University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols vs. Ole Miss Postgame Quotes
January 28, 2021 | Women's Basketball
Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper
Opening Statement:"First, we are excited to be going out of the gym with a win. We talked about as a team how we know we can grow. We know that there are things we need to be better at, walking out of this game. Again, excited for the win, excited for the growth we can have. I'll tell you, Ole Miss came out fighting, playing hard. I knew they would; (I was) not surprised at all by their play. They're much improved. Folks haven't seen them much this year. They're much improved from last year and obviously, they have some dynamic players. They played well. Like I said, down the stretch we made free throws. I'm proud of our team."
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On Destiny Salary's performance:
"I felt like the two things we did not start the game with were energy and composure. I thought Destiny came in and brought both of those. I thought she came in earlier on and took care of the ball but also just played hard. I thought she did some really good things on both ends of the court. She played with confidence. She scored some buckets there in the third quarter, which I thought were really big. I thought her defense in the second quarter was good. Again, I think a lot of people have confidence her, because that's how she been practicing. Her role is to be that energy player for us. She knows that, and I'm really happy for her. I mean, we needed it. We absolutely needed it tonight. She made big plays."
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On Marta Suárez's status:
"Well, I wish I knew for sure. We've not practiced her much since our last game and are trying to give her some rest. She has a foot injury, and as of right now, to be honest with you, I don't know her status. We knew we were going to try to rest her and get her through a game to see how she did. Obviously, we knew at the tip that we weren't going to be able to play her and that was unfortunate. I'll tell you; she has played really well for us. That was a big blow for our team. Obviously, the depth in that position was already slim. So, that hurt us to start the game. We'll just have to figure that out."
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On what she noticed was happening on defensive side of the ball:
"I thought our defense was not as locked in and focused as we needed to be, or as we have been. I thought we were a step slow or a step late. I did not think we anticipated well, in terms of what was about to happen. I thought we were on our heels a lot. That goes back to our focus. I think if we are locked in, we guard better. One of the things we've done well in last few weeks is guard well in the half court. I was a little disappointed in that tonight."
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On the turnover issues in the beginning of the first quarter:
"I think we had seven in the first quarter. If you start out by playing with low energy, they're getting after you, and you aren't playing with composure, you're going to turn the ball over. That's not a great way to start a game. Obviously, what happens in turn - they get energy, they get happy, they get excited. They now are really bought in to their game plan, and how it's working. We've got to come out better - better energy, better confidence, and better composure."
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On the adjustments made throughout the game:
"We tried to make adjustments throughout the game, but nothing different than any other game that we play. As a coach, you make adjustments throughout - ball screen defense, play some zone, calling different plays. But I think really, it was on our players. In that first quarter, there was not a whole lot that I called that worked. We were able to call the same plays in the last three quarters and get good looks. So, a lot of that was just being a little bit more confident and sure with basketball."
On what her message to the team was at halftime:
"It's the same thing we just talked about: composure and energy. We talked about playing downhill a little bit more. I thought, offensively, we were on our heels a little bit. The second quarter was much better in terms of getting out and running and trying to get some easy looks. We talked a little bit schematically, defensively, how we needed to play. They've (Ole Miss) got some really talented players. They do. Their talented players scored well tonight. They made some tough shots over us. We've not seen a whole lot of that this year. I still think there is some area for improvement. Our team rallied and found ways to make plays. Even going down the stretch, you think things are going well, and then we give up an offensive board on a free throw and an and-1. (There were some) silly plays that we were still able to play through. I'm proud of our team that we're able to do that, but obviously, I hope the lesson is learned. Maybe next time we don't have to play through those mistakes."
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On the importance of having playmakers that can take over a game when shots aren't falling:
"We know our offensive punch is in the paint. We know that. Our post players, I didn't think we gave them enough touches tonight, but our guards were able to score in the paint. Some of that's in transition, some of that's in drives. We had a few post-ups. Hopefully, we can shoot a little better from the 3-point line, knock some shots down and loosen some things up. But I'm proud of our team for knowing what our go-to is. They're really in a mindset to get there."
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On the toughness of the SEC and if a team has to learn how to play in such a competitive league:
"Yes, and yes. That's been the main message that we've been trying to give our team. You don't just show up. You don't just walk in the gym and win. If you think you're going to do that, you're going to go home with a loss, and it does not matter who we're playing. It doesn't matter. The SEC is so much better. It's competitive from top to bottom. I think our players are hearing that, but I think it takes a little bit of maturity to be able to handle that. I think the message to them after the game was that you have to go out and play your game. You have to go out and play our basketball regardless of who our opponent is. Our opponent doesn't matter. We have to be focused on doing what we do well. I told the team that's our next lesson. Our next lesson is that we're not going to be great every night, but you've got to be able to do what you do well. I know they hear that. It's now just a matter of coming out every single night. That consistency is hard to do. You're going to see ups and downs throughout the year. Teams are going to see that. The consistent teams and the teams that are there every night are going to be championship teams. They're going to be top-of-the-league teams. We want to be one of those teams. We want to be that. To do that, we've got to handle this. We've got to handle a little success, and we've got to be able to go out, put some blinders on and play the way we need to play."
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Tennessee Sophomore Guard Jordan Horston
On the conversation among the team when they went down by 13 and came back to get within three by halftime:
"Well, Destiny was really positive for us today. She came in and made sure we all stayed together, and we just know through tough times we have to stick together as a team. We knew that being down by 13, we just had to take it step by step. So, we just kept at them, stayed together, played as a team when things weren't going our way, and just stayed together and kept fighting, and got the win. All credit to Ole Miss, because they came out and they punched us in the mouth first, but we did a good job handling it towards the end and hitting big free throws and grabbing the rebounds we needed."
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On what she said to the team in the huddle at the end of the first:
"I don't know. I'm always talking, and I am just trying to keep everybody locked in. It's just little stuff like, stick together, keep talking to each other, we got your back, and just little stuff. It's stuff I say to keep my teammates on the right direction and on the right path."
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Tennessee Senior Guard/Forward Rennia Davis
On if they expected Ole Miss to come out and play like they did:
"I personally knew. I tried to relay a message to the team saying just how Ole Miss would come out and play hard. Just based off how they played us the second time last year, I figured they would come out and play super hard. Also, they've been playing a lot of good team in our conference pretty close. So, we just figured we would get their best game."
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On what the message was at the end of the first quarter and halftime:
"We just had to bring some energy. I thought Ole Miss started the game with more energy than we started the game with, and obviously, they continued with that same energy throughout the game. Just us being able to pick it up and match their energy, that's what helped us win the game."
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On what Destiny Salary was able to bring to the game tonight being only a freshman:
"It's the same thing she brings every day in practice and every time you see her. It's just energy. I thought she came in and played really well for us. She had some huge minutes and some huge buckets for us. It's just her energy, and she pretty much gave the team energy tonight, so I am super proud of her for that."
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Ole Miss Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin
On if she feels like her team will still turn the corner in the SEC this season:
"Yes, absolutely. I feel like we have already, every time that we step out on the floor. I felt like tonight was the first time since probably our pause that I saw my team. I saw the group of girls that I just love. They were connected, and they had each other's backs. The energy in the huddles was super. Even in the moments they wanted to break, they just stuck together. I tell everybody that wants to hear that we are the best 1-and-6 team in the country. I do not think anybody wants to play us. We are knocking at the door, so we are close."
On what a game like this has to say about the proof of concept behind her team and their season:
"I mean Stevie Wonder can see that our team is new and improved. We are just super young. And I am not giving an excuse, that is just our reality. And the only way we can grow is by playing games like this, you know. And then when you are young, and you play games like this, you end up figuring it out. Hopefully, we do not have anymore pauses, and we keep growing, and then we figure it out, and we grow up. So yes, as far a proof of concept, last year we came in here just hoping and wishing and praying we didn't lose by 60 like we did at our place, and we kept it to 11. I really thought we could win the game, and our players really thought we could win the game, and I think anytime we step out on the court we can win the game with this team."Â
On talking to her team about finishing games after playing so many close games this season:
"You know, I was taught at a young age that you lose in close games in coaching. So, these games were hard on me, just because I feel like if a game is close, there is something that I have to do to be able to figure out how to help my players get the win. I thought we had a lot of opportunities tonight. I thought we took a step forward. This one felt different. When we lost versus LSU close, I knew we were not quite ready yet. We had just come out of practice and had eight players. And then we go to Mississippi State and play our hearts out. I told our players that wanted to take big shots to take big shots. But tonight, I felt like we put it all together, and it was collective energy and contribution, and we have to figure out just one or two things. It is one or two things that if we get better at, these close losses will turn into wins. And I want it for our players. I think that they deserve to experience it, not that Tennessee did not. But my team is just going to stay resilient, and that is my job, keeping them uplifted and ready to fight every time we step out on the floor."
On any specific challenges she is trying to get her team past to continue to develop this season:
"Yes, turnovers. Live-ball turnovers. Going into the second quarter, we had three live-ball turnovers that Tennessee converted on. And then we had maybe one or two turnovers in the second half. I thought that swayed momentum because we were really in control of the game. And then the live-ball turnovers is what allowed Tennessee to get back into the game and a couple of shot selections. I think that is it. I do not care what people throw at us defensively. We have the talent to be able to score. I am not worried about that. We are pretty solid in the half-court when we sit down and defend. Tonight, we were extremely connected. We were beating them at the rim. And I love everything about what we did, but right now, our offense is hurting our defense because people are getting points that they did not have to earn, and If we can stop giving teams points that they did not have to earn, I think that that could be the difference."Â
On if she planned to disrupt Tennessee defensively coming into tonight:
"Yeah, that is our plan every night. Our slogan defensively is double D: dictate and disrupt. You know, I thought we did that at a high level, and that is something that we are going to grow to do. Anytime I get really sad, I just think that all of my players are coming back next season. And so, we will have all this here. We are doing this without a full 13 games. This is the 13th game, we would have been completing non-conference play. Let's really wrap our heads around that. With the 10th youngest team in the country, 13 games are conference. And we are right in the thick of things, and we are knocking on the door. So, we are just going to keep them uplifted and work on those things so that we can experience the win."
