UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
#19 KENTUCKY VS. WINTHROP
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2021
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky Head Coach Kyra Elzy
On Rhyne Howard’s triple-double…
“I’m so proud of Rhyne (Howard). You know, that’s just another accolade to add to the long list that she already has at the University of Kentucky, but that was big for her. I hope that’s a confidence builder for her. 22 points, 10 assists 10 rebounds, and she wanted them bad. I took her out I was going to rest her for a second. She’s like, ‘Coach, I only need two assist and two rebounds.’ I was like, ‘Well, you have about a minute and a half to get it done, so you better hurry.’ And she looked at Jazz, she was like ‘I’m coming right back to you with this three, you better hit it.’ So she was excited about it and something that was on her mind. I thought that made her play more aggressive today, which was good.”
On making adjustments at practice after Indiana…
“Well, one thing we worked on a lot was our transition offense and our half court execution. I thought today against the zone we moved the ball with quick shots. We made the zone shift from side to side, we got the ball to the nail. We created off the bounce, which opened open threes for us, and we hit 10 today so I’m proud of our execution and the way the team played like defensively tonight.”
On the team’s defensive play…
“Yes, we forced 28 turnovers, so I thought we got our energy back, we got back in our press. For the most part, I thought we played extremely hard and disruptive and we’re going to have to continue to do that being an undersized team. We always want to go back, as a coach you always think about things that you can do better but I was proud of our energy today.”
On having five players in double figures…
“That we moved the ball today. We shared the ball, we didn’t become stagnant, which we have been doing. What we talked about in the pregame is score early. If we don’t have a layup let’s try to get five to six passes. Make the defense work. Break them down. When we move the ball and share the ball, that really puts us in great scoring position and glad to have five on the board. I was proud of Dre Edwards for bouncing back today. This was a big bounce back game. Robyn (Benton) and Jada (Walker) continue to be steady for us which is good.”
On what the team’s good three-point shooting can be attributed to…
“Well, I would say shot selection: wide open 3s versus contested 3s. Also, I thought we got some 3s in transition, which is hard to guard when you can get out and run, especially for Rhyne. They can’t trap her; they can’t ice her when we’re out in transition and we just kicked her open 3s for her. That’s an excellent shot, and she nailed them today, four for eight.”
On what the biggest point of emphasis is going to be in practice this week…
“Close outs. One-on-one defense, being able to contain the dribble for one to two dribbles and keeping somebody in front of us. I thought our help side was better today, but we still need to get the full rotation and finishing with a box out. You’re correct. As a coach you there’s always things that you see and you want to get better, but happy for the win. We’ll take them at all times, but you want to continue to grow.”
Kentucky Student-Athletes
10 Rhyne Howard, Senior, Guard
On clicking defensively…
“Just reading them I knew that playing the next play, seeing what they’re going to do and what they’re looking to do, just really locking in and playing some defense.”
On what type of advice she has received from Mikayla Epps during her UK career…
“She would always tell me how good I am to her and how good she thinks I can be and just keeps encouraging me.”
44 Dre’una Edwards, Redshirt Junior, Forward
On not playing down Winthrop in the first half…
“We were more focused on ourselves this game. Coming in after practice sessions, we had like almost a week to prepare, but we were doing it for us and we were worried about us. We knew what we had to do defensively and we’ve been working on it ever since (North) Alabama. We knew what we had to go in there and go do.”
On if there was anything in particular that translated from a week of practice to on the court today…
“I would say our intensity. we’re intense in practice, we’ve been more hard on practice so that translated into the game.”
#1 Robyn Benton, Senior, Guard
On if there was anything in particular that translated from a week of practice to on the court today…
“We definitely worked hard on ball screens at practice and had been emphasizing that a lot. We did a good job today.”
