University of Tennessee Athletics
Player Quotes At Lady Vol Media Day
October 23, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Tennessee Sophomore Guard Talaysia Cooper
On her transition to Tennessee…"It's been great, I love it here. It's a great environment. Everyone is friendly. Just getting to interact with my team and getting to know them more has been great."
Tennessee Sophomore Guard Edie Darby
On how practice is going…"It's been very good. It's been challenging. I would say our practices from last year to this year have definitely amped up, but it's in a good way. We know our standards are high and we know where we want to be at the end of the season. Just pushing day in and day out is what we do."
On her goals for this season…
"Team wise, you probably have got this answer, but winning a national championship and a SEC championship. Personally, just being the best teammate I can be. Whether that's on the floor, on the bench, on the sidelines or in practice. Just being there when my teammates need me the most and just pushing them in their highs and lows."
Tennessee Senior Guard/Forward Tess Darby
On how practice is going…"Practice has been going good. Having a lot of veterans and new faces on the team who have experience, it's just been going so smoothly and fast. They know what to expect and what preseason is all about. It's honestly been going really good."
On some of her goals for this season…
"Obviously you come here to win championships. Most importantly, getting better every game and every single day. We still have a lot to improve on, so just knowing what that is and coming in day-in and day-out and getting better."
Tennessee Junior Forward Jillian Hollingshead
On how practice is going…"Practice has been going good. It's been a lot of intense practices, going really hard. We're just trying to get the chemistry right and just get ready for our games coming up."
On her goals this season…
"My goals are to get closer as a team. Like I said, continue our chemistry. Win some games, win some championships. SEC, the Natty - that's what we're going for."
Tennessee Fifth Year Forward Rickea Jackson
On how practice is going…"Practice has been going really well. I feel like our chemistry has been really good early on and it's just been energetic. I feel like we get better every practice so it's been going good."
On her goals this season…
"Our number one goal is to win a National Championship and the SEC Championship. Just to be the best person and player that I can be. To play at a high level with my sisters and continue to build a great bond on and off the court."
Tennessee Redshirt Senior Center Tamari Key
On how practice is going…"It's been good, it's been intense, we have just a different group this year. People coming into new roles. It's just been trying to learn from each other, but it's been a lot of fun."
On if she has any goals…
"As of right now I haven't set specific goals. I will once i get back into the swing of things, but i just want to be the best I can for this team."
On team goals they have…
"SEC championship, obviously a national championship."
Tennessee Fifth Year Guard Jasmine Powell
On how practice is going…"It's been going really well. I think we're learning a lot. We are just trying to build off of last year. We are learning that we need to pick it up on the defensive end if we want to win. We want to get further than the Sweet 16. That's been the goal since I've been here. We're just trying to find different ways. We are a new team this year, so finding different ways that we can improve from last year even though we are a new team. It's been great to get that chemistry with this team and see how far we can go."
On her goals…
"National championship is always the goal. In order to get that national championship, you have to get past where we've been for two years in the Sweet 16. We want to get that SEC Championship as well, but a national championship is exactly what we're looking for. We want to have a legacy as well, just like Coach Kellie does."
Tennessee Junior Guard/Forward Sara Puckett
On how practice is going…"It's been going really good. I think we've all come in locked in every single day from the jump. That's really important, because it's going to carry over into our games. We need that the entire season consistently, so I think how we're practicing now is going to be really good for the long term."
On goals for this season…
"Personally, I want to be better than last season. I want to be able to be a better teammate, player and whatever I can improve on. I want to do that and display that. For the team, we want to get back to the Sweet 16, but we want to go further than that. We want to make it to the Elite Eight, Final Four, and National Championship. The ultimate goal is to get the program back to where it used to be, because that's where it deserves to be. Those are the goals."
Tennessee Senior Guard Jewel Spear
On how her transition has gone since coming to Tennessee…"I would say it has been very smooth with the help of the coaches and my teammates. I think the foreign tour trip helped a lot. Being in a different country, having a bond and different roommates helped me a lot. I think it's going to help us on the court and off the court with our bonding."
Tennessee Sophomore Guard/Forward Avery Strickland
On how Tennessee has been so far…"It's been great. I've been around a lot of friends and family, so that's been a lot of fun. Just being on my home court has been great, too."
Tennessee Junior Forward Karoline Striplin
On how practice is going…"Really good. It's been fun. We obviously have a smaller team this year, so I feel like we've really had a chance to build more relationships, especially coming off of our foreign tour and getting integrated right off the bat with our newbies. It's been fun."
On her goals this season…
"The ultimate goal is obviously the National Championship. It would be great to get back to the SEC Championship and win that one. That's a huge goal for me and the team. Personally, I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win."
Tennessee Senior Guard Destinee Wells
On her transition to Tennessee…"It's definitely been an adjustment coming from a smaller school to a much bigger campus. I came here to open up, meet new people and make new friends. It's been pretty good so far. I love my teammates. Just adjusting to the pace of the game in practice has been a lot, but I feel like I'm fitting in pretty well and doing pretty good. I'm excited for the season."
Tennessee Junior Guard Kaiya Wynn
On how practice is going…"Practice is going really well. We're playing hard, really meshing together and then just figuring out all of the things in our offense and defense that we're working on and getting better at for the season."
On her goals for this season…
"Just to be whatever player my team needs me to be and then just really working on having lots of confidence offensively and defensively."
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