Lady Vols vs. Florida Postgame Quotes

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening Statement
"I'm really proud of our team. It's going to be tough to get wins in this league this year, and (I'm) just proud of our toughness, our scrappy play to figure it out. We had to score a lot of points tonight to get this win, and (I'm) just happy that we were able to figure out how to do it on both ends."
On Jewel Spear's consistency in SEC Play...
"I think it's been really important that Jewel (Spear) plays aggressively. She also had six boards tonight, so she follows her seven up with six, and her high in assists this year with four. She looks really comfortable, like you said, but I think it's just her mentality and how aggressive she's playing right now, and it's opening up opportunities for her. Obviously, that's why she got to the line so much tonight; she was playing aggressively and down hill."
On the team's production at the free throw-line tonight...
"I'm really proud of our team for stepping up, in particular during that fourth quarter. You go 16-for-18, and that's how you close out a game. Offensively, that was the stale quarter for us in terms of our shooting percentage from the field, but (we) did a great job figuring it out, getting to the free-throw line, being aggressive and then knocking them down. That's a big deal, a big number."
On Sara Puckett's success against the Gators...
"I think we found Sara (Puckett) and got her some good open looks early. She knocked that first one down, and then we found her a couple of more times. I think that's important, and I've said it before: we've got a lot of different people who can step up on a given night, and Rickea (Jackson) is going to get so much attention, so we're going to have other opportunities. You never know who's night it's going to be to put some numbers on the stat sheet, and it was Sara tonight. She was able to knock those shots down and got several defensive boards; (I'm) really proud of that. It was a really good outing for her."

On how crucial Jewel Spear was in the comeback…
"I thought in that second quarter the group that we had to kind of close that out, I thought they played with great energy, and I thought Jewel (Spear) was a big part of that. Again, I go back to her aggressiveness during that spell, (her) toughness, and I think her vocal-ness during that time was important as well. Everybody out there played their part. We got stops, and we were able to clean up those stops with defensive boards during that stretch as well."

On what she saw on the three by Sara Puckett to extend the lead in the fourth…
"I think for us, just being able to finish our defense, keep the team off the boards, don't give them a second opportunity, don't give them a second look at it. Then, it typically starts our break. Whether we're pushing at a fast clip or we're just getting the ball down at a good pace, you've got to do your part. Obviously, Sara (Puckett) does a really good job of running the floor when she's out there so she can get herself back in position. I thought we were trading baskets there for quite a while, and we kept talking about needing to stack defensive stops together. We were trading baskets, but we were able to figure it out."

On playing Tamari Key and Jillian Hollingshead together…
"I thought we were able to play them a little bit together. I thought the rebounding, I thought that would help us on the boards. I thought Jillian (Hollingshead) did a pretty good job defensively guarding some perimeter players. Sometimes we have to be mindful of spacing in those situations, but we also felt like we would be able to get Jillian some looks at the high post. I don't know if that actually came to fruition as much as I thought it would, but we thought that we could play those two together. We practiced them together a lot."

On how good it was to see Rickea Jackson still able to produce with additional defensive pressure and the rest of the offense being able to step up…
"We're so spoiled with Rickea Jackson's performances. I think for the most part, you pick up the stat sheet and you look at that, and you assume 18 points and eight boards is a pretty solid night. It probably wasn't Rickea's best game. We've got other people that can step up and make plays. For us, I think it's important that we all remember that. We all know that, but I'm really proud of our team for other people stepping up and making plays."

On her message during the timeout after Florida's 6-0 run to start the second quarter...
"I thought our awareness and alertness defensively was very low to start the game. When I called the timeout, that was the biggest message. We did change our defense, and I don't think that we executed it the way we wanted to, but we had a little bit more awareness and alertness about us. And then we switched back our defenses, and I thought they were better. Sometimes just the change-up is good for us. I think that's something that we'll have to look at. I don't think we were as locked in defensively to start this game."
On how Kaiya Wynn helped the tempo of the game...
"Well Kaiya (Wynn) comes in, and she's handling the ball well and really pushing the pace. She understands that that's what she can do. She's aggressive, she's athletic, she's very fast. She gives us a different feel because she plays with such great energy. I thought that was important. I thought her minutes in the second quarter, I thought that was really big for us. I thought she was really sparking some energy from her teammates as well."
On what she wants to see from her team defensively against Texas A&M...
"Texas A&M is very very talented, there's no doubt about it. Their roster is really solid top to bottom - guard play, post play, athleticism. They pride themselves on their defensive side, so we're going to have to work and understand that if it's not easy for us offensively, we've got to figure it out. I think that's what we've been able to do in these first SEC games. It hasn't always been pretty, but we figured it out, and we scored enough points to win. Not saying that it's as simple as that, but when it comes right down to it, we've got to be able to make shots. We've got to be able to make plays, and you've got to do it under duress. They're going to get after us. They're going to make it very difficult. It is what it is. You've got to handle it."

On Karoline Striplin's momentous three-pointer and the importance of these next three road games…
"Yeah, our trips to College Station have definitely been interesting, and it's all logistics. You know Karoline (Striplin), I am so proud of her. She has played so well this season, and she gives us so many opportunities. She didn't get as many touches in the paint today, but you know, (she) knocked down a huge three in the second half. She is the player that is fearless, and she is going to be ready when her number is called. (I'm) just proud of her. I'll tell you what, in this league, if you have a chance to win, you have to figure it out and pull it out, because it is going to be hard to get. We know there are so many good teams in the league, and we're about to go out and play another good one on Sunday. I completely understand how important these three (wins) were. It's a big deal to get wins."

On Jewel Spear's increase in minutes during tonight's game…
"Yeah, I think every night... Like I said, I have talked about it a lot every night, it's fluid with each player. I need players with the capability of going extended minutes if necessary. I thought she (Jewell) played tough. She is probably going to need a little ice bath now and may need to go light tomorrow, but she did what we needed her to do. Also, I am proud of her, defensively. I thought she did some good things defensively for us. Down the stretch, we made sure she was in the game."

On how nice it is for other players to step up when Rickea didn't have a great night…
"Yeah, it has been great to see different people step up, and I think right now, our team has individually played with confidence. So I am really proud of that, and they need to know if you don't put stats on the paper this game, then it may be your opportunity next time out. I think that is where they are buying into the team. They know at any point that somebody can step up and make big plays, and they have confidence in one another. I am proud of them."

Tennessee Junior Guard/Forward Sara Puckett

On getting back on track tonight…
"I just got back in the gym with Coach Sam (Samantha Williams) and really put the work in this week, because I wanted to be better for my team. So that's just what I did, and they believed in me, so I wanted to do it for them."

On the team stringing together performances where they are dominating rebounding…
"That's who we are; that's who Tennessee has been. It definitely helps to have this girl right here (Tamari Key) out there snagging those rebounds. We were in there battling as you could tell, and there were some tips and ultimately, we came up with the ball, and that's what mattered."

On what was working so well for her to have a 20-point performance tonight…
"My teammates were finding me. They had to respect Jewel (Spear) driving to the basket, so that allowed me to be open on the three-point line. I was also aggressive, so that helped. We were all just putting each other in the position to score tonight."

Tennessee Redshirt Senior Center Tamari Key

On what the team needs to do to play a more complete game of basketball…
"That was an emphasis for us. We want to come out the gate aggressive. We don't want to chase our tails in the second half. I think we did a better job of that today. We did get down in the second quarter, but I think coming out of the gate we were more aggressive. We'll keep doing that moving forward."

On what was working well for Sara Puckett in her 20-plus point performance…
"She's just being aggressive. We were all looking for each other and getting each other in great positions to be able to score. For her to stay confident, we all have been getting in the gym a lot this winter break. I think her being consistent in that and not getting too down on herself. (It's) only up from here."

On how important these next two games are on the road after starting 3-0 in SEC play…
"When we play in front of our home crowd at The Summitt, we want to take full advantage of it. I'm really proud of the team for going 3-0 so far. Our wins weren't easy, and they weren't the prettiest of wins, but we figured out a way. It's just giving us momentum for these next two away games that we have. I'm excited. I think we have a lot of good film to look at from our past three games. Knowing that, we can hone in and practice on for these next two games."

Tennessee Senior Guard Jewel Spear

On having back-to-back 20-point performances…
"I think it's helped my confidence a lot seeing the ball go in. Just making other plays that give me energy, whether it's loose balls, taking charges, getting offensive or defensive rebounds, just doing little things, because it's able to get me in a rhythm offensively."

On shooting good from the free-throw line tonight…
"Free throws were huge. We talked about that after the game. Only missing four of them, it shows that we're being aggressive, we're getting to the line and trying to get downhill. It's also been an emphasis in practice to make your free throws, so it translates into the game."

On how much ownership she took to help spark the team's comeback effort tonight…
"As one of the leaders on this team, it's just knowing that's not acceptable. Teams are going to make runs; we understand that. We know that we have to put our foot on the gas from the start, and that starts defensively. Whether it's making someone travel, taking charges as a team, getting deflections and getting energy on the defensive side so everything else will take care of itself."

Florida Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley

On the difficult schedule Florida has to begin conference play…
"That's one thing I did talk to some people over there (about). It's the hand that we drew. In our program, we don't do excuses, and to be the best you have to beat the best. To play that schedule is good for us. We don't want handouts; we don't want it to be easy. It is what it is. Some people... it's unfortunate, some people could say you're going to get knocked down. There's one thing I know about our team, we're really hard to knock down. The harder the situation gets, I think the better we get, the more we thrive. That's what I expect to see from our team moving forward."

On what Tennessee did in the second half to change the game…
"They changed their lineups. They did a couple of different things. They were at many times much bigger than we were, so rebounding was a little bit of a challenge for us. I thought we battled, I thought we fought, I thought we had good floor control and a good pace to our game. We had 71 attempts to their 64. Again, it just comes down to the free throws. That's the name of the game for us lately."

On how big of an emphasis it was to try and slow down Rickea Jackson…
"I mean, you want to win the game, so I don't know about (being) happy with the results. To hold them to 28 percent shooting in the fourth quarter, I thought was really pretty outstanding. I thought we did a fairly good job on Rickea (Jackson). She is a tremendous player, it's very evident. She's very versatile, but we also have some versatile players on our team. I thought they defended her well."

Florida Senior Guard Zippy Broughton

On how good it is to be back after missing last season with an injury…
"Obviously, it's exciting to be back. I know my teammates needed me on the court, especially to have floor control, be able to use my voice. That's been the biggest thing that we've missed at times. I know after this loss and losses that we've had here in SEC play, just making sure that we keep a level head, and we go into practice tomorrow and know that it's not about the losses. We have to keep getting better each and every day and take one game at a time."