Lady Vols vs. Memphis Postgame Quotes

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening Statement
"Obviously, it was an exciting game. I'm glad we came out of it with a win. I told our team to remember we don't take any of them for granted, good, bad or ugly. Take it, you don't give it back and you try and learn from it and move forward. Memphis did a great job; they play so hard, and we knew that coming in. Thankfully, we had a big challenge in front of us today and found a way to get a win.

On what the message was at halftime…
"I thought we were playing timid and not as tough as I wanted to play. That brings me to my next point: not having Rickea Jackson on the court. She has a lower leg injury and not having her out on the court is a blow to them, but I think that's where they have to find themselves and they have to understand they can make plays, which I believe they believe that, but what she gives them is confidence. She gives them an air and not just confidence in her, but in each other, and that's what we were missing, especially in that first half."

How much Sara Puckett's physicality played a part in the win…
"I think Sara (Puckett) was a warrior and she played a lot. She did some good things on both ends of the court. She needed to be a go-to player for us and obviously she stepped up and did that. I'm really proud of her."

On what the issues were late in terms of game management…
"Play by play, it's just the mistakes that we made, so we have to go back through those. I'm not going to call everyone out right now, but we did have several mistakes and we'll just have to go back through and watch. Just the savvy you have to have down the stretch wasn't always there. Obviously, at times it was and so that's good, but it wasn't consistently there and that's where our girls can be."

On the early season turnover struggle…
"I think it's a little bit different for both games. The way the games were played was a little bit different. Tonight, I thought we got a little bit on our heels, I didn't think we had that same feel against Florida State, so I feel like it was a very different game and tonight, we were on our heels and became passive. You can't be passive when people are going to get up and guard you, especially full court."

On what changes were made at halftime for Memphis' 3-point shooting in the first half…
"We emphasized it again and I thought we did a much better job at trying to find that urgency to guard. We made a couple of schematic changes, switched our defenses a couple of times, even in our man made some tweaks out there, several times in our ball screen defense and our help defense. I thought for the most part, our players did a nice job with the changes that we made."

On the rebounding performance tonight...
"I thought our offensive boards were good. I thought we were pretty physical in there. We had a spell in the second half where we didn't get to the boards. For us, we gave up too many offensive boards, but I do think that is one of Memphis' strengths. They do a great job of bringing the house and using their athleticism and mobility to track down basketballs. So, I thought in the second half we let too many get away on the defensive end."

On Rickea Jackson's status and how much the team needs practice time after a long week of play...
"We need both, and that is the good thing about this week, we can get both. We can get some good soft practices in but also really rest especially after some really tough games. Rickea (Jackson) was actually in practice a little bit yesterday, and she was in shoot-around today. She has been in and out in the last couple days."

On how crucial Jewel Spear's performance was...
"For Jewel (Spear), she was looking for outside shots so much, but those last two drives to the basket were critical and we may not win without them. I thought she pulled down some really tough boards and we had been talking to her about that. She was so proud of her 12 (rebounds) when she found out after the game that's what it was. We are proud of her. That's a huge step for her and we just have to keep building on that."

On if she feels confident in taking their second half momentum into the next game...
"I think so. I think our players just showed a little bit different urgency I thought in the second half defending. They (Memphis) did not make a three in the fourth quarter or in overtime. So, that was obviously a huge plus for us. Now, they got some easy layups there, especially in that fourth quarter, but we have to be able to take the three away when we need to take it away."

On the team's confidence in overtime...
"I am not sure. I am glad you said that. I didn't know where we were when we walked down the court. I was trying to read them and determine where we were. I think that's hard. I think we were in a position to win, made a couple mistakes and now we are in overtime. As much as I would have loved to have a teaching moment and go right into a few mistakes and the corrections we needed to make, that wasn't the time. Our focus literally in that timeout was to get them in the present to not worry about any play that just happened, to really really focus on the present. I think in that huddle we had some players that were great teammates, really picking each other up and encouraging one another. I think going out there and making a play early was probably where they got that confidence."

On working on a late shot clock tonight and what played a factor into that...
"I can't remember what point in the fourth quarter, but I thought we took some quick shots that we probably didn't need to take due to time and score. So then we started settling in a bit more. I thought that was good for us in that moment. We'd take some easy ones, but I think there you have to really work and get a really good look. Sometimes we got the look and sometimes we didn't. I thought our pace was probably where it needed to be."

On the defensive performance of Jasmine Powell and the offensive performance from Jillian Hollingshead...
"Well, I thought Jillian (Hollingshead) really came alive there in the second half. We have to have a presence down low. We didn't have that at all in the first half. We were shooting perimeter shots. That's great, but we have to things to the basket. We have to paint touches off the dribble or off the pass, and Jillian (Hollingshead) gave us some of that in the second half. We need her to be a go-to player. I think the great thing is that she can be that. The thing we have been talking with Jasmine (Powell) about is being that defensive player for us. I think she took some pride in it. Hopefully, she is excited about it. We have to get her where we need her, but everybody else has to follow suit on both ends of the court for both of those players."

On Memphis' full-court press...
"I think when we did not handle the press, it was when we were passive. If you sit back, and you are not aggressive and you are not attacking, it's so much easier to press, trap and fly around to make plays. When you are attacking, it is just harder. That is where we have to have a few more folks getting downhill. I know I mentioned to Destinee (Wells) when she went in, I told her she had to get downhill. The second time she went back in the game she did, and she got the ball in the paint. So, it is first off mindset. Secondly, you have to have confidence in your ability to put the ball on the floor and find what's open.

Junior Forward Sara Puckett

On the final minute of regulation…
"We got on the boards more in overtime, so I guess that's where we let them get away at the end of regulation and that's where we need to get better, and we are going to work on that. I felt like even though it did go to overtime, we came out and we showed toughness and the grit that we have in us ,and we just have to bring that to the table every single night. I'm just proud of us."

On what Coach Harper said to spark the scoring coming out of the half…
"She (Harper) got us good. We were ready, it was short, it was quick. It was quick, so we were ready to come out there swinging. We came out and were really tough and I think that is something that she (Harper) really focused on especially at halftime. That toughness and grit is who we can be, but we have to step into that, and I felt like we did that. We pulled out a hard win and it was not pretty, but toughness doesn't always mean pretty."

On her physicality from last year to this year…
"I definitely feel like it started in the weight room. We focused a lot on getting stronger and being able to maintain that and I've just brought it to the table now I guess, brought it to the court because you have to use it. It's going to help me so why would I not use it? I just feel like playing physical kind of fuels us too, because we can bang and get around and use it to our advantage also. We have a very tall team so we use our strength as well."

Fifth Year Guard Jasmine Powell

On how they can manage the game better at the end of regulation…
"Honestly, I feel like it was our poise. Being up, we really need to take valuable possessions. Our turnovers were a big thing. We got a little bit in our heads overthinking, but we really just need to play with poise down the stretch. That's what coach John (Harper) was preaching a lot on the sidelines was time and score. As the game goes, people get in their head a little bit, but we would rather learn from a win than a loss."

On how her defense has improved…
"It has been a focus for me. Coach Kellie (Harper) is really on me about trying to be a defensive stopper this year. Missing Jordan Horston who was a great defender, JoJo (Jordan Walker) who was a great defender, we needed somebody to step up in those shoes and fill those. I've tried this summer and as the games have gone to fill that, so I really take it upon myself that pride to try to be what my team needs, which is a defensive stopper.

On breaking the full court press against Memphis…
"It was really about us moving the ball. Not one person can break a press. All the time they had the press they had two people on the ball, so as long as we move the ball and stay composed and not get out of ourselves we can break it easily. When you try to pick things up and try to go fast, that's when you turn the ball over. Moving forward, I know we have Ohio State coming up too and they press, but learning from this win is staying composed in those times and not letting them speed you up."

Junior Forward Jillian Hollingshead

On the physicality of the game…
"It was very physical. We knew coming into the game they were really great on the offensive boards, so we knew we would have to hit them first. In the first (quarter), I felt like we didn't really rebound to our full potential and Coach Kellie's (Harper) speech at halftime, I feel like we toughened up and realized that we're not going to get the rebound just by out jumping them so it got really tough, pretty aggressive but I'm glad we came out with a win.

On how they improved coming off a close loss to Florida State…
"We like to just stick together. Losses are always hard, so I think that Florida State loss we had to stay together, play for each other, do what we do and just fight. Like I said, that game was very physical so we had to fight through even when we went into overtime we had to keep on pushing."

On her fourth quarter performance…
"My teammates were passing me the ball and telling me to go get a bucket, so that's what I did. Coaches had confidence in me, my teammates had confidence in me and like Sara (Puckett) said, everyone had to step up since Rickea (Jackson) wasn't playing, so I feel like we did that as a team."

Memphis Head Coach Alex Simmons

On how physical the game was…
"We knew that coming into this game rebounding was going to be very important for us. My goal was not to win the rebounding battle, my goal was to be within five. We knew that they were bigger than us, but I felt like we had more athleticism throughout that game. I thought we had more toughness at times. Rebounding, as everybody knows around here, wins championships. That's what we're trying to do. Tonight, we were trying to win this game. They had us on the boards, but I felt like if we would've focused a little more on our boxouts and hitting and sticking it as we worked on it in practice, the outcome could have been a little bit different."

On how her team got a chance to win the game down in crunch time…
"I told the team after the game that we had fight and no fear. Moving forward, we should not have any fear in anybody that we play. We said we wanted to take it four minutes at a time, possession by possession, and worry about what happens next in the huddle. I thought our fight down the stretch to send it into overtime, the one thing we didn't do well was the one thing that sent it into overtime which was a rebound. I think there were spots where we gave them second-chance points. When you look at the free throws and how many times we got to the free-throw line, I felt that we should've gotten there a little bit more. When another team gets to the free-throw line 32 times and gets 24 points from there, it's tough to overcome that."

On the reception she got as a LVFL…
"Lady Vol fans have always been loyal. They're always going to follow you, no matter what you're doing. Whether it's coaching, playing, starting your own business, everybody here really supports the program whether you're in it or a past player. I think that's always special when you can come back to a place like this and see the history and your players can see the statue of Pat (Summitt) outside. You can see the banners up in the rafters of the players who have had their jerseys retired. It's a special place and special program. I didn't really share any stories, because I think I was pretty locked into winning the game. I didn't want to take our focus off of what our main goal was, which was to win the basketball game."

Memphis Fifth Year Kai Carter

On what the team is able to take away from tonight…
"I think the main thing is staying together. I feel like this was one of the most fun games that we've played so far as far as our energy, the bench and staying together the whole time. Us staying together and fighting until the end was the main thing."

On the mindset of the team in the first half…
"Our coaches were homing in on energy. Before the game, they were preaching rebounding and getting us prepared for the game. Going off of where our coaches were preaching to us and feeding off of the energy is what kept us in the game."

On if they were expecting to get a steal at the end of the game…
"We were not surprised. We knew that we had to do something to get a stop. It didn't come by surprise. We just had to lock in on defense, and that's what happened."

University of Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Junior Forward Sara Puckett

Fifth Year Guard Jasmine Powell

Junior Forward Jillian Hollingshead

Memphis Head Coach Alex Simmons

Memphis Fifth Year Kai Carter

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Players Mentioned

Jillian Hollingshead

Jordan Horston

Rickea Jackson

Jasmine Powell

Sara Puckett

Jewel Spear

Jordan Walker

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