Lady Vols vs. Virginia Tech Postgame Quotes

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening statement:
"It was a great game to be a part of. I'm proud of our team's fight, it just stinks that we didn't get the win. I thought we played well enough to win, but we needed to make a few more plays, whether that was on the offensive end or the defensive end, either one. I'm proud of the team. Virginia Tech came out firing, and I'm telling you, we could've laid down, and we didn't. We fought and gave ourselves a chance. The same thing happened in the second half, and we just wouldn't go away. I love the grit. It wasn't by accident, it was a product of the practices and the effort they gave us this week. It's hard to not be rewarded when you show improvement, when you get better, when you pour your heart into it, but if they'll hang in there and keep that effort and that focus, we're going to be fine."

On the missing players and Jordan Horston's performance...
"We are obviously missing three. Rickea Jackson was a coaches' decision. That'll be indefinite. Jillian Hollingshead was in concussion protocol and then yesterday, Jasmine Franklin went into concussion protocol. Jordan Horston, I thought she poured her heart out and gave us everything she had. I'm proud of her and proud of her effort, and I thought she was being a leader."

On Tamari Key's preparation for this game...
"We're just trying to keep helping her feel comfortable and make sure she's getting as many reps as possible. I thought today she pushed through, because there wasn't a lot of choice, she had to push through for us. I thought our coaching staff did a good job with getting her subbed in and out at the right times, and we were strategic with her rest periods, and she showed some toughness and some grit. Her backup, Karoline Stiplin (had) 10 minutes and five offensive boards. We're really proud of that."

On using the shot clock malfunction to the team's advantage...
"That's what I told the team. I said, 'Let's take advantage of this. Let's let this be a reset for us, not for the other team. Let's try to make sure we're ready to go, and we come out of this strong.' I don't know exactly what happened in the minutes after that, but in that moment, you've got to handle whatever is thrown at you. If you're rolling or if you're not, you've got to handle it, and I thought our team had a good mindset throughout that."

On changing the defensive strategy throughout the game...
"We knew that they are so talented offensively and obviously, in the first quarter, they put up a lot of points, 23 I believe. To start the second (quarter), we thought we'd throw a zone at them to get them out of rhythm. We got one stop, and we went back to it a few possessions later, they scored, and then stuck with man the rest of the way. We're trying to work on finding a plan B defensively for our team if our man isn't working. You have to be good at your man to be able to guard."

On finding offensive punch...
"We'll go back and look at our shot attempts. I thought we missed a couple of shooters and we missed Tamari (Key) on a couple possessions. We got to clean those up. We had four players make a field goal, only four. That's where we've got to have people step up and be able to make another basket, whether that's we've got to find them maybe an easier look or maybe they've got to get in the gym more, we need a little bit more punch. Obviously, we did our job defensively. You hold them under 60, you've got to give yourself a chance to win. You've got to get in the 60s and give yourself a chance to win. Going into this game, you've got to score with them, because they can put points on the board."

On Tamari Key getting fewer touches in the second half...
"Yeah, I thought we missed her on a few. I thought we got a little impatient offensively in a few possessions and came up empty, maybe took a quick shot somewhere else. But we had a few turnovers - silly turnovers - during that stretch as well. So we just have to, as a team, kind of go through and look. We've gotta be a little bit more patient in those moments. You know it's not that many, but you just change two possessions, and it's completely different. So, if we can work to change three to five possessions in there it can make a big difference".

On filling in for Rikea Jackson's offensive production...
"Well, I think everybody has to step up. We are trying to help that, also with some play calling and putting our players in positions to be successful and take advantage of matchups in certain situations. We can. And we have players that will be able to do that. I thought the stat on here that you wish you could see a little bit better was 18 offensive boards, which is great for us. I'm so excited for us, but we only came up with 11 points, so in those dry spells, if we get an offensive board and turn it into a bucket, that would be a big play. We've got to finish some of those better."

On how practice was better this week...
"We didn't do any offense on Tuesday and Wednesday. We did no offense, it was all defense. We knew that was the area we had to grow. (We) really got them up and down, held them accountable. It was tough, it was really tough. They had to fight; they had to have a lot of grit to get through practice this week. We told them that's not a one-time thing, that's forevermore. And now, moving forward, in the immediate future, we've got to find how to continue to have that toughness, that grit. Maybe we shorten that practice a little bit tomorrow. They're going to be drained emotionally. This took a lot out of them physically but emotionally as well. To come up short here, I know it's hard on them. I know they're proud of their effort. I do know that. They need to be. But now I've got to get them ready to get back up physically and emotionally and mentally for Tuesday."

Tennessee Senior Guard Jordan Horston

On facing Virginia Tech without the full roster...
"I mean, we knew that was a tough team regardless of the fact of who was playing. But we knew that whatever five were going out there, we were going to play hard, play for each other, play tough. So, we weren't really worried about that. We were just worried about who was going to be playing and who was going to come out here and be tough. I feel like we displayed that today. We had a great week of practice; this is the beginning for us, and we're on our way up."

On playing tough defense after the third quarter…
"Yeah, just our practice. Like I said, we've been having great practices leading up to this, and I feel like we were all locked in. We had a lot of urgency, and we knew they were a fast, push-the-pace team. They wanted to score in transition; we knew we had to take that away from them. And then Tamari (Key) did a hell of a job against Kitley. She held her to... I don't even know what she had, but she did a great job. And it was just focused in. We were all locked in, focused."

On how tough of a loss this game was…
"I mean, every loss that we have is pretty frustrating, because we don't like to lose. I know for myself, I hate losing, I'm a competitor. Nobody wants to lose, but I've just got to keep reminding myself that it's not the end-all right now, so we're just still working, playing hard, and we're getting better. So, that's what we're looking at."

Tennesse Senior Center Tamari Key

On how she prepared for her defensive performance against Elizabeth Kitley …
"I think just our practices this week and us being locked in defensively, with scout in practice. Also, just the fact of last year's game and how we made an emphasis to shut her down. I think we did a good job of that in this game. I wish we could have pulled it out."

On her mental preparation for the game …
"Just keeping my head up and not worrying about any of the games in the past or my performance in the past games. Also, continuing to work hard and keep pushing. And my teammates have been super supportive of that, so they are a big help as well."

On if she thinks this Virginia Tech team is better than last year…
"I think they are better, just in the fact that they have a lot of upperclassmen, and they've got some really good transfers that came in. They were a really good team last year too, but I think our defensive emphasis and focus—especially this week in practice—is what pushed us this game to just try and stay as locked in as possible on defense and possession, but yeah they are a great team."

Tennessee Senior Guard Jasmine Powell

On the impact the absent players have on the team and their performance …
"I mean, being down as many players as we were, we knew that we all needed to step up, and we knew coming into this game and every game that we need to rebound—and that has been a focus in practice and for the guards to get in there as well. So, we knew coming into this game that we needed everybody and that we needed to step up, and I think that we did that today."

On the team's performance in the second half of the game …
"I think that play calls honestly, are one of the big reasons (for success) and trying to get different looks. I think coming into the game, one of our mindsets was using ball screening, because we thought that was one of their weaknesses. So, just trying to look for that more in the second half kind of got us going. We got some other players' influence as well, but definitely want to make sure we circle back to TK (Tamari Key), because she was doing great."

Virginia Tech Head Coach Kenny Brooks

Opening Statement…
"Obviously, it wasn't the prettiest of games. I thought it was a tremendously gutsy effort by our group. I know they were shorthanded a little bit. We were shorthanded, not having Ashley Owusu. Getting Kayana Traylor back who missed last game, we are all trying to figure it out at this juncture of the season. If we can continue to win while we are trying to figure it out, it's a bonus for us. (I'm) very proud of our group. We didn't have to rely on one person. We're a well-rounded group. Elizabeth Kitley didn't have it going today, I credit their defense. I think Kayana Traylor did a tremendous job really getting us going. D'asia Gregg was fantastic in some of the little plays we had. (I'm) just proud of our group, really similar to last year, where we kind of controlled the game late and going into the last five minutes, and we faltered down the stretch. We learned a lot from that game. Even though we didn't finish it the exact way we wanted to, I thought we were resilient in overcoming some of the plays. Very proud of our group; we'll take it, and we'll move on."

On Tennessee in the fourth quarter…
"Physical, extremely physical. Kellie (Harper) went to a really big lineup. This may have been one of the very few times in my career that we were smaller than them in a juncture of the game, smaller than them at every position. Jordan (Horston) was just unbelievable. She got to her spots, rose up and made shots. She's a tremendous athlete, tremendous talent. I thought we could have done a better job of boxing out. Once the ball went up, they had to make something happen. They were really crashing the boards. We didn't secure rebounds like we should have. I thought we played a little bit soft down the stretch; they were just more physical than we were down the stretch."

On if he was surprised they stopped going to Tamari Key…
"I have enough trouble coaching my team, so I would never coach Kellie's team. She knows them a lot better than I do. Tamari (Key) is a tremendous talent. They've got some things going on where they are trying to find their identity. I know some kids were in and out today. Kellie (Harper) does a tremendous job. She has a really good basketball team. There's no doubt in my mind that by time we finish the season we are going to be talking about how good the team is."

On playing in Thompson-Boling Arena…
"I told the kids that regardless of what happens, you're going to be able to say I went to Tennessee, and then how do you want to finish the sentence? Go out and play your heart out. We went to Tennessee, and we got a win, and that's something that they'll always remember. Obviously, Tennessee is the standard for women's basketball, always has been. These kids grew up watching Coach Summitt, Tennessee and what's going on. It will be something that they always remember, and we made sure they understood that before the game started, that this is going to be a tremendous environment. (Tennessee) fans are extremely knowledgeable. It was my first time in Knoxville. We went to downtown Knoxville, we all had a good time last night, it was fun. It's something that they'll all remember. I'm glad they were able to go out and finish it out."

Virginia Tech Senior Guard Kayana Traylor

On injury…
"I just didn't feel very well in our last game, just a little bit of a sickness. (I) was able to come back the day after our game and get a couple of practices in; it felt good. Definitely was feeling it towards the end in the fourth quarter."

On ability to finish games…
"I think it's just experience, really. We have a lot of people that have played a lot of minutes and have been in a lot of situations. I think it's easy whenever you're not experienced to kind of lose your head in situations like that and people are coming and making the comeback. I think we just stay grounded and kept talking to each other and we pulled it out."

Virginia Tech Senior Guard Cayla King

On playing in Thompson-Boling Arena…
"I think it means a lot. Last year they came into our house, and they beat us. (We) definitely didn't like that feeling. We got to come here this year, and we got to play in front of a great crowd. I think that's one of the biggest crowds we've played in. I think it just meant a lot. Especially being in the ACC, we don't get a chance to come to some SEC schools. Coming to Tennessee, it was just a fun environment."