Kentucky Women’s Basketball Postgame Quotes
Kentucky vs. Texas A&M
Memorial Coliseum – Lexington, Ky.
Feb. 28, 2019
UK Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening Statement…
“We give Texas A&M a ton of credit. They really played hard tonight in all the crucial moments from the beginning of the game to the end. It was a really important game they just found a way to play better basketball. They played really tough and it’s a disappointing loss for us but you have to give them credit.”
On handling a loss this close to the SEC tournament…
“We just have to go back and watch the film and see where the breakdowns occurred.”
On rebounding from both teams…
“They really took it to us on the boards tonight. They played with a lot of energy on the boards and you look at our offensive rebounding numbers and it shows we were not very aggressive on the offensive glass tonight. We got to be more aggressive than that to beat a team like Texas A&M.”
On playing with a smaller lineup…
“Yeah I thought Amanda Paschal really came in, Jaida Roper really gave us a lift with some tough plays and it was a really good second quarter for us to come back from a really abysmal start. I thought they gave us some really good energy and played tough. We just have to play a lot more focused over the course of the game to be able to beat a team like that.”
On if the team matched Texas A&M’s intensity …
“I thought they played hard tonight. The Aggie’s really played hard. I thought Chennedy Carter was just hard to stop and our team definitely gave a lot of physical effort tonight, I just don’t think we were sharp enough mentally to really do some things well from an execution stand point to combat Texas A&M and we just weren’t there mentally so I don’t know. I wouldn’t say we didn’t hustle physically, I just thought they were sharper in what they needed to do. That’s what it comes down to in a game like this that you have a chance to win at home, you’ve just got to be really sharp and make all the plays and we just didn’t make enough of them tonight.”
On Texas A&M’s defense and UK’s offense…
“They did a good job. You have to give them credit. They came in with a game plan and were tough on defense tonight.”
On Rhyne Howard’s foul trouble…
“It’s never a good development for you to play that way, but just some plays she can learn from, some bad technique on some plays. Those are some of the things you have to avoid because the main plays there was a blocked charge that was a hard call to make and it went against her. Some plays like that you can’t really avoid. But the ones that are due to poor technique and lack of focus are the ones we’ll be able to correct.”
UK Student-Athletes
#4 Maci Morris, G, Sr.
On how hard it was going against Texas A&M…
“Texas A&M is a really tough team, so we got to give them credit for keeping the lead there at the end.”
On who was most tough on Texas A&M’s defense…
“I would say No. 40 just because of her size and she would get down really low in the backend and she was hitting free throws.”
On how teams defend you…
“That’s what most teams do, and I just have to be better for my team and focus more and step up to the plate when people do that to me. My teammates have been doing a really great job of stepping up, so it’s on me to do that.”
On if there is something to winning games on the road…
“I enjoy playing on the road because I like to feed off of other people’s fans when they are yelling at us.”
#14 Tatyana Wyatt, F, So.
On how good their defense was tonight or if there are things you didn’t do on offense…
“I think we took a couple of quick shots, we just needed to settle down. Not discrediting their defense, but we just need to focus on our part and what we need to do.”
On if it is frustrating going up against someone bigger than you…
“Yeah, at times. But, physically I just have to try to play harder than them night in and night out and not try to get our butt kicked that night.”
On how to regroup for Sunday…
“We have to not necessarily forget this game, but have a short memory. We have to learn from it and get ready to play Georgia. We have to go out there and play aggressive first off in the game.”
On if there is something to winning games on the road…
“I just think it’s nice to be able to win on someone else’s home floor.”
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…
“Another great atmosphere anytime you come into basketball country in Kentucky. You just appreciate and know what this sport is all about. You’ve got knowledgeable fans that pull for their team, you got three great players and you’ve got other kids who are developing into roll players. Difference in the ball game is that my three went for 24, 16 and 14 points and yours went for 11, seven, and nine points and usually it’s about even. The difference in the ball game was the boards. Chennedy Carter and Ciera Jones play so hard. We were even trying to get the ball to her more and we didn’t run a couple sets right, got a little bit too fast for ourselves. You all were very small in there without Howard. Howard is by far the freshman of the year. She’s a great player. Someday you’ll probably see her up in the raptors but right now you just enjoy Taylor Murray and Maci Morris. Two great seniors that have done a tremendous job that are a load to guard. I’m proud of this team. We were 0-2 to start. We blew a nine point lead our opening game at home to South Carolina and got beat. Went to LSU, our rival, and got beat. Then we found a way. We might not be the prettiest team in what we do sometimes but we look good. We grinded and found a way. We were picked six in the league and Kentucky was picked seven and all of a sudden look at our two teams. We are going to the tournament as a third place team but we are not going to slow down. One of my brothers, Mark Neighbors who coaches Arkansas, he is going to bring everything in on Sunday against us on senior day. He is one of my best friends. I have spread my family tree out there quite a bit here and Mississippi State and Auburn and I’ve had a lot of great coaches. My two post players played 38 and 39 minutes and they are warriors in there. N’Dea Jones got hurt down there at the end, she didn’t want to come out and she got the heck knocked out of her but the kids were saying ‘coach let her stay’ and that’s how much belief we have in her.”
Texas A&M Student-Athletes
#3, Chennedy Carter, G, So.
On what it was like going up against Taylor Murray…
“It’s kind of like going up against any other defender in the SEC. Just got to take care of the ball a little bit better and see the floor a little bit better.”
On what the game plan was going against Taylor Murray and Maci Morris…
“Our game plan was to simply limit Morris’ touches and watch her. She is a great three-point shooter. Defensively I felt that we all did a great job of corralling the ball, staying in our gaps and contesting shots and getting offensive and defensive rebounds. Our game was just to stay in the gaps and stay with our man.”
On the big lead they lost and how they came back…
“I think great teams will make great runs and they made a great run, and then we started to make adjustments. We made a run and then they came out with a run and it was a ball game. I felt that we stayed together and stayed within our game plan and we came out successful.”
#40, Ciera Johnson, F, So.
On what it was like to get outrebounded in College Station and how she turned that around tonight …
“I guess it was a little embarrassing for me since I take on the load of most of the rebounding so for them to outrebound us at home doesn’t happen much. We just wanted to come in here and have good energy and if we weren’t scoring on the inside then try to do it other ways.”
