Tennessee vs. Kentucky Postgame Quotes

Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper

Opening Statement…
"I think in the SEC this year, you are going to have to scrap and claw and fight for everything you get. There are a lot of really good basketball teams, and they are playing hard. It's going to be a really challenging and interesting year. So, I'm proud of our team. Obviously, we didn't have a stellar first half, but I'm proud of their toughness and their grit too, and poise to make a comeback and get a really good win."

On cutting the lead to 10 by halftime…
"I thought getting the lead down before the half was very critical. I thought Jewel (Spear) was being very aggressive. She played with a little bit of renewed confidence and aggressiveness. That is what we needed. She and I talked about that. I think that was what we needed at the time. I think at the end of the second (quarter) we got shots up. We didn't turn the ball over there late, and it gave us the opportunity to kind of chip away at that lead."

On Rickea Jackson's efficiency tonight and what she attributes to that…
"We moved her around a little more in the second half. Our lineup changed. We played a little more guard heavy in the second half, which pushed her a little bit more to the forward spot. Every game is going to be different, and I think we are going to try to take advantage of her in any and every way. The spacing was pretty good at times. She had some one-on-one opportunities, and we always like those. Also, I thought we had enough people that were doing other things. Tess (Darby) got a shot, Jillian (Hollingshead) was posting up. We had Jasmine Powell making some aggressive moves there in the second half. Again, I'll go back to another similar thing that happened at Auburn - we got stops in that third quarter, and the stops led to our open court transition where we are a little bit better."

On what Kaiya Wynn gave on the defensive end…
"I think Kaiya (Wynn) gave us some good minutes. They weren't extended minutes like she had to play in the last game, but I thought she gave us really good minutes. In those moments, she comes in, and she is a really good defender. It allows us to slide Jasmine Powell to someone off the ball, maybe give her a little breather. Having Kaiya and the ability for Kaiya to guard different people with great length and athleticism and strength really helps us."

On what erasing a 17-point deficit says about this team…
"I think it shows their belief. I have to give our crowd a little bit of that comeback, because they were loud. Their energy was infectious, and I thought our players really played off that energy today. There wasn't a panic. I think there was a renewed focus coming out of halftime, but there wasn't panic. You start chipping away. You just have to make a few more plays on each end of the court. I think they started feeling good about what we were doing defensively, and that just carried over."

On how she's seen Tamari Key play freer in the last couple of games…
"We didn't get her in probably enough in that first half, but she played really well in the second. I think we continue to work with her, more minutes under her belt, she looks better and better. There's no doubt that she was a huge factor in that second half, in particularly that third quarter. Really changing the attack that Kentucky had."

On the biggest halftime adjustment that led to the dominant third quarter…
"I think we talked about defensively being more aggressive, getting after the ball a little bit more. I thought we were a little bit on our heels in the first half, so we made things a little bit more difficult. They didn't get as many open looks in the second half. I think it wasn't as much schematically as it was just a little bit more mentality, a little bit more effort. I thought one of the big plays that we had was Rickea (Jackson) diving on the floor in that second half getting that loose ball. I thought we were much more aware of the ball, loose balls, trying to find ways to make plays in the second half. We did a few things differently on the offensive end to try to help us, but I think the majority of that second half was on the defensive side."

On Jewel Spear's development in creating shots for herself and how much better she can be with the ball in her hands…
"She's a student. Every game we're always wanting to help her find ways to be better. She loves feedback, so I think the feedback from the Auburn game she really took to heart and was super excited about. It isn't necessarily criticism, it's just talking about where she can do more. I thought she stepped out there aggressive today and played with really good confidence. We need that. We need her to be able to score, to be able to make plays defensively. I think she had two steals, she had seven boards, and we're coming off a game where she didn't have a board. Really, it wasn't just her scoring. To me, it was her energy and aggressiveness."

On what she thinks Tamari Key's next step is in her progression…
"I just think it's time. I don't know that it's one thing. Right now, I think her hands, sometimes we don't go grab the ball with two on maybe some boards. (It's) awareness. Those are things that will continue to be better with time. The more we do this, the more she plays, the better she's going to be. I'm just really proud of her. What an unbelievable journey that she has been on. I'm so proud that she's being able to affect the game. Even not at the best Tamari Key that we've ever had, she's still able to affect the game right now, and hopefully, she'll continue to move forward and understand that she's making a difference."

On what she said to Sara Puckett on the sideline at the end of the game…
"What our players have to understand is every game is different. Every matchup is different. The flow of the game is always going to be different. If you step back and look, Jewel (Spear) didn't get as many minutes in the second half at all. She didn't do anything wrong, but the flow of the game led into someone else being on the court. It was the same thing with Sara. It was nothing wrong, she's a good player. She was on the court a lot at the end of the game at Auburn, and it was a different person tonight. When our players understand that... And I think they do, I think they understand that someone is going to be out there because of a matchup and the flow of the game. I think they understand that right now. They just want to win. They all want to play well, and I'm completely fine with that. I want them to want to play well. They have all been great teammates, and they've been pulling for each other in those moments. Sara is fine. We have a lot of confidence in Sara."

On what she said at halftime…
"It's probably documented somewhere. There was a camera in the locker room. We just talked about that being inacceptable and that we were on our heels. We weren't playing as hard as we needed to play. We weren't getting the rebounds, and basically, I was just giving them facts. They knew, and they understood. Kentucky averages 60-61 points a game and we gave up 31 in the second quarter. That's facts, and it's unacceptable. Let's give Kentucky credit, they knocked down shots and did what they needed to do. They had a lot of energy and played so hard. Our team did not affect them at all, and we talked about that. Yes, I get a little animated and yell sometimes. They knew coming into the locker room and walking out of the locker room what they needed to do."

On what allows this team to find success when fighting a deficit…
"I don't think they give up. They still have really good belief. We just had to get our motors going a little bit higher. Sometimes, when you're down like that, frustration could take over, but it didn't with our players. I think they still had a pretty high level of confidence that they could make plays. I'm really proud of that. If you have that, then you're never out of it. Granted, we don't want to be down 17 or in that position, but that's real and that's basketball. There are swings and momentum changes, and you have to find a way to stop it, get it back and find a way to pull out a win."

On how Tamari Key's performance benefits the team...
"Tamari (Key) can completely change your defense. It changes the opponent's offensive attack, so things that you can do every other game, you might scratch that for our game. We've seen that multiple times throughout her career, and we've seen that switch during games. There's a comfort there when you know you can get up and guard and know that she's standing behind you. I would love it as a defensive player knowing she's behind me. Even in the huddles, Karoline Striplin, again who's playing fine, Tamari is on the court and Karoline is encouraging every perimeter player to get up and guard because Tamari is behind them. She was verbalizing that. What a great teammate she was in that moment, but that's the awareness our players have."

On the importance of Jewel Spear and Rickea Jackson's production in SEC play...
"I think that's huge for our team. I think they need to be productive for us. Obviously, Rickea (Jackson) is your go-to player, and she's been able to deliver and be consistent, but we have to have some other people step up. Jewel (Spear) has the ability to do that; we have several. Sara (Puckett) can, Karoline (Striplin) can, Tess (Darby) can, Jasmine (Powell) can, Jillian (Hollingshead) can. We have a lot of people that can step up and make those plays, and somebody needs to. It cannot be on Rickea every single night, but I think the beauty of our team is I do think it can be different people each night, and we want to continue to find ways to spread the ball around and take good shots. I was proud of 53 percent from the floor. That's a pretty good output."

On Jasmine Powell's nine assists...
"I thought she flipped her game and played much better in the second half. Part of that was the turnovers. I thought she was a little bit passive and Rickea (Jackson) had too many turnovers in that first half, in particular. That's something we have to be mindful of. Jasmine (Powell) has the bulk of the ball handling duties, and we're going to have to have some other people step up and be able to take some of that pressure off of her at times."

On the team's pace on the court...
"We had a lot of possessions - 60 plus the free throws. If we take off a few of those turnovers, we are getting up and down at a pretty hot pace. I thought both teams were gassed at one stretch in the second half. I think it was the end of the third quarter. There was a lot of up and down, and that's where I was proud of our team for being able to play through those moments. Again, the hot pace is in our favor for most games."

Tennessee Senior Guard Jewel Spear

On flipping the switch in the second quarter…
"We just talked about being more active on defense, trying to get more deflections and put more pressure on Kentucky, because we were laid back and they were able to run their offense. I think that showed in the second half, because we held them to 20 points in the second half."

On what comes out of this team when they have to fight from a deficit…
"I think it just shows grit. We're down by 10, and I don't think that we were stressed out, but we knew that there were controllable things that we could have done better. It started with our defense and then offense. Tamari Key was in there getting blocks, and Rickea (Jackson) was over there getting buckets. It was sparking energy for both sides of the court for everybody."

On Tamari Key's impact defensively…
"It was really important. We know when we have Tamari Key behind us, then we can pressure the other person even more, because we know Tamari Key is going to be down there and have out back. It's great having her behind us and knowing that she's going to make plays for us."

Tennessee Fifth-Year Forward Rickea Jackson

On the halftime message…
"To just defend. I felt like we shot really well in the first half. I felt like we were very timid on the defensive end. In the second half, we just let our defense speak for itself, and that created offensive outlooks for us too. We were just playing downhill from there."

On what helped her in her efficient performance…
"I would have to say my teammates having that confidence in me, wanting to win this game and the will to win. We started off slow on the defensive end, so I felt like we just picked that up and fed off that. It created efficiency when you're getting downhill, getting open looks and looking for the open player. It's fun to play in an offense like that."

On what helped the team with turnovers in the second half…
"Just settling in. We knew we had to get open, and we knew Kentucky was going to pressure us a little bit on the perimeter. We started taking our time down the stretch and looked for the open person to execute our plays."

Tennessee Redshirt-Senior Center Tamari Key

On how it feels to be where she is now after going through a tough health situation…
"It took a while. It was hard. But that said, it was hard being out, and it was hard trying to get back to feeling like myself. I'd rather just try to keep fighting every day, working hard in practice and getting shots up to try to get back to who I need to be for the team for us to be successful. I'm going to keep working. I'm proud of myself, but I know there is more in me. I'm just going to keep going."

On handling Kentucky forward Ajae Petty…
"She's a great offensive rebounder for them. We knew that coming into the game. We had to focus more on boxing her out, even if we did not get the ball. We just had to make sure that she did not get it."

On the crowd involvement…
"It's an SEC opener, and we're playing at The Summitt here. The fans always come out. SEC play is really fun for us, and I'm sure for the fans as well. We just came off of a good road win. It's a Sunday, it's an early tip, and everybody showed up for us. The fans gave us a lot of energy, and we needed that in the second half."

Kentucky Head Coach Kyra Elzy

On what went differently in the second half to allow for the Tennessee comeback…
"I want to start off by saying I like my team's approach, I like their mentality. We came here to win; we came here to compete, not back down. So, I liked our mental approach. I thought the first half, we really showed what we were made of, and we have to continue to learn and grow from that. In the third quarter, Tennessee made a run, which we expected them to do. We've talked about it, we have to be able to answer runs. I really thought in the third quarter, we let our offense affect our defense. We gave up some offensive rebounds, we kind of start fouling and not sprinting back in transitions, which cost us. (There's) a lot to learn, a lot to grow from, but we didn't lose this one for lack of heart and hustle."

On what made Jewel Spear so effective today…
"The end of the second quarter specifically, we gave her an open three, and then she finished the half with laying the ball up. I thought we gave five quick points where she was playing aggressive and that we didn't finish our defense all the way through. That's what happened. She's a talented player. Her ability to put the ball in the basket is what she does. I thought those were five crucial points that we needed stops on."

On if she was thinking about Tennessee's second-half history and what Tennessee did to flip the script in the second half…
"It's always good to be back at Tennessee, my alma mater, a place I love and hold dear to my heart. It was good to be back here. We came here to win, but it was good to be back. I thought the third quarter, we started with giving up offensive rebounds, which is what we talked about at halftime. One thing that I challenged the team with was they are going to come out and try to offensive rebound the ball, which we were boxing out early. I thought we were a little bit lax coming out in the third. (We) gave up some easy scoring opportunities, and then (our) lack of transition defense gave them easy scoring opportunities and then free throws. I'll leave it there: free throws."

Kentucky Senior Forward Ajae Petty

On how big of an impact the crowd had on the second half…
"I didn't really think it had an effect on our performance. I think it was more of just, like coach said, a lot of fouls, just keeping the same intensity that we had. I thought everyone did a great job of still trying to play through the crowd. It was loud in the gym, but I don't think it affected us."

On the matchup between her and Tamari Key in the paint…
"Going in, we knew that they were going to sit back in the paint and wait. She's long. She's 6-7, so yeah, she's 6-7. That's all I can say, that's it."