KENTUCKY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
NO. 19 KENTUCKY VS. FLORIDA
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY.
SUNDAY, FEB. 3, 2019
Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening Statement …
“So proud of the team and happy for that victory. They had to work hard for it on a day where the ball didn’t get in the basket a whole lot. We had to rely on our defense and our energetic effort, and that was something we just didn’t feel we had Thursday night. Give the players a lot of credit for getting that turned around Friday and Saturday in practice. They had a good session this morning, and then I thought we really responded well to an energetic Florida team at the beginning of the game and had a strong, strong finish to the first quarter and just kind of slugged it out the rest of the way. Proud of the team, great victory for us. We certainly needed it.”
On the bench play tonight …
“Very important. They really gave us a lot of energy. I don’t think we could have got it done today without the bench. We needed some energetic play, and Amanda [Paschal] was incredible. Amanda really, really sparked us when we could not score. She was everywhere, flying around, rebounding the ball, on the floor. I thought Jaida [Roper] was just fantastic, and Blair Green maybe her best overall contribution, really was engaged today, made some defensive plays, took some shots at difficult times during the game and made them and just good day for those three off the bench, real proud of them.”
On Blair defensive play fueling her offense …
“It’s possible. We’ll have to talk to her and ask her. I just think with Blair she wants to be a very good player. We believe in her. We know she’s going to be a good player. She was good today, and we needed that from her. She’s been working hard. She’s been frustrated at times during her freshman year, and that’s understandable and happens, but to her tremendous credit, she just keeps coming back and working hard. Very happy for her to not only play well, but she’s got to be feeling some confidence from her performance today. Proud of her.”
On Taylor (Murray) and her toughness…
“Well, we just needed it and I’m so happy that she was doing it because against these defenses that really try to clog up the lane and force you into outside shots and bait you into outside shots. Those plays and those aggressive plays we call it just driving it north and south and juts getting it downhill, those plays are very valuable in the game and really energize the team and those were big, big plays. Very small openings and a small gap you have to be decisive and have to hit it with some confidence and she really, really helped us with that today. It was a big, big day for Taylor.”
On Maci in the first half compared to the second half…
“I think the team’s had so much respect for her and dedicate so many resources defensively to try to stop her scoring and she had five assists at half time and was 0-3 with five assists and I’m like, ‘Maci, that’s five buckets we would’ve had if you had made the pass and gotten it to your teammates.’ You know, you play four years at Kentucky and you’re going to have every type of game. She’s had 30 point games and then today she couldn’t get it in the basket from a long period of time and we just kept saying in each huddle if she’s open, she has to shoot it. We have ultimate confidence in her and she made some huge buckets in the fourth quarter and really proud of her, but no prouder play in the game for Maci than that steal. It was really big in the press, and she played defensively, and she came up big defensively at the right time and really proud of that.”
On how big this win is for Kentucky…
“We need to win some more to position ourselves where we want to be. We want to make the NCAA Tournament and we have to win some more games. The team knows that, we’ve been very transparent and open with them about what we need to do. So it’s great to start February off with a win, they’re hard to get. We’ve earned five of them so far, that was a tough game. We have to give Florida a tremendous amount of credit. They have not had a lot of wins this year, but that was an extremely tough game that could’ve gone anyway. So a huge win to start off February and we just have to stay focused with the few remaining practices we have left. These precious opportunities to get wins in these games, we just have to keep it plugging and get it done.”
On how many minutes Blair played…
We got into foul trouble. Blair in rotation, she’s going play the match ups and they were good for her today. It was a good team. Her strengths defensively were really good to go against what Florida was trying to get done defensively. So, it was a good match up there. The blessing came out when Blair got to play in a highly competitive SEC game, when we were able to count on her to make some plays. Now she gets a bit of confidence. Today was a big win for the team.”
On sustaining energy and confidence throughout the season…
“Great question. That is something we talked about doing Thursday night. We just did not start that game, nor consistently perform in the game with energy. Nail on the head, we do have to fight, scratch, claw, we have to be an energetic team. I am completely confident we have enough. We practice as hard Friday afternoon as we did on day one. So, what you have to do there is…Friday was practice No. 87. You just have to get in your mind that you do have enough to get it done. Practices are getting shorter now, we don’t have very many practices, and the tale of this season is going to unfold for her in the month of February. They do have enough in the tank, they do have the fitness to do it, and when they practice like they did Friday and Saturday, we will just continue to get better. Every team we’ve had, you hit a wall – a mental and emotional wall there at the end of January. It’s hard to get through, but we just face it well. We’ll stick together and I have total confidence they have what it takes to get it done.”
Kentucky Player Quotes
#10 Rhyne Howard, G, Fr.
On being aggressive…
“They’ve (coaches) just been emphasizing getting to the basket and being able to finish around the rim whenever I have the mismatch.”
On the crowd…
“It was a great experience seeing that many people supporting us day in and day out, so it was great.”
On working well with Maci…
“Usually when Maci is in the game, people know that she can shoot and get a basket so my man was going with her, so I was getting wide open and they were finding me.”
#5 Blair Green, G, Fr.
On being down early and changing the game…
“We just knew that we needed to bring energy, so I thought we did a good job of doing that and just bringing everyone together.”
On what was working for her today …
“Just playing defense, being very active, getting my hands on things, bringing a lot of energy and rebounding. Our shots weren’t falling so we knew we had to turn it up on the defensive end.”
On being at the front of the press…
“I feel very comfortable, I really like that press, it’s tiring, but yes I love it.”
#24, Taylor Murray, G, Sr.
On her block running back on defense …
“I was on the help side so when they had already run that play three times and no one was there, but just reading the play on defense to get back.”
On fighting through tough stretches …
“It starts with me just being able to keep my team composed and relaxed and if we do get a steal, just run a set, we don’t have to actually score on that steal, so just being composed. I’m a leader on the team on the court, so just whatever I have to do to help us out.”
On looking ahead to tournament play seeds…
“Yeah you think about it, but we have a lot of games to go so we just have to take those one at a time and win those games and once that time comes if we do win we will have one of those four spots.”
Florida Head Coach Cam Newbauer
On the Rupp Arena experience …
“Anytime you come in and play Kentucky with a Matthew Mitchell team after two losses and playing in Rupp Arena, you know it’s going to be an exciting and special environment and that’s what it was today. The crowd was fantastic for them I thought. I love how we battled and fought our way, but in the first half there were just way too many turnovers, 16 total and 10 in the first quarter really set us back. That’s the pressure and that’s how they play and they really got after us.”
