Postgame Quotes vs. Kentucky - Dec. 11, 2010
12/11/2010 8:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Kentucky at Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tenn. - McKenzie Arena
Dec. 12, 2010
On facing Kentucky:
"Kentucky is a great team, and we knew they would bring a lot of heat. Whether it is in the half-court, pressuring the ball, getting in the passing lanes, or full-court press. We just didn't handle that aspect of it well. We have to learn to work to get open. Kentucky will definitely expose you if you have problems doing those things, so you have to give them a lot of credit."
On the play in the first half:
"The first half we ran a couple of plays to get backdoor cuts. Out of our four-out to get open, and we struggled to do that. The kids did battle back in the first half after being down 14. They have to realize that we have to play for 40 minutes against a team as talented as Kentucky. One or two positions will get them on a roll and let the game slip away. We have to do a better job of handling pressure. On defense we have to do better helping each other and playing team defense."
On coming back in the second half:
"I felt like we could play with them in stretches, but we need to do that for 40 minutes. That is what is disappointing. Whitney Hood did a good job down on the block, but the second half we had a hard time getting it to her, which made it hard for us to score at times. It is still a young team, and we have time to get better. Going into conference play, it is important to speed the process up and get on a roll.
On the play of Kylie Lambert:
"She is undersized at the four position, but that makes it a match-up problem for the other team. She has the ability to knock down shots on the perimeter, and can beat people off the dribble and create shots for other people. Which is what she did tonight. She would go to the hole, and when the rotated she would kick it out to the open person. That is big for us."
On what can be learned from this game:
"They need to learn the importance of every position. You give up a three, an offensive rebound, a transition layup, and know they get on a run. That is what happened tonight. It was a game of streaks. They had the first one (run), we had the second one, and then they pulled it back out. We have to learn to be consistent for 40 minutes."
On Victoria Dunlap:
"In the first half we did a pretty good job on her. In the second half she took over and buried us down there. She would back us down so deep that is was automatic for her in that range. She is a great player, and one of the best in the country. You want her to take over a game and that is what she did tonight."
Sophomore Kylie Lambert
On the start of the second half:
"I was really excited personally. I thought that would get us going and somewhere in between there we fell."
On taking something from this game:
"I think that we can definitely learn from our mistakes and get back in the gym and practice."
Junior Whitney Hood
On the start of the second half:
"We were feeling good and things turned around. We gave up a couple of possessions and went back to the hole."
On playing well to take the lead:
"I felt like that we shot the ball well. We rebounded and defended. Like I said, a couple of defensive stops that we did not get allowed them to get the momentum towards the end."
On the crowd getting back in it:
"We did have a good crowd tonight. We were well prepared and ready to play the game. We have to take every possession one at a time like it is the last possession. We did not do that tonight."
On containing Victoria Dunlap:
"She is a great player. She can do it all, turn around, face up and pass out of the double. We could have done a better job of helping and not getting buried in the post. These are things that we can work on in the post on Monday."
Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
On start of the second half:
"I am really happy with the way we resounded. We got ourselves into a bad situation at the beginning of half. That is something that has happened a few times this year. Once it was a deficit and we were not firing on all cylinders. It was good for them to start to make some plays and show what they can become.
On Chattanooga:
"Coach Moore has built a great program here. I was nervous coming in here with the way that they could shoot threes. You saw how they were explosive at times and you just have to whether the storm."
On playing four freshmen at once:
"You just have to believe that the kids we signed are going to be productive. There is a reason we recruited them here. The extra work we had the last few days really paid off."
On the play of Carly Marrow:
"I was really proud of her. I thought this was one of her best games. She played really tenacious defense. She really talked to her teammates tonight. She had four assists and played a marvelous game and gave us what we needed in a tough environment. I am sure she feels great to get the win back in front of her hometown. She has been a blessing for me to coach. She is a wonderful young women and has a bright future."
Carly Morrow
On playing in Chattanooga:
"It was really fun. It took awhile to grow on me, because we were waiting in the hotel like any other city. But when we started to shoot around and saw familiar faces it was kind of cool."
On importance of the game:
"We have a lot of young kids on the team right now. We had to make sure it was a time for them to grow and learn. Coming down here and not playing well would have been a bad example to set for them.
On bouncing back from losing the lead in the second half:
"Yes, to always bounce back from them shooting the ball well. UTC shoots the ball incredibly well. To keep fighting on the defensive end was really important for us."
On McKenzie Arena:
"It is cool, expect when we were getting shoot out of the gym and it was getting really loud."
Victoria Dunlap
On the game:
"I think we did what we did the in the last game, where we let up on our intensity going out in the second half. We got it back after the first four minutes. UTC gave us a great run. They were very active out there and it was great playing against them."
On getting into a hole:
"I guess it is kind of good thing where we came together as a team and pulled out of it. But with other teams we can't do that were we don't have the high intensity and energy."
