Postgame Quotes
Chattanooga 52, Eastern Kentucky 44
Chattanooga, Tenn. | The McKenzie Arena
Sunday, December 17, 2023
 
Shawn Poppie, head coach
 
Opening Statement
"First and foremost, thank you to the fans. Mocs nation came out for a six-o'clock Sunday evening game. You felt it. We're slowly building it. Come out to show some support. This group is a phenomenal group of people that play for each other. They're doing things the right way. So thanks to the ones that came. We look forward to continuing to build it in the new year. The next piece, before I talk about the game, I want to make sure I thank our administration. Mark Wharton, Jay Blackman, the crew that flipped this arena around. We had graduation here the last couple of days. I think that shows support that we have for our women's basketball program for them to be willing to flip it that fast to allow us to play one last home game before we hit the road before the holidays and didn't bat an eye. Thank you so much to the staff that put that on and was able to flip the court and get this thing ready to have a game tonight."
 
On the 3-point shot not falling for the first three quarters
"I just felt all the way, not only 3-balls, but how many missed layups did we have? It was just one of them days offensively. I thought they did a good job of mixing their coverages whether they slid up underneath then pressured us and it kind of took us out of rhythm. We became reliant on Jada [Guinn] for a little while I think she got tired. I told them at the four minute mark, this would be one of them games we've played so sloppy offensively but we've worked our tail off defensively. Let's not walk in there and think, 'boy, what what we just wasted'. We make shots. That's who we are. Step up with some confidence, deliver it on time and knock it down. That three Karsen Murphy hit in the corner right in front of our bench was a dagger I felt. It's back to what I talked about a couple weeks ago. She's getting what she deserves. She's put the work in all year, a year ago didn't get what I thought she deserved because she couldn't quite figure it out. We've turned her into a five, a stretch five, and she's made a lot of big time plays for us. So stay with it. That's just who we are. At some point it'll drop and that just happened to drop when we really, really needed it."
 
On the 3-point shot from Karsen Murphy
"It's a dagger not only because it went in, but they had a really good defensive possession for 28 seconds. We drive it, they overhelp. It's unorthodox for their center to guard that drive with our center in the corner. I thought the wind kinda came out of their sails a little bit. You play really good for 28 seconds and then lose focus for two and we take advantage."
 
On the defense of Sigrun Olafsdottir holding EKU's top player (23/game) to two points.
"Sigrun Olafsdottir is the Defensive Player of the Year in our league. No doubt about it in my opinion. She guards the other team's best player every night and makes it difficult and tonight. It was not only her, but her teammates. We really tried to get in gaps and make it difficult and try to get it our of her [Antwainette Walker, EKU]. I felt like we did a really good job team defense, but individually, didn't have to pull to much help because Sigrun was there every step of the way. So that's what her value is to us."
 
On the return of Raven Thompson after missing one game due to injury
"It was great to see her back out there. She practiced yesterday and was at our shoot around today and she looks fine. I was just curious of her mind. I asked her after shoot around, 'do you want to play? I don't want to make that decision. If you think you're ready, the trainer says you're ready. You're testing better than you did before the injury with all the stuff that she's doing laterally. But I want your mind to make sure' and she said 'I want to play' and so it depend on lineups and just kind of see how it went. She made her first cut and I said 'she's fine.'
 
"It was nice for us because I felt like we were in an offensive funk, a little bit. We put her back in there, first time in a week. Then she gets a couple of baskets and all of a sudden momentum is changing for us. She just gives us a way to play different styles now. I had two play call sheets. One with Raven and one without because we just play so different with her and it was much needed."
 
 
Karsen Murphy, C, Jr.
On the 3-point shot from the corner
"I knew the shot clock was winding down, so that was really our only option. We just came out of a timeout with Poppie saying shoot with confidence which was something that, obviously, we were lacking the entire game. We did not shoot a good 3-point percentage, so I just knew I needed to stop in, shoot the shot with confidence and it helped that the shot clock is winding down so I really had to other choice."
 
On the difficulty of last year and transitioning to this year
"Last year was tough. I can honestly say that I have a great community here, great teammates, amazing coaching staff. I have not once felt like I never had no family here, no one to talk to. I've always had people to talk to. I've had mentors, professors. There's just such a great community here. I'm so thankful I ended up here every single day. There's no other place I want to be. This is truly home for me."
 
On playing the Five
"I definitely am for match up purposes. I do like being able to play the five. I do get to play a little bit on the perimeter, a little bit on the block, which is where my skill set is. I also think me playing the five helps our guards like Jada, Raven and AG drive to the bucket, to space the floor out. It was a big adjustment, but I think how it's all worked out, it's done really well."
 
 
Jada Guinn, G, Gr.
On foul trouble affecting the way she plays
"A little bit. I feel like anytime anybody gets in foul trouble, you kind of want to be less aggressive on defense and offense just because you don't want to pick up that extra foul. So I would say a little bit it was in the back of my mind, but it didn't completely take me out of the game."
 
On the affect Raven Thompson's return had on the game
"It just shows how big she is to our team. It was great to have her back. We have all been missing her , but she just brings that score mentality to our team. Coach Poppie started running some stuff for her and she started scoring and it brought energy for us."