University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols vs. Florida Postgame Quotes
January 19, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper
Opening statement…
"I pick up a stat sheet and see a lot of positives on there for us and for the growth that we are looking for. I did remind the team that let's not take these for granted, because wins are hard to get. We came out and did what we needed to do. We improved from our first time playing the Gators, and I am really happy in so many areas here and just hope that our team will continue to push and have a lot of energy to get better each and every day."
On how pleased she is with the team's turn around on scoring defense…
"Well, I think they want to be better. When we shared that particular stat, they were a little disappointed. I think they want it, and that's the first start. We really tried to find opportunities in practice to really ramp up our defense and make sure we are doing what we need to do. I think we have had individuals improve, defensively. I think there have been times where our communication has been better. Just little things. And it might just be small increments right now, but that's what we need. We have to keep striving to get better."
On Jasmine Powell…
"Well, Jasmine honestly, has been struggling a little bit. She hasn't been playing as well as she is capable, and it was so good to see her play free and play with great confidence. When she does that, she is really productive. She had four assists, she scored, she guarded. She did a lot of good things for us. I was so happy for her."
On Karoline Striplin playing well in the post, while also adding a shooting ability...
"She's always been a good shooter. She's working hard on even her consistency. She takes a lot of threes. I'm telling you, she gets a lot of shots up. Because she works so hard and puts the time in, it allows us to stretch the defense in a different way than we have really ever been able to do. You know, I'm proud of her. She gives us good presence in the paint in terms of her post-ups. She posts up really hard, but now she can really spread the floor and that gives us a lot of opportunities."
On if the emotions get easier to deal with on a night like "We Back Pat" night…
"Yeah, I think all the time leading up to the game, you think about it. We've mentioned it before the game, and then you are out there playing, you look out there and their jerseys say Summitt. It can get you pretty hard. Fortunately, I am usually pretty busy during the game and don't have an opportunity to let my emotions take over. When we were able to sit back and reflect on why we are doing this, I am just so grateful and thankful the SEC started the initiative for multiple reasons. Obviously, the first being the fight that Pat started with her foundation. We want to bring awareness there and make sure that we know where her mind was there. We want that foundation to really thrive. Also, proud also because I was a player here; it's just one more opportunity to keep her legacy alive and when we are talking about her, talking about the foundation, we are talking about Pat Summitt. That's still pretty cool."
On the importance of improvement to go on runs and hold teams to scoring droughts…
"I think creating the scoring droughts for the opponent are really critical, because you never know when you are going to be on the flip side of that. Obviously, to start the first quarter that was us, and we were able to hang tough defensively, so there wasn't a huge discrepancy after only shooting 17 percent in the first quarter. It is critical. It's how you extend your lead, and it gives you an opportunity, gives you some margin for error on the offensive end if you are not making shots. Obviously, we didn't shoot the ball great from the perimeter today, but defensively, we hung tight and extended that lead."
"Not one in particular. For me, I think what she looked like walking in the gym and the presence that she had, whether it was in the room, in the media, or on the court. She just had an unbelievable presence about her and an aura that you could feel, and I like to tell people, I could be standing here talking, and if she walked in, you just knew it. You knew something changed when she walked in a room. There are just too many stories to just dial it down to one. Obviously, what she means to this program, to me, to this university - her touch was nationwide, worldwide, and it wasn't just about sports. I'm reminded of that constantly in this position. So many people want to come tell me their story. Everybody has a Pat Summitt story. Everybody. It's always really good to hear."
On Jordan Horston having her fifth double-double of the season and her impact on the game…
"I think that's who she is. Jordan Horston impacts the game, period. It doesn't have to be scoring, she can do it in so many ways. I think she guarded well tonight; I thought she rebounded well, found ways to score. I think for her, she's just so productive. She does so many things for this basketball team, things that show up on the stat sheet, typically, because she is a stat sheet stuffer, but also, just some intangibles. She's pretty vocal and pretty competitive."
On Jasmine Franklin's toughness and her impact…
"I like the depth that we have in the center spot. Obviously, we can play two of them at one time. What Jas (Franklin) brings is just a toughness, a savvy, honestly a relentlessness. She's long with her arms, and she can get her hands around balls. She understands what's going on. She does a really good job communicating with her teammates. I know if I was out there, I'd like her behind me, because she tells you what's going on. She's a rebounder. She can really clean it up. I felt like it was three straight where she really cleared the boards in three straight possessions and really kept them off the glass. She is a little undersized, but she makes up for it."
On the defense's momentum without Tamari Key…
"I think we need to find those opportunities. Tamari (Key) changed the complexion of our defense. She was our anchor down there, and we can play pretty good position, and she'd always erase our mistakes. Right now, we're playing pretty good position, but if we make a mistake, we don't always have somebody to erase it, so if we can combat that with a few more steals, maybe a charge or two here and there, and then we've got to be even a little bit better on the defensive boards because of that."
On the slow start...
"Oh, it was definitely the shooting percentage. We got good looks. I mean, we had great looks. We had paint touches. We just missed them. And that's where maybe we were a little amped up to start the game. I'm not sure, but we just have to settle in - and we did. We settled in, we focused, and then we were able to finish. We had a little bit of frustration, I think, early on, and we kind of let that pass and we played through. And obviously, you can do that when you're taking care of things on the defensive end."
On preparing for Missouri…
"Well, I think first off, it's a tough place to play. They're well coached. They're going to be physical, very smart, so they're going to have a game plan. It's going to be tough. For us, we've got to handle ourselves. We've got to be able to go in there and be disciplined and know what we need to do and go do it with great energy and great enthusiasm and great competitiveness. And you're right, I think we have a target, but I think we always do. We're Tennessee, that's just the way it is. And hopefully, our players have experienced that enough this year and throughout the last few years that they're prepared for that."
On getting Edie Darby in the game…
"You know what, obviously Edie [Darby] doesn't get a lot of time, but she's a talented player. She really is. And she's been giving us some great minutes in practice at, a lot of times, with our scout team, giving us some looks that our opponents are going to give us. It's an undervalued role. She comes to practice every day, works hard every day, gives us everything she has. And I know it wasn't long. We would have liked to get her in a little bit quicker, but even just a little bit I think is important. We love her, and she's such a positive addition to our team. (We're) just grateful for her."
On Edie Darby putting on the home state's jersey…
"You know, as a Tennessee girl who put the jersey on, it's a big deal. It's a big deal to be from Tennessee and put that jersey on. You don't take that lightly. I think most people nationwide know the brand; they understand what the Lady Vols are, but when you grow up in the state, it's just a little bit different. You know, I think both her and Tess (Darby) appreciate that and have a love for it. And I appreciate that."
On allowing so many offensive rebounds…
"Yeah, a lot of those are coming off broken plays where we might just be a little bit out of position and the ball is bouncing right over our head. The one's that we can control, we have to do a better job of controlling. You know, just some lack of discipline, box outs. We've gotten better in that area in terms of understanding our technique and what our technique needs to look like and what it needs to be. At times, it's a physicality thing. We gave up a couple there in the second half just because they were bigger than us. But we've got to control the ones we can control. So, we'll go back and watch it and just find the ones where we did not do our job. And you're not going to get every one of them, but you've got to do the best job you can do every possession."
On Justine Pissott's minutes…
"Justine's done a really good job offensively, and her defense is coming along. And then sometimes it's the other players that are in there, they're getting a lot of minutes. So, Justine, we're still working with her, she's doing a good job in practice. I thought she did a good job today. There were a couple of things defensively she did really well, and that is really good for her and her confidence and our confidence. You know, when we need a shooter and we need people to step in and make shots, we know that we can count on her."
Senior Guard Jordan Horston
On the defensive turnaround in SEC play…"It's a good deal for us, because we know that defense is something that we want to work on. I'm glad we finally were able to put it together, and we are still capable of locking down and stopping people. I'm just glad we got it figured out."
On what "We Back Pat Night" and wearing the "Summitt" jersey means to her…
"It means everything. She led the way for women in general, and I'm just glad that we just got to win in that jersey. I think I might be undefeated in that jersey, to be honest. You know, we went out there and coach gave a speech (saying) it's the perfect opportunity to give thanks and show that we are grateful."
On the importance of the second quarter turnaround…
"I mean, we always want to play for 40 minutes. We're still trying to figure out how to play for 40 minutes, but I'm glad that we figured it out before we got to halftime, because you know every possession matters - every second matters, especially in SEC play. You can't take for granted any possession, and so I'm glad that we figured it out came out and locked in."
Senior Forward Rickea Jackson
On what "We Back Pat Night" and wearing the "Summitt" jersey means to her…"It means a lot to still carry her legacy. You know, Pat was the one who paved the way and made it cool to support women in sports, and I just feel like it means a lot, and I feel like we got this win and honor of her. So, it just feels good to have that on our back and to honor her in the way we did tonight."
On coming off the bench and scoring…
"I mean, to be honest, anybody will want to score, but I just do it for this team. You know, I just take my role in trying to make the best out of it, whether that's starting or coming off the bench. I'm just glad that we are where we are today, and we're undefeated in SEC play. We want to continue to do that."
On staying focused after missing her first few shots…
"My teammates, they always just stay in my ear. They keep you know, feeding me the ball at my spots and things like that. At the end of the day, like I know, as long as I'm in my spots like and I keep that confidence in myself, they're eventually going go in, so I don't let it get me too down. (You) have to have that next-play mentality.
Graduate Forward Jasmine Franklin
On the team stepping up to get steals and blocks in the absence of Tamari Key…"I think it's really important for all of us. We're all still trying to figure it out as we go. We're doing a great job along the way, pushing each other and being there for each other."
On going 8-8 from the free-throw line…
"I will say it's been a point of emphasis for all of us who work on our free throws every day. We have project free throws, where it's shoot and make 100 free throws. That's a point of emphasis for me especially, because I am kind of little down there, so I get my chances to get fouled. I'm going to try to step up and make my free throws.
Florida Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley
Opening Statement..."(Tonight was) a little different, it's nice to have everybody here. There was a great crowd tonight, as to be expected. What a special night for the "We Back Pat" night. I thought there was a great turnout, and I thought we competed. I think that's what we do every night, we compete hard. Our third quarter defense just really wasn't good enough. Kind of our M.O. right now is we're playing three really hard, solid quarters. Today, it wasn't necessarily the fourth quarter. You know, Tennessee's scoring, but they're a very talented team, and they work hard and they're playing better and better together. But it was definitely a great atmosphere - thanks to all your fans."
On Tennessee's defense…
"I think their transition defense was good. Part of it, in the third quarter, was we couldn't get stops to get out in transition. We want to play a little bit faster, so it was an uncomfortable pace for our team. But I thought they did a great job communicating on the defensive end, their rotations were really strong, their length was a definite challenge for us."
On rebounding against Tennessee…
"Yeah, you know, their second effort is great. That's something that really stands out for them. As a team, you can tell it's something they work on and Coach Harper values a lot. But I was pleased with our rebounding effort. I thought it was a strong improvement from the first time that we competed against each other. And to be out-rebounded by six, you know, you'd like to win the rebounding battle, but I thought that we had great effort on the boards tonight."
On Pat Summitt…
"Her legacy is tremendous, and what she did for women's basketball has made an everlasting impact. And so to see the support, like I said, emphasized by the crowd tonight, I thought was great. And, you know, the shirts that we wear, whatever we can do - I have my purple shoes on tonight for Alzheimer's, but I think that there's a lot of good that comes out of the support for games like this."
