Lady Vols vs. Vanderbilt Postgame Quotes

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening Statement…
"That is a very hard-fought win. That's one of those games that neither team deserved to lose. Both teams played well enough and played hard enough to win. It was just a battle. We knew it was going to be going in. I'm really, really proud of our team. We did some good things; we overcame some mistakes and finished strong. (I'm) just extremely proud."

On how she felt about Rickea Jackson's performance today and an update on her status in the fourth quarter…
"Obviously, she was very effective and did a lot of good things for us. As her coach, we always want her available, for sure. She was dealing with some asthma on the bench, and obviously, was not able to return. Again, (I'm) extremely proud of her teammates and what we were able to do in that fourth quarter."

On how big the two fourth-quarter three pointers were…
"This is a game that I'll probably go back and watch and pick about 10 plays that were big plays. Those two will be two of them. Obviously, Tess (Darby) got us going, and Jewel's (Spear) was really timely there late. It was a great crowd. You mentioned the crowd getting energized, what a fantastic crowd. I'm so proud of them and so happy that we got to play in front of that energy today. It affected the game."

On how pivotal it was to not fall behind early…
"We talked about it. We've definitely talked about the slow starts, so to speak, (being) more focused on 40 minutes, let's put together 40 minutes. The close is just as important as the start, and I'm glad we closed that one well. We didn't dig ourselves a hole that we had to climb out of, and that was really good for us throughout the game."

On how she's seen Jasmine Powell improve since having to become the only point guard…
"She's playing with such great consistency right now. She's consistent on both ends of the court. She's rebounding, she's handling our offense pretty well, she's scoring, she's guarding. She's one of the best I've ever seen at guarding ball screens. She can just really guard. She's affecting us, she's affecting our team. We're feeding off of that defensive energy, in particular."

On Conference expansion and losing the home and away game against Vanderbilt…
"Yes it's a big rivalry for me, personally. It always has been. I get it. I'm from the state, so I understand that long-standing rivalry that you have. I have a great historical perspective of some of the battles that Tennessee and Vanderbilt have had throughout the years and obviously, I think you saw a pretty good classic one today. As we continue to play this conference schedule you start having new rivalries – maybe a different feel – but there are just so many rivalries in the SEC right now. There are so many good basketball teams."

On her winning her 100th game against Vanderbilt…
"I think for me, in particular, being from this state I understand the rivalry a little bit more than most. To get any kind of milestone against a big rival is cool. It wasn't my goal. I didn't know that was going to be 100. I was a little confused after the post game celebration. I couldn't understand why we were celebrating the win (but I) figured it out rather quickly. The other thing is to have even a small milestone on our 'We back Pat' game is pretty cool. The most important thing was our basketball team got a win in the league. That's the most important thing. Then if you start drawing it up and figuring out which games you want to do it on, it's pretty cool for it to be this game."

On containing Vandy to seven offensive rebounds...
"Yeah, that was a big number. They had four in the first half. It felt like they had them early. We knew we needed to keep them off of the glass. They play so hard and get a lot of their extra points from their effort. (I'm) glad we were able to keep them off (the glass). To me, they scored enough on the first shot and didn't need any second shots."

On the great percentage from the free-throw line...
"You can win and lose games from the line. Those close games, you can win from the line. You have to be able to close it out, and for us, not just late but throughout the game. Being able to step up there and make them. You capitalize on mistakes from your opponent. (I'm) really proud of our team. That was great focus on their part."

On the defensive shutdown in the last three minutes...
"They came to the bench, I think it was actually four (minutes), but you may be right with the three. Someone told me it was four minutes. We had the four minute timeout, and it was right after we had given up two turnovers and layups. They had tied the ballgame at 62. Maybe they scored one more point, and got 64 at that point? In that timeout, we grabbed them and said, 'Hey, let's get back to it. We just have to take care of the basketball.' Because that's where they were scoring. We saw it on the other end, and our defensive effort down the stretch was great. I'm so proud of this team. We knew they were starting to get a little gassed, but it was the team we needed on the court. They were doing such a good job or working together, flying around and coming up with the defensive boards. (I'm) really proud of those last few minutes, defensively."

Tennessee Fifth-Year Senior Guard Jasmine Powell

On closing the game without Rickea Jackson…
"We just needed to get stops. We knew that if we could get a stop and get the rebound and push in transition, they weren't stopping us. We knew we were better than their guards. We knew we could beat them in the trenches of the floor, but we knew we had to hone in on the "next man up" mentality to make sure we could close out this game even though we were down Rickea."

On what closing out a close game means to the team…
"It's huge. We've been working on individual confidence, team confidence, being able to step up to the plate. To be able to come into a game like this where it is a tough win, it's huge for us. We honed in on that every day about stepping up and doing what you do best. Jewel (Spear) is a great shooter; she knew that when the ball comes to her and she's open, she has to shoot the ball. We knew that going in transition, I'm good in the open floor. Doing what you do best and doing it at a high level and doing it every single day, it takes work when you come out here and have to close out a game."

On what led to a complete performance…
"Practice. (It's) coming in every day and working on our skill sets and working on what we do best. Having this complete game with rebounding, I think we beat them on the boards and had a lot of defensive rebounds. We've been honing in on defense, in particular, getting stops and getting out in transition, so it is really good for our team, good for our chemistry so that everyone can touch the ball. Everyone was getting it on the defensive end and offensive end, just everybody participating, especially since Rickea was out."

Tennessee Senior Guard Jewel Spear

On Tamari Key's impact tonight...
"TK (Tamari Key) always has an impact on the game, whether it's offensively or defensively. Just her presence in the paint defensively, knowing that if the guards do beat us, TK is going to be there to have our back. Offensively, (she's) just being a presence in the paint, as well. If she's open, we are going to give her the ball, because she is going to attract multiple defenders, and it is going to make it easier for the shooters to get shots. I think she did a really good job today, but I've honestly seen it all season."

On balancing the offense…
"Going into each game, we know that Rickea is probably going to be double-teamed or a lot of people are going to help on her, so just making plays and being available and aggressive, whether it is getting the ball inside to the paint to Rickea, TK (Tamari Key), Karo (Karoline Striplin), Jill (Jillian Hollingshead), or whoever. On the outside, making sure we are ready to shoot, attacking and making plays as well because like you said, when we have four people in double digits, it does make it harder for teams to know who to guard."

On understanding the Tennessee/Vanderbilt rivalry...
"It is my first year here, but I do understand in-state rivals and know Vandy wants to beat us, and we want to beat them. Coach Kellie told us in any sport, Vandy wants to beat us. Every game we want to win, but when it is an in-state rival, we want to win even more."

Tennessee Redshirt-Senior Forward Tamari Key

On beating a red-hot Vanderbilt team...
"We have all been watching Vandy play. We knew that they were not the same team that they had been in the past years, and honestly, in this conference, you really can't overlook anybody. It could be anybody's night, so we came in at practice, we had a great gameplan for the game, and I feel like we executed it pretty well."

On the upcoming bye week...
"This week was crazy. I was on the first Texas A&M trip, so I felt like I was reliving the same crazy dream again this past week. I know we are going to use this bye week to get a little bit of rest, get individual shots, film and just have a mental break and be ready for the game on Sunday at Ole Miss."

On if "We Back Pat" game put the history of the program into perspective...
"We are reminded every day of the legacy that Pat built for us. Having a head coach who played under her, was inspired by her, has the same will to win and passion for the game, it is just really inspiring. We go out there, we have "Tennessee" across our chest, and Kellie tells us all the time we chose to come here and chose to have to carry that, and I love it. Having the fans in there and it being as loud as it is at The Summitt is just a reminder of that every home game."

Vanderbilt Head Coach Shea Ralph

On what it was like to deal with Tennessee's size advantage…
"It's no different than Jordyn's (Cambridge) answer - they have thick players, you're going to see that in just about every team that we play. We prepared for them like we prepare for any other team. We knew that they were big; I felt like there's some advantages for us as well. Obviously, when you're not locked in to making sure that you're the first person that's hitting them. Today, I think, was the first game in the last six games that we were out-rebounded. That kind of takes a toll. We have to do all the little things right, especially in the paint when we're playing players that are bigger than us. I thought today we were late getting to spots. We didn't do a great job boxing out. When we did, some of the guards came in and got the rebounds. There's certainly some things we can clean up there, but I never see that as a disadvantage; I see it as an opportunity. We just have to be a little bit tighter with how we defend and box out."

On if Jewel Spear's three in a tied game was a tipping point…
"A wide-open three is never great at that point of the game. There was still enough time left where I felt like we would make a big play of our own. I think the thing that disappointed me most about that play was some miscommunication on defense that actually let it happen. It wasn't it something that we haven't gone over... anything difficult. I feel like when get into those situations and have been throughout the course of the year, our defense always locks up. We do a pretty good job of making sure that we get a stop. At that point, Rickea (Jackson) or not, we made a mistake that we can't make. We had a miscommunication. I'll have to go back and look, but she had a wide-open look, and she made it. That's what players do - players make plays."

Vanderbilt Graduate Guard Jordyn Cambridge

On if the atmosphere made it difficult to run the offense…
"It's always loud in here, and I think in a lot of places. I don't think it made it hard to run the offense per say, but it made us repeat the play calls. Obviously, it was really loud. A lot of hand signals when we try to repeat it, so I don't think that played a factor in us running the offense."

On how much the game meant to her and how the rivalry was juiced up today…
"Honestly, going into today's game was just another game on our schedule. That's just how we approach every game that we have, our next game is our most important. Obviously, there is the variable versus Tennessee thing, but coach is going to gameplan for us to be prepared for it just like we prepare for any other game. There was no pressure, there was no anything else added to it, just another game for us."

Vanderbilt Redshirt Sophomore Guard Iyana Moore

On what was going well for her early…
"Coach Ralph was drawing up plays for me to be successful, my teammates (were) finding me. They were finding me and Coach Ralph knew how to get me the ball."