Postgame Quotes: Lady Vols 71, #6 Notre Dame 69

Jan. 16, 2017

Tennessee Head Coach Holly Warlick

(Opening Statement)
"It was just a team with a lot of heart and perseverance. We have so much respect for Notre Dame and how they play and what they do and we needed to have a great game. We needed to have team effort, they were just solid and you know I'm really excited for these kids. They have taken a beating, but it's a result of hard work and belief in each other and they just got it done. They got it done and they never faltered. Never negative in the huddles, halftime was not a negative deal so I just can't say enough about what each of them has done to contribute tonight to get this win."

(On what went into the game after the tough road game against Ole Miss)
"We had about a three and a half hour meeting on Friday, we didn't even practice, didn't even lift weights. I thought it was really powerful to hear our kids' comments and how the coaches felt. You know, I'll tell you this, yesterday the first hour was a great practice and the second hour I wasn't very happy. Today before the game, I asked which team is going to show up and they said the first hour so that made me feel good. They have it in them I just think their focus was here and the crowd was unbelievable, unbelievable. I don't think they ever faltered either. They just have a big, strong belief in each other today and that's what we've got to carry on."

(On using the bench more against Notre Dame)
"Schaquilla Nunn was huge, she was behind the Kentucky win and I thought she came in and she had some big rebounds. She played 12 minutes and had eight points and she had some huge rebounds. She was big. I thought Kortney Dunbar came in and gave us some minutes and I thought Alexa Middleton came in and gave us some minutes. We needed the bench and we needed them to come in and give us a little break. Jordan Reynolds played 40 minutes, Jordan is a mid-range jump shooter and I just told her, `Jordan don't make stuff up, do what you do best.' I thought she was poised and solid and I thought she shot some great shots. She shot that three, I wasn't happy with that but I'll take it.

(On Diamond DeShield's fourth quarter performance)
"I thought she played solid defense, gets the block, comes down and when she puts her mind to it she can do just about anything. That was simple, keep your game simple and she did. She attacked the basket, didn't get it and got the put back. I think I'm probably more proud of Diamond in her defensive effort. Three blocks and I just thought she was solid down the stretch and she made a commitment to the defensive end. The only person holding Diamond back is Diamond and moving her forward. I thought she was solid today; obviously, we needed her to do the things she did to win the basketball game.

(On Meme Jackson's big three-point basket)
"That's her spot. We are going to write her name down there in that corner. It was huge. I think Schaquilla did some great things and then Meme came in. Meme does not take bad shots. Sometimes I want her to shoot the ball a bit more, but she does not hesitate with that shot. We are going to let her take that shot."

(On ending the losing streak against Notre Dame on We Back Pat Night)
"We were 0-6 against Notre Dame. Pat had a desire. Losing was not an option to her. It was not with her battle to Alzheimer's and it obviously was not an option during the games. We talked a lot about that. We talked about her spirt, we talked about her resilience and we talked about her fight. To win tonight on this night is a blessing to honor Pat the way we did, and to play like a Lady Vol team should play, (together, hard and with heart). These kids played like losing was not an option, and I believe that's what Pat's belief was throughout her career and her life. We are very thankful that we got it done and to represent her legacy the way we did."

(On concerns of the team playing with a lack of heart earlier in the season)
"It was resolved tonight. I think we build on this. We haven't beat a top 10 team since I've been here. I think this team will build on it. We have a long stretch ahead of us. Now we have to get back to what we really need to take care of (SEC play). I promise you it feels a lot better after a win to go down and play Auburn. We have to build on this and remember how it feels. Stops tonight got us buckets and won us the game. We talk about rebounding and we had 14 offensive rebounds. We talk about defense and we stepped it up on defense. We talk about playing together and we played together. It is huge for us."

(On the game being bigger on We Back Pat Night)
"Of course it is. We had Martin Luther King Day, he fought for people's rights. Our kids understand that. We have Pat who, I think, is making a bigger impact now than she did alive. I never thought I would say that. The impact she is making now, across the country, is unbelievable. To have these two things on the same night for these young ladies is very rewarding. They get it; they understand where basketball was and where it came from. They understand the movement Martin Luther King Jr. started and where it is now. It is really special to win on this night."

Tennessee Forward Schaquilla Nunn

(On the impact of the crowd and We Back Pat night)
"I would say it is an amazing feeling. When we get up or do something well you have the crowd going crazy. It definitely flusters their team a little. This night was bigger than us. Just knowing all these other factors we knew that this game was going to be bigger than us and we were going to have to go out and do what we needed to do."

Tennessee Guard Diamond DeShields

(On the offensive performance as a whole)
"We were tired of getting beat by Notre Dame and tired of getting beat in general. If we had lost a lot of people would have said that we should have lost but we cannot go out and lose three games in a row. Our team is full of winners and I think that our heart showed tonight. We were willing to sacrifice and do what we needed to do for each other to get this win. It was not about any individual, tonight we played team basketball and I think that is where the offence came from. We found who was open and those players delivered."

(On where the team can go from here after this big win)
"I believe we can go somewhere we have never been. Regardless of what that looks like, I do think we can go there and we can get there as a team. We cannot look back. The Stanford and Kentucky wins were great but we have to move forward. There's no turning back now. Our team sometimes just falls back into a slump and we cannot afford to do that. So moving forward hopefully we can keep the momentum going and continue playing the way we did tonight."

Tennessee Forward Jaime Nared

(On both teams playing nervous after the game got within two points)
"I know we are a mentally tough team. The story of our season has been which Tennessee team will come out tonight. Tonight just showed that we are mentally tough despite our record. We needed to get this win. We got stops when it counted. It was not the most perfect game but when it counted we got stops. It shows that we are tough and we compete."

Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw

(Opening statement)
"I thought Tennessee did a great job down the stretch. When they made their run, they rebounded. They held us to one shot, and I thought that was the difference in the game. We were outrebounding them in the first half, but in the second half, we could not get a rebound, especially at the offensive end. We were disappointed in our effort defensively, and our inability to guard the ball screen really killed us down the stretch. We talked about it, but we weren't able to guard them in the ball screen. We just made a lot of mistakes. To their credit, they took advantage of all of the mistakes we made."

(On Diamond DeShields' play during this game)
"I thought she got to the free throw line, and made her free throws. She couldn't shoot the ball particularly well, but we had difficulty staying in front of her. We had a freshman guarding her, and that was probably a mistake on my part. We couldn't find her in the zone, and we let her run free. She's incredibly talented."

(On the game atmosphere)
"I thought it was a great atmosphere. Anytime you make a run like that, the crowd gets excited. The crowd gets into the game. You have to be really poised when you have possession of the ball. You have to really value the ball. You have to take care of the ball. The crowd was very influential for them."

(On the difference of play throughout the game)
"I thought it was a lot of layups. We missed a lot of layups. We drove the ball like we wanted to, but we couldn't get to the free throw line. That was really bad. In the fourth quarter, they only had one team foul going into the end of the game. That won the game for them. So, if we could have gotten to the free throw line in the fourth quarter, I think that it would have been a different finish."

(On Notre Dame's experience playing in the `We Back Pat' game)
"I think we're all backing Pat. I think we all agree that she was an incredible role model for everybody in basketball. We were happy to be a part of the game."

Notre Dame Guard Lindsay Allen

(On the fourth quarter)
"I think they were just outworking us, and we weren't taking time on the shots. We weren't being smart on offense. We were turning the ball over. They were coming down and bullying us down there. They were getting offensive rebounds. They were making layups. They were getting the 50-50 balls. We were just outworked in the fourth quarter. We have to be more aggressive going to the basket. I think we had those shots, but we have to be stronger in making our layups."