KENTUCKY ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KENTUCKY VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
THURSDAY, JAN. 31, 2019
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
UK Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening Statement…
“Well, you have to credit South Carolina. They played a lot harder than us tonight, played with a lot more energy, a lot more effort and if we lose that category we’re going to have a hard time in SEC play, so we’re going to have to see if we can bounce back and play with some more energy on Sunday.”
On what he says to the team when the energy is low…
“You just have to get back in the gym and see if you can create atmosphere and really understand how important it is. It’s was a great opportunity for us and we let it slip by us.”
On how content he is with the positives he saw from the game…
“Well, you know in each game there’s always an opportunity to praise effort that the team gives and it looked really bad there for a while, but they were able to climb back in and make it somewhat of a game. That took some effort and that took some energy, but throughout the game there certainly were some things you could look to that went well. Overall, we just have to be more consistent and play better.”
On South Carolina getting behind them offensively in the second half…
“As a coach, you have to do a better job, I have to do a better job, of getting them ready to go. Those were some incredible mental breakdowns that happened and so that’s my job to get them prepared to perform in the game and that wasn’t something we’ve seen much this year. I have to look to the film and we were trying to get it to the press and they were just throwing it over the top and shooting layups, so it was very difficult not for us to transition defense and we were not up to our standard.”
On preparing for Florida…
“We have got to come in here and practice tomorrow with some attention to detail on defense, work on the transition defense. I don’t know a lot about Florida, but I know they like to spread it out and run a lot of different action and shoot 3s. So, you’ve got to really come with great energy against them. So, that will be the message. Just try to get back on track with some focused, energetic effort and see if we can get a win on Sunday.”
On the pass break…
“I didn’t think we attacked consistently. When we did I think you saw we were able to make some plays, but for whatever reason we just could not get on the attack in the first half. And then, when you give up a 40-15 run, and they’re just scoring at will, it’s hard to get your break going. What you’d like is to get some stops, get some defensive rebounds, long outlet, get on the attack. So defensively, tonight it was a tough night for us. We will have to work hard on that because that really fuels your fast break.”
On the difficulty of playing against Alexis Jennings…
“She looked good and she really played well. She’s a good player. She plays with a lot of poise. When you let her catch it deep like two at a time, she’s got an array of post skills and really played a nice game. Very good player.”
On if the teams injuries are catching up to the team…
“I think right now they are just difficult games. It’s just the SEC, they are close games. The margin for error is very’ very thin and you’ve got to find a way to win some of these games. So, thank goodness we are able to win some. We won by 10 to Tennessee, four at LSU. The only one that wasn’t too much up for grabs was the first one at Vanderbilt. So, I mean they are just difficult games and difficult opponents. We’ve got to play with tremendous energy and focus to win. I think for us right now it’s just the same form, we have just got to come out with great preparation. Ready to play in transition defense. And, as coaches we’ve just got to do a better job of communicating that and figuring out what went wrong tonight. We’ve just got to practice hard every day. Overtime, you absolutely have confidence that you will get the job done if you do the right thing day in and day out. That might be the message for the team. They played really hard and had some great moments, had some great victories here in January. We had some tough loses too, but we just need to understand what happened tonight, correct the things that need to be corrected, and move forward in a real positive manner to get ready for a good Florida team on Sunday.”
UK Student-Athletes
#4, Maci Morris Sr., G
On if the middle of the game was lagging…
“We just need to come out and have consistent energy the entire game. If somethings not going right for us we have to be able to keep our heads about us and produce on both ends.”
On the difficulty of the January stretch…
“Personally, I think from my four years of playing, I’ve realized it’s just a long stretch with little rest. School has started back, so just getting back in that rhythm of balancing out your time. Also, taking care of your body, you have to take care of your body cause we’re in a stretch where were playing the hardest conference. So, you’re having great competition every game you play. So, when you play two, three games a week you have to be able to go. Everybody is needed, it’s a dog fight.”
On if the Florida game is a must win…
“For sure. We need to stop our losing streak. We’re not worried about it, but we need to get a win. That way we can feed off of that and keep rolling.”
On how Coach Mitchell’s composure has gotten better after a loss…
“Coach has really been working on who he is and how he comes across to his players and to other people. I give him major props on that. Instead of (making quick judgement), he thinks about what he needs to say and how to teach us. He analyzes the situation better and comes back to it.”
#32, Jaida Roper, Jr., G
On if the middle of the game was lagging…
“We just had too many empty possessions. We just need to learn how to get better than that.”
On something you saw from South Carolina you haven’t seen all year…
“I believe South Carolina is a great team by the way. They pushed the ball at a different level than we’ve seen before. In transition, they were so quick getting the ball in bounds and finding the open man. We just have to get better at that.”
On if the loss was a result of a lack of focus…
“I think we came into the game really focused, we had a game plan. Like I said, South Carolina is a great team. They just found our weakness and attacked on it.”
On if the Florida game is a must win…
“I feel like every game is a must win.”
South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley
On the defensive adjustment going into the second quarter …
“I think we adjusted to the pace of it. I think we just tried to take Kentucky’s first punch. I think with a team like Kentucky you have to come out and play your style of game and not make adjustments. I thought we worked on their press a lot, so maybe our players came into the game more reserved and seeing how aggressive it’ll be, and how they’ll be able to pick it apart.”
On coming out slow in a road atmosphere …
“I think it’s just been a short week for us, and we didn’t take a day off. We went from playing Vanderbilt to practicing on Tuesday and Wednesday and coming out and playing today, so we’ve yet to take a day off, so this is our sixth day in a row. Sometimes fatigue sets in. I thought we regrouped in the second quarter and tried to finish them off. I thought we just took a step back in trying to play not to lose rather than win the game at the end.”
On Kentucky’s late rally to get close …
“We subbed, and sometimes when we sub we have some difficulty having the same chemistry we had with our starting lineup. We had people in positions that we probably should not have had, but we also thought we built a big enough lead to which we would be able to execute at the end of the game. Obviously, that didn’t happen, and it provided them with some momentum to draw up some plays and try to get some threes off to close the gap, and they did that.”
On Alexis Jennings’ consistent play as of late …
“She’s playing well. She’s practicing well. She’s locked in. I don’t if everybody is as focused as Alexis. I do think she has in the back of her mind she’s got two, three months left in college to play, and I think she’s just taking advantage of every opportunity whether its practice or the game to make the most of it.”
On chasing after Mississippi State in the team standings…
“No. I think they understand what needs to take place. When I talk to our team, I talk about all of our goals being in front of us still. So, however they understand that is how they understand that. I’m not going to put too much pressure other than us being able to lock in and focus in on the task at hand and next up is Arkansas.”
On talking with Jennings about coming back to Kentucky …
“I mean, she’s been back here last year, so we talked a little bit about that last year, but this year is totally different. I think she has a different mindset. I think she got the jitters off, and she played Alexis-like tonight.”
On making the paint a point of emphasis going into the game …
“Absolutely, that’s a point of emphasis. I feel like we do have some height and some girth as far as Alexis being able to aggressively attack the paint. She’s got two feet in the paint, she’s a hard guard for anybody her size, let alone someone smaller or shorter and probably not as strong because she’s a fifth-year senior, so she’s been around the SEC for a very long time, so she knows how to maneuver, but we also wanted our guards to attack, and I thought the officiating was good. I thought they let us play, and you don’t have a lot of coaches come out here and say that about the officials. I thought they did a good job of just letting two teams play it out. There weren’t very many tick-tack fouls. They let us play aggressive on both sides of the ball and both teams.”
On some difficulties in-bounding the ball …
“I think it’s a process in which we’re always going try to continue to evolve in that area. It’s a tough job that not a whole lot of our players are equip to handle just being poised in that situation and obviously we tried to take Tyasha [Harris] out of the game. She played almost the entire game. She’s very good in those situations, and I wanted our kids to learn from it. Did I think Kentucky was going to close the gap that much? No, but sometimes you just have to let them learn through those instances because you can simulate it in practice, but it’s just not the same as the game.”
On Rhyne Howard’s play …
“She’s a great guard. She can score three ways, at the basket, she’s got mid-range, she’s got deep three. I think she’s a player in which she’s already made a name for herself, but she’s going to be difficult to deal with for the next – we got her for four years. We got another time in Columbia and the next three years. She’s a player that we recruited too, so I don’t know how close it was as far as her making her decision between us and Kentucky. I don’t know that, but she’s found a good place that she’s able to utilize all of her skillset.”
South Carolina Student-Athletes
#1, Bianca Cuevas-Moore, R-Senior, G
On executing better on in-bound players …
“We got to work on executing at the end of the game and keeping our guard up.”
#35, Alexis Jennings, Senior, F
On the defensive adjustment going into the second quarter …
“I think the biggest adjustment was probably just locking in, everybody playing their role and to just keep those players in front of us. Once we did that, we kind of had our way with them.”
On the emotion of returning to Lexington …
“No, I didn’t really have any emotions. It was just another game on the road and happy to get the win there.”
On the focus of the team heading into the second half of the SEC schedule …
“I would just say to continue to keep our focus. Our chemistry is flowing really well right now, and everybody is adjusting and coming into our roles and just keeping that mentality and mindset and everybody knowing what they’re supposed to be doing out there on the court.”
