shooting groups are paying off."

On much of Lou Brown's effort not showing up on the stat sheet:
"Well, Lou plays very intelligently with a lot of toughness. And I think for us, we are searching for toughness. We are trying to build toughness; we want more of it and she has it, and that is important. She also has a good understanding of what we are trying to do. She is also the most experienced, the most mature player on our team and has a calming effect when she's out there. I think the players like her on the court with them. I would. I would want her out there with me. She took some charges and even tried to take one that didn't get called. But those are such positive plays, and she makes a difference when she's out there."

On Tamari Key not playing down the stretch and if that was a stamina issue:
"No, I felt like some of our technical executions defensively weren't getting done there. So, it was not numbers just so much as little things defensively that we needed to go with Kasi to give us a little more physicality."

On Jessie Rennie gaining confidence:
"Yeah, she's playing with great confidence. I know sometimes that's hard because her minutes have fluctuated depending on how the games have been going and depending on who the opponent is. She has a little bit more swagger about her, even in practice. She walks around and has more confidence, and we need that from her. She knows her job is to go in and shoot the basketball if she's in there. She got three off today, and that's good for us. The team likes her in there, too. She got on the floor, got a loose ball, got a jump ball as well. Her minutes were good."

On the NCAA tournament:
"We have not talked about it. Again, we've got a game on Thursday, a game on Sunday and that is our focus. We talked about how many days left we have before the tournament. We talked about maximizing our off days, maximizing our practice days, maximizing our games, and making sure that we are taking every bit of this opportunity to be a better basketball team before we go over to Greenville. That has been our focus."

Freshman Guard Jordan Horston:

On her offensive performance and assists to turnover ratio:
"Hearing that I only had two turnovers today is a big step for me, because I have been really trying to focus on not turning the ball over. I feel like going into the tournament I feel pretty proud about that. I mean I've still got room to improve, of course. I always can do better, but it's baby steps"

On her having a good day offensively:
"This game is slowing down (for me). Like Rennia (Davis) told me one time, she said, 'When the game slows down and you just let it come to you, you start playing your game again.' So, I just felt like today slowed down for me a little bit, and I was able to come off the bench and bring that energy. I couldn't do it without my teammates though. "

On making the right plays:
"Honestly, I feel like I just keep playing basketball, and I just do what the defense like gives me, so it's not anything already set in my mind. It's like, okay this person comes here, and I look at things and see this person. It's just the feel of the game. "

Junior Forward Rennia Davis

On Vanderbilt overcoming UT's lead:
"I thought our defensive intensity in the second quarter and going in to the third quarter was a lot more lackadaisical than in the first quarter and the fourth quarter. We were able to get that lead in the first quarter because I thought our defensive pressure was on. I thought we were screening well; I thought we were communicating well. Then, I thought in the second quarter, it kind of got a little relaxed."

On having a key steal late in the game:
"Yeah, I really have been working on the defensive end of my game. I figured they were going to try to get the ball to 23 right then, so I tried to read it before they made the play, and I was able to make the play and keep the ball in-bounds. I thought that was a huge moment for us, and we were able to go down in transition and make something happen."

On Coach Harper's message when Vanderbilt took the lead:
"(She said) just keep playing our game. I thought once we lost that 32-18 lead, Vanderbilt was pretty close to us for the duration of game. So, when they took the lead, we had a couple defensive lapses, but, you know, she kept her cool and we were able to go out there and finish the game off."

On Lou's ethic and desire
"I, personally, love playing with Lou. I think she has heart; she has passion for the game. She is older, so she has been around the game for a while, so she has a lot of knowledge of the game. Especially with such a young team that we have, she is somebody who steps up to take charges when a lot of us are scared to do so. She is that glue player for us. I think she does a lot of little things that might not show up on the stat sheet, but she really knows this team well."

On being a young team facing adversity:
"We lost the lead, but how you respond to adversity is kind of something that we've been working on this season. I thought we did pretty good at keeping our cool, staying poised, and ultimately coming out with the win."

Sophomore Guard Rae Burrell

On losing her shoe and making the basket:
"Yeah, I was just trying to get back into the play, just get my shoe on as quick as possible. I shoved my foot in there really quick and then had to get back to what we were doing on offense. I was just trying to get back and play as quick as possible."

On getting over her frustration from a rocky start:
"The fourth quarter I was just thinking about the team and what I needed to do to help us win. So, I was just trying to put that behind me and focus on what we had to do next."

On Vanderbilt winning here last year:
"I feel like we had a little chip on our shoulders. We had a little bit more to prove today, and so it kind of just made us work harder."

Vanderbilt Head Coach Stephanie White

Opening Statement:
"I think first and foremost, it was a fun game. I am really proud of our team for battling and putting ourselves in position to get a win. Tennessee is a team that did exactly what they should do; they made plays when they needed them, whether it is rebounds or defensive stops or key buckets. They hit a lot of tough shots. They did what great teams do. I am always talking about how awesome of an opportunity it is to come and set food in this gym and play in front of these fans. I think – especially for our young kids - to come and experience that in a competitive environment and put yourself in position to win a ball game, that is why we play the game."

On Kasiyahna Kushkituah making a pivotal shot and if unexpected players sometimes change the momentum of games like these:
"There is no doubt about it. We knew that Tennessee was going to expose our little guards down low with their big long wings. We had to give as much help as we could, and when you look at a scouting report, you have to give up something. And that is what we gave up, and she knocked that down. She got a huge offensive rebound off a free throw. Coming in and making that 6-0 run at the time, timeout, then they shoot a free throw and miss, so we have an opportunity to get another possession, and I felt like that rebound put-back was big."

On how the team was able to stay in the game that started out as looking like a blow-out:
"I think that we probably felt like that early especially. The reality is, you have two young core groups with both teams. When you have young players, the game isn't going to flow and there will be peaks and valleys. There are going to be runs. When you have experienced teams, like some teams in our league are, they always hammer down. So, I think the big thing for us was just chipping away. It just has to be one possession at a time. We have to be completely locked in defensively and be able to get a stop. We have to be completely locked in on the offensive end and be able to get a score. The reality for us is that the game came down to the extra possessions - 22 offensive rebounds and the 20 turnovers that they were able to capitalize on. And also, the seven missed free throws that we weren't able to capitalize on. But I think this is exactly what you should expect in the SEC, and it is a battle. Both teams continue to make runs, and it is what you have to do to position yourself to be able to win ball games. I felt like they (Tennessee) just made the last biggest run."

Junior Guard Chelsie Hall

On what turned the game around for Vanderbilt:
"I just think we were playing our rival, and you never want to lose big. I think that we wanted to win, and we had been itching for a win, and we just came out there and played hard. We played together. That's what we talked about in the huddle. Once we got it to click, we just kept on going."

On how they were able to handle the crowd noise:
"I think when we huddled as a team, we would talk about it more. I think we just focused on the game plan and knew what we had to do. Even when the crowd gets loud, it is fun to play, and we just got excited and it gave us some energy."

Redshirt-Senior Forward Mariella Fasoula

On if she saw something on film that made her think she could rattle UT's posts:
"We just worked on getting into the paint a lot in practice and the easiest position possible. Coach White emphasized a lot that the easiest place I could get to is the middle of the floor where they can't bring a double, so we were just trying to do that, and my teammates were able to find me there easier this game. I definitely think it all came from my teammates being able to knock down shots and open me up in the paint."