University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols vs. EKU Postgame Quotes
December 10, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper
Opening statement..."Obviously, I'm excited to be sitting in here after a win. I'm proud of our team for working through the last several days and being able to come out and play a pretty good basketball team and find a way to get a win when it wasn't always easy. I think that's what we needed. Our team needed that. In the locker room, we needed to see some success and hopefully, we can build on that."
On Jewel Spear's seven rebounds...
"We need a little bit more production there. Obviously, for us, we can go through spells where we don't score. We miss a shot, and we've got to be able to come up with the offensive board. Ironically, I thought the play of the game was her put-back in the fourth quarter. She got the offensive board. I think they cut it to one, and she gets the offensive board and the put-back. We talk to our team all the time - you never know when the play you're about to make is going to be the most important play of the game. It could be the first quarter, it could be the third quarter, it could be the fourth, and I felt like it was that play, and it was an offensive board and put-back."
On what's helped Jewel get back to her usual shooting game...
"She's actually shot the ball pretty well in practice. She started out the game today 0-5, and I thought that getting our pace up there probably helps her. She just started 0-for-5, but she got one to finally go in in the second half, and you could just see the relief on her face when she made it. That's what she needed to see. She needed to be reminded that, yes, she can shoot, and yes, can shoot in a game, not just practice. I think, also, for her, sometimes you need to find easy plays. Maybe that's getting a stop on the defensive end, maybe it's getting a board, a defensive board or offensive board, but sometimes you just need to make a play to give yourself some confidence for that shot to go in."
On what she's liked about Karoline Striplin starting the past two games...
"Well, obviously she's been productive and Karoline works so hard. She's one of the more fearless players on our team. I think she gives us versatility in that you've got to guard her from the 3-point line, but she can score in the paint. She posts up very strongly. She's really hard to guard down there when she's posting up. I think when you have that presence, it opens a lot of things up for everybody else, so I love that she's being aggressive and playing with confidence."
On the 22 turnovers tonight and what she's working on in practice to fix turnover issues...
"Well, I'll tell you we had 11 in the last game, and that didn't work either. So, we have to find the balance. We're not going to be at zero turnovers. The problem with the turnovers tonight... you're right - 22 is too many, but the unforced turnovers were a problem tonight. I'm going to live with turnovers with us being aggressive. We had a handful of those, but the problem specifically with the turnovers tonight were the controllable turnovers. The missed execution of the easy pass. Those are the ones we have to be able to clean up. Honestly, that probably dips this one down to about 11."
On what went wrong on the offensive glass...
"I think at times, it's how you get those boards, are you getting them, and where you're at trying to power it back up. We got a few and kicked them back out and didn't capitalize on those, so I think for us, that's one of those moments where you need to reward yourself. You worked hard to get it, let's now convert. It's like bursting another team's balloon when you get an offensive board and score. We still gave up, in my opinion, too many offensive boards. This team averages 16 offensive boards per game, and we held them under that number, so that's a positive, but I still think there were a couple we could've gotten back."
On how much of a turning point this game is...
"The way we won should be a really good lesson for our team, a good experience for our team. You hope that they can breathe a little bit now, take a little bit of pressure off, because I know they were feeling it. They want to win; they want to do well. I think they responded in practice the last two days; I've been really proud of them and how they've responded. I'm just so happy for them that they got to see it pay off, and now we want to try and build on that and try and take some momentum into this break."
On the significance of Tamari Key's 300th block milestone...
"She's a difference maker, and I know today she didn't get as many minutes, and it was not her fault. Obviously, we had Karoline (Striplin) playing well, and I thought Jillian (Hollingshead) played really well, so matchups led them to not playing a lot together, but Tamari (Key) can change the game, defensively. That's a big number, and when you put it in perspective, you realize how elite she is as a shot blocker."
On how to avoid scoring droughts in future games...
"I thought we got some good shots, we just didn't knock them down. I thought we didn't settle in the paint and score. It took us a while to get to that point, so that's just maturity, being able to settle and score. We'll go back and watch all the outside shots. We did not shoot it well in the first half from the perimeter. We emphasized getting the ball inside, and I think when we were looking in the paint, we actually found our rhythm on the perimeter a little bit more. That, to me, was just telling of how focused they were on our gameplan. They passed up some shots there in the second half to look inside, knowing that's what we were trying to do. And I think because of it, they probably took a few better shots, and we hit a few more."
On how important the upcoming time off is for the team and what she hopes she sees from the team…
"I think this could be extremely valuable time if we are able to progress through practice. Obviously, our players are in finals, so they're going to get some days to just focus on their finals. We'll work around their final exam times, find some times that practice makes sense, and we'll really get to dive into us. It's nice to be able to focus on us and not an opponent for a little while. We'll get to put some things in that we've been wanting to put in, (because)Â we've just not had the time because of games. We'll get to put some wrinkles in, and then hopefully it'll shore up some things that we need to be a little bit better at. That's on both ends of the court and still with our rebounding, as well."
On what the biggest contributor to missed shots offensively is…
"There were a few in the paint that I thought we needed to gather ourselves a little bit better, take our time and score. Sometimes when you feel like you're open you feel like you have to rush it, but I didn't feel like we needed to rush. I still think we've got to continue to work on our offensive rhythm. I think when we take shots in rhythm, we are a higher percentage team. There was a stretch - I do not remember if it was the first or second quarter - but we pushed the ball down, we had an attack, we kicked to Tess (Darby) for a rhythm three, she made it. The next two possessions, we got the ball inside and scored. So, it was three buckets in a row, and it was a really good flow, it was a really good rhythm. Those will be lessons that we'll also try to learn and watch through film. (We) watch the good moments; we don't just watch the bad clips, we watch the good clips as well."
On what she wants the see the biggest emphasis on going forward to ensure they build off the win…
"It's hard for me to pick one thing. Defensively, I think there are still a few things that we can be a little bit more disciplined with in terms of our system. Offensively, taking care of the ball, making better decisions at times, but also finding that balance and rhythm within our offense. Rebounding will be an everyday work for us. We've not seen a lot of zone defense this year. Tonight, we saw the most zone that we have seen. We need to work through that a little bit. There are some things we need to be better at in zone offense. We've got a few things defensively we need to put in that we haven't had time to hit yet. In terms of an emphasis, it's hard to just pick one because there are several things we want to get better at."
Tennessee Senior Guard Jewel Spear
On bouncing back after a few inconsistent shooting performances…
"It was a relief. I've been getting good looks. My teammates have been looking for me, whether it's inside out or Jasmine Powell and the guards having belief in me when I'm shooting the ball. Although they were not going in, sometimes that happens. That can be frustrating as a shooter. (I'm) continuously putting in the reps in my off time, getting shots up. Seeing those shots go in today in the second half and finding other ways to score too, like with the offensive rebounds, layups and free throws. Seeing them go in, I have confidence when I am open."
On what helped the team get back on track after the past few games…
"I'd say it was just a reality check. Everybody had to look at their self in the mirror and know what we had to do better, whether that's defensively or offensively. Jasmine Powell said that offensively, we just need to make the game simple - make simple plays, find the open person, do the right things and crash the boards. (It's) doing simple things. Defensively, just being more active. Coach said that we held Eastern Kentucky under their average. (It's) taking pride in defense and not letting them get open looks."
On how the team hunkered down late and was able to extend their lead in the fourth…
"I would say just responding. We talk a lot about responding. We know other teams are going to go on runs or we are going to go on runs, but we really got together in huddles and talked specifically about things that we needed to do better, whether that's on defense, containing number 13 (Antwainette Walker) or how we can help all guard the ball. Offensively, (it's) working inside out, knowing our posts are going to get double teamed, so looking for our shooters and vice versa."
Tennessee Junior Forward Karoline Striplin
On how it builds her confidence to have back-to-back strong performances…
"It definitely builds my confidence. Credit to my teammates, Jasmine Powell has been throwing out compliments and I'm like, 'Thank you. I appreciate it.'Â But the credit goes to all of them. I wouldn't be able to work in the paint if they didn't spread the floor out. The other team's emphasis was double teaming tonight, so I think them being able to knock down shots and crash the boards really helped us on the inside."
On how this win helps the team before a break…
"We for sure needed this win. Nobody likes to lose, and nobody likes to lose multiple times. Being able to pick up this win and do it in a way that we know we can, beating the team on the boards, getting stops we needed and starting off strong in the first and second half is a good thing that we can really build on and look at over the next week. It really pushes us into SEC play, and I'm excited about what we can do."
On Tamari Key's performance today…
"Every time she was in the game, you knew she was in the game. I feel like every time they passed it in there, she was able to finish. Having her at the back of our defense is a huge plus. I'm just really thankful to have her in my group just to look up to. I know that she's such a great presence to have on our team, and I'm thankful for the minutes that she does have when she goes out there."
Tennessee Fifth Year Guard Jasmine Powell
On what the team needs to do to decrease their turnovers…
"Just simplify the game. We had some unforced turnovers, live-ball turnovers and some mistakes mishandling the ball. Just not thinking smart. I think that we just need to slow down and play our game. We need to let things develop a little more. I think the first half, we had many, "You get it. No, you get it" type of things. We just have to slow down and play within our system."
On what has made Karoline Striplin so effective on the court the past two games…
"Honestly, I think it's her confidence. When you see one go in for Karoline, it just continues to drop for her. She's looking more on offense. One thing that's been working for her as well a couple of games ago is us talking about how she's been doing good, and we've missed her. Just looking for her often and getting her good looks. She's doing awesome on the boards as well, getting put backs. She's all over the place. I think that really helps with her confidence."
On what adjustments the team had to make offensively throughout the game…
"Work inside out. I think we were shooting the deep ball a lot. We needed to calm down, and we needed some more paint touches when our posts were open. If they're guarding the people in the post, then we know that somebody else is open. Getting it further down in the shot clock really helped us to look. When we swung the ball and got it side-to-side a couple of times, we got whatever we wanted. We capitalized on that."
Eastern Kentucky Head Coach Greg Todd
Opening Statement...
"A little more media than I'm used to in Richmond, Kentucky. I was very proud of our team. I thought we came out and played very hard. To be down one point with four or five minutes to go in the game, you can't ask for a whole lot more. I think we got a little bit tired. We have a couple of people out; they'll be back soon. That makes a difference. We like our team. We feel like Tennessee... you have to give them credit, making some big three's late. They had gone a little bit cold for the game from the three-point line, but to be able to come up and make some big ones late in the game, I think, made a difference, certainly. Hopefully, they get their best player back and can contend in the SEC. For our team, I thought it was a good effort. I thought top to bottom, very proud of how hard we played defensively. We were out-sized at about every position, and like I said, we're missing some players, so we're excited to get everybody healthy, and we'll be on the road this Friday back in the lovely state of Tennessee."
On if Tennessee did anything different at the end of the game or if they just started making shots…
"Making shots is sometimes way overlooked. In basketball, we try to analyze so many different ways of guarding ball screens and how you defend, but it comes down to shot making. When they did that, that made the difference, no question."
On if there was an emphasis coming into the game to force Tennessee into turnovers…
"I think for us, we do a pretty good job trying to turn over our opponents. I know some of it is them trying to play without your best player, but I did feel like that gave us more opportunities. We ended up getting more shots, even though we did get out-rebounded. I think the turnovers made a difference. The free throws were pretty close, but Tennessee had six more free-throw attempts."
On how playing Tennessee for two straight seasons came about…
"Samantha (Williams) and I. I was coach at Morehead State against Samantha, which kind of made it a little bit easier. I had always tried to play Tennessee when I was at Morehead State, it's a closer game to play. As you mentioned, the tradition here is so great. You know you're going to play in front of a great crowd. When you know you're going to play a couple of games a year against a top team, it just makes more sense. We're able to drive down today and drive back today, it makes it a lot easier travel wise. That's a big part of it, and of course, Samantha being here helped as well."
Eastern Kentucky RS-Sophomore Guard Brie Crittendon
On her experience playing against Tennessee…
"Coming down, hitting our shots, we just never get enough. It's fun to play Tennessee. They're a great team, but at the end of the day, we just had to make shots. And we played as a team very well, but there's some little things we need to work on as a team and as a whole."
On what they can take from playing Tennessee…
"Personally, what I would take is playing off two feet. I had a lot of turnovers late in the game because I was playing off one. Mostly, just staying under control, and then as a team, just don't do individual things, just come together and the more we come together the more things work out for us. Going forward, I just think (it's)Â sticking together as a team."
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Eastern Kentucky Graduate Student Guard Antwainette Walker
On her experience playing against Tennessee…
"Like you said, Tennessee is a very historic place with the great, late Pat Summitt and everything. Like you said, at the end of the day, basketball is basketball for us. That's the mentality obviously, that we came out with. Being down like coach said with four or five minutes to go, I think, just for us, it's tightening up the little things, and once we get going into conference time and things like that, being down at Tennessee, we have great chances later in the future."
On what they can take from playing Tennessee…
"Really, like I said in the locker room, I feel like it was just the little things for us - letting them have wide-open threes in the corner. Like, we know that's Tennessee's specialty. Or travels. Different things like that. So (it's) small things I feel like we can definitely do in the future. I feel there are things we definitely took from this game, for sure."
