Kentucky Women’s Basketball Postgame Quotes
Kentucky vs. South Carolina
Rupp Arena – Lexington, Ky.
Jan. 21, 2018
Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening Statement …
“Well, you have to give South Carolina a lot of credit for earning the victory today. It’s hard getting stops against them and their front line was really powerful and was hard to deal with today. So congratulate them on the victory. I saw some signs of progress for us today and we’re certainly disappointed in the result, but you have to keep getting better, keep working. We saw some growth from our young post players today and they’ve been working so hard, so I was happy for them to see some encouraging things happening and we just need to come back on Tuesday and see if we can get better in practice and keep improving.”
On his post players taking longer to reach his expectations …
“Well, longer than what I’d hoped for. I think what has always happened for us is that we’ve had some veteran post players that could play and then you could kind of get the young post players in and if they are having a good night you could roll with it. But if they weren’t you could still function and we’re just in a spot now where it’s difficult and so there’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The spotlight’s on them. They’ve got to produce. You know, you give them a lot of credit for so many games where it was difficult for them to see success and see their improvement because there wasn’t a lot of tangible evidence of that. You know, we just really tried to put them through it, during the off week and I thought they responded finally. A couple things clicked, they surrendered a little bit: ‘I’m going to do what you ask me to do,’ those kinds of things. It’s been a lengthy process but they’re great kids and are working hard.”
On how A’ja Wilson (South Carolina) impacted the game…
“She impacted it a lot. She’s a world-class player. Probably one of the best human beings on the planet playing women’s basketball. She is a tough player. And what you’ve got to do is¬¬ you’ve got to hope you can keep her from the glass as much as possible. So, I thought our young kids battled some there. Couldn’t totally keep her out of there, but you’ve got to hope she can miss some of those 15-footers and she just had it going today. She had it all going. Tremendous player, tremendous competitor and was hard to deal with.”
On the team continuing to work hard even with the results not there …
“I think for us right now, trying to focus on getting better every day is really important because we’ve had a really tough stretch against some really good teams and we did enough good things today to show the players if we can do more of that and be more consistent with our effort and be just a little bit sharper, we can round into a good team. You know, the sense of urgency I’ve talked to them about having is, ‘Let’s have the satisfaction everyday we leave the floor, whether it be practice or a game, that we really gave an outstanding effort.’ Because of our youth and because of how difficult it’s been, there’s been so many times where we’ve gotten in games, it hasn’t gone well, we’ve been deflated and we didn’t finish the game out and give an effort that we would really be satisfied with. And so, we got closer to that today. I wish we could’ve played a little bit better in some stretches where they kind of got away from us, but that’s what we’re searching for, is just that sense of satisfaction that we are giving everything that we have. When we get there, I believe we’ll get the results we want.”
On rebounding…
“I think we only had five offensive boards in the first half and we are trying to get four or five a quarter. In the second half, you see we got 10 and that was so important and will be important going forward. KeKe McKinney got five today and that’s probably more than she’s had in, I don’t know how many games combined, and that’s where she took a step forward today in making those hustle plays, being aggressive and going to the boards. South Carolina is a very difficult team to rebound against because they have such talented, athletic players and strong rebounders so the second half was much better.”
On what he said to the team this week coming off the Vanderbilt loss…
“We just tried to implore them to not give in and give up. I think that is what has been so hard for the young players and even the older players who are now thrust into a position where they don’t have anywhere to hide either and maybe they had been complimentary players to Evelyn and Makayla or whoever we had. It’s been very difficult, but Thursday we went through a practice where it was sink or swim and if you wanted to get out, you can get out, but we were just trying a gut-check there. We just told them, this isn’t getting any better unless they really buckle down and believe they can be a tough team. We have got to get ourselves to a spot where mentally and emotionally we believe we can press on. I really thought after that difficult day we went through on Thursday, they came back Friday and we didn’t have to urge them as much. With this team, I really have got to put the pressure on them every day in practice and make sure that they are moving forward from a competitive standpoint so they don’t knuckle or buckle under the pressure. So hopefully we are making a step in the right direction.”
On Maci and the impact her knee has going through the rest of the season…
“Well, we will check and see. You know, Maci is not really the issue as far as competitiveness goes or toughness goes. If anybody could take some time off from sitting out in practice, she is one of the candidates that it wouldn’t affect as much. It’s really just trying to convince our young post players. Listen, they want to be really good. They love Kentucky. They signed up under circumstances where other people were trying to jump off the boat, whether it be people leaving the program or recruits leaving to program or coaches telling recruits not to come to the program. All of those circumstances that were going on, these kids signed up and want to be here and want to be successful, but it has been harder than they could have imagined. They have to understand that they are strong enough to get that done and I have to lead them there. They did much better today. You know, one better performance doesn’t mean we are on track. We will have to go right back Tuesday and try to get better, but what you’re looking for is something that you can show them and say, hey, hard work is paying off and hopefully that is something we can show them today.”
Kentucky Student-Athletes
#4 Maci Morris, G
On her knee injury that she had coming into the game…
“It got a little sore towards the end of the game, but I’ve just got to continue to rest a little bit and take care of that and just push through it because my team needs me. So, I’ve got to be up there for them.”
On the improvements of Keke McKinney and Dorie Harrison…
“I see a lot more confidence with both of them just being more comfortable out on the court offensively. We’re always in their ear just telling them, ‘You got it,’ or, ‘You’re going to make the next shot,’ if they miss one. They stay in the gym and work really hard. They had a really tough practice the other day and both of them just kept pushing through no matter how tired they got. Just perseverance from them and confidence.”
#24 Taylor Murray, G
On the progress of the team…
“Yeah, we made some strides today offensively. We just need to keep that intensity moving forward. We did a really good job executing our offensive sets and getting rebounds and pushing the ball.”
On what helped her get out of her scoring slump in the past few games…
“Mentally just staying aggressive for my team. Be sure every day after practice I’m getting up shots no matter what time. I’m usually the first one out of practice and the last one to leave, so just getting up shots and staying confident.”
South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley
On the change in shooting between the first and second quarters …
“Well, I think we got the ball to the right people, that’s one, and gave the ball to our post players who benefit us to get a victory. And I think once they start touching the ball everybody starts feeling it a little bit. I thought we were quick to take outside shots and unexpected shots that threw our transition defense off. So once we got all that under control, we were able to defend a little bit better as well.”
On Kentucky’s inside play …
“They are the youngest at this time but they’re talented. You know, I think what is missing from them is just them getting more experience in our league. They are talented in different ways. So, they were able to knock down some 3-point shots and outside shots, as well as be aggressive in the post. I think what they ran into tonight was just hard post girls who are more experienced at playing this game and playing in our conference. But they are good and they are going to grow up and they’ll probably grow up before the end of the year. I think we just got them at the early part of our SEC season.”
On having A’ja Wilson back in the lineup …
“It helps tremendously. It helps on so many aspects of the game. Obviously she can score the ball a lot and she can rebound. Defensively, she blocks shots. She is an intimidator in the paint. So, it just helped out all around. She’s a voice. She is a voice out there when she talks on the court with our young players and she gives us a great deal of comfort.”
On Maci Morris’ offense …
“Well, for us, we’re in last place in defending the 3-point line, which is embarrassing to be quite honest. So we did want to concentrate more on especially running Maci (Morris) off the 3-point line, making her take a two on us instead of a 3 on us. She did get loose on a couple of offensive rebounds they got and she got some open looks and she made us pay for them.”
On Alexis Jennings coming back to Kentucky…
“I knew it would be emotional for her, whether she let on or not because it is difficult. You start your college career here and then you transfer. So you have to feel a little bit, and I thought throughout the game I probably took her out a little bit more than I usually take her out because I didn’t want the emotions to take over. But I thought she handled it well. I thought she played tremendous for us. She didn’t change her preparation or anything. It was just her experience getting out here and playing. “
South Carolina Student-Athletes
#35 Alexis Jennings, F
On it being weird getting back out there…
“It was not weird at all, I did what I did best and that is to score the ball. So, I think I did well.”
On the difference of playing at Rupp compared to Memorial Coliseum…
“Very different. You know Rupp Arena is very big but I’m not shying away from the crowd because we have a lot of fans at our gym too. It wasn’t anything to me.”
#22 A’ja Wilson, F
On whether she has ever come off the bench for South Carolina…
“Yes, my freshman year.”
On how it felt to come in and play well coming off an ankle injury…
“Yes, it definitely feels good to be out there. I really did miss my teammates and just being out there. It kind of sucks being on the sideline, just listening to coach yell all the time. I’d rather her yell at me. So, just being out there is a lot of fun and it felt good to kind of get back in it.”
On how they were scouting Kentucky …
“I mean to me, it’s the SEC so everyone is going to give you their best. Especially coming in on the road, it’s tough playing here. So, our mindset doesn’t really change depending on the team we play. It’s just more us, focusing on us and sticking to our system and our role.”
