University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols vs. South Carolina Postgame Quotes
February 15, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper
Opening statement…
"I want to thank our fans for coming out on a Thursday night and enjoying some good basketball. It's tough as a competitor, you don't feel like you want to have moral victories, but I'm proud of our team, our effort and our focus for the majority of the game. Obviously, South Carolina is undefeated for a reason. They are super talented. They don't have a lot of weaknesses. If we can go back and do it again, that fourth quarter I didn't think we were as aggressive as we needed to be. It kind of got away from us on the offensive boards on the other end."
On her message to the team after the game…
"It really was the same thing there. If you have a loss you want some closure and reasoning. When we talk about what that looked like, but I also challenge them to let that be our standard. Let that be the standard for us defensively, and let that be the standard for us with our mental focus and to learn from that experience and grow as a team."
On Rickea Jackson's performance tonight …
"I think she has been a little more comfortable recently. I heard her mention she has been getting in the gym, and there's no doubt there is a correlation there. Listen, she has been in big games before. She's going to be in a lot of big games in her career. She is that talented. She had some great plays out there today. I think she just ran out of gas, to be quite honest with you, in that fourth quarter, but she is talented. She can affect the game in so many ways, and I'm proud of her growth."
On the team's undefeated mentality…
"Their focus has been great the last couple of days. They have been right where we wanted them to be, as a coaching staff watching them, and I thought they had a really good focus to start the game. One of the things we talked about is not getting too high or too low emotionally in that game because that can absolutely drain you. I thought they handled that. I thought they handled the emotion of a big game like this. I think the mentality was where we wanted it to be, and they felt good about that. That's when you have a lot of confidence."
On Jasmine Powell's performance on the boards...
"She's doing a really good job of battling. She's often the smallest player on the court. She will get in there and battle. She does a good job. We need her rebounding because a lot of times our posts are locked up and battling, and we need someone to go clean it up. We need someone to go grab that loose ball, go grab that board, and she has been able to do it a lot."
On the possible problem of losing focus…
"I think our focus tonight was at a different level. I think it was at a more elite level, and I think we have been growing into that. Our toughness was there, and that's an area we knew we needed to grow throughout the year. We have gotten better and better. I do think that is one of the tougher games we have played."
On what Tennessee showed her with their effort and how it affected their ability to stay in the game…
"I think we won a lot of loose balls, especially in the first half. I thought we gave some extra effort in that first half, had our hands on a lot of balls. You know defensively we were doing a really good job keeping them off the boards, all that is toughness and awareness. That's the area we have been working so hard on. We have emphasized that, we have stressed that; I think we have seen some growth, not just this game, we have seen some growth. It was on full display today."
On how Sara Puckett played and does she wish she could've got the ball a little more…
"I would like to have found a few more shots for her in the fourth quarter for sure. We got a little bit stagnant, we weren't getting downhill to try and find her. She was open a few times and you have to give South Carolina's defense some credit there because they are keeping you under duress so much that sometimes you can't even find the open player. Sara has been doing a really good job at working on the awareness that you talked about. Especially on the defensive end, finding loose balls. Today the stat sheet showed Sara played a really good basketball game. She has been playing well, but hasn't always had the stats. Today she did both. We are proud of her, we think she is a really talented basketball player."
On how four players played 35-plus minutes and if fatigue played a factor…
"Yeah, I do, I think we were gassed in the fourth. We may need to be a little bit more strategic on some minutes played by some players throughout the game moving forward. You don't want to be in this situation again where you run out of gas in the fourth quarter. We will reevaluate that and assess that and see what changes we can make. I'll tell you what they still played hard in those heavy minutes and I'm proud of them for hanging in there."
On how they hung around against South Carolina better than other teams…
"We talked about that throughout the game and what we needed to do. For us, we wanted to keep our focus on the mental part of the game and not make mental errors. We didn't have a lot of mental breakdowns, where you missed an assignment defensively. We didn't have as many minutes and there is no doubt there is a direct correlation to how we played for 32 minutes or so. That's what we kept talking about throughout the game, that a lot of people just can't keep up mentally with how well they played."
On how Tennessee gets better offensive execution against elite defensive teams like South Carolina…
"We talk about pace all the time; that game was grueling, but we were better when the pace was hotter there is no doubt about it. When we walked the ball up the court, it was a little bit harder for us to find opportunities for us to score. I thought we needed to get into our offense a little bit quicker at times and then part of that was dictated by our defense. You know if they scored, we weren't getting the ball up the court as quick. I think what we will need to work on is finding that pace, making sure we still have it, but being a little bit sharper at times. So, I think we can clean up a few possessions offensively
On where she felt like the team has improved the most recently…
"We have definitely improved. We are a much-improved team. I think the majority of that has been on the defensive end. I think our toughness has improved, our awareness has improved and our rebounding discipline has improved. All of those areas, it's never where you want it to be at as a coach. We are always going to critique everything, but I am proud of the improvement. We can see the improvement. It's not where we want it yet. We still want to continue to get better in a lot of areas."
On if she felt like a game like this was coming for this team…
"I honestly felt pretty good going into this game. I don't know how many coaches do feel good going into playing South Carolina. The way our team practiced, how we came off of a really good win and how we've been locked in made me feel really good about it. I hate that it got away from us in the fourth quarter."
On what she would tell someone who is getting ready to play South Carolina…
"You're going to have to play one of your best games, if not your best game, to beat them. They are that good. They put their shoes on, just like everybody else. You are going to have to be physical. You are going to have to control the emotions of a game like that. You have to make shots. You need to score, and if you get some easy looks you better knock them down. Everybody's match-up is a little bit different. Different teams match up with them, but you have to have a game plan that your team can believe in."
On how difficult it is to play against a team with depth like South Carolina…
"Ashlyn Watkins coming off the bench is really good. I was hoping they would put her back on the bench. She is a difference maker to me, as good as everybody is on that team. They have some really good players. Today, in my opinion, Ashlyn was the difference in the game. Whether that was her scoring, her rebounding, her defending or her ability to run up and down the floor; I thought she played really well. She played really well against UConn. That's a player coming off of the bench, so their depth is very good and they utilize it well."
On if Vanderbilt is showing something different now than the first time the teams played…
"I have not watched them a whole lot since a couple of games because we have a common opponent. I just know that (last time UT and VU played) was a very emotional game, it was a very physical game. We expect it to be a very tough game when we go over to Nashville. One of my biggest concerns is bouncing back from this game. This takes a lot out of you, it's physical, mental and emotional. We have to turn it around pretty quickly, it's gonna be our third game of the week. This is a huge stretch for us, a huge challenge for our basketball team to be mature and be ready to go on Sunday."
On playing three games this week and how you prepare with rest and getting ready for the game…
"We have not had an off day yet. Our last off day was Friday. We've been going a pretty long stretch with two games in there. Tomorrow will be used for recovery for a lot of our players. We will bring them in and watch some film tomorrow. It won't be a typical practice because at this point if I take a team over to Vanderbilt and they don't have their legs under them it's not going to matter. We have to figure out a way to get their legs back under them, the athletic training staff does an excellent job so I have a lot of confidence in them, and players have to take care of themselves. They have to understand now even when they're not in the gym they've have to hydrate and they have to rest."
Tennessee Fifth Year Forward Rickea Jackson
On going into the fourth quarter tied…"I feel like when we focus, it shows the type of team that we are and can be. I feel like we did that for about 38 minutes. We just need to finish it out. I feel like South Carolina has been in many positions like that. We have to have that confidence that no matter who we are playing, we need to go at them like that. If we play it like that against all of the teams, then we would be undefeated right now."
On playing the number one team in the country for 40 minutes…
"Just taking the good and the bad that came with that. I feel like that game gave us a lot of confidence. Again, this is something that we've known. When we focus and put our minds to something, we can beat anybody. We need to continuously have that confidence, but at the same time look at the film. Getting downhill in the fourth quarter; that is what we should have kept doing. I feel like we got stagnant in the fourth quarter. We only had two offensive rebounds, and that is something that could put us ahead of a really physical team like South Carolina. We need to put 40 minutes together and continue to do what we did in the first half."
On playing in big-time games…
"I'm just grateful to have the teammates that I have. I feel like coming off of an injury, you tend to second-guess yourself. You tend to not want to overwork yourself because it can happen again. I feel like I have been in my head in the past couple of games. Coming off of a leg injury, I never wanted to put in too much work, because I'm wondering if it will come back. I've been getting in the gym and getting that confidence. My teammates have been pushing me too, telling me I'm either going to do it or I'm not. This week, I've been getting in the extra work. I feel like it showed tonight. I feel like it was enough. I felt like I was going to keep doing that, and my teammates are going to keep holding me accountable and pushing me when I'm not working as hard as I can be on the defensive end. Jasmine Powell and Kaiya (Wynn) are telling me that I can be one of the best defenders and they need me to do that. That's just something that I have been trying to focus on and bring to the team more so we can be that lockdown defensive team that I know we can be if we put our minds to it."
Tennessee Fifth Year Guard Jasmine Powell
On what she's proud of this team for today..."Our fight and our effort. I think we went out and we are not scared to play anybody. Coming into the game, we knew that we were playing the number one team in the country, but we're not scared to play anybody. We came out firing with effort and with confidence. I'm really proud of that because we have been hustling to get that from our players. Just coming out and trying to play for 40 minutes with that effort and intensity. I'm really proud of that."
On playing in front of many LVFLs today...
"It was good. We were in shoot-around, and we had all of the alumni come. They introduced themselves to us, and we talked to them a little bit. We got to show them around. We played a legacy video for them, and it was really cool to see them back in town. They were really excited for the game. They showed how much they supported us, and that's what it is about being an LVFL."
On how the intensity affected them in the fourth quarter…
"I feel like we weren't as aggressive and we could not score in the fourth quarter to be honest. When they got out and opened the scoring, we were not able to keep them off of the offensive boards and stop them from getting into position. That was a part of our game in the first half. The half-court sets, we were a little bit stagnant, and we were standing around a little bit. It really hurt our offensive side. I don't know who was tired, but I think we lost our aggressiveness a lot and the movement in our offense."
Tennessee Junior Guard/Forward Sara Puckett
"Yes, I do. I feel like we came very well prepared, very locked in and we chose to do that. It wasn't about who came in here, it was the next game to us. That's what we came to do, to be locked in and give it our best effort. We are disappointed in the outcome but we know how to build on this game and grow from it."
On what the mindset in regards to rebounding was coming into the game and if that is the identity the team will have going forward…
"Definitely we just knew we had to do those things and we made those things important to us. I feel like that showed and it got away from us towards the end of the game. That's what the difference was, but I'm still really proud of our effort."
On what she felt went wrong in the fourth quarter…
"We just were not as aggressive as the first half. We didn't get many paint touches, we had two in the second half which is really tough. Those are things we can't really slack on when it gets to a team like that. We acknowledge those areas we need to improve in and we are just going to carry it to the next game."
South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley
On Rickea Jackson…
"Top pick in the WNBA draft without a doubt. I think this year has helped her on both sides of the basketball. She's defending it a lot more, she's rebounding. She can score it, and she did that to us. I thought we did a really great job. We had to run somebody at her, we had to make sure that we put an extra body on her, just forcing her to put two hands on it and pass it out. Kudos to Rickea, I know she'll have a great career the rest of the way here at Tennessee as well as in the pros."
On the emotional pregame honoring Nikki McCray-Penson…
"Tennessee does a great job at making sure their own are recognized. It's unfortunate that Nikki and Tasha (Butts) have to be recognized in the way that they have. They're no longer here. It's hard, I often think about Nikki. I text with little Thomas a lot, and they still have her number. The iPad they use, I'd text to Nikki and it would take a while to text back, and then Nikki's name would pop up. It's just a reminder of who she is, what she's meant to us and I miss her dearly. I think the game misses her for her contribution. I know the Penson household is a lot different. I'll never get used to not having her here. Experiences like this is what will keep her legacy alive so her son Thomas will know how very special his mom was."
On what she saw out of Tennessee tonight…
"They're steadily getting better. Sometimes, people think that when you're supposed to win every game and you feel like you're getting better, but if you're actually really watch them as much as we have to prepare for them, you can see it. I was really not looking forward to having to play them. They do have it together, it's just more and more experience. I think (Tamari) Key plays a role, the more she's able to play a little bit longer and she's starting to do that, they're going to be in a much better position. Rickea (Jackson) is starting to feel it, she's starting to take over basketball games, taking shots that she was probably passing off. They have great guard play, they have bigs. I had a feeling; I really did have a feeling. I thought we were going to lose this game. I didn't want to lose the game, but it had that feeling of the last time we were here and we lost. Shootaround was kind of sluggish, and I think that's the tradition of playing here. They've won a lot of games here; they've won a lot of national championships. Part of you knows that the spirit of Pat Summitt is always going to be hanging around here."
South Carolina Sophomore Forward Ashlyn Watkins
"I feel like we just knew we had to get stops. We had to get more stops, we had to score, stop, score, stop. They were really just scoring on us. We would score on them and then they would score, so we just realized that we had to get stops."
On Tennessee's success rebounding the ball tonight…
"They're a physical team. They were boxing out just like we were boxing out. We just had to find ways to get more rebounds and score more and play good defense."
On how much confidence it gives her to go toe to toe with Rickea Jackson…
"I knew going in that I was going to guard her. I knew that she was going to go off because she's a phenomenal player and she showed that tonight. It's hard keeping up with someone that's scoring double-doubles and getting rebounds. I just knew I had to do what I had to do."
