University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: #4 UT 91, ORU 39
November 17, 2014 | Women's Basketball
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Head coach Holly Warlick
(Opening Statement)
"I thought we did a lot of great things tonight. I was pleased with our tempo, we worked a lot on that, our tempo, our getting better defensively. We switched a little bit more than probably you've use to seen because we just thought it would be effective, and I thought it was. It was great to see Ariel Massengale and Andraya Carter back. So, they're just adding depth and strength to our lineup. Happy for the win, still can work a lot on a couple things. We tried to work on our zone today and it was average, but we just hadn't really been working on it but pleased with how we attacked on the offensive end."
(On the return of Ariel Massengale)
"I think so, I just commented that this was her first game back from missing a class, but yeah I just kind of forgot about what she. You know through her concussion I think she gave her body time to rest and I thought she worked hard this summer. She's been working extremely hard in practice been a great leader and has been really a great leader for our freshmen and helping Jordan and Andraya as well. So, I'm glad she is back."
(On how the team is handling the up-tempo pace with a shorthanded roster)
"Yeah, I loved tonight. I think Jordan Reynolds again played aggressive, didn't have a turnover. I mean she is pushing the ball up the floor, and she is putting pressure on the defense and that is what I love, and I think we're in great shape. I think Coach Taylor has done a great job of getting them physically in the weight room and just our practices have been really up and down and competitive and I think it's showing right now."
(On Nia Moore's play)
"I thought Nia had a chance. I've just watched her grow and develop since she has been here, and I just think Nia needed to get on the floor and get reps. Did I dream that she would produce what she's doing? No, I mean she's just so consistent. She went against somebody bigger than her and she still had 20 points, which I love to see. We kept telling Nia your time is coming, and when we redshirted Mercedes we said your time is here and I think she has taken full advantage of it. She's worked individually, she's worked on her game, and she doesn't do anything flashy, but she's got great results. So I'm really happy for her."
(On injuries to Isabelle Harrison and Jasmine Jones)
"Izzy had a mild sprain in her knee, and Jasmine has a mild concussion and both will be back soon. I don't have a set date, but it looks very positive for both of them to be back soon, and that was great news for us and for both of those young ladies."
(On how the team is focusing on defense)
"Well I hope it's a result of we've put in a lot of time. If we had to chart our practice plans I think you would say we would have been working on the defensive end about 75 percent of the time and our offense 25. So, I hope what your seeing is a result of the work they've put in and the buy in of where they are. I love that our posts are getting out and denying the basketball. They're almost doing it better than the perimeter people, but they've put in a lot of time and we've really stayed on them and drilled them and as I said our practices and drills have been competitive and there is a winner and a loser. We have really tried to emphasize that this year, more so than ever, and I think you're seeing the result of that."​
(On defensive pressure)
"We are going with a man press a little bit more. Our posts are extending and I just like us trying to force the tempo. We are not going to be able to do that for 40 minutes, we can if we have our whole team available, possibly, but I like how we are being aggressive. We are taking chances and that is what I want them to do when we are in full court. When we are on it causes a lot of havoc and when we do it right and we, like I said, take chances. We haven't really had the bodies and the opportunity to do that in the past couple of years because of injuries and those type of things."
(On playing a lot of players)
"I just think it is a great problem to have. If we can continue to keep the tempo and the pace that we have then a lot of people are going to play. Because I think you see all of them are capable, the only one you haven't seen is Cierra Burdick, and she has been really awesome in practice as well. So the next game you will see her part of the team as well. I haven't really thought about playing time. I just really want results and if we can continue to press and run the way we have been doing we are going to shuttle people in and out."
(On Andraya Carter's increased confidence)
"I do, I think it is a great sign. She had a great summer. If I had to pick one person out of our team, Andraya had a great summer. She worked on her game. She played a lot of basketball. It led to her being a lot more confident. When you have confidence you are able to score, you are able to do some things that maybe you hadn't been doing. I think she is playing with a lot of confidence, a lot of heart. As I said, it starts with what we have been doing in practice. We haven't really had any bad days in practice."
Senior guard Ariel Massengale
(On seeing her first action since an injury last season)
"It was amazing, I was excited all day long. I couldn't sleep last night, I felt nervous before the game and I never get that way, it felt like my first time playing. I'm just glad to be back out there with my teammates doing something that I love. This is my senior year and I just want to leave a legacy on this program."
(On Nia Moore)
"She's been tremendous. She's learned a lot from the people that have been at this level. Her number has been called this season and she's given us exactly what we've needed. We need her to keep that going for the rest of the season."
(On running tempo despite being down in numbers)
"Every single day in practice, we're running. If we're not winning drills or making times, we're on the line. We don't look at it as punishment anymore, we look it as getting better and getting in shape because we want to play an up-tempo running game."
Freshman guard/forward Jaime Nared
(On starting for the first time)
"I think you prepare for any game just when the coaches call on you to deliver. It's not really any different I planning or getting ready."
(On running the press)
"We wanted to be aggressive. Our gameplan was to be aggressive and force turnovers and I think we did a great job of pushing the pressure up and making it uncomfortable to bring the ball up the floor. I think everyone did well moving around and being active on our defense, which caused so many turnovers."
Junior forward Nia Moore
(On facing 6'7 Vicky McIntyre)
"I thought it was good to go up against another post with size to be able to work on my game. I thought it was a good matchup. I just tried to play aggressive."
(On if her preparation has changed this season)
"I wouldn't say anything has changed, I still have the same focus that, when my name is called, to go out there and help my team and my coaches."
(On if she expected to score 20+ points in both games)
"Honestly, no. I just try to go out there and play hard. I'm not focused on how many points I score or whatever stat there is, I'm just trying to go out there and help my teammates get a win."
Oral Roberts Coach Misti Cussen
(Opening Statement)
"We're just turning to ball over too much. We had the same storyline happen 72 hours ago when we were in Waco. We have just got to take care of the ball better. Obviously, that was a huge issue for us this evening. I felt like, with new personnel coming in, we knew what we needed to do in order to take care of it. It was just hot and cold. Our freshman point guard, Jordan Doyle, she did a really nice job of handling the pressure. Really, I kept getting surprised. That's kind of how we felt offensively, too. We didn't recognize when the pressure was beaten in the full court and when we needed to slow down an execute in the half court.
"I thought our shooting reflected that. I thought we missed a lot of open shots the way we shot the ball tonight. There were a couple of times I had Vicky [McIntyre] and three freshmen on the floor. One time, I had Bernadett [Balla] and four freshmen on the floor. That's probably a little bit to be expected when you come to Knoxville and you've never been here before.
"You're probably wowed a little bit with where they are and what they're doing, but we're going to be a good team this year. I think as that freshmen class gets more experience--and tonight, I had a couple of seniors that struggled that don't usually struggle. So, it was kind of a group effort to have that offensive output that we had tonight. Not a very eloquent opening statement, but it wasn't a very eloquently played game either, so that's what you get."
Oral Roberts Center Vicky McIntyre
(On defending Bashaara Graves and Nia Moore)
"My whole career, I've played against post players like that and better. I came into this game knowing I played them two years ago, and I had the same type of effect. I was like, `Well, this just do it again.' You just have to give your all on defense and do what you can do with it."
(On playing at Baylor and Tennessee versus playing home games)
"I think it's necessary when you have so many freshmen to see, `Hey, this is what we're working towards. We want to come back and play another big-time team in the [NCAA] Tournament.' It's motivation, and then, they know where there potential is and how they are going to get there."
