Chattanooga Basketball Postgame Quotes
East Tennessee State at Chattanooga
McKenzie Arena – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Saturday – Feb. 29, 2020
 
Head Coach Katie Burrows
On the emotions now after the start to co-champs of the Southern Conference
"I'm just so incredibly proud of this bunch. It was looking grim as we all know, early on. They just kept pressing forward and they knew there was something more inside of them. I knew there was something more inside of them. The reason I knew is because they were coming in every day and working hard. Even after the losses they were coming in with renewed energy. I didn't have to push them. I always knew it would come out at some point I just didn't know when, obviously. I'm just thankful that we were able to do that when we needed to."
 
How big were the "and 1s"?
"There's got to be some record out there for how many times in a season you've been fouled on a 3-point shot and made it. I wish they would foul her [Lakelyn Bouldin] every time like that, 'cause they seem to always go in.
 
"We needed that in the first half and maybe one of them would have gone it. It's impressive that she can have such focus to finish the shot and get knocked down as hard as she does and then have the opportunity for a four-point play. I'll be honest with you, that was big time.
 
On the play of the team without the 3s falling
"Bria was attacking the basket tonight. She was doing a good job. I told her '3s aren't falling, you gotta make an adjustment. Boy did she ever. She was aggressive getting to the rim, getting to the foul line. She helped us out tremendously there. When we finally hit a 3 in the third quarter, I was like 'finally it was opening up a little' but we only made one the rest of the game. Thankful we were able to stay aggressive.
 
"What about Abbey [Cornelius]. Abbey just got aggressive, not only penetrating and getting to the rim and getting fouled, on rebounds, she was cleaning up the boards. Proud of both of them for their efforts.
 
"Eboni got in foul trouble. I think her numbers would have been a little bit different. I think her rebounds would have gone up quite a bit if she hadn't been in that foul trouble. I told after that fourth foul, 'I can't get mad at you when you're trying to take a shot for your team.' She tried to take a charge and it didn't go well."
 
On the seniors NaKeia Burks and Lakelyn Bouldin
"What a special group of girls. Those two. For NaKeia to come back for her fifth year. I'm so glad she did. For her to be able to go out on this note rather than what it was last year. It makes my heart happy for her and for her teammates to be a big part of that with her. To see her come back from so much adversity.  And Lakelyn. For everything that she's been through and had to kind of take on over the last couple of years, she's done it with such poise. I'm incredibly proud of both of them like crazy.
 
On the difference in this game and the triple overtime game
"The girls made up their mind early on that 'we're not doing that again.' Just the defensive stops when we needed them. There towards the end when we'd get three or four points ahead, I told them 'a 3 will hurt us, a two won't. If they get by you, let them go. Don't try to be a hero.' They stuck to the game plan and rotated really well, making it difficult for them to get the shot off clean. We did a really job on the defensive boards. We only gave up five offensive boards. We handled business."
 
Emotions on a day like today - how to make week normal
"I told them that you've got to stay hungry, but you've got to stay humble. We're playing some really good basketball. It's a shame that everything we've done up to this point doesn't make a difference. Everybody has to win three games in four days if they want to transition into the NCAA Tournament. Everybody's going to be hungry. We have to be hungrier. We have to come in Monday ready to go. I'm going to have to make sure my kids who played a lot of minutes can recover, but at the same time, we can't just back and rest. We're gonna have to get up and down and keep that stamina."
 
On preparing for the upcoming tournament
"We've got to cover a lot of different things. You can't just focus on your first opponent. What are the 'what ifs?'. We've got to prepare. There are not a lot of opportunities for practice. We play Thursday, that's normal. Three days of practice and play. You just have to turn around the next day and play again. Looking forward to it. Tournament time is always my favorite time. There is just something about the feel. It's just cool to have all the teams there together all the coaches there together. The fans. We just travel so well with our fans and I'm excited to see their presence there as well. It's a normal schedule until Thursday."
 
On the lopsided 3-point game
"I can't tell you that I can remember that, of course. They shot the ball well from 3. The Stafford kid and the Scheetz kid did a really good job. Even the Jackson kid came in a hit a couple. We knew she was capable, but she was hitting them with a hand in her face, as were the other two. Impressed with the focus they had. When we were missing free throws early on in the third quarter. I said that these free throws are gonna make or break us. We've got to make our free throws. That right there was the difference maker. We weren't making the 3s but we were getting to the foul line."
 
 
Bria Dial
On the game being so close late
"I thought it might go to overtime, I definitely did. I thought, 'oh my legs! Please no.'"
 
On the seniors
"They are huge leaders for us. I've been here with them for three years. It's pretty crazy. We'll miss them."
 
Abbey Cornelius
On how to make the next week normal with the emotions of today
"Staying humble. When you get up and you say 'we're champions' that's when someone comes and bites you. It's going to be normal business this week. We're going to practice Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and hit the road and be ready to take care of business in Asheville."
 
On the seniors
"We're definitely all close. We'll cherish these last few weeks and wish them luck as they go on and let them know that they changed this program for the better."